Roto Riteup: April 19, 2015

This morning’s Roto Riteup author, despite holding a place in his heart for other sports, was unaware that the NBA Playoffs started yesterday.

On today’s agenda:
1. Denard Span to return today
2. “Aces” were rolling on Saturday
3. Early season struggles
4. Streaming Pitcher Options

Denard Span to return today
Span should join the Nationals lineup today, perhaps leading off the game against the Phillies. Span has yet to play this year thanks to an abdomen injury, but the centerfielder has completed a short rehab stint in Low-A and looks to be ready to go. Span hit .302 and stole a career high 31 bags in 2014, but owners should expect something closer to .285 with 20 steals this year. Prospect Michael Taylor has been filling in for Span, and though he’s shown some obvious signs of big league talent this year, he’ll be expected to work in the Triple-A — where he has just 44 ABs — for the balance of 2015.

“Aces” were rolling on Saturday
Yesterday saw a few top-line starters do sensual things to baseballs. To wit:

Jake Odorizzi: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 9 K
Jacob deGrom: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Masahiro Tanaka: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Felix Hernandez: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 12 K
Dallas Keuchel: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Watching a couple of innings of Odorizzi and Tanaka dueling was great fun. Odorizzi’s split-change was quite nasty, and Tanaka was sitting around 90 MPH with his fastball and throwing it in on hitters. The Rays lineup is nothing special, but Tanaka made them look like minor leaguers.

Early season struggles
All stats are through Friday

Mike Zunino: 35 PA, .121/.171/.152; 42.9% K
Zunino hit a homer yesterday, but his spring adjustments have not carried over into the regular season. He’s hacking.

Marlon Byrd: 38 PA, .132/.132/.158; 34.2% K
Byrd has yet to walk or hit a homer. That’s not a good combo.

Chris Owings: 36 PA, .152/.200/.182
Owings’ contact rate is an abysmal 64% (compared to 80% last year).

Russell Martin: 36 PA, .111/.306/.333
Martin’s struggles stem from a .067 BABIP, though his strikeout rate is north of 30%.

Albert Pujols: 41 PA, .171/.293/.400
Adrian Beltre: 48 PA, .149/.167/.298
Pujols and Beltre’s struggles are all BABIP (.138 and .140, respectively); their strikeout rates are each below the 10% mark.

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

A pitcher for today: Daniel Norris vs ATL (Shelby Miller)
I don’t love picking Norris at home, but he’s facing a Braves squad that should go down with a whimper.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Anthony DeSclafani at MIL (Wily Peralta)
DeSclafani is somewhat of a favorite here at FanGraphs, and getting him outside of GABP is a huge plus.