Archive for Uncategorized

• The Mets had Noah Syndergaard’s elbow examined a couple of weeks ago.

And for the first time, Collins publicly acknowledged Syndergaard had his right elbow examined by doctors about two weeks ago. According to ESPN.com, the pitcher was checked on May 2, one day after a start.

He was cleared, but the close call lingered with Collins. “So, for 15 more pitches?” Collins said, after summoning closer Jeurys Familia in relief of Syndergaard. “No, it didn’t even cross my mind.”

I went back and tried to find anything which stood out as a possible injury indication and found none. I wonder if he mentioned a small pain to the team and they are just being extra cautious.

Read the rest of this entry »

I shop in the bargain bins when it comes to pitching, and I usually do okay. But there’s a pitfall to shopping in those bins, and it comes from velocity. Or lack thereof — the lightly touted, the guys with no pedigree, the guys you find in those bins, they usually don’t have big fastballs. Or they’d be the darling of every scout.

So what, you might say. If they have command and great secondary stuff, then they can ball. Look at Aaron Nola!

Yes, that’s true. But there are inherent difficulties with a bad fastball. So let’s rummage through the bad fastball bucket and see what we find.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oswaldo Arcia (1% Yahoo, 1.6% EPSN, 8% CBS) – the dude seems like he’s been around forever but he actually just turned 25 yesterday. After a disappointing 2015 in both Minnesota and Rochester, Arcia is swinging a hot bat, producing at the level Twins fans envisioned given the promising start to his career. So far, he’s cracked 4 homers in just over 70 plate appearances on his way to a shiny 135 wRC+.

It’s easy to look at some obvious data points and scream regression. His .382 BABIP and 40% HR/FB rates will assuredly normalize. And his career-high GB/FB ratio is, on its surface, alarming. Dig a little deeper and we find his ground ball rate has remained stable while his fly balls have simply turned into line drives. As for the quality of Arcia’s contact, he ranks 57^th out of 287 in average FB/LD exit velocity among those with at least 30 balls-in-play.

Is this new batted ball profile sustainable? Who knows? But if you buy into the crazy narrative that greater selectivity at the plate can often lead to better contact, then perhaps some of it is. Arcia is chasing pitches outside of the zone a career low 28.5% of the time, about one point above the league, but an eight and a half point drop below his career average. He’s also cut down on his whiff rate while spending more time in favorable counts. This helps to explain his career best walk-rate, making him suddenly very interesting in OBP leagues.

We’d obviously like to see him hit more fly balls as the sustainability of his current power output, given his batted ball profile, is slim. Nevertheless, the plate discipline gains and improved contact are a boon to fantasy owners looking for outfield help.

Aaron Hicks (1% Yahoo, 1.3% ESPN, 6% CBS) – I was actually planning to write about Dae-Ho Lee but then I just saw Hicks hit another home run. So I figured that Lee will probably be available to write about for at least another week and it’s more helpful to, you know, focus on the guy who actually has a starting job.

And that guy, for the time being, would be the aforementioned Mr. Hicks. I’ve been riding the Hicks train for a while now. I touted him in a previous piece, picked him as an UDFA sleeper in our annual RotoGraphs Staff Picks, and rostered him in a few leagues, and not just those of the deep variety. Obviously, I’ve been disappointed.

Prior to A-Rod landing on the DL, Hicks hit .067/.125/.067 with a -58 wRC+. I know, it’s bad. But that came over just a handful of starts and piecemeal playing time. Now with A-Rod on the DL, Jacoby Ellsbury dealing with what appears to be a minor hip injury, and Carlos Beltran showing his age all in the context of a 11-18 start, Hicks appears to have a nice window of opportunity.

Remember, this is the same guy who combined double digit homers and steals last year with a plate discipline profile that placed him in some pretty lofty company.

I was beaten to the punch on Jesse Hahn by colleague Rylan Edwards earlier this week. I’ll second Edwards’ endorsement of Hahn, and he also highlights Henderson Alvarez as a viable deep league add. Like Hahn, Alvarez is a low punch-out pitcher, and I’ve opted to highlight a high-strikeout reliever who will help pick up the slack for the starting pitcher duo. Joining the reliever is a minor league first baseman whose path is looking clearer every day and a Swiss Army Knife whose ownership is criminally low. Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks back, I looked at hitter stats that you can use early in the season. And they presaged the Domingo Santana mini-breakout! Now it’s time to look at pitchers, and let you into my toolbox.

There will be leaderboards.

Read the rest of this entry »

Seattle’s Tony Zych will be placed on the 15-day DL for rotator cuff tendinitis, as the origins and timetable for return are not known. Last year in a small sample Zych looked very strong. Zych was continuing to open eyes with a 14.25 K/9 this season, but his control was also concern with a BB/9 of 6. Steve Johnson was called up to fill his roster spot, but not his role as the second set-up man. Johnson impressed in AAA this year with 20 K’s and 2 BB’s over 16 innings. Yet in his limited major league exposure, Johnson has produced a 4.25 ERA (4.33 FIP) with a good K rate (10.49 per 9) and poor BB rate (5.46 per 9). Nick Vincent will be second in line for saves it seems, and he has performed well this season. Vincent had been a solid low leverage reliever for the Padres, and there appears to have been improvements made this year. His strikeouts are slightly up from the past and he has yet to issue a walk. The two dings on his numbers this year have been the two home runs he gave up this year, but I’m still intrigued by the batted ball data. His previous career high GB/FB ratio was 1.26. This season: 2.17. I know, it’s early and we need to see more if we can conclude whether something has changed. He can still be a nice source for Holds while Zych is sidelined.
Read the rest of this entry »

The A’s may not boast one of the more prolific rotations in baseball but entering the season they certainly featured one of the deepest. Now with Felix Doubront lost to Tommy John Surgery and one of my favorite sleepers, Chris Bassitt, likely facing a similar fate, the rotation suddenly looks a tad shallower. So this week we look at two pitchers available in a vast majority of leagues who’ve either made it back to the East Bay or who we can expect to arrive there shortly.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s Roto Riteup has an NFL Draft theme…

On the agenda:

1. News from Rehab
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

News from Rehab

Yu Darvish pitched well in his first in his first rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco. Darvish pitched two scoreless innings striking out two and only walking one. Reports were that he hit 97 mph and threw a nasty breaking pitch. He is currently on track to return before June.

Henderson Alvarez threw four shutout innings for High-A Stockton. He allowed only one walk and one hit during the outing. He is expected to pitch at Triple-A Nashville on Thursday and could return to the Athletics before June.

Shin-Soo Choo is progressing and hopes to begin a rehab assignment sometime in the next two weeks. Currently he is on track to return in mid-May, which would force the Rangers to make a roster decision on what will be a crowded outfield.

Pirates GM Neal Huntington said on Sunday that Jung-ho Kang will play two out of every three games once activated from the disabled list. Kang has started playing in back-to-back games in his rehab assignment, but considering Pittsburgh’s depth in the infield they do not need to overdo it with his return.

Various News and Notes

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Tim Lincecum will hold a showcase for interested teams on Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona. Reportedly, at least 20 teams have expressed some level of interest and it is an #EvenYear, so you never know…

Michael Foltynewicz will be recalled to start monday night for Atlanta. Folty, who was considered a top 100 prospect last season, has pitched well in Triple-A Gwinnett. While his long term future may be in the bullpen, the Braves are willing to give him a shot to show that he belongs in the rotation.

Angel Pagan left Sunday’s game with a mild hamstring strain. While the injury does not appear to be serious, with Joe Panik already day-to-day with groin injury, the Giants could be forced to make a roster move to have some depth on the bench. Mac Williamson would most likely be the first up from Triple-A Sacramento.

Streaming Pitcher Options

If you enjoy streaming pitchers or play DFS, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Jon Gray @ SD (James Shields)

Jon Gray throws hard and hopefully his secondary stuff plays up better away from home. I’ll take a shot in a two-start week away from home and in pitcher’s parks. High Risk/High Reward!

A pitcher for tomorrow: Nicholas Tropeano @ MIL (Junior Guerra)

He is not in a great park, but gets to pitch against an awful team in the Brewers and the pitcher hitting.

In Ottoneu, like any fantasy format, small sample sizes to begin the season drastically impact the standings. The team with the worst pitching in your league has probably allowed more homers than expected. While the team in last place has likely has pitched the fewest innings. It’s easy to blow off these types of starts due the unsustainable performances that aren’t likely to continue (or to front-loading innings). I thought it would be fun to take a different approach today. So let’s play a game…

The rules: Pick 5 SP, total salaries for this rotation of $30 or less based on Ottoneu average values (round up $1 dollar). No picks with an average salary over $12. Arbitrary limitations, I know.

The goal: Build a 5 man rotation assuming you can bank all points that have occurred thus far with the goal of accumulating the most Fangraphs points by seasons end. Let’s make some picks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here we go again! It is time for the monthly update to the AL Outfield tiers. These tiers reflect my rest of season rankings. Just a warning: I am not extremely reactionary in the first month of the season. So, if you think I should have Colby Rasmus in the first or second tier, don’t be offended if I don’t respond to your comment with much more than a “come on bro!” Of course you can see my preseason tiers here:

AL Tiered Outfielder Rankings: Preseason Read the rest of this entry »