MLB Injury Report: Ronald Acuña Jr. sidelined with hamstring strain, Jackson Chourio shines in season debut

In this week’s Injury Report, Jackson Chourio returns to make his season debut for the Brewers. The Tigers’ rotation takes a hit with defending Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal set for a lengthy absence. The early-round hits keep coming as Ronald Acuña Jr. lands on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Let’s break it all down as we run through the relevant injury news around baseball.

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Tarik Skubal (elbow)

Skubal came out of his last start reportedly feeling fine despite a check-in with a trainer in the seventh inning. Turns out, the two-time AL Cy Young winner was not fine. He was scratched from his start on Monday as a precaution, and it took all of about ten minutes to report that he needed surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. Hunter Greene and Spencer Schwellenbach underwent the same procedure before the season, with a projected return timeline sometime after the All-Star break. And Edwin Díaz is looking at a three-month recovery, as well. It seems like in a best-case scenario, we get six weeks of Skubal to end the season, something he may be more motivated to do as a pending free agent. But in leagues without IL spots, he’s probably a drop.

Tarik Skubal to undergo elbow surgery: Injury details, fallout for Tigers and fantasy managers

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Fallout and ramifications for the Tigers and fantasy managers.

Ronald Acuña Jr. (hamstring)

Skubal wasn’t the only first-round pick to hit the injured list this week. Acuña pulled up, grabbing at his hamstring as he ran out of the box on a ground ball in the second inning on Saturday. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday. Imagining revealed a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, which was much better news than expected. The timeline of a Grade 1 strain varies, but I wouldn’t expect the 28-year-old star back after the minimum. But a return before June could be in play. For reference, Jeremy Peña has been sidelined since April 11 with a Grade 1 strain.

Ryan Helsley (elbow)

Another week, another closer goes down. Helsley was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 29 with right elbow inflammation. The 31-year-old right-hander was one of the top-performing closers over the first month, posting a 2.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings while going 7-for-7 in save chances. An MRI revealed no structural damage, and he’ll be reevaluated later this week to determine a plan to resume throwing. Barring any setbacks, we could see him back before the end of the month. Of course, the occurrence of elbow inflammation will put him at an elevated risk of re-injury throughout the season. Rico Garcia could be in line to handle closing duties in Helsley’s absence.

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Joe Ryan (elbow)

Ryan threw nine pitches on Sunday against the Blue Jays before leaving the game with a trainer in the first inning with right elbow soreness. There’s been no word on the severity of Ryan’s injury or what exactly he’s dealing with, but the team is expected to provide an update on Tuesday. It’s a good sign that Ryan traveled with the team ahead of their series opener against the Nationals.

Garrett Crochet (shoulder)

Crochet hit the 15-day injured list last week with left shoulder inflammation. It came as a surprise following one of his better starts in which he struck out seven batters over six shutout innings against the Orioles. While there’s no timetable for a return, an MRI revealed no structural damage, and he played catch on Sunday. Of course, the Red Sox will likely be extra cautious with their ace.

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Jackson Chourio(hand)

Andrew Vaughn (hand)

Christian Yelich (groin)

The Brewers are getting some much-needed major reinforcements back, activating both Chourio and Vaughn on Monday. Chourio made his season debut after suffering a broken hand during the World Baseball Classic, making an impact right away, going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles. In fact, all four of his hits were on batted balls of over 102 mph. Vaughn had been missing in action since late March with a hamate bone fracture. While the young star Chourio was universally stashed, Vaughn deserves some consideration in deeper leagues after hitting .309 with nine homers over 64 games with the Brewers last season. Meanwhile, Yelich is inching closer to a return as he recovers from a groin injury that has sidelined him since April 14. He took batting practice on Monday and is still aiming to return in mid to late May. The Brewers have a team WRC+ of 88 since Yelich hit the injured list.