Well, you can expect Manny Machado to be suspended at some point. That means you’ll be out one of the top bats in your lineup, probably for a week, and you’ll just have to hope (if you’re in a league with weekly lineups) that the appeal process plays out such that the punishment starts on a Monday. And if you’re still one of the Yordano Ventura owners (they exist in 52 percent of leagues), you’ll get the benefit of not having to play him for a start or two.
Michael Fulmer hasn’t allowed a run in 22.1 innings. That may seem like a short streak – it’s still more hand stuff than Orel – but Fulmer’s been really impressive. Sadly, I watched his start Monday as he dominated the Jays, and I really hadn’t grasped just how effective his change up’s been playing. Given that his fastball sits around 95 MPH and his slider’s a dangerous weapon, mixing in a change with nearly 10 MPH of separation and some nice drop seems a little unfair. Blame his catchers.
Fulmer on his change-up “I’ve always trusted it I just haven’t thrown it, I don’t know why” Catchers are forcing him to throw it now.
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) June 7, 2016
Fulmer’s now the owner of a 2.83 ERA (3.50 FIP), a 25.1-percent strikeout rate, and still just a 58-percent ownership tag.
Today’s Roto Riteup author has dealt with 90 degree temperatures for the past two days, and is currently awaiting the sweet release of death.
On the agenda:
1. Fun with arbitrary endpoints
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options
French Open finals. Morning baseball. NBA Finals. Today’s Roto Riteup celebrates a fine day in the sports world.
On the agenda:
1. James Shields traded to White Sox
2. Two Super-Twos
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitcher Options
Today’s Roto Riteup is brought to you by the Copa America cup thingy. Soccer, it’s like sports but worse!
On the agenda:
1. Hunter Pence to miss two months
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options
Your boy’s a little under the weather. It seems easing off the throttle even just for a minute signaled to my body that it was OK to let up, and it’s finally catching up on being annoying after a lengthy NBA playoff run (shout out to the Raptors). That’s not to excuse the poor calls and bad puns that follow – you get those in sickness and in health – but to note that I’m writing this late Thursday instead of first thing in the morning, as usual, so if any updates broke after 1 a.m. ET or so, they won’t be reflected here.
So, apologies for that, and now lift a Nyquil Dixie cup in hopes the next intro isn’t nearly as self-involved.
The Red Sox are ridiculous, annoying, and bordering on unfair. Not only did Mookie Betts smash three home runs on Tuesday, his teammate Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 24 games, less than a week after Jackie Bradley Jr. saw his hitting streak snapped at 29. This is your top “must avoid” team for streaming, as their 126 wRC+ is now 10 points higher than the next best offense (Pirates, 116).
The Red Sox recalled Rusney Castillo and his .241/.302/.317 Triple-A slash-line, by the way, as Bradley’s off to the paternity list (congrats!, since I’m sure you read RR daily).
This morning’s Roto Riteup wishes you a happy Memorial Day. Go out there and barbeque (and drink) like a friggin champ.
On the agenda:
1. Fun with arbitrary endpoints: Hitters
2. Fun with arbitrary endpoints: Pitchers
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitcher Options