Today’s Roto Riteup is an utter masterpiece. Good thing I had an infinite amount of monkeys working on this since infinity ago.

• Doug Fister had a fantastic outing last night by holding the Angels to one run and recording 10 strikeouts in his eight innings of work. He was a huge boost the Tigers last season after his trade from the Mariners and it looks like he could do the same again this year. I don’t particularly believe in first half and second half splits meaning anything, but it is worth noting that over his past three starts, Fister has 20 strikeouts to just five walks. Fister is owned in just over half of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues. I’d pick him up.
Read the rest of this entry »

• Francisco Rodriguez earned his second save in as many days in dramatic fashion. The Brewers current closer loaded the bases, walked in a run before inducing a Lance Berkman flyout to end the game. Despite the demotion of John Axford into lower pressure situations, Brewers Manager Ron Roenicke noted that he would ideally reclaim ninth inning duties by the end of the season.
Read the rest of this entry »

When Joey Votto underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair meniscus damage in his left knee, it wasn’t just Reds fans who felt the pain; it was any NL-only fantasy player who had hoped for production out of what was long the most reliable source of power in the game.

A year ago at this time, first base in the National League was the place to be. Prince Fielder & Albert Pujols were mashing as usual in Milwaukee & St. Louis. Ryan Howard & Carlos Pena for all their flaws, were still showing power in Philadelphia & Chicago, while Michael Morse was having a breakout year with the Nationals. Topping them all, as far as WAR is concerned, was Votto in Cincinnati. In 2012, with Fielder, Pujols, & Pena off to the American League, and Morse, Howard and now Votto fighting injuries, the position has been decimated. With Votto on the shelf, the most valuable active first baseman in the NL  – believe it or not – is Paul Goldschmidt of Arizona, which just does not feel right.

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that Todd Frazier is likely to see the bulk of the time at first base for the Reds until Votto is able to return in approximately three to four weeks. The 2007 first-rounder has been excellent in limited time for Cincinnati this year, particularly so in July, with twelve hits (six for extra bases) in eleven games, including eight starts. Frazier isn’t likely to keep up a .382 wOBA for the rest of the year – if he did, and had enough plate appearances to qualify, that would put him just above Jose Bautista & Carlos Beltran – yet even if he manages his rest-of-season ZIPS projection of .251/.315/.456 and nine homers, that gives him value, especially once he gains first base eligibility. Personally, I think he’ll be able to outdo that OBP mark, since he’s shown he can take a walk (9.9% BB rate) and has flashed decent OBP skills (.353) in parts of six minor league seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

In May, Michael Young was the #9 consensus ranked third baseman. In June, he hit .257/.306/.327 with zero home runs and zero stolen bases, which was really only slightly worse than the .280/.306/.372 he demonstrated up until that point. He was still scoring runs, but you could put Carlos Maldonado on second base for the Texas Rangers offense and he’d still score 120 runs in a season.

For the second half consensus rankings, Young’s stinker of a June only dropped him down to a consensus #15 ranking. At 15, he’s still ahead of an ailing Evan Longoria, Chase Headley, David Freese, Kevin Youkilis, Trevor Plouffe, Will Middlebrooks, and a goodly number of other bodies occupying the hot corner who you could probably make a better case for.

Read the rest of this entry »

With John Axford’s colossal struggles as the closer this year, which has somewhat to do with reliever volatility and somewhat to due with command issues, Francisco Rodriguez is back in ninth inning for the first time since his Mets tenure.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the addition of a second wild card team for each league, the decision to be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline becomes a bit more difficult, despite it being just two weeks away. For the San Diego Padres, however, the decision is neither difficult nor complicated. Sitting 14 games out of both first place in the NL West and the final wild card slot, the Padres will most definitely be sellers over the next two weeks and while collectively, they can’t seem to put it all together, individually there’s some value to be had. It’s time to bring the jalopy to the chop shop and make some money selling off the parts. Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s waiver wire includes two players who are complete opposites. One has just been called up and will get his first taste of the Majors, while the other has been playing for the past 20 years. Whether it’s speed or power you need, there’s a player for you to be had.

Read the rest of this entry »

After yesterday’s comment section, I don’t think I’ll be recommending any more TV shows to our dear readers.

• In the wake of the Joey Votto injury, Todd Frazier is literally being asked to step up to the plate. Yesterday was his second straight start at first base and he appears to have all but locked that position down for the coming three to four weeks. I’ve written about Frazier in the not-too-distant past so I won’t go over him too much. Just be aware that he is free to pick up in 93% of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues. That won’t last long, so act quickly.
Read the rest of this entry »

• On May 3rd, Mariano Rivera tore his ACL and now he is saying that his goal is to return to pitch in September. Wow. If any 42 year old player would return that quickly from an torn ACL it would have to be Mariano Rivera but color me skeptical on his return this season. However, if he were to return that would sure cause an interesting dilemma at the back of the Yankees bullpen because Rafael Soriano has been very effective closing the door for the Yankees with Mo out. Although he’s been on the good side of some luck (0.0% HR/FB%) Soriano still has a 2.22 FIP and is 24/25 on save opportunities, converting his latest tonight against the Blue Jays. It’s hard to imagine Mo not pitching the ninth inning for the Yankees, but the chances of him returning to the mound this season are slim enough to assume Soriano will be closing games all year.

Read the rest of this entry »

You knew it was going to happen.

You didn’t know when or how, but you knew. It was only a matter of time but Jed Lowrie found himself on the disabled list again over the weekend. The injury occurred when Gregor Blanco slid hard into his leg trying to break up a double play. He suffered a sprained ankle and may have damaged a nerve in his leg. Tough break for the Astros but not something unexpected to fantasy owners.

Read the rest of this entry »