Roto Riteup: April 17, 2019

A live look at how my fantasy season is going:

This sums up what kind of night it's been for the Mets…. pic.twitter.com/ll3twphc3f

— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 17, 2019

 

On the Agenda:
1. The Sleeper and the Bust DFS Contest
2. Rumors!
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitching Options

 

The Sleeper and the Bust DFS Contest
Every Tuesday, Paul Sporer and I host a DFS contest for the Sleeper and the Bust podcast. Congrat to the winner jaystellmach!

Congrats to those of you that won money in the Sleeper and the Bust DFS contest! pic.twitter.com/QLq2dvgv6T

— Justin Mason (@JustinMasonFWFB) April 17, 2019

 

Rumors!
According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, Craig Kimbrel is nearing a decision on where he wants to play this season. Considering it has been quiet on the rumor mill for Kimbrel, he may be getting ready to lower his demands. The Braves and Brewers have expressed interest in the free agent closer and could both use him with their incumbent closers going down early in the season.

 

Various News and Notes
According to manager Dave Roberts, Hyun-Jin Ryu is expected to return to the team and the rotation next week. This is good news as Ryu was great through his first two starts before getting hurt in his third start versus the Cardinals. If he was dropped in you league, now is the time to pick him up.

David Dahl is expected to play in an extended training game today after playing in one yesterday. This is a big step for him to play on back-to-back days and he may be able to return to the team when first eligible on Thursday.

Jean Segura was removed from the game on Tuesday after suffering a hamstring injury. Manager Gabe Kapler said after the game that the strain is mild, so it does not appear to be serious issue. Consider him day-to-day at this time.

Freddy Peralta was placed on the 10-Day IL with a shoulder injury. Peralta was awful through his last two starts and this could have been a contributing factor. Peralta is expected to be back fairly soon, but with Jimmy Nelson on the mend and potentially back soon as well, Peralta could be shifted into a bullpen role or sent back to AAA.

According to manager Billy Eppler, Shohei Ohtani will not need a rehab assignment before returning. The Angels are planning to just give him live batting practice and simulated game since he is not going to play the field as he returns from Tommy John Surgery. This doesn’t appear to move up the timetable for his return which is expected to be in early to mid May.

Blake Snell has been placed on the 10-Day IL with a broken toe. Here is Snell telling the story of how he helped destroy my fantasy season:

Blake Snell his toe injury. #tbrays #raysup pic.twitter.com/kryEApQB0L

— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) April 16, 2019

As Snell stated, he is only expected to miss one turn in the rotation, so this does not appear to be a big deal.

The Red Sox has designated Blake Swihart for assignment. This was a surprising move considering he had been hitting well and the rest of the team hasn’t. Reports were that the Red Sox wanted to bring back Sandy Leon to help “handle their pitchers.” Swihart is likely to be claimed very quickly so hopeful he will be back with an organization that will actually use him.

 

Streaming Pitching Options (Less than 50% owned)
Pitcher for Today: Jeremy Hellickson vs SF
Hellickson was great in his first start of the season and gets the awful Giants at home.

High Risk Option: Jeff Samardzija at WAS, Spencer Turnbull vs PIT, Sandy Alcantara vs CHC, Trent Thornton at MIN, Lance Lynn vs LAA.
Lots of deeper league streamers or GPP plays. All have varying levels of risk and upside, but all worth consideration. I have them in order of preference.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: None

High Risk Options: Clay Buchholz at MIN
Cletus was pretty good in his first start of the season in spite of the lack of strikeouts. Don’t know that I want to trust him quite yet, but he is worth taking a shot on in deeper formats.