Baseball is finally back even though it still feels like football weather in the northeast.  Now is not the time to draw any conclusions about your drafts because there are too many days off, the weather is unpredictable, and players are still getting acclimated to being in regular season mode.  Without any further adieu, here is the first regular season edition of the walking wounded.

A.J. Pollock (OF-ARZ)

By now most fantasy owners have drowned themselves in sorrow after losing one of their earliest draft picks.  Pollock was working his way back from an elbow injury when he fractured it sliding into home plate at the end of spring training.  Arizona has placed him on the 60-day disabled list and he will likely miss most of the season.  Stash him if you have multiple DL slots and can afford to use one up on him for quite some time.

Michael Brantley (OF-CLE)

Not surprisingly the Indians placed Michael Brantley on the DL to start the season, but it is retroactive to March 25.  He suffered a minor setback during his recovery so it was inevitable that he would miss some time to start the year.  The good news is that Brantley should be back in the middle of April which bodes well for fantasy owners who drafted him at a great discount.

Evan Gattis (OF-HOU)

Astros slugger Evan Gattis is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week and is on target to return in mid-April.  He underwent hernia surgery in February so he is fine-tuning his mechanics and timing at this point.  Gattis will be a solid source of power and should reward fantasy owners who drafted him with a significant discount.

Ben Revere (OF-WAS)

Revere suffered a rib injury and was taken out of Washington’s opening game on Monday.  The injury does not appear to be serious, but this type of injury can linger longer than expected and is susceptible to re-aggravation.  Revere is one of the best base stealers in the league so an extended absence would be costly for fantasy owners.  Monitor his status during the week and hope he can get right back on the field.

Matt Garza (SP-MIL)

Garza suffered a right lat strain at the end of spring training and has been placed on the disabled list.  He is expected to miss four to six weeks and won’t be back until sometime in May.  Garza is no longer much of a fantasy option so he will not be missed much.  What is important about this injury is the fact that Taylor Jungmann should get an extended opportunity to stay in the Brewers’ rotation.

Tommy Pham (OF-STL)

Pham strained his left oblique in his first at bat of the year and will likely miss several weeks. The Cardinals have been ravaged with injuries so Pham was likely going to see a decent amount of playing time, but that is now off the table as he deals with this injury.  He was only worth rostering in very deep leagues, so don’t bother wasting a DL slot to stash him.

Michael A. Stein, Esq. is the Chief Justice of Fantasy Judgment, the industry's premier dispute resolution service, and co-host of the Fantasy Alarm Podcast.  You can contact him at michael.stein@fantasyjudgment.com or on Facebook and Twitter (@FantasyJudgment).