The hits keep coming with young pitchers.
Jose Fernandez had emerged as one of the games' best hurlers. Not that his owners need a reminder, but he’s struck out 70 batters in 51.2 innings pitched this season, walked just 13 and pitched to a 2.44 ERA. And depending the results of an MRI, that might be all he does this year.
Fernandez is reportedly headed to the disabled list with an elbow sprain. And unfortunately, the news is not good:
Source says that #Marlins' Fernandez just had second MRI and adds, "This isn't promising."
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 12, 2014
Obviously, fantasy owners can’t do much but hold their collective breaths. Elbow injuries can result in the dreaded Tommy John surgery, and this year has been a bad one for that, as Jeff Passan notes. But not every elbow injury results in the surgery -- Chris Sale appears ready to return soon from his ailment. The Marlins have every reason to be cautious with their young ace, so we can’t assume the worst just yet.
The Marlins could replace Fernandez with Brad Hand or Kevin Slowey, though neither would be appealing for fantasy owners. Prospect Andrew Heaney, who our own Frank Neville talked about in his last column, is pitching well at Double-A, so he could be an option in the near future. Keeper league owners may want to grab him, if they've got the space.
As one proven young arm goes down, another highly touted one comes up. The Mets have announced Rafael Montero, the second-best pitching prospect in their system, is set to join the rotation Wednesday against the Yankees, replacing Jenrry Mejia, who heads to the bullpen.
It has been a little bit of an up-and-down year for Montero, as his strikeout rate has gone up from last season but so have his walks -- but it’s hard to argue with a 3.67 ERA in one of the worst pitcher environments in the high minors, Las Vegas. And while Montero isn’t considered to have top-end stuff of Zack Wheeler, take a look at their Triple-A Las Vegas numbers:
Montero (2013-14): 130.1 IP, 8.21 K/9, 2.96 BB/9, 1.21 WHIP, 3.25 ERA
Wheeler (2013): 68.2 IP, 9.57 K/9, 3.54 BB/9, 1.28 WHIP, 4.41 ERA
The difference stems partially from the long ball -- Montero gave up seven home runs over that span while Wheeler surrendered nine. Montero’s control is also less of an issue and has been very good throughout his minor league career.
Obviously, standard young pitcher warnings apply. And don’t expect Montero to come up and strike out a batter per inning. But he has succeeded in every test that has been thrown his way in his minor league career thus far. Even if you skip his first start against the Yankees, owners should absolutely speculate here in hopes of finding solid fantasy contributor, especially given the favorability of pitching in Citi Field.
And while his time in the rotation is done for now, don't write off Mejia entirely. He can be dropped in most leagues, but he could resurface in the Mets rotation at some point in the future. And given how awful the bullpen has been, he could eventually get a shot at the closer role.