Roto Riteup: April 24, 2015

Exactly twenty-five years ago the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit. As the Bill Nye theme song once said, science rules!

On today’s agenda:
1. Clay Buchholz’s excellent outing
2. Don’t overlook Yonder Alonso
3. Love/Hate Drew Hutchison
4. Streaming Pitching Options

Clay Buchholz’s excellent outing
Coming off of the heels of a shaky 2014, Buchholz didn’t hold much value coming into many drafts this season. His 5.34 ERA last year wasn’t as bad as his other estimators, though his FIP, xFIP and SIERA were all north of 4.00. Buchholz was roughed up in his second start of the season, to the tune of 10 runs (nine earned), however in his other three starts he’s given up just three runs in 19 innings. In yesterday’s start Buchholz sat down 10 Tampa Bay Rays batters on strikes while collecting 13 swinging strikes out of 104 pitches. It was his third start where he went at least six innings and struck out seven batters. Buchholz is beginning to look like an option to roster rather than merely stream. He’s already been picked up in 80% of CBS leagues yet he is still available in over 50% of ESPN and Yahoo! formats.

Don’t overlook Yonder Alonso
After yesterday’s 3-for-3 day plus a walk, Alonso is currently sporting a batting line of .400/.485/.491. Of course he’s benefited from a .438 BABIP which won’t last forever, however Alonso has made gains elsewhere. He’s drawn eight walks — plus two IBB — against seven strikeouts and has been hitting mostly fifth, sixth or seventh in the lineup. Seeing Alonso bat higher than sixth will probably be rare given his lack of prototypical first baseman power, but his solid average and strong on-base skills make him a viable and usually cheap option in DFS. The left-handed hitting Alonso is best played against right-handers — no real surprise there — as he’s hit a career .283/.347/.414 against them, good for 13% above league average. Traditional fantasy leagues can find value in his rate stats as well, however his less-than-stellar power leave counting stats to be desired. Alonso is owned in just 29% of CBS formats and less than 10% of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.

Love/Hate Drew Hutchison 
I’m experimenting with a new format for players who don’t quite fit my typical “quick thoughts” sections. Let me know in the comments if you prefer the text version or list shown today.

Love:
– Strikes out nearly a batter per inning
– 10.1% swinging strike rate in his career
– Excellent chance at wins thanks to Toronto’s offense
– 62% first strike rate this year, better than league average

Hate:
– Fly ball tendencies in that home park
– The four home runs allowed in 23 innings due to the above point
– For his career, opposite-handed hitters own a .339 wOBA and .451 SLG

Availability:
15% CBS
46% Yahoo!
66% ESPN

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Streaming Pitching Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Chris Heston at COL (Eddie Butler)
No, I’m not taking crazy pills, but I did just recommend a stream candidate in Coors Fields. Heston relies on his sinker over 51% of the time and can mix in a slider, curve and changeup as well. The breaking balls may not move as much due to the thin air, but according to Brooks Baseball, Heston’s changeup generates a swing-and-miss 15% of the time. I’m expecting a lot of grounders and seeing his change get thrown more than any other secondary pitch today.

A pitcher for tomorrow: James Paxton vs MIN (Trevor May)
Paxton should have an edge to pick up his first win as the Twins own the 26th wRC+ against southpaws in the first three weeks of action. He’s available in 30% of CBS leagues, 50% of Yahoo! formats and 85% of ESPN leagues.