Michael Morse will be out at least six weeks before he can even begin to rehab his strained right lat.
Analysis: The estimated return of Morse seems to be in mid to late June. That’s two months of raw power that will be missing from fantasy lineups across the country. Morse hit .303 last year with 31 bombs, 95 RBI and most reliable projections had him hitting 25-30 home runs this year. With his temporal loss it gives some the chance to add some first base depth to their squad.
Justin Morneau makes a solid replacement for Morse. Morneau hit his first home run of the season Thursday night and appears to be healthy. He has not played over ninety games in a season in two years but you just need him to last until June. He’s hitting .281 for his career and he also sports a solid .498 career slugging percentage. In deeper leagues it appears Jesus Guzman will have plenty of value with tons of plate appearances. Guzman may be playing left field for the Padres but he has first base eligibility and he’s hitting cleanup right now.