Roto Riteup: April 17, 2015

I can only hope everyone reading today’s Roto Riteup has seen the new teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but if not, go ahead and watch it.

On today’s agenda:
1. Welcome to the big leagues, Kris Bryant
2. The return of Danny Salazar
3. Carlos Gomez to the disabled list
4. Streaming Pitching Options

Welcome to the big leagues, Kris Bryant
It took a couple of weeks, but the Chicago Cubs have apparently decided to call up the uber-prospect known as Kris Bryant today. The injury to Mike Olt is what brought about this decision, though Bryant probably could have opened the season as the Cubs’ third baseman. No official word has been handed down from the team, but as Carrie Muskat reports, Bryant contacted his family and said his “dream is coming true.” Presuming he is in fact getting the call, count me among the many who are eagerly looking forward to watching him in the majors.

The return of Danny Salazar
After a surprising move by the Cleveland Indians to send Salazar down to Triple-A to start the season, the club will bring him up for tomorrow’s game as they travel to Minnesota to face the Twins. He’s getting the call in order to give Carlos Carrasco, who was struck by a come-back line drive, an additional day of rest. The Indians are calling it a spot start so count on him being sent down immediately, but if he performs well, he is worth hanging on to. A lot of people bailed on Salazar when the Tribe sent him down, but I think he’ll contribute significant innings this year.

Carlos Gomez to the disabled list
Our own Jeff Zimmerman mentioned this possibility in yesterday’s MASH Report, but the Milwaukee Brewers made it official by placing Gomez on the 15-day DL with a hamstring defect. Gomez felt his right hamstring “pop” en route to first base on Wednesday and was held out of yesterday’s game as a result. A closer look by the team’s doctor revealed a small tear and thus the decision was made to shelve him. The Brewers haven’t announced a timetable, as the team staff applied a cortisone shot and will wait to re-evaluate Gomez next week.

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Streaming Pitching Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Jimmy Nelson at PIT (Jeff Locke)
With apologies to CBS owners where Nelson is already owned in 75% of leagues, he is a great stream option in the other two major sites. Nelson’s 35% ownership rate in Yahoo! and 10% in ESPN don’t do his solid strikeout rate justice. He may allow some walks here and there, but if his curveball is on, Nelson could repeat his nine strikeout day he had against Pittsburgh six days ago.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Danny Salazar at MIN (Phil Hughes)
As noted above, Salazar will be making a spot start, but I’ve been a fan of his for some time. He’s available in 60% of CBS formats and over 70% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.