J.D. Drew : October 11th, 2008, 9:10 pm est
News: Boston outfielder J.D. Drew was out of the lineup Saturday night for Game 2 of the AL championship series, though manager Terry Francona said the move was not injury-related. Drew was hit in the right shoulder by a pitch from hard-throwing Tampa Bay reliever Grant Balfour in the eighth inning of Game 1. With left-hander Scott Kazmir pitching Game 2 for the Rays, Red Sox manager Terry Francona decided to insert Coco Crisp into the lineup in center field and move Jacoby Ellsbury from center to Drew's spot in right. 'He's not in the lineup, and that's not because he got hit. We're putting Coco in center more because of Kazmir. We want Ellsbury to stay in the leadoff spot,' Francona said before the game.
Analysis: Drew seems to battle injuries and inconsistency all season and then turns on his game the exact moment he needs to. Unfortunately, such an approach to baseball doesn't translate well to Fantasy. Consider him just outside the top 30 outfielders in Fantasy for spring 2009 even though he has the potential to far outperform his draft position. The injury risk is just too apparent
