Roto Riteup: April 23, 2021
I am here for this 80-Grade pettiness :
Lucas Sims really threw out every pitch the ump gave him in the freezing rain 😂
(via @BallySportsCIN)pic.twitter.com/DYRzKVTYTJ
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 22, 2021
On the Agenda:
- Closer Chaos
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Closer Chaos
Stefan Crichton left Thursday’s start after being hit with a comebacker in his hand. He is expected to undergo further testing on Friday. Kevin Ginkel or Yoan Lopez will likely be first man up if Crichton has misses much time.
Lucas Sims gave up three earned runs in the blown save against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. The Reds bullpen is a bit of a mess right now with Amir Garrett struggling right now as well. Sims seems like he is still in the lead for the role, but I don’t know if I trust anyone there right now.
Quick Hits
Chad Kuhl was placed on the 10-Day IL with a shoulder injury. There is no timetable for his return at this time.
Ke’Bryan Hayes re-aggravated the injury to wrist and will not return as soon as expected. There is no timetable for his return at this point.
Dinelson Lamet was placed on the 10-Day IL with a forearm strain. Lamet was pulled from his start on Wednesday after two innings due to forearm soreness. The Padres are saying it will not need an MRI and that he feels good, but this is scary for a pitcher that recently had Tommy John Surgery.
Donovan Solano was placed on the IL with a calf strain. There is no current timetable for his return.
Brian Anderson was placed on the IL with an oblique strain. These types of injuries usually keep hitters out anywhere between 4-8 weeks depending on the severity and high risk for reinjury.
Mike Trout left Wednesday’s game with an elbow injury. Trout was hit in the elbow during an at bat, but was able to play through it for a little while. When the Angels pulled him, the game was out of reach, so this may be more preventive than anything else.
Miguel Sano was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain. There is no current timetable for his return.
Various News and Notes
Ryan Weathers threw 5.2 scoreless innings against the Dodgers, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six. Weathers wasn’t as impressive as the stat line suggests, but the Dodgers didn’t make him pay when he missed his spots. He threw mostly fastballs and sliders which worked in this outing, but he will need a reliable third pitch to be trusted.
Jesse Winker 2-for-4 with two home runs and two walks in the loss to the Diamondbacks. This was a slugfest and Winker did a lot of damage out of the leadoff spot. Winker has been crushing the ball, hitting .373/.429/.667 with three homers. His StatCast data is fantastic and while I haven’t been a Winker guy in the past, he looks like he is finally breaking out.
Alex Kirilloff and Nick Gordon are expected to be called up by the Twins on Friday. Gordon is not likely very fantasy relevant, but Kirilloff is a top ten prospect in baseball. Kirilloff is a hitter with very good power and a good hit tool as well and could easily be a 20 homer bat with a .280 average rest of the way. He should be picked up in any league he is still available in.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: J.A. Happ vs PIT
Happ has been decent this year, but this is more about pitching against the Pirates.
High Risk Options: Luke Weaver at ATL, Mike Minor at DET
Pitcher for Tomorrow: Brady Singer at DET
Singer has looked better as of late and he has a nice matchup in Detroit.
High Risk Options: Kyle Gibson at CHW, Robbie Ray at TB, Chris Flexen 플렉센 at BOS, Drew Smyly vs ARI.
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.
Reds bullpen is in tough shape right meow
Hissss
Jesse Winker broke out a long time ago, just nobody noticed.
wOBAs 2017-2020: .384 .366 .351 .396
He had a 146 wrc+ last year and for his career it’s 130, has never had an OPS below .800. Anyone who thinks he’s just now breaking out hasn’t been paying attention
Yeah, but putting aside production, part of a fantasy breakout is playing every day, which Winker didn’t do from 2017-2019. And when he got a full-time job last year, he was amazing…But only in August. In September, he slashed .104/.302/.250 with a .266 wOBA and 61 wRC+. I like Winker a lot too but 1 month hot/1 month cold as a full-time starter does not a fantasy breakout make and I think it’s fair to say that he still had more questions to answer heading into 2021.
I’ve had Winker pretty much every year and he is still a platoon bat, basically Joc Pederson with fewer strikeouts (though if the spike in Ks from last year sticks he is basically a dead ringer for Joc). He has a career 143 wRC+ against righties and 71 against lefties. He did put it together for a 140 wRC+ against lefties last year in 41 PA but that came with a 31.7% K rate and a .368 BABIP so I’m not totally buying it until I see a little more. This year he only has 9 PA against lefties (.143/.333/.143) and the Reds have consistently shown that they are not going to let him bat against lefties with any regularity. They have only faced 1 lefty this year and he did get the start that day but last year they sat him against lefties at the start and end of the year. They did let him hit against lefties when he had that torrid stretch in August but once he cooled off he went back to being a platoon bat (he ended up sitting 7 of the 13 times they faced a lefty last year). They face Kim today so we’ll see if he gets the start or not – my guess is yes since he’s hitting well but I may bench him anyway.
He’s so good against righties that he’s worth rostering but you have to accept that he’s not an everyday guy and is going to sit 15-20 times a year against a lefty and may be PH for in late innings a number of times as well.
With 2 lineups per week, I’m fine occasionally sitting Winker for my bench OF if he’s facing like 2/3 lefties that weekend. All he does in produce — especially in OBP format.
My 10 cents: I would easily start Minor @ DET before Happ vs PIT, and Luke Weaver is a No Thanks.
“J.A. Happ flirted with a no-hitter against the Pirates on Friday, allowing just one hit over 7 1/3 scoreless frames as part of a 2-0 victory.” NBC Sports
This idiot should have saved his terrible opinion for his internal monologue.
well, you called that one on Weaver.
Gregory Santos debuted! With 2k also. 98.5 mph with a nasty slider. Nice bullpen piece for the Giants.