Roto Riteup: April 20, 2023

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April 20, 2023

I mean, this whole thing:

On the Agenda:

  1. Various News and Notes
  2. Closer Kumite
  3. Streaming Pitchers

 

News and Notes

Max Scherzer was surprisingly less than chill after getting ejected for having the ol’ sticky hand. Probably because he’d already washed his hands, by request, with alcohol in front of an MLB official, before also changing gloves, again also by request. This apparently did not work and Scherzer was tossed when he came out for the fourth inning. Teams were informed by MLB in the spring that any ejection from a foreign substance violation would result in an automatic 10-game suspension; we’ll have to see how Scherzer’s inevitable appeal goes.

In the top of the first, Aaron Judge tooketh:

And then in the bottom, he gaveth:

The Guardians called up one of their top prospects, Brayan Rocchio, to provide infield depth with Amed Rosario continuing to deal with a balky back. Over his first 15 games at Triple-A this season, Rocchio slashed .344/.414/.459, with zero home runs and four stolen bases. But unless Rosario’s injury is more serious than Cleveland is letting on, Rocchio will have limited fantasy value in his current bench role.

The IL hits keep coming for the Brewers, who officially moved Garrett Mitchell to the list after he partially dislocated his shoulder sliding into third base during Tuesday’s game. There is no timetable yet for his return and Milwaukee called up Blake Perkins to replace him on the roster.

Brandon Nimmo had himself a day on Wednesday, going 5-for-5 with a two-run home run, two RBI and two runs scored. After signing a $162 million contract in the offseason, Nimmo has certainly been earning his keep to start the year, slashing .349/.481/.476 with 1 HR, 12 R, 10 RBI, and 3 SB.

The Cubs hung a dozen runs on Oakland and Justin Steele turned in another gem, striking out five over six innings and allowing one earned run. Steele now has a 1.44 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over his first four starts, picking up three wins and striking out 24 batters in 25 IP.

Do you know who is currently tops on the Tampa Bay Max EV leaderboard? That’s right:

Yandy Díaz hit another leadoff home run during Wednesday’s 8-0 rout over the Reds, bringing his home run total for the year up to six – it took him all the way until August to hit six home runs last season. It looks like he’s finally putting his gun show to good use, showing dramatic increases in lift in the early going. After living in the 7-8 degree launch angle land previously, Díaz has a ~15-degree average launch angle in 2023 with a 19% Brl% that is nearly double his career best.

Closer Kumite

Daniel Bard rejoined the Rockies after missing the start of the season while working through anxiety issues. He’s expected to slot back in at closer, if and when the Rockies have a chance to win another game.

Considering the number of my shares, I really (really) don’t want to jinx this…but is it starting to smell a little like José Alvarado SZN??? Alvarado has been Philadelphia’s best reliever by far in 2023 and has now picked up Saves in back-to-back games, needing a total of just 22 pitches to get them done. He now has a 1.08 ERA and 0.48 WHIP for the season, with 18 K in 8.1 IP, and is only rostered in 37% of leagues on Yahoo and 14% on ESPN.

Adam Ottovino picked up his second Save in a row after his co-closer, David Robertson, picked up two of his own over the weekend. Good luck guessing right with this situation from week to week, as it seems like Buck Showalter is currently stuck in infuriating mode.

Streaming Pitcher(s) for Today

Matt Strahm, PHI vs COL (18% on Yahoo)
Roansy Contreras, PIT vs CIN (20% on Yahoo)

Strahm’s line was bleh in his last matchup against the Reds (2.2 IP, 3 ER) but there is also more than meets the eye. In his first two innings, he’d only allowed one hit (a Wil Myer home run) but cut his thumb during warmups prior to the third, starting off by allowing a hit and a walk. Strahm struck out the next before the cut forced him from the game, and Andrew Bellati came in to promptly give up a three-run bomb to Myers. Five or six innings is his likely ceiling but I’ll happily roll with Strahm against a subpar Rockies offense. Colorado has now lost eight games in a row and has played 10 of their last 13 games at Coors, only scoring a total of five runs in the three games on the road.

Contreras began with a brutal schedule (@BOS, HOU, @STL) but bounced back against the Cardinals (6 IP, 2 ER, 6 K) after getting bombed by Houston (3.1 IP, 7 ER, 3 K) in his second start, while the Reds have been shutout in their past two games.

High Risk For Today: Tanner Houck, BOS vs MIN (16% on Yahoo)

Stream(s) for Tomorrow: Mitch Keller, PIT vs CIN (38% on Yahoo)





 

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David Klein
11 months ago

Buck is using Robertson smartly in real world baseball bringing him in the highest leverage spots of a game especially vs lefty bats but it is a fantasy team killer for sure. Nimmo is just a beast hopefully his arm/finger is okay after that headfirst slide into home plate and looking to be in pain

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