Roto Riteup: September 18, 2018
The Roto Riteup is a big fan of cycling:
You knew he wasn’t stopping at 2nd. pic.twitter.com/n0kE0dl6UJ
— MLB (@MLB) September 18, 2018
Big apologies for taking the last few days off. Been dealing with some health issues, but am now off the DL and looking forward to only pinch running and playing defense.
On the Agenda:
1. Bauer Outage
2. 2 Early Mock Drafts
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers
Bauer Outage
According to Indians team president Chris Antonetti stated that the Indians have considered pitching Trevor Bauer out of the bullpen for the playoffs. This doesn’t sound promising for the regular season in terms of him as a starter. He did throw a bullpen over the weekend, but it sounds like that even if he does return for the rest of the season, fantasy owners won’t be able to count on much length during outings.
2 Early Mock Drafts
It is that time of year again! For the third straight season, I am hosting the 2019 2 Early Mock drafts. This year my friend Smada is going to do some great stuff on Tableau with the ADPs, but for now, if you would like an early look into what some of the industry is looking at for 2019, click this link.
Various News and Notes
Aaron Judge took 11 at bats in a simulated game on Monday. Judge was recently activated off of the DL, but has been barred from hitting for right now. It appears that after the simulated game, he should be cleared to start hitting in live games.
Joey Gallo was scratched from the lineup on Monday due to a toe injury. Gallo fouled off a pitch over the weekend which caused the injury. This doesn’t appear too serious, but it is worth keeping an eye on this late in the season.
Michael Fulmer has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee. This appears that it will likely end his season even if he can avoid surgery. Fulmer will get a second opinion this week with Dr. James Andrews. Meniscus injuries are not necessarily hard to come back from, so Fulmer will likely be an underrated draft commodity coming into 2019.
Eddie Rosario left Monday’s game after aggravating his previous leg injury. Rosario had hurt his quad at the end of August, but it had appeared he was fully recovered. Unfortunately, with so little time left in the season, this is the type of thing that could end his year. Consider him day to day for now.
Trevor Story left Monday’s game after experiencing soreness in his elbow. In post game interviews he did not sound overly confident of what the issue was. He will undergo further tests today. Consider him day to day at this time.
Streaming Pitchers Options
A pitcher for today: Sandy Alcantara vs WAS
Not a great matchup, but Alcantara has been pretty good during this go around in the Majors.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Touki Toussaint vs STL
Toussaint had been great so far in the Majors before his last outing. Prior to that he had a 3.31 ERa and over 8 k/9.
Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.
Pretty good for a pinch runner.
No worries, and glad you are on the mend! Do you have any insight on Zack Wheeler? It looks like he is going to be shutdown for the rest of the season, and before I drop him I just wanted to get some kind of confirmation. Still may not know much yet, but just checking thanks!
I dropped him already. In their position, the Mets have zero reason to put him back out there. Even by Mets standards, it would be absurd to have your manager make this statement to the media with 2 weeks left and then turn around and push Wheeler to reach 200 innings after years of injuries and limited innings. Even by Mets standards… I assume Callaway was asked/told to make these comments by the front office (probably with some pointed input from Wheeler’s agent) to prepare the fans for the benching that’s already been decided.
Hope you’re feeling better Justin!
What do you think of streaming Josh James? I like the matchup.
LOVE James. He’s a K monster and the matchup doesn’t worry me. My worry with him would be short outings. I mean, that’s a worry with all streamers and teams in September but the Astros are fending off the A’s and if he runs up the pitch count a bit or scuffles even a little, he could be out of there before 5 IP given that they have guys in the pen like McHugh and Peacock that can come in and give them multiple innings.
In a h2H finals matchup I have 3 closers (Kimbrel, Vasquez, Lerclerc) to his 2 (w davis, minter)
Is it safe to drop Hand to grab Aaron Sanchez and his two starts? J gray already torched my ratios for the week
So finals started yesterday? One week or two week final? Seems a bit early to punt ERA and WHIP already. Gray had a bad start but you still have 6 more days and a great start or two will have you right back in it (if it’s a 2 week finals, then you have 13 days left). Also, if you dump Hand then won’t you both have 3 closers (assuming your opponent goes and grabs Hand)? I mean I know the Indians have been a bit all over the map at closer but Hand still seems a part of the committee there.
(I would also note that Sanchez only has 1 start this week if the final is just this week)