Roto Riteup: April 12, 2019

We stay committed here at the Roto Riteup!

On the Agenda:
1. Peter Alonso
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

Peter Alonso
Peter Alonso went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk against the Braves on Thursday night.

The 24-year old rookie is now slashing .378/.451/.911 with 6 HR, 17 RBI, and 10 R in 51 PA. His 16/6 K:BB ratio is something you can live with (30% K/11% BB). It’s also consistent with his track record in the minor leagues as well (26% K/11% BB at Triple-A Las Vegas). The most impressive aspect of his game has been his power. He has always possessed mammoth pop – as cited by his 36 HR and .280 ish ISO between two levels in 2018. He does an amazing job of spraying the ball to all fields and displays a solid, mature approach as well. Alonso is currently tied for third in home runs, 16th in average exit velocity (94.8), third in hard-hit% (66.7), and second in Barrels/PA (21.7%). The home run he hit last night was the hardest hit home run by any Mets players since 2015. All-in-all, we all discredited Alonso at draft time (227 ADP) because he’s a rookie who saw a drastic downtick in contact rate in the upper minors last year, while also having a few question marks about his playing time and when he’d come up. Not only did he start the season in the majors, but he’s hitting second and flourishing. I’m not going to take less than a month’s worth of data and give a take one way or the other here, but what he’s done so far is well within reason based on his accomplishments in the minor leagues. Some fantasy players may think this is a fluke (I’m not one of them), and try to sell high. I would not condone doing that. If you own him, stand pat and see what at least the next month brings, then move on from there. If you’re looking to acquire Alonso, you’ll probably have to pay too big of a price to make it worth your while. With that said, if you can give up someone outside the top-100 preseason, I’d be willing to consider that depending on the player. I think a fair projection for Alonso from this time forward is somewhere around .255/.340/.570 with 20 HR, but admittedly that could be low. Only time will tell, but he’s been nothing short of exciting to watch nonetheless.

 

Various News and Notes
The Braves and Ozzie Albies agreed to a contract extension per Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman.

Well, the only thing I can really say is that this is wild. The Braves get a massive bargain here, and they now potentially control the 22-year old through the 2027 season. A little over a week ago, Randal Grichuk agreed to a $52 million deal with the Blue Jays over five years……Yeah, that Randal Grichuk. I’m not going to begin to speculate why this was agreed upon on Albies side, but the positive outlook is that he guarantees a fortune for himself. It might not be as much as he’s potentially worth, but $35 million is $35 million.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com (ATL) gave us an update on Mike Foltynewicz:

So far, Folty has allowed 2 ER over 8.2 IP (2.08 ERA) spanning two rehab starts. He’s struck out seven and walked three as well. If he’s activated after the next rehab outing on Monday, we should see him on either April 20th or 21st. He needs to be picked up in places he was dropped.

Corey Seager is day-to-day after exiting Thursday’s game against the Cardinals in the fourth inning. He was hit in the leg by a Giovanny Gallegos offering. The diagnosis is a “hamstring contusion.”

Nick Castellanos was scratched from yesterday’s lineup, and is currently day-to-day with a sprained right big toe.

This doesn’t sound overly serious, but we have to monitor how things go here. The Tigers lineup was already dead last in RPG, and this doesn’t help things.

Billy Hamilton is currently day-to-day with a left knee sprain after colliding with the center field wall on Thursday against the Mariners.

Hamilton was trying to make a nice play on a ball in centerfield in the top of the ninth, but was unable to make the catch. He collided with the wall pretty hard and was in obvious pain. He only has two stolen bases thus far, but fantasy owners are only using him for that sole purpose. If he seems effected by this once he returns, then it may be best to cut bait even in deeper formats if you have other needs.

Max Muncy suffered a hand injury against the Cardinals on Thursday, eventually leaving the contest.

Chris Taylor replaced him and would receive an uptick in playing time should Muncy miss any time.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Less Than 50% Owned)
A Pitcher for Today: Michael Pineda vs DET
Pineda’s been keeping things on the ground, getting a ton of whiffs, starting ahead in the count, and posting strong results thus far. The Tigers offense is dead last in RPG so far. It’s a match made in heaven.

High-Risk Option: Trent Thornton vs TAM
I obviously don’t love choosing a starter against my squad, but Thornton has had a stellar first two starts, and blanketed under all of the success is a league-average Rays offense. They have the propensity to strike out as well, and Thornton has 15 K in 11 IP with a 12% Swing-Str%.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: None

High-Risk Option(s): Merrill Kelly vs. SD
Kelly allowed 3 ER in 6 IP at Petco Park on April 1st, and rebounded to the tune of 1 ER in 8 IP with 9 K and 0 BB against the Red Sox on April 7th. The Padres are 21st in wRC+ against RHP in the early going.

Caleb Smith vs. PHI
Smith gets the benefit of pitching at home, where he owns a 3.51 career ERA (5.98 ERA on the road). Smith has a 15/3 K:BB ratio in 11 IP (2 GS) thus far. If he can keep the ball in the yard (2 HR allowed against ATL last time out), then he has a chance to be successful. FWIW, the Phillies are slightly below league average against LHP thus far according to wRC+ rankings. With that said, they lead the league in K% against LHP as well (12%). This is very risky, but I believe in Caleb Smith.





Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

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docgooden85member
4 years ago

Pete Alonso has made it clear that he prefers not to be called Peter. We should respect that, just like we do with Michael Trout, Christopher Sale, and Matthew Carpenter (et al.). I don’t blame him…