The Playbook

OuchWire is the only platform that turns injury data into fantasy decisions.

Learn how to read the numbers, use the tools, and win your league.

How to Use OuchWire

The 4 Numbers Nobody Else Has

OuchWire turns raw injury reports into decision-ready scores. Here are the numbers that set us apart.

1

Health Score

0–100● Live

What it is

A single number that tells you how much an injury is impacting a player's availability. 100 = fully healthy. The lower the number, the more burdened the player is.

How to read it

90–100Minor concern
70–89Moderate concern
50–69Significant concern
Below 50Severe

How to use it

Sort your roster by health score. Any player below 70 needs a backup plan. Any player below 50 is a drop candidate in shallow leagues.

Why we're different

ESPN gives you 'Questionable' or 'Out.' We give you a number. A 'Questionable' player with a minor ankle sprain (score: 97) is very different from a 'Questionable' player with a torn ACL (score: 84). The health score tells you which one.

2

FAAB Urgency

0–100● Live

What it is

A score that tells you how aggressively you should bid on a backup or waiver wire pickup when a starter gets injured. Higher = more urgent.

How to read it

0–15Low
16–30Moderate
31–40High
40+Elite

How to use it

When a starter goes down, check the FAAB urgency on the backup. A Season-Ending + Severe injury to a starter creates the highest urgency (40+). A Questionable + Minor injury is just a monitoring situation (5–10).

Why we're different

Every platform tells you WHO is injured. We tell you how much it matters for your waiver wire. The FAAB urgency score turns ‘this player is hurt’ into ‘you should spend 35% of your FAAB budget on his backup.’

3

Injury Pattern Index

0–100● Live

What it is

A score that measures how injury-prone a player is based on their injury history. Higher = more injury-prone.

How to read it

0–20Low risk
21–50Moderate
51–75High
76–100Very high

How to use it

Three ways — Draft prep: avoid high-index players in early rounds. Trade evaluation: know what you're trading for. Keeper decisions: a rising index means declining reliability.

Why we're different

Everyone says ‘he’s injury-prone.’ We give you a number. No more guessing based on vibes — the Injury Pattern Index uses actual injury frequency, recurrence, and severity data.

4

HAPPG — Suppression %

0–100%Coming Soon

What it is

Health-Adjusted Points Per Game. Measures how much a player's fantasy production drops when they play through an injury. A 25% suppression means the player scores 25% fewer fantasy points in games where they're carrying an injury vs when they're fully healthy.

How to read it

0–10%Minimal
11–25%Notable
26–50%Significant
50%+Severe

How to use it

A player is listed as 'Questionable' but active. Do you start them? Check HAPPG. If suppression is 30%, you're starting a WR3 at WR2 production. Find a healthier alternative.

Why we're different

Nobody in fantasy sports measures this. Every platform says ‘he’s active, you can start him.’ We tell you ‘he’s active but playing at 70% capacity.’ That’s the difference between winning and losing your matchup.

How to Use The Wire

The Wire is OuchWire's injury feed — the main page when you open the app. Here's how to use it:

  1. 1Browse by league: Use the league tabs (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS) to filter to your sport.
  2. 2Sort by health score: Players with the lowest health scores appear first — these need your attention.
  3. 3Check FAAB urgency: The badge on each card tells you if a waiver pickup is worth pursuing.
  4. 4Click any player: Full injury history, health score breakdown, and recovery timeline.
  5. 5Search: Use the search bar to find any player by name — see their complete injury profile.

Pro tip: Check The Wire before waiver wire deadlines. Sort by FAAB urgency to find the most valuable pickups.

How to Use Player Profiles

Every player has a profile page with:

  • Current injury status and health score
  • Full injury history (all recorded injuries)
  • FAAB urgency (if currently injured)
  • HAPPG suppression % (if data available)
  • Injury Pattern Index
  • Source links (where we got the injury data)

Use player profiles to make start/sit decisions, evaluate trades, and plan your draft strategy.

Our Data Sources

OuchWire pulls injury data from multiple sources, cross-referenced for accuracy:

ESPN (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) — official injury reports
CBS Sports (NFL supplement) — additional NFL injury data
betinf.com (MLS) — soccer injury reports
Sleeper (NBA, NFL) — fantasy platform status updates
nflverse (NFL) — practice participation reports
FantasyPros (FAAB) — ownership and waiver data

All data is updated nightly. Sources are ranked by priority — lower-priority sources cannot overwrite higher-priority data.

Reference

Quick definitions for every term and metric used across OuchWire.

Health Score

Live

OuchWire's proprietary 0-100 score measuring injury burden. Formula: (1 - Status Weight × Severity Weight) × 100. Updated automatically when injury status or severity changes.

FAAB Urgency

Live

OuchWire's proprietary score (0-100) indicating how aggressively to bid on waiver wire pickups. Combines injury status and severity. Lives on the Player entity and displays on injury cards.

HAPPG Suppression %

Soon

Coming Soon. OuchWire's proprietary metric measuring fantasy production loss when playing through injuries. Compares per-game fantasy points in healthy vs injured games.

Injury Pattern Index

Live

OuchWire's proprietary score (0-100) measuring injury proneness based on injury history. Factors: frequency, recurrence, and severity. Higher = more injury-prone.

Injury Status

The player's current availability designation: Questionable (game-time decision), Out/IL/IR (not playing), Suspended (league suspension), Season-Ending (done for season), Returned/Active (cleared to play).

Severity

Clinical classification of injury impact: Minor (return <1 week), Moderate (1-4 weeks, no surgery), Severe (4+ weeks, surgery, or season-ending).

The Wire

OuchWire's injury feed. Real-time list of all injured players across 5 leagues, sorted by health score and FAAB urgency.

Return Probability

Estimated likelihood and timeline for a player to return from injury based on injury type and historical recovery data.

Reported Recovery Timeline

The publicly reported expected return date from the team or medical staff.

Team Health Score

Aggregate health of all players on a fantasy-relevant team. Lower team score = more injuries across the roster.

Leagues Covered

NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS. OuchWire tracks injuries across all five major fantasy sports.

Data Sources

ESPN, CBS Sports, betinf.com, Sleeper, nflverse, FantasyPros. All free/public APIs. Updated nightly.

© 2026 OuchWire.com — Injury intelligence for fantasy sports managers.