Roto Riteup: April 16, 2025
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
On the Agenda:
1. Quick Hits
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers
Quick Hits
Endy Rodriguez was placed on the IL with a lacerated finger. There is no timetable for his return.
Matt Wallner left Tuesday’s game with a hamstring injury.
Wallner is expected to undergo imaging on Wednesday according to manager Rocco Baldelli, but Wallner called it tightness as opposed to a strain. Consider him day-to-day for now.
Carlos Correa left Tuesday’s game with a wrist issue.
He is expected to undergo imaging on Wednesday according to manager Rocco Baldelli. Consider him day-to-day for now.
Paul DeJong left Tuesday’s game after being hit with a pitch to the face.
Consider him day-to-day for now.
Various News and Notes
Brooks Lee 1-for-2 with a home run in the victory over the Mets on Tuesday.
Lee only came into the game when Correa left with injury, but he made his mark. Lee has talent, but with Eduard Julien playing well, he will have time finding a spot unless this Correa injury opens up more time. Lee has talent, but he needs full time run in order to accumulate.
Alan Roden went 2-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Braves on Tuesday.
Roden has started off his Major League career well, hitting .277/.340/.404 with this home run. Roden makes a lot of contact and does a good job of not striking out, but there isn’t a ton of power or speed but there is a bit of each if he can continue to play regularly, but with Daulton Varsho working his way back, Roden will need to continue to hit to keep his spot.
Jonathan Aranda went 2-for-3 with a home run in the loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday.
Aranda has started off hot, hitting .413/.481/.761 with three home runs in 54 plate appearances. Aranda’s underlying skills aren’t great, but he is getting helped by a .471 BABIP. He is hitting the ball hard and there is talent, but this might be a decent sell high point, but there is no shame in seeing where this goes with how well the Rays home park is playing right now.
Tyler Mahle threw six scoreless innings versus the Angels, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out nine in the victory on Tuesday.
Mahle was fantastic, getting a 55% whiff rate on his fastball and a 36% whiff rate on his splitter. Mahle has thrown 19.2 innings with a .92 ERA this season and 21 strikeouts while not allowing a home run. He does struggle with control at times, but it has yet to bite him. There is upside in his arm and he is finally healthy.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: Osvaldo Bido at CHW
Bido has pitched well and faces the worst team in baseball away from Sacramento.
High Risk Options: Nick Martinez vs SEA, Griffin Canning atMIN, David Festa vs NYM, Bobby Miller vs COL.
Pitcher for Tomorrow: None
Short slate with not many enticing options
High Risk Options: Tomoyuki Sugano vs CLE, Will Warren at TB, Michael Lorenzen at DET, Andrew Heaney vs WAS, Edward Cabrera vs ARI.
Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.
“Aranda’s underlying skills aren’t great” someone hasn’t checked the Statcast leaderboards this season…absolutely crushing and barreling the ball, also walking more and striking out a lot less. The only knock on him is he’s a platoon bat.
Also can you please double-check your video imbeds before posting, there’s virtually always at least one incorrect video in these posts and today there’s two.
sheesh.
Dude… why not offer a friendly edit on the videos and respectfully disagree and debate?
I pointed out an erroneous statement, refer to the stats, and went on to mention a recurring error in these posts that has been going on for years. I hope this results in better quality content going forward, the latter isnt’ necessarily the author’s fault but also a failure of editing.
Meanwhile these replies bring nothing of substance except tone policing. I’m not calling anyone names, no ad hominem, if you think I’m being disrespectful, well, I think you’re a wee bit too precious.
I dont think the statement is erroneous — it depends on the sample size you want to look at. If you think 54 plate appearances outweighs the previous ~300 PAs…sure
I’d also say that if you cant hit lefties, your underlying ability of being unable to hit southpaws is not great — and certainly doesnt make you that much of an asset.
If multiple ppl tell you you’re being discourteous, perhaps you should read the room…
In his previous ~300 PAs he also hit righties well, and if you think an above-average strong-side platoon bat isn’t much of an asset I’d love to play in a prize league against you and other genius analysts of your ilk.
Anyways, I read the room and seems that most people agree with me on both points I raised. I hope Justin does better going forward and doesn’t take my criticism as some personal attack, which it obviously wasn’t. Have a nice day!
Aranda had a massive turnaround in his underlying stats…last year. His 50FV prospect ranking was based upon his ability to hit, with a 55/60-grade hit tool and a 50-grade power tool. So far this year his stupendous statcast numbers compare to guys like Aaron Judge. So yeah, it’s just plain wrong at this point to claim that his underlying stats “aren’t great.”
Dont let the snowflakes melt your day. This author has a daily concept article that posts like maybe 2x a week. Readers have a right to expect good content and certainly one free of blatant errors like the videos. Glad it was called out.
Any time Justin refers to underlying skills, he is almost ALWAYS referring to z-contact%. Aranda’s 82.7% is 122nd out of 177 qualified hitters so below average. Average is usually around 85% or so.
I personally think Justin makes too much of z-contact%. The bottom of the list includes some of the best hitters in the game – as just 2 examples, Devers and Judge have both run well below average z-contact numbers for years. If you hit the ball hard, you can make up for low contact numbers and so far this year, Aranda is crushing the ball whether you’re talking EV (3rd) or barrels (6th).
Right? So he’s put up a top-5 OPS with that Z-contact%, sounds like he even has room to improve!