Episode 5 – Tom Koehler Tuesday

The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin are joined by Steve Adams to discuss the upcoming weekend in baseball, the Tom Koehlerist of starts, big White Sox vs. Twins matchups, batters who are “extra good against lefties,” a loaded Friday, being wary of getaway lineups on Sunday, and Matt turning his back on Vance Worley.

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The 2015 baseball season opened with some intriguing first-year names on the 25-man rosters fielded by the 30 MLB organizations. I began this miniseries by introducing the key freshman hurlers to know in the class of 2015 and I’m following up today with the top rookie hitters. This wave of first-year players is dominated by outfielders.

Micah Johnson/Carlos Sanchez, 2B, White Sox: Johnson is the favorite to start early in Chicago and has the base-running ability to be an impact player but Sanchez just might be the better player long term due to his natural hitting ability and better defence potential. Either way, the Sox are in a good position to have one of the two players run away with the gig. However, until that happens they’re likely to share the position, which will limit their value.

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Before getting started with today’s Roto Riteup, check out the band Modern Baseball. While their music doesn’t pertain to the game of baseball, it is nonetheless quite enjoyable and their track Your Graduation (warning: language) recently passed the million view mark on YouTube.

On today’s agenda:
1. Shane Greene’s impressive outing
2. The efficient Anthony DeSclafani
3. Let’s talk about Alex Rodriguez
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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The Toronto Blue Jays set their bullpen to shuffle mode just three games into the ‘15 season. Brett Cecil’s dip in velocity started this mess for fantasy owners, but there’s a good chance that Cecil is just building up arm strength since he missed a few weeks in the Spring with shoulder soreness. The left-hander’s fourseamer sat in the 87 mph range on Wednesday night — down from a 94 mph average in ‘14 — but jumped back up to over 91 mph in Thursday’s outing in the Bronx against the Yankees. Cecil faced one over the minimum in Thursday’s appearance, surrendered a free pass and induced a pair of strikeouts on 14 pitches (nine strikes) to earn a hold.
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Episode 215

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris discuss the news, talk about some of the afternoon’s games, and then play a little game called Stash or Trash recording some largely available players off to solid starts.

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• The Tigers have put both Justin Verlander and Joe Nathan on the DL. Verlander’s trip is not a surprise since he was dealing with the strained tricep during spring training. Nathan’s strained elbow was unexpected though. Right now his status is a little vague and hopefully more information will be available soon.

• James Loney went on the DL with a strained oblique. The team expects him to only miss the required 15-days.

• Matt Cain is on the DL with a strained flexor tendon. Sounds like more information on the extent of the injury will be coming soon.

• Jenrry Mejia went on the DL with a strained elbow.

An MRI exam taken Tuesday on closer Jenrry Mejia’s right elbow revealed inflammation but no structural damage, the club announced. The Mets placed the right-hander on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Sunday, and recalled Erik Goeddel from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his place. Mejia received a cortisone shot in New York, and he’ll rest for at least 10 days to ease the inflammation.

To find his replacement and other bullpen issues, check out our daily Bullpen Report.

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I’m really not privy to the whole daily fantasy baseball thing, as proctored by FanDuel or DraftKings. It’s probably good that I’m not because I’m 98 percent certain I would immediately fall in love with it.

Still, I’m intrigued, mostly because it takes streaming to the extreme. And I love streaming. It’s a tedious, somewhat painstaking process, what with combing through splits, looking for the juiciest matchups that are also cost-effective.
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The 2015 baseball season opened with some intriguing first-year names on the 25-man rosters fielded by the 30 MLB organizations. Over the next few days I’ll be looking at key names to know in the freshman class of 2015, beginning with the rookie hurlers.

Eddie Butler, RHP, Rockies: Butler probably doesn’t get enough love based solely on how good his stuff is… when he’s healthy. Unfortunately, he battled shoulder issues last year and missed time in the spring with shoulder weakness. He earned a roster spot nonetheless and his ground-ball tendencies (along with his strikeout stuff) make him a good fit for pitching in Colorado. If his body holds up, he could be one of the more successful Rockies starting pitchers in 2015.

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Episode 4 – Radhames Liz Things

The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Brad Johnson discuss a Radhames Liz sighting, pronouncing “Wojciechowski,” Stephen Strasburg vs. Matt Harvey, Micah Johnson, plus a plethora of rain risks and how to (try to) predict the weather.

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The title of the article is an allusion to Schott’s Miscellany, which you should definitely check out if you never have and feel compelled to know that a group of larks is called an exaltation or that a member of the 32nd degree of Freemasonry is known as a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.

–Quality of Pitchers Faced–

Hunter Pence will start the 2015 season on the DL because of a fractured forearm, but there is a silver lining. Each week he misses is a week he doesn’t have to face Clayton Kershaw. Pence faced Kershaw 15 times in 2014, more than any other batter, and managed just one hit.

Pence’s misfortune from last season made me curious how much imbalance there is for hitters in a season in terms of the quality of the pitchers they face, and whether that imbalance might be consistent from season to season.

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