Austin Riley was hit in the hand by a 97 mph fastball in the first inning of Sunday’s game in Los Angeles.
Braves fans began to speculate as to the seriousness of the injury and what level of concern was appropriate when it was announced Monday afternoon that Riley’s hand was fractured and would result in him missing the next 6-8 weeks which would effectively be the rest of the fantasy baseball season.
It is yet to be seen what the Braves will do to fill the void at third base in Riley’s absence but if Sunday’s game was any indicator, Luke Williams was the fill-in for the remainder of the game Sunday. Braves fourth-ranked prospect Nacho Alvarez was rumored to have been playing some third base, so he could be an option to fill in if they want to call him up again.
Nacho didn’t instill much confidence in the eight games he played for the Braves this season batting just .100 with an OBP of .156 and an OPS of .256. Whatever the Braves decide to do to fill the void at third base likely doesn’t matter to your fantasy team as there’s probably a better option on your waiver wire.
Third Base Replacement Options
At the post-game press conference, Brian Snitker stated that “the tests we have here are inconclusive” regarding Austin Riley’s hand.
Replacing Riley is going to come down to exactly what counting stats you need to replicate from Riley. As it’s been a down season overall for the Braves third baseman you likely aren’t losing someone that has carried your team this far.
While there likely isn’t a league winner sitting on waivers for you to claim, there could be some useful pieces if you take the Moneyball approach and try to replace stats that are weak on your team whether it be home runs(HR), average(AVG) or runs batted in(RBI). the following players are available in more than 50 percent of ESPN leagues.
Jonah Bride from the Miami Marlins has third base as well as first base eligibility in ESPN leagues. over the past 15 days, Bride has a .289 AVG with 3 HR and 11 RBI while just being rostered in 4.3 percent of leagues.
Oswaldo Cabrera from the Yankees has his playing time opening up since they lost Jazz Chisoholm indefinitely and has outfield, second base, and third base eligibility, and in the past 15 days has a .400 AVG with 3 HR and 3 RBI while being rostered in 7.8 percent of leagues. Joey Ortiz of the Brewers has second-base and third-base eligibility with a .267 AVG, 1 HR, and 8 RBI over the last 15 days and is rostered in only 7.1 percent of leagues.
While those seem to be the best candidates that are most widely available and contribute in most categories that matter there are some other options if you’re stat chasing in a categories league. If power is what you need most then you could take a chance on Guardians rookie Jhonkensy Noel. He has 3 HR in the past 15 days and Orioles Ramon Urias has 2 HR.
Zach Mckinstry of the Tigers has a .289 AVG with 4 RBI but no HR. Blue Jays Ernie Clement has a .278 AVG with 5 RBI and only 1 Hr and the Mets veteran infielder Jose Iglesias has a .379 AVG with 3 RBI and no HR over the past 15 days. All of these players are widely available depending on your roster construction and needs for the final stretch of the season.
Lasting Effect on Remainder of Braves Lineup
Taking Austin Riley out of the middle of the lineup makes the Braves lineup weaker not only because the Braves don’t have another power bat to fill in for the lack of production from the third base spot but it also provides less protection for the other sluggers surrounding Riley in the lineup.
As of recently, Riley has been batting second behind lead-off hitter Michael Harris II and before Ozuna and Matt Olson. This likely doesn’t change the fantasy value for these hitters much as if you’re starting them you have probably been relying on them all season and don’t have a replacement with higher upside.
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