Fantasy Baseball 2021: Streaming Options for Injured MLB Players for Week 2

The sky isn't actually falling, but it just might feel that way for fantasy managers rostering the MLB stars who have been bitten by the injury bug.

Fernando Tatis Jr., a clear-cut first-round pick in all worthwhile fantasy baseball leagues, is battling a partial shoulder dislocation. Ketel Marte, who was playing like a first-rounder, hit the 10-day injury list with a hamstring injury. James Paxton, who looked like an ace this spring, has received a Tommy John surgery recommendation, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman.

Your fantasy stars are hurting, and we are here to do what we can to cushion the blow.

Let's all hit the waiver wire, then, and search for Week 2 streamers rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, per FantasyPros.

Seven-game week on the slate? Check. Premier lineup spot in a Boston offense starting to put a bunch of crooked numbers on the scoreboard? Check. Bat showing signs of life? Check. Tremendous positional versatility? Big-time check.

Look, maybe Enrique Hernandez won't hold the Sox's leadoff spot all season—his career .312 OBP says to bet against it—but you (hopefully) don't need a season-long replacement for Tatis. You are in the market for a bat right now, and Hernandez is snapping out of an early funk at the perfect time.

After collecting just two hits in his first five games, he has tallied three in his past two—including his first home run of the season. His bat needed to come alive soon to hold the prime place in the order, and it seems like it's answering the call.

Hernandez and the Sox have a full seven-game schedule on the docket for Week 2. They will open on the road to face the Minnesota Twins and then return home to face the Chicago White Sox. While there are some tricky pitching matchups sprinkled in, he will get a crack at each team's No. 5 starter too.

If you play at Yahoo, that means Marte is eligible at second base, shortstop and outfield. Take advantage of that versatility when finding a replacement.

If you're in need of more speed—aren't we all?—then give a strong look to the equally versatile Garrett Hampson.

It seems like the Colorado Rockies are finally giving him room to breathe, and he's taking advantage. The 26-year-old has at least one hit in six of his first seven games, including a pair of doubles. He has scored six runs, driven in five more and has four stolen bases in just his past two games.

Colorado has an off-day Monday before a road series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in which Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer and Walker Buehler are all slated to start, so it's not the most inviting schedule. But the week at least closes with a three-game series against the New York Mets back at Coors Field, so even if Hampson starts his weak slowly, he might close it on a tear.

Matchups can make or break a streaming pitcher.

That's not the only thing driving this recommendation. Huascar Ynoa is only 22 and has an MLB rotation spot, so clearly there's some talent.

But there's also a lack of track record—last season, his first in the bigs, he had a 7.79 ERA across 17.1 innings—so this has as much to do with whom the pitcher is facing as it does the pitcher himself.

If there are no disruptions to the Atlanta Braves rotation, then Ynoa is looking at a two-start Week 2 against the light-hitting Miami Marlins (19 runs in six games) and lighter-hitting Chicago Cubs (also 19 runs in six games but with a woeful .124 team batting average).

Ynoa had a stiffer test in his first start this season, when he held a Wasington Nationals lineup with Trea Turner and Juan Soto in it to two hits, one walk and five strikeouts in five innings pitched. As long as Ynoa stays locked into his rotation spot—a decent possibility with Mike Soroka shut down for two weeks—he will have a chance to deliver some unexpectedly (to the uninformed) strong stats.