Fantasy Fallout From Peavy's Injury

Unless you've been hiding under a rock or are just too far away from San Diego to hear their collective screams of agony, you probably already know that Jake Peavy has been placed on the disabled list.

When the story broke we were thinking that Peavy would be out for about a month, but the news has gotten worse. It could be longer.

Peavy is going on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon in the right ankle that has bothered the ace right-hander since May 22.

Optimistically, the Padres are hoping Peavy – the subject of trade rumors and attempts since the end of last season – will be ready to pitch shortly after next month's All-Star break.

But Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson said Friday night that it could be eight to 12 weeks before Peavy is fit to pitch again.

From a fantasy perspective there isn't too much you can do about this situation. Whether it's a month or three months you need to stash him on your disabled list and go find another pitching option.

Here are a few ideas:

Gil Meche, Royals - Don't look at his 3-5 record on the season. Focus more on his 3.70 ERA or better yet think about his last three starts where he's only given up three total earned runs and struck out 20 hitters in 20 innings of work. He's still a pitcher for the Royals, so temper your expectations. But, Meche is available in about 55% of fantasy leagues. You could do worse.

Max Scherzer, Diamondbacks - Scherzer is available in 29% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues and is having as pretty darned good year. He has three wins with a 3.63 ERA and more strikeouts (69) then innings pitched (67). In his last two starts he's yielded zero earned runs and only six hits combined.

Rick Porcello, Tigers - Take a look at Porcello. He has six wins in his last eight starts and his ERA for the season is 3.71. Over the last month that ERA is 3.14 and he's 4-1 over that time. Porcello is currently owned in 49% of Yahoo! leagues.

You can also feel free to read (or should I say re-read) my latest Categorically Speaking where I covered three other starting pitchers who can be found on many waiver wires.