• After a throw back performance by Bartolo Colon (8 shutout innings, nine strikeouts, and five baserunners) Jeurys Familia was called on for the save. Familia wasn’t sharp, allowing three baserunners and an earned run but otherwise escaped with a 3-1 lead and his 36th save. Familia’s ERA has jumped since the first half but he’s actually pitching better of late with a higher K% and lower B% than he had earlier this season. On the year he has a 1.78/2.83/2.64 ERA/FIP/xFIP line and should continue to rack up effective saves over the last few weeks of the season.

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• Tomorrow roster’s can expand to allow anyone on the 40-man roster to join the MLB team. This is when the official DL becomes about useless. Teams won’t move players to the DL because teams no longer need to free up roster spots. Also, hitters who can hit, but not play in the field will return. It will keep a list of players who should be on the DL, but aren’t starting on Thursday.

• Stephen Strasburg owners may not want to start him this week as he is again dealing with back issues.

Still, Strasburg left after throwing 60 pitches in four innings, allowing seven hits and four runs, all four on home runs. Nationals Manager Matt Williams described the problem as a “recurrence” of the upper back trouble he had earlier this season, which contributed to his first of two 2015 disabled list stints. Asked if this discomfort may lead to a third, Strasburg said, “I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion.”

We will know more after he pitches his mid-week bullpen session.

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Usually, when you see a headline like this, as a reader you expect the article to answer the question posed. That might not be the case here. I’m writing this because — as of this moment — I have absolutely no idea what the answer is. Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, I will have reached some sort of conclusion.

As so often happens when I write about baseball, I had no plans on writing about Anthony Rendon today. While researching another topic — which I will save for a later date — I went down the Rendon rabbit hole. The number of unanswered questions I found there interest me far more than any easy answers, so let’s talk about how the heck anyone can assess the future value of a player like this.

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Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Chaz Roe, RHP: The Orioles featured a veteran-heavy squad in 2015 and, as of the end of August, did not field a true rookie on their roster. Now with his six organization, Roe has been a revelation in 28 relief appearances with the O’s after beginning his career as a starter. The former 32nd overall pick of the 2005 amateur draft has seen his velo tick up in the ‘pen and he’s been more consistent with his command. Look for the 28-year-old hurler to have a larger role in 2016.

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Agenda

1. Daily DFS
2. GB / FB Splits
3. SaberSim Hi/Lo
4. Tomorrow’s Targets – Shoemaker, Coors, Altherr, Sweeney
5. Factor Grid

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Episode 102 – Pony Up For Carlos Correa

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

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin discuss Matt’s stereotypical intro sounds, the possibility of doing a beginner’s episode, the return of Michael Lorenzen, a battle of nicknames between Chris Narveson and Mike Foltynewicz, Wei-Yin Chen seemingly always facing the Rays, Dylan refusing to believe in Didi Gregorius, one of Matt’s favorite days of the year, Matt sending jokes over Dylan’s head, missing Hector Santiago’s screwball, Matt’s new favorite TV show and his strong opinions on subtitles, and DFS getting weird in September.

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Often times, the most heavily hyped prospects flop in their first taste of Major League action. As I discussed a couple of weeks ago, this has not happened to top Twins prospect Miguel Sano. But it has to their top rated prospect, Byron Buxton. Over 86 plate appearances, Buxton has posted a paltry .235 wOBA. It would be easy to look past the surface results and consider them just some standard struggles at the plate for a youngster, coupled with some likely poor fortune. But there have been some very troubling signs behind these numbers.

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Today’s Roto Riteup includes a new way of presenting an old feature.

On today’s agenda:
1. Fun with arbitrary endpoints
2. Various news and notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

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Junichi Tazawa was unable to find the strike zone on Friday night, and now Jean Machi has been tabbed as the closer for the Red Sox. Tazawa walked four Mets and only found the zone with 11 of his 28 offerings. If you’re looking for a source of cheap holds, Robbie Ross has four in his last four outings and of late is getting those opportunities. His velocity is picking up, and with the volatility in the closer role, who knows? It’s not out of the realm of possibilities to see him getting a few save chances down the stretch. His peripherals aren’t the strongest, and he’s only rocking a 12.3% K%-BB% to go with a 3.88 xFIP, but the options in the Boston pen aren’t the greatest. Of course, if Machi(and his 5.8% K%-BB%) runs with the role, then it’s a moot point. Machi grabbed his third save on Saturday with a perfect ninth, generating three groundouts.

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Episode 271

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

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Jason Collette go with a Sunday Freestyle bouncing from team-to-team, player-to-player discussing the likes of Edwin Encarnacion, Nelson Cruz, Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Stephen Strasburg, Jeff Samardzija, Mike Zunino, Stephen Piscotty, Miguel Cabrera, Khris & Chris Davis, among others.

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