Fantasy Fallout: Tigers' J.D. Martinez Out; It's Time for Upton to Heat Up

Here are the fantasy implications following the news that Detroit Tigers OF J.D. Martinez will miss the next four-to-six weeks -- and possibly longer -- with a broken elbow:

Season-Long Fantasy

Martinez will reportedly receive a CT scan on Friday to determine the extent of his injury. While injuries of this nature do not typically require surgery, the result of Martinez's examination could drastically change his recovery timeline.

That doesn't mean his owners can drop him outright quite yet, but a fractured elbow in his throwing arm is not something you want to see from any player, especially an outfielder. It's likely the Tigers elect to take a patient approach; a six-week timetable seems improbable but four weeks is ridiculously optimistic.

While the elite pace Martinez showed in 2015 (38 homers, 102 RBIs) had fallen off, there were hopes that a Tigers lineup finding its groove would lead to increased counting stats across the board. The chances of him returning value relative to his average draft position (31 in standard, head-to-head leagues) are slim.

While the top-half of the order -- especially 1B Miguel Cabrera, 1B/DH Victor Martinez and 3B Nick Castellanos -- will no doubt see a drop in runs scored without J.D. Martinez bringing up the rear, there are two players who could conceivably benefit from this otherwise disappointing development: OF Justin Upton and recent Triple-A OF Steven Moya.

Despite struggling mightily in his first months in Detroit, Upton's brought his slash line up to .229/.282/.346, by hitting .268 with a .749 OPS in June. Expect him to get bumped up to the five-spot where Martinez had been hitting.

Consistent exposure to Cabrera and V-Mart should help his RBI totals improve and stabilize his fantasy value. Teams struggling in the standings should consider targeting Upton via trade; his price might never be lower.

Moya is a different case. The six-foot-seven behemoth showed off the extra-base potential by hitting two doubles and two triples in 33 plate appearances with the big-league club earlier this season, but poor discipline sent him back down for more retooling. Martinez's injury gives Moya at least a month to fine-tune his approach against major league pitching.

If he continues to make himself an easy out by swinging at 46.8 percent of pitches thrown outside of the strike zone he'll never be able to cash in on his physical tools. You can live with a "three true outcomes" player, but Moya lacks the ability to lay off weak offerings or draw walks, so you're left with a truly boom-or-bust slugger.

Considering the waiver wires of many leagues are populated by flawed, but still established young sluggers, it makes more sense to go with a player like Dodgers OF Joc Pederson than the Moya mystery box.

Daily Fantasy

Give the top of the Tigers' order a chance for their salaries to acclimatize to the reduced statistical expectations without Martinez hitting behind them. They can still be deployed when the matchup is too good to pass up, but just know that the chances of Miguel Cabrera and Co. scoring a run just worsened.

As with season-long fantasy, Upton's upside increases marginally. Assuming he moves up to take over Martinez's spot in the order, Upton could feasibly return cash-game value relative to his heavily-suppressed price.

The book on Moya has yet to be fully written, but the short introduction we have in 66 major league PAs tells the story of a slugger that bats left and hits much better against right-handed pitching. The Tigers don't play in a true hitter's park until they head to Cleveland on July 4 but that would be the type of situation where Moya could yield tournament value with a big night.

Waiver Wire Targets

• 1B/OF Brandon Moss, St. Louis Cardinals: With 15 homers, 34 runs and 34 RBIs, Moss has exceeded Martinez's production in some areas but not others. The Cardinals do a good job of hiding him from bad pitching matchups so his average should stay high. The volume of his workload, however, will be an issue in points leagues.

• 1B/2B/OF Steve Pearce, Tampa Bay Rays: A slew of injuries across baseball will leave some wishing they had a quality hitter eligible at multiple positions. Pearce's counting stats aren't great but his .346 average and high walk totals could change that once the Rays get healthier.

• OF Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers: Pederson is a confounding player at times because of his high-strikeout approach, and his walk-rate has taken a step back after posting a .346 OBP in 2015. Still, his raw power is legitimate and if he can put discipline and consistent contact together, he could have a Martinez-like ascendance in the second half.