Roto Riteup: April 26, 2022

It’s a plane. It’s a train. It’s George Springer!

Springer turned Superman.

(MLB x @CapitalOne) pic.twitter.com/HizLkc3Fzw

— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2022

On the Agenda: 

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

 

Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest

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

 

COVID Issues

Tanner Houck was placed on the restricted list. With the Red Sox playing in Toronto, unvaccinated players can not travel with the team. Houck is expected to start on Friday versus the Orioles since he cannot make his start against the Blue Jays. 

Cavan Biggio was placed on the COVID-IL with COVID like symptoms. Biggio has reportedly not tested positive, so he could return soon if he gets a negative test and doesn’t show symptoms. 

 

Quick Hits

Bryson Stott was optioned to AAA by the Phillies on Monday. Stott struggled out of the gate and wasn’t playing regularly. He will get regular at bats in the minors to work things out and should return to Philadelphia at some point in the future. 

Eddie Rosario is expected to miss 8-12 weeks due to an eye issue that is going to require laser surgery. Rosario has been dealing with blurriness and is expected to undergo surgery in the next few days. He is droppable in most formats.  

 

Various News and Notes

Luis Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with what would turn out to be the game winning home run against the Brewers on Monday. 

What an insane first career HR for Luis Gonzalez. Towering shot gives Giants 4-2 lead in the 9th

@SFGiants
pic.twitter.com/1O8urwBPFO

— KNBR (@KNBR) April 26, 2022

Gonzalez had a pretty special moment for his first Major League home run and has been receiving a ton of praise from manager Gabe Kapler since his call up and in spring training. He was impressive in spring and in AAA before making his debut. With Steven Duggar on the IL and his ability to play all three outfield spots, he could get a decent amount of run with the platoon heavy Giants. There is power and speed in the profile along with a decent hit tool. This is a deep league play, but someone people should keep an eye on if Duggar is expected to be out for the next month or longer. The leash could be short if he struggles with Lamonte Wade Jr. expected to return soon as well.

Miles Mikolas threw seven scoreless innings in the no decision versus the Mets, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five.

Miles Mikolas, Wicked 86mph Slider. pic.twitter.com/IgDOnnImQL

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 26, 2022

Mikolas was great in this one. Working his four pitch mix to keep the Mets off balance and induce a lot of weak contact and use his defense to bail him out. Unfortunately for him, his defense failed him late in the game when he was already removed which cost him and the Cardinals the win. Mikolas doesn’t get many strikeouts, so the upside is limited, but he is going deep into games and has a great home park and infield defense behind him.

Dane Dunning threw 5.2 innings in the no-decision versus the Astros, allowing two earned runs on five hits and a walk.

Yes Alex Bregman, Dane Dunning did ꓘ you

Dunning off to a hot start! @Rangers | #StraightUpTX | BSSW pic.twitter.com/eCSfJNIEYX

— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) April 26, 2022

Dunning’s slider was great and four of his five pitches got a 30+% CSW, but his fastball velocity was at 88.1 mph and he never even hit 90 mph. It is great to see his secondaries perform so well, but this is a bit concerning. I love that he is now beginning to go deeper into games after last season in which the Rangers babied him, but if the velocity doesn’t rise, we are going to have some problems.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today:  Daulton Jefferies at SF

This is a tough matchup, but I have been impressed with him so far. Definitely some risk here. 

High Risk Options: Mitch Keller vs MIL, Daniel Lynch at CHW. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow:  Cristian Javier at TEX

Javier is joining the rotation and has looked great thus far.

High Risk Options: Glen Otto vs HOU, Michael Pineda at MIN, Aaron Ashby at PIT, Erick Fedde vs MIA, Michael Wacha at TOR, Drew Rasmussen vs SEA. 

 

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 the recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”