Injuries are the one thing that fantasy players have no control over.  Your entire team can be ruined with the loss of two of your first five picks.  As uncontrollable as injuries are though as a fantast player you want to be aware of what players are coming back from an injury and how that affects where you might draft them.  

5.Mark Teixeira First Base, New York Yankees

After an injury riddled season and multiple wrist injuries follwed by a season ending surgery, Mark Teixeira looks to rebound in 2014.  With the departure of Robinson Cano and Arod being suspended, Teixeira will likely remain in either the three or four hole, which will provide plenty of RBI opportunities with a mixture of Ellsbury, Gardner, and Jeter batting in front of him.  

Teixeira is 33 now and his days of batting over .300 are long gone, but if you are able to get 140 or more games out of him this year he is still capable of providing 30 home runs and over 100 RBI’s.  Teixeira should also come at a discount this year as he’s been hurt the last two seasons and that leads many owners to stay away from him until the mid rounds where his numbers could be a steal.

4.Albert Pujols First Base, Los Angeles Angels 

It was just two seasons ago when Pujols had a “down” year.  During that season Pujols batted .285 with 85 runs scored 30 homeruns and 105 RBI’s.  Now there’s no denying that Pujols’s numbers are declining but honestly how long can you really expect a guy to bat .330 with 40 home runs.  

Last season was the first time Pujols failed to hit 30 or more home runs as he was limited to just 99 games due to injury.  Many fantasy owners however were off the Pujols train before last season even started.  With the surgically repaired fascia Pujols is the kind of player who is still capable of providing you with 30 homeruns 100 RBI and close to 100 Runs.  Still be wary of him though as he has actually suffered with plantar fasciitis throughout much of his career and its always possible that he retears it.

3.Hanley Ramirez Shortstop, Los Angeles Dodgers

This is perhaps one of the most frustrating players in all of baseball.  This is a guy who went from being a player you could count on to put up nearly 30/30 numbers from 2006-2010 to a guy that looked completely lost at the plate for the next two seasons, while playing for two different teams.  

Now cue last season and Hanley once again showed why at one point he was a consistent top five pick in fantasy drafts.  Hanley was well on his way to having an MVP caliber season if it weren’t for injuries.  Hanley played in only 86 last season but still managed to hit 20 homeruns, and steal 10 bases while hitting an astonishing .345. 

2.Matt Kemp Outfield, Los Angeles Dodgers

Last year was another injury plagued season for Matt Kemp who hasn’t been able to stay on the field since his MVP caliber season in 2011.   Kemp is still one of the best players in baseball when he’s on the field but he certainly isn’t going to be drafted like it anymore.  

He has officially been labeled as injury prone and many owners who have drafted him in the last two seasons likely won’t risk picking him again.  This means you can get an MVP caliber player at a discount this year, and as long as you get 150 plus games out of him you will be receiving great value wherever you draft him.  

Kemp is still in his prime and any owner who is willing to take a risk on him should receive a 20/20 season and a batting average over .300.

1.Johnny Cueto Starting Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds

One of the most dominating pitchers in 2011 and 2012 Cueto was unable to stay on the field and was limited to only 60 innings pitched.  In his limited time Cueto was just as good as he had been the previous seasons and he will look to replicate his dominance in the upcoming season.  For the majority of his career Cueto has managed to stay healthy and I would not expect consecutive injury riddled season from this ace.  

At 28 years old I would even expect Cueto to continue his streak of having an ERA under 3.0 and dominate the league as he has done.  Pitching for the high powered Reds offense Cueto should be able to rack up the wins as well and provide fantasy owners with above average numbers all around.