7 Injured Fantasy Baseball Players You Need to Stash Before They Return

Injuries can be viewed as a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty ordeal in the world of fantasy baseball. On one hand, a player is not active and thus, of no use. On the other hand, that player may be lowly owned, and so you can add and stash that player for future value. Today, we angle towards doing just that — stashing players on the IL who are angling have great future upside. Look to these players.

OF, Lourdes Gurriel

Gurriel is due back to the D-Backs on May 1st, or around that date, due to a knee injury. Gurriel is a consistent .415-.475 slugging percentage hitter, with 20 total home runs. He will start every day once back, so he does have upside every day, especially after batting .275 in 2024 and thus having great baseball in his bag.

SP, Merrill Kelly

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Kelly is due back at the diamond in about two weeks. He has been out due to nerve irritation, but when healthy, Kelly is a 3.50 ERA pitcher and is owned in about 44% of fantasy baseball leagues.

2B, Jackson Holliday

Reports confirm that Holliday is struggling in his rehab starts. Expectations cannot be sky-high for his mid-April return, but Holliday still has a scouting report that suggests he will be a star in the MLB. That is worth taking a shot at.

OF, Kyle Stowers

Stowers is available in 50% of leagues, and he should absolutely be added as one of our breakout candidates of 2026. Stowers will remain out roughly 3 more weeks, but when back, you have a 30+ home run player who slugged the ball at a .544 number in 2025.

RP, Jason Adam

Adam is not expected to get us any saves, as Mason Miller has that job. However, Adam is still extremely elite and should field innings-per-week similar to a starting pitcher, pitching twice as many games per season. Adam has back-to-back seasons with a sub-2.00 ERA and nearly 11 K/9. Adam is out with a quadriceps injury but is due back in about one week.

SP, Trey Yesavage

Yesavage is available in 46% of leagues, so check your waiver wire. Yesavage is a 2026 rookie of the year candidate, and in 2025, he posted 3 solid starts with 14 IP, 16 K's, and a 3.21 ERA. Yesavage is rehabbing back from a shoulder injury, and I planned to return in about two weeks.

SP, Shane Bieber

The former Cy Young candidate is not due back until May. However, when healthy, Bieber is a sub-3.50 ERA pitcher, posting a 1.02 WHIP in 2025 and a 0.92 WHIP in 2024. Bieber is among the better pitchers in the MLB, owned in less than 30% of fantasy baseball leagues, and on a Blue Jays team that made the World Series last year.