The Banana Stand - Week 3

The Banana Stand is a weekly look back at the fantasy week that was.

Week 3 of the fantasy season is dedicated to injured fantasy stars. The Week started with Alfonso Soriano landing on the DL with a strained right calf in Tuesday night's game, and there was no looking back. Stud players were dropping like flies, and nobody was safe. Elite fantasy 3rd basemen Chipper Jones and Alex Rodriguez both suffered quad injuries yesterday. Chipper's injury came in a week in which he scorched opposing pitchers with a ridiculous line of .565 4 HRs & 7 RBIs. Jones is proving once again that when he plays, he is a top producer. The upcoming week has the potential to be a frustrating one for Jones' owners because how much time he will miss is still up in the air. These injuries will probably result in at least a few games missed for both - and if history is any indication, a DL stint for Chipper.

Sunday's injuries came around the same time we learned that the Phillies finally decided to put MVP Jimmy Rollins on the DL after he injured his ankle in the first game of the season. Peculiar, because they'd been using him as a pinch-hitter for the past week, so he has to miss the full 15 days (starting with yesterday). It is a blow for fantasy purposes, but at least owners don't have to guess with their lineups because Rollins is definitely out. Hopefully, a full 15 days off will get him back to full health and he can finally start producing.

Ben Sheets, another injury-prone star in the same class as Chipper Jones, also suffered an injury this past week. Sheets has been stellar so far (and usually is when he can stay healthy) going 3-0 with 24 Ks and a 0.96 in 4 starts this year. Sheets' triceps tightened up in his last start and it looks like he'll have to miss his next start. It remains to be seen whether or not he'll land on the DL, but expect the Brewers to be careful in the early going with any Sheets injury.

With all of these injuries mounting, it provides excellent opportunities for astute fantasy owners to take advantage of other league members' weaknesses in their time of need. Anyone who loaded up on depth on draft day can certainly start looking to deal some of it to anyone scrambling to piece together a healthy starting lineup.

Fantasy Expert League Update:
In the GOTOS expert league, team Pseudo Sports climbed up 2 spots this week to 6th overall. We now have a healthy Yovanni Gallardo and Randy Johnson, but an injured Jimmy Rollins. We're making our mark with pitching, scoring 44.5 out of a possible 60 points. But, with our top overall pick Rollins out, we're trying to hold our own in the offensive categories until he can return. Currently, Rudy from Razzball is in first with 88.5 points to our 66.5.