Roto Riteup: April 19, 2018

The Roto Riteup wants to remind you that deception is key:

On the Agenda:

1. Return of the Bat

2. Various News and Notes

3. Streaming Pitchers

 

Return of the Bat

The Atlanta Braves signed free agent Jose Bautista on Wednesday. He will reportedly head to extended spring training to work on playing third base for the club. Bautista hit .203/.308/.366 in 686 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year, but did hit 23 home runs. This is a low risk signing for the Braves who could easily flip him at the deadline if he can find some of his past glory.

 

Various News and Notes

The Cardinals called up prospect Tyler O’Neill to the big leagues on Wednesday. O’Neill is coming up to provide some outfield depth as Tommy Pham deals with a nagging groin injury. He has been scorching hot to start the season in AAA, hitting .388/.385/.837. He is is probably just an NL Only add right now, but if Pham hits the DL, then he could be more interesting.

Delino DeShields is on track to return early next week. He is scheduled to play in two minor league games over the next two days for AA Frisco and could conceivably return this weekend if things go fantastically. He is recovering from hamate surgery and is ahead of schedule. Hamate injuries can cause a bit of a loss of power, but most people are looking from the speed from DDS. #TheDentist

Anthony Rendon missed another game on Wednesday with a toe injury. He hasn’t played since last friday and could be on the track to play in the next few days, but also could end up on the DL if things don’t improve quickly.

Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-Day DL with migraine headaches. The move is retroactive to Sunday and his is eligible to return on April 25th. Buxton reportedly began suffering the headaches after arriving in Puerto Rico for the series against the Indians. He could have gotten them by watching film of himself hitting because he has been sickening at the plate. He has hit .195/.233/.244 with no home runs and four stolen bases this year. His defense is the only thing keeping him on the field prior to this. Maybe some time off will do him some good.

Carlos Gonzalez was replaced by Gerardo Parra in Wednesday’s game in the fifth inning. Cargo reportedly strained his hamstring during a diving catch in the fourth inning.

Consider him day-to-day at this time.

Anibal Sanchez was carted off the field after injurying his leg during a pregame warmup run.

This does not look good for Sanchez, but he wasn’t really fantasy relevant anyhow. This could open up a potential rotation spot for Luiz Gohara or Mike Soroka who would be fantasy relevant. Gohara had his first rehab assignment of the year in AA on Tuesday and Soroka has been very good in AAA over his first three starts of the year. Gohara is likely owned in most formats, but Soroka is worth a spec add in deeper formats in case he gets the call.

Rich Hill was placed on the 10-day DL with a cracked fingernail. Shocking, I know. Hill was reportedly upset with being placed on the DL, wanting to pitch through the injury, but the Dodgers are playing it carefully right now. It sounds like this may be just a minimum stay on the DL, but Hill has a long history now with these blister/fingernail issues, so keep an eye on this.

According to manager Mike Scioscia, Shohei Ohtani will make his next start Tuesday versus the Astros. Ohtani was forced out of his last start with a blister issue, but it appears to be ok. This is something to monitor as blisters have a way of becoming a nagging issue.

Freddie Freeman left Wednesday’s game after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. As of writing this, there was no update on the injury, but fantasy owners are close to the edge for sure. Freeman was once again starting off the year great, hitting .288/.468/.492 with two home runs and 12 runs and 12 RBIs.

 

Streaming Pitchers Options

A pitcher for today: None

Only six pitchers are less than 50% owned and most of them have bad matchups.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Andrew Heaney vs SF

At this point, you can start anyone versus the Giants and feel pretty safe.





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.

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Will H.
5 years ago

re: CarGo, that prompted me to look at McMahon, as it’s possible he’ll get some more regular starts. As an owner I’ve felt he was getting very few of his recent chances to start at home, as well as against RHP, so I took a look at his splits. Well, first, half his appearances so far this season were as a pitch hitter. That’s not helpful for anyone, let alone a rookie. Then 8 of 9 of his starts were away from COL. And his only home start, while against a RH starter, saw that starter only go two innings. The end result is only 38 PA, many as a PH, and only 5 of those PA at home vs. RHP (in total, not just starters).

Which is all to say that, if injuries keep giving him regular starts, I think he may actually be worth something in fantasy once he gets more favorable matchups and roles. Or maybe I’m just grasping at straws. I’m probably grasping at straws.

Rancho
5 years ago
Reply to  Will H.

I’ll have one of those straws, thanks

Joncarlosmember
5 years ago
Reply to  Will H.

Next week home vs SD and at Miami, I’d start the Rockies bullpen catcher if I could.