Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Can Nolan Jones, Paul DeJong help replace Mookie Betts?

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Can Nolan Jones, Paul DeJong help replace Mookie Betts?

The Dodgers took two big hits this weekend, and it leaves Fantasy Baseball world down two elite options for at least the next few weeks – and likely much longer. First, we learned that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be shut down for multiple weeks with a strained rotator cuff, and then Mookie Betts got hit by a 98 mph pitch from Dan Altavilla in the seventh inning of Sunday's game which resulted in a fractured bone in his left wrist.

We covered Yamamoto's injury here, along with some waiver-wire pitcher targets to consider, and luckily, there are some really interesting pitchers available to add right now, especially in 12-team leagues. Replacing Betts is a trickier conversation, because his eligibility at second base, shortstop, and the outfield means Fantasy players are going to be looking for replacement options at three different positions.

There's no replacing a player like Betts, but the thing is, you have to try. So, let's take a look at some replacement options, both from the previous waiver-wire column and more, looking for players who might be available in 12- and 15-team leagues at each of Betts' three eligible positions:

Outfield targets

Nolan Jones, Rockies (81%) – The fact that the Rockies kept Jones down for a few extra days to work on his swing even after he was healthy enough to be activated from his rehab assignment doesn't exactly fill me with optimism. But it was nice to see him get on base six times in his first three games back from the IL this weekend, with just two strikeouts. Jones has significant five-category potential if he can get back to last year's level, and I'm willing to say he still needs to be universally rostered even amid the miserable start to the season.

Tommy Edman, Cardinals (54%) – This one only really applies if you don't desperately need help right now, because Edman is, himself, on the IL with a wrist injury. He's been going through the slow process of recovering from offseason surgery, but has been cleared to take on-field batting practice from both sides of the plate over the past week and is set to begin a rehab assignment shortly. He's headed to Palm Beach to work with the team's Florida Complex League squad and will start to do live batting practice soon, with game action likely to follow. We're probably still a few weeks away from Edman being cleared to return to the majors, but if you're looking for a must-start player to replace Betts, Edman has certainly been that in the past, average 13 homers and 30 steals over the previous three seasons.

Jarred Kelenic, Braves (38%) – How desperate are the Braves right now? With Ronald Acuna out for the year and Michael Harris on the IL, Kelenic was moved up to the leadoff spot this weekend, and he rewarded them with homers Friday and Saturday. He's hitting .300/.349/.575 since the start of May, and while I think his strikeout issues will probably continue to limit how much of an impact Kelenic can actually make on a consistent basis, it's fine to add him while he's hot, especially with the move up the order.

Parker Meadows, Tigers (9%) – Meadows was a popular breakout candidate before the season, and then he totally flopped, hitting .096 in his first 32 games before being sent to Triple-A. He's hit .287/.390/.541 with seven homers and 13 steals at that level and has to be playing his way back up to the MLB roster relatively soon. In deeper leagues, I'm starting to stash Meadows just in case.

Hunter Goodman, Rockies (3%) – Goodman came up to the majors with a bit of hype after hitting 43 homers in 138 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He hadn't done much to justify any hype prior to this weekend amid inconsistent playing time, but his two-homer game Saturday is certainly going to open some eyes. You can't really count on the Rockies to just make  him an everyday player, but hopefully that at least convinces them to give him the shot ahead of a seven-game week at Coors.

Shortstop targets 

Masyn Winn, Cardinals (60%) – Winn is pretty much locked into the leadoff spot for the Cardinals, starting each game there so far in June. He has slowed down a bit in that time, but is still hitting .300 with a line-drive approach that should continue to make for strong batting averages. Could he hit .280 with double-digit homers, 20 steals, and 90 runs as the leadoff guy? I think that's a reasonable expectation.

David Hamilton, Red Sox (40%) – Hamilton seems mostly like a steals specialist, but he's been more than that lately, hitting .308/.321/.500 over the past 15 games. I don't buy there being much power in his profile – especially as a lefty in Fenway – but he's a career .799 OPS with 57 steals and 19 homers in 108 games at Triple-A, so he might be able to remain a pretty productive player.

Paul DeJong, White Sox (23%) – DeJong has been a godsend for me in my one AL-only league, but the way he's hitting lately makes him worth a look even in mixed leagues. DeJong has seven homers over his past 15 games, while hitting .281 in that span. I don't expect him to sustain this, but DeJong has been a useful source of power from the middle infield position, and is worth riding while he remains hot.

Second base

Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox (59%) – Rafaela is the much more tooled up Red Sox option, and he mirrors Betts' triple eligibility, which is a nice bonus. But he's also still very much a work in progress as a hitter, with 100 strikeouts to just 13 walks in his 98 career MLB games. But there's speed and power here, plus a locked in spot in the lineup thanks to elite defense all over the field. Rafaela is a bit of a long shot, but he might have the most upside of any widely available option in the middle infield.

Adael Amador, Rockies (21%) – Amador needs to get hot quickly to have a chance to stay up when Brendan Rodgers (hamstring) comes off the IL, but if you need someone to plug into your lineup this weekend, you could do worse than the top prospect with seven games at Coors Field.

Spencer Horwitz, Blue Jays (10%) – If I needed to start someone this week, I might actually prefer Horwitz to Amador, just because he's shown us more at the MLB level and is hitting leadoff when he's in the lineup for the Blue Jays. There's more upside with Amador, but Horwitz's contact-oriented approach is playing up already and he should be a decent option in category leagues, especially with daily lineup decisions – he hasn't started against a lefty yet.