Roto Riteup: April 15, 2024

I will be doing this dance move in the club.

NEW NESTOR CORTES MOVE UNLOCKED! pic.twitter.com/d90G8iQwAC

— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2024

 

On the Agenda: 

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

 

Closer Chaos

Tanner Scott allowed three earned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one in the loss on Sunday. Scott has struggled mightily this season, allowing 10 walks in 7.2 innings this season and is sporting a 4.70 ERA. He may lose the closer job pretty quickly in Miami. 

 

Quick Hits

Marco Gonzales was placed on the IL with a forearm strain. There is no timetable for his return, but this often ends with Tommy John surgery. 

Cody Bradford was placed on the IL with back soreness. There is no timetable for his return. 

Jake Burger left Sunday’s game with an oblique issue. Consider him day-to-day for now, but often these injuries take about a month to recover from when players hit the IL. 

Dominic Canzone left Monday’s game with a shoulder injury. This sounds like it may lead him to the IL as the Mariners are reportedly calling up Jonatan Clase to make his Major League debut for the Mariners according to Kiley McDaniel and MLB Pipeline. Clase is a speedster who stole 79 bases between AA and A+ in 2023 and was hitting .308/.404/.641 with two home runs and two stolen bases in 22 games this season. 

Salvador Perez left Sunday’s game with a groin strain. Consider him day-to-day at this time. 

J.D. Davis left Sunday’s game with a groin strain. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Tommy Pham and the Chicago White Sox are close to a deal on a minor league deal according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Heyman. Pham will likely report to Charlotte to get some at bats before making his way to Chicago in the next couple of weeks. 

Julio Teheran signed a minor league deal with the Cubs according to Jesse Rogers and Jon Heyman. Teheran will report to Iowa and will likely be depth for the Cubs with Justin Steele out for a while once he is built up enough innings. 

 

Various News and Notes

Blake Perkins went 3-for-4 with a home run in the loss to the Orioles on Sunday.

Blake Perkins Insurance Salesman strikes again!!#SoloShotSwag #278 gave the Brewers the lead!#Brewers | #Orioles | #MLB
pic.twitter.com/xFU60w4bmI

— Dominic Manna (@DominicManna44) April 15, 2024

Perkins isn’t much of a prospect considering he is 27 and on his fourth organization, but he has played in four of the last five games for the Brewers and is running hot, hitting .385/.467/615 with two home runs and two stolen bases this season. The underlying skills aren’t great so I don’t expect him to keep it up for long, but he may be worth using in the short term.

Jose Buttó threw six scoreless innings on Sunday, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out nine in the victory over the Royals.

José Butto, Dirty Slider. 😨

7th K pic.twitter.com/fCcqCVYRzm

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 14, 2024

Buttó was fantastic, getting a 57% whiff rate on his slider and a 55% whiff rate on his changeup. If Buttó can rely upon both of these secondary offerings, he may find success, but because his fastball isn’t very good, he will have struggles. However, he has pitched well in the minors so this is something to build on and he is worth looking at as a streamer in most formats though he probably isn’t someone you want to roll with in his next start against the Dodgers in LA.

Michael Busch went 3-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Mariners on Sunday.

Busch WHACKED 💥

Make that FOUR consecutive days with a home run for Michael Busch! pic.twitter.com/qpBXcrGo2L

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 14, 2024

Busch has been on fire, hitting .327/.393/.694 with five home runs this season. Busch is a former top prospect that struggled to get to the Majors when he was part of the Dodgers organization because of his defensive shortcomings and the talent on the Los Angeles roster. While he won’t keep up this pace, there is a lot of talent in the bat and if he is on the wire, he is a priority pick up.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: None

There are a ton of high risk options, but none that I am super comfortable with. 

High Risk Options: Patrick Sandoval at TB, A.J. Puk vs SF, Louie Varland at BAL, Erick Fedde 페디 vs KC, Michael Lorenzen at DET, Ben Brown at ARI. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow:  Ryan Weathers vs SF

Weathers looked better in his last start and I am not afraid of the Giants offense. 

High Risk Options: Chris Paddack at BAL, JP Sears vs STL, Wade Miley vs SD, Jose Soriano at TB. 

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 my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”