Roto Riteup: April 2, 2024

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April 2, 2024

How I feel every time one of my fantasy hitters is up to bat.

On the Agenda: 

  1. Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest
  2. Quick Hits
  3. Various News and Notes
  4. Streaming Pitchers

 

Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest

On most Tuesday’s and Friday’s and some other days, Paul Sporer and I will be doing a $5 draftkings game for anyone that is interested. 

 

Quick Hits

Jesse Winker left Monday’s game with an illness. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

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Esteury Ruiz was optioned to the minor leagues by the A’s. I have been a pretty vocal critic of Ruiz as a fantasy option, but this was very unexpected. He is droppable in most formats as there is no way to know when he will be back. 

Mike Clevinger signed a one year contract with the White Sox. He will likely head to the minor leagues to get stretched out, but should be in the rotation in a matter of weeks. 

Alek Thomas was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain. There is no timetable for his return. Jake McCarthy could become more interesting as a stolen base option with Thomas out. 

Josh Jung left Monday’s game after being hit with a pitch. 

Jung fractured his wrist according to manager Bruce Bochy. There is no timetable for his return but you can expect him to miss at least a month.

 

Various News and Notes

Shoto Imanaga threw six scoreless innings versus the Rockies, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out nine in the victory on Monday. 
Shoto Imanaga threw six scoreless innings versus the Rockies, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out nine in the victory on Monday.

I know it was against the Rockies, but this was a truly impressive debut for Imanaga. His splitter had a 80% whiff rate and he was able to command and control all his pitches. If you had any concerns about Imanaga translating to MLB, I think this answers it.

Ronel Blanco threw a no-hitter versus the Blue Jays, allowing just two walks and striking out seven in the victory on Monday.

Blanco was fantastic, throwing three pitches over 30% of the time which kept the Blue Jays hitters off balanced. His changeup was especially good, getting a 42% whiff rate. Blanco won the fifth starter role for Houston after multiple injuries to the rotation, but with outings like this, he could cement his spot in it long term.

Jackson Merrill went 1-for-3 and a home run in the loss to the Cardinals on Monday.

Merrill was a surprise addition to the roster for the Padres, but he has held his own, hitting .238/.304/.476 with this home run while playing in four games. Merrill doesn’t profile as having an elite tool for fantasy but can do a little bit of everything. If he can continue to play full time, then he could become a decent accumulator.

Brendan Donovan went 3-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Padres on Monday.

Donovan was an underrated draft asset this year as people discounted him after he missed so much time with injury. However, he is leading off, playing every day in St. Louis and could be a sneaky 15/10 guy with a good average and a lot of runs scored.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Reynaldo Lopez at CHW

I have never been the biggest fan of Lopez as a starter, but he looked good in spring and has a nice matchup. 

High Risk Options:  Louie Varland at MIL, Andrew Heaney at TB, Javier Assad vs COL, Alec Marsh at BAL. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: None

Not many great lower rostered options.

High Risk Options: Logan Allen at SEA, Zack Thompson at SD. 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”





 

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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ncbMember since 2020
1 year ago

Fuck the A’s

6