It was reported today that the St. Louis Cardinals will again be beset by injury and the adversity it brings. After already losing ace starting pitcher Adam Wainwright to season-ending Tommy John Surgery, and dealing with Chris Carpenter’s Spring Training injury scare, the team announced that outfielder Matt Holliday will undergo an appendectomy on Friday. This will come as quite a surprise to fans (and fantasy owners) who watched as a presumably healthy Holliday went 3-for-4 on Thursday, including a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of Thursday’s 5-3 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Undoubtedly, those that fantasize about baseball in a game playing context are left wondering how this will come to impact Holliday’s value. The trite and sarcastic answer would be, negatively. How negatively is a matter of medical interpretation, one that will ultimately be determined by Holliday’s physicians. Those physicians will not only perform the procedure, but also monitor Holliday’s post-operative care.
Don’t forget, an appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix through the abdominal cavity. If diagnosed quickly, as was apparently the case with Holliday, the procedure can be minimally invasive, or, as minimally invasive as dissecting one’s abdomen can be. Can it be? The procedure itself is a relatively low-risk one, so fans needn’t live in fear of Holliday’s imminent demise, and there’s no need to buy a funeral wreath (yet). Recovery time is a mixed bag, one that varies from patient to patient. Two to three weeks is typical and healthy people (i.e. All Star outfielders) profile more optimistically than unhealthy people, but nothing is certain. That being said, fantasy owners should probably err on the side of caution and plan on finding an alternative for Holliday for at least 2-3 weeks.
How will the Cardinals (and fantasy owners) go about replacing Holliday? Well, how would anyone go about replacing an All Star-caliber outfielder with a .318 AVG, .388 OBP, .544 SLG and 33.6 career WAR—by crossing their proverbial fingers and hoping for the best. In this instance, the two crossed fingers are Jon Jay (not to be confused with the Governor of New York and President of the Continental Congress) and Allen Craig. The Cardinals were impressed with Jay in Spring Training where he tied for the team lead in RBIs (14) after hitting .300 with a .359 OBP for the Cardinals in in 2010 over 323 plate appearances. Craig batted .359 during a strong spring showing, also leading the team with 23 total hits. Craig’s minor league career includes three different 20+ HR seasons, and he’s shown an ability to hit for a high average, reaching .320 or better in two consecutive AAA seasons in 2009 and 2010.
Other fantasy options include going outside the Cardinals organization and targeting OF-eligible players that are unowned in more than 50% leagues. Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp comes to mind. While he doesn’t possess Holliday’s power, his 30-steal potential can still be an asset to a fantasy lineup. Further, Tyler Colvin of the Cubs may be an option for those in need of power. While he hit just .254 in his 2010 rookie campaign, he also reached 20 HR with a .500 SLG—in just 358 at bats no less. Crisp and Colvin are almost polar opposites in what they bring to the field, but in terms of fantasy value, they are actually fairly comparable. Fantasy owners should let categorical need guide their hand in finding a suitable replacement for Holliday, then cross those fingers and hope for the best.
Damian Schaab is a senior writer for SportsGrumblings.com, and member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. You can hear his fantasy reflections on XM147/Sirius211 between 8 and 11 PM, EST every Saturday evening at a satellite radio near you. Also, do feel obligated to follow his misanthropic musings via Twitter @jsjournalism and, of course, right here at http://jockstrapjournalism.blogspot.com/
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