Fantasy Baseball Injury Update: Cade Horton Out for Season, Updates On Several Others

Injury news around the MLB continues to pile up, so we have another article to dive into.

Here's the last injury update we published here at FantasySP.

Fantasy baseball injury news can be found all season on FantasySP.

Cade Horton - Chicago Cubs

Horton is out for the season, as he will undergo season-ending surgery on his right elbow. He was placed on the injured list with right forearm discomfort, and now the worst-case scenario has come true.

That makes Horton droppable in all redraft fantasy leagues, while hurting his long-term outlook a bit. The hurler is just 24 years old, so hopefully he can return to start the 2027 season and pick up where he left off.

Across his first 25 big league appearances between this year and last, Horton had a 2.66 earned run average and went 12-4. He struck out 101 batters in 125 1/3 innings of work.

That's a blow to the fantasy owners who drafted Horton, and the Cubs in real life. With Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele on the injured list as well, the Cubs' rotation is hurting. Colin Rea and Javier Assad are a couple guys filling out the rotation for the time being, but they'll likely be replaced when Steele and Boyd are back.

Hunter Brown - Houston Astros

We have another update on Brown, who was placed on the injured list with a right shoulder strain. He has a Grade 2 strain and will be shut down from throwing for two weeks.

There's likely then a build up process, and maybe some rehab starts before he'll be back in the big leagues, so Brown could miss the next several weeks, and that's if there's no setbacks.

It's another blow to fantasy starting rotations. Brown is too good to drop in any leagues, so hopefully you can stash him on an IR spot for the time being.

It's also a big blow to the Astros' rotation. The offense will have to carry the team while Brown is out, and hopefully the young hurler can return and stay healthy after he gets through this ailment.

Brown is 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA over two starts so far this year. In 10 2/3 innings, he's allowed a run on five hits and six walks, while striking out 17.

Blue Jays' Injuries

We have some updates on several Toronto players.

Starting pitcher Cody Ponce will have surgery on his right ACL sprain, and that's likely to keep him out the rest of the season. He's droppable in almost all redraft leagues as a result.

Addison Barger was placed on the injured list with a left ankle sprain. The team hopes he won't miss much more than the required 10 days. Barger struggled to start the year, so hopefully he heats up after he returns. He's droppable in a lot of redraft leagues after his slow start and now this injury news.

Catcher Alejandro Kirk has a broken bone in his left thumb. That will keep him out six weeks, so it's another blow to Toronto. Kirk is droppable in some standard redraft leagues, although I'd still like to stash him in an IR spot if possible. He can be a good fantasy catcher when healthy, so hopefully he can return and be productive upon his return.

Max Scherzer left his last start with right forearm tendinitis, but he's expected to make his next start. Just keep that in mind if you plan on streaming him for that outing.

Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios are three injured starting pitchers on the mend. 

Yesavage seems the closest to returning - he's set to throw roughly 60 pitches in a rehab start on Thursday, so he might only need one more start after that before he's back in the big leagues.

Bieber and Berrios are a bit further away from returning, but as veterans, they might get back in the mix a bit quicker than a young hurler, like Yesavage, would.

Brewers' Injuries

Brice Turang has a foot/ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup on Tuesday. It's not considered to be a notable injury, but it's worth watching.

Jackson Chourio is scheduled to have follow-up imaging done on his fractured left hand, and if he's cleared, he can start ramping up. He's expected back later this month.

Andrew Vaughn has a follow-up exam coming up as well, but he's several weeks from returning yet.

Quinn Priester experienced more discomfort when facing live hitters, but is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Thursday, so we'll see if that goes any better. He still seems a ways off from returning.

Jacob deGrom - Texas Rangers

deGrom had an MRI on his right knee after some discomfort there while warming up for his start a couple days ago.

It's already the second ailment deGrom has dealt with this season, and that's not a good sign for the oft-injured pitcher. I suggested bailing on him after he made his first start, to avoid the headache.

Now you'd be selling him low if you traded him away now. I'd suggest just holding out hope that the knee injury isn't anything serious and that he stays healthy going forward.

If he makes a couple starts and doesn't have injury concerns, then I'd look to sell him off. deGrom is stellar when healthy, but there's just too many injury concerns that aren't worth the long-term headache for fantasy owners.

Even with those injury concerns, deGrom should net you a pretty solid return in a trade. Use the FantasySP trade value chart and trade analyzer to come up with trades involving deGrom.

Zack Wheeler - Philadelphia Phillies

Wheeler struggled in his second rehab outing in Triple-A, but he's still going to make just one more rehab outing before rejoining the big league team. He's dealing with venous thoracic outlet syndrome.

Wheeler can be a top-end fantasy pitcher when healthy, so hopefully he doesn't miss any more starts after returning to the major leagues.

He's owned in all leagues, but if you want to acquire him, do it now, as Wheeler could shine and get close to being untouchable after just a couple starts.

Nick Lodolo - Cincinnati Reds

Lodolo has been trying to come back from a blister issue. In his first rehab start, he had another blister issue.

He threw a baseball without seams a couple days ago, but needs to get that issue resolved before he takes a big league mound again.

Keep tabs on Lodolo's status, and be ready to fire him up when he returns to the MLB. His own percentage is trending down, but he's still only available in about 9% of leagues.

If he's out longer, that could expand, so be watching that, and be ready to pounce if he becomes available.

Jordan Lawlar - Arizona Diamondbacks

Lawlar is on the 60-day injured list, and will miss 6-9 weeks with a broken right wrist. He was hit in a game on April 2.

He was playing the outfield this season for Arizona. Corbin Carroll is locked in as the right fielder, and Jorge Barrosa is also projected to start daily in left field. Center field is a projected platoon between Alek Thomas and Tim Tawa.

I only see Carroll as a good fantasy asset of those Arizona outfielders, but you just never know what a player will do with expanded opportunities. Keep tabs on the Arizona lineup and gamelogs, and be watching our daily waiver wire stories to see if any of the other outfielders ever emerge as fantasy assets.