Roto Riteup: April 15, 2022

You can’t tell me that this is not a home run.

I think this needs to just be a new thing we do pic.twitter.com/X3Tdsw3hOS

— Caleb Webb (@calebgwebb) April 14, 2022

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Quick Hits
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers

 

Closer Chaos

Mychal Givens pitched a scoreless ninth to log the save for the Cubs versus the Rockies. It had been widely assumed that David Robertson was the closer in Chicago, but it appears it is some sort of committee that includes Givens as well. I think that it is likely that Roberston leads the team in saves, but it is not as clear as we may have thought. 

Michael King got the save for the Yankees on Thursday night. King came into the game after Aroldis Chapman loaded the ball game by walking three straight batters in a 3-0 game. It is not likely that King is next man up, but Chapman’s struggle is a bit concerning. Hopefully this is just a speed bump and Chapman is fine, but it is something to keep an eye on and in deeper leagues, smart managers may want to pick up Jonathan Loaisiga or Chad Green as insurance policies. 

 

Quick Hits

Teoscar Hernandez was placed on the 10-Day IL with an oblique strain. Typically these injuries take 4-6 weeks to recover from. 

Blake Snell was placed on the IL with a groin injury. There was some hope he would be able to make his start on Friday, but he was not to make it through a catch session on Wednesday. MacKenzie Gore will be called up to make the start on Friday. Gore is a former top prospect that struggled over the last few seasons, but looked great in spring and in his first start in the minors. He is a must pick up in all formats.

Spencer Howard was placed on the 10-Day IL with a cracked finger nail. Garrett Richards has been activated off of the IL to replace him on the roster. 

Jonathan India left Thursday’s game with a hamstring issue. He is expected to undergo further testing on Friday and manager David Bell stated he could return to the field on Saturday. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Various News and Notes

Cole Tucker went 3-for-5 with a triple and a stolen base in the victory over the Nationals.

🚨Check this out🚨

Cole Tucker launches a triple off the top of the wall in center field and points at the bench after he hit it 🤣

The Buckos are feelin themselves, up 5-3 on the Nats ⚫️🟡🏴‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/95Ef1Cqa21

— Just Baseball (@JustBBMedia) April 14, 2022

Tucker had yet to record a hit this season before today’s game and he made up for lost time. Tucker is a former prospect of note with a bit of power and plus speed. He is a swiss army knife for the Pirate right now, but if he can carve out a full time role, he could become very interesting quickly.

Eric Hosmer went 4-for-5 in the victory over the Braves on Thursday. Hosmer is out to a scorching hot start, hitting .462/.500/654 early in the season. Unfortunately, it is a mirage. He has a .571 BABIP, a negative launch angle and a 60+% ground ball rate, which is why the hot start hasn’t resulted in any home runs. He will come crashing to earth pretty soon.

Luis Severino threw five scoreless innings versus the Blue Jays, allowing just two hits and two walks.

Luis Severino, Dirty 90mph Changeup. 👌

And is Fired Up. 🔥

Love it! pic.twitter.com/dZTLVgkBeY

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 15, 2022

This was vintage Severino who has worked his way back from Tommy John Surgery. His velocity is back and both his slider and changeup looked great. The question will be what his innings total will look like as I have no question about the talent.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today:  Reid Detmers at TEX

Detmers is coming off of a nice spring and gets a struggling offense in the Rangers in Texas. 

High Risk Options:  Brad Keller vs DET, Miles Mikolas at MIL, Mitch Keller vs WAS, Jake Odorizzi at SEA, Daulton Jefferies at TOR. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow:  Matt Manning at KC

Manning looked good in his first start and he gets a great matchup in Kansas City.

High Risk Options:  Adrian Houser vs STL, Nick Martinez vs ATL, Taylor Hearn vs LAA, Paul Blackburn at TOR, Josh Rogers at PIT. 

 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from the recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”