Roto Riteup April 21, 2017

Eric Thames continues to show off his power. He now has a league-leading eight home runs to and raised his ISO to .566.

Nick Stellini wrote about Thames highlighting his mashing capabilities and reminds you that Thames’ power has always been there, it’s just been shown off in another country.

“We get to see if a man who couldn’t cut it in his first try can succeed after dominating a foreign circuit. So far, he’s doing quite well.”

Yes, yes he is.

On the Agenda

1. News and Notes
2. No way, Jose
3. Familia’s Return

News and Notes

–Yoenis Cespedes‘ original thoughts of a cramp have turned into a hamstring (they’re so in right now). La Potencia, however, disregarded Manager Terry Collins’ original statements of it being serious and only plans to miss 2-3 days. He’s scheduled for an MRI Friday morning, but so far, it doesn’t look like it’s anything too worrisome from Cespedes’ demeanor.

-He’s baaaaack! Jason Kipnis will be activated from the disabled list Friday. After a solid rehab assignment across Double and Triple-A. He will return to the Cleveland roster at second base starting at the weekend series against the White Sox. Jose Quintana has the projected start and Kipnis is very successful against lefties, especially on the road. Even though he’s just coming back, he should be rather successful in his return.

No Way, Jose

Jose Iglesias is expected to be placed on the 7-day D.L. following a concussion and is still dealing with headaches. Dixon Machado took over his position and is part of the projected lineup during Friday’s outing against the Rays.

Dixon’s at a minimum salary across the daily game going up against a weaker pitcher, but beyond that, there’s nothing too exciting on him beyond his defensive skills. If you care about his minor league numbers, he had an impressive 13% strikeout rate last season in Triple-A.

Familia’s Return

Jeurys Familia has been activated off the restricted list after serving his 15-game suspension for the violation of Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.

He looked solid during a brief rehab assignment in Double-A fanning one and had a scoreless frame with the High-A affiliate this past weekend.

Collins said the team plans on “easing him back” into the closer role, so holding back on a start for owners is probably your best idea. But either way, Familia is coming off a solid season (despite a difficult postseason scenario) allowing just one home run with a 2.55 ERA and 84 strikeouts. Addison Reed will be shifting to a setup role.