Roto Riteup: April 28, 2017

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April 28, 2018

“Fly Like an Eagle” into your weekend!


On the Agenda:
1. Ohtani’s Early Exit
2. Multi-HR Games
3. Various News and Notes
4. Injury Quick Hits
5. Streaming Pitchers

 

Ohtani’s Early Exit
Shohei Ohtani was removed from Friday’s game against the Yankees with what the Angels are calling a “mild left ankle sprain.”


Prior to leaving, Ohtani swatted his fourth round-tripper of the season in the second inning off of Luis Severino:


He’s scheduled to make his next start on the mound on May 1st against the Orioles. The Angels don’t think the injury will prohibit him from doing so. Right now we’d call him day-to-day.

 

Multi-HR Games
Whenever multiple players hit more than one home run in a day, I like to cover it. We had a few of those occurrences on Friday:

1. Odubel Herrera: 2-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI
Herrera now has a .348/.392/.920 line with 3 HR, 16 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB, and 16/6 K:BB ratio. Things could’ve been even better tonight if not for, you guessed it, RONALD ACUNA’!!!!

2. Jose Peraza: 4-for-6, 3 R, 2 RBI
Peraza now has a hit in five-straight games, with three being of the multi-hit variety. The homers were his first two of the season, to with a .286/.311/.719 line overall. Joey Votto approved of Peraza’s night, and even got on base all six times to show his appreciation.

3. Pedro Alvarez: 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI
Alvarez is now up to four longballs on the year with a .218/.338/.473 line. He’s playing primarily against RHP and still is below league average (96 wRC+). He probably wasn’t used in many spots on Friday, so:

4. Matt Davidson: 2-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI
Davidson must love hitting in Kauffman Stadium, as he now has seven home runs in four games there this season!!!!! No, that’s not a typo. While he’s 16th in Barrels (per Statcast) and tied for third in home runs (9), he continues to strikeout at a massive rate (fifth-most among qualified hitters coming into Friday). His BB% is improving (14% now, 4% in ’17) so fantasy owners in OBP formats have an obvious use for him, but only time will tell if his approach change is here to stay.

 

Various News and Notes
Tony Cingrani was blasted for 4 ER on 3 H with 1 BB to take a blown save and loss against the Giants on Friday. The Bullpen Report will likely dive into this more, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described Cingrani’s velocity issue in the inning as him having a “dead arm.”


The Dodgers bullpen has been in disarray all year, with Cingrani being one of the bright spots in high-leverage situations. Most fantasy owners don’t own him as of now, but need to monitor the situation for better or for worse. Remember, he dealt with a shoulder issue in Spring Training.

Matt Harvey gave up a solo home run to Franchy Cordero in the ninth inning of Friday’s game against the Padres. In 3 IP (two outings) since being demoted to the bullpen he’s allowed 2 ER on 3 H with 2 K and 2 BB. He’s not worth holding in almost any format at the moment.

The Reds may have beat the Twins on Friday, but Luis Castillo’s start was not one of the reasons why. He went 1 IP, giving up 5 ER (1 HR) on 6 H with 2 BB and 0 K. He’s now allowed a home run in four-of-six outings (1.6 HR/9 coming into Friday) and has more than 4 K in two starts as well. He’s getting unlucky in the LOB%, but there’s an almost two mph drop in velocity right now compared to last season, and despite getting ahead more in counts he’s just missing spots, allowing hitters to capitalize. Things have to get better barring injury. Fantasy owners should pick his spots wisely, and possibly buy if other owners are out after a month’s worth of games.

Tyler Anderson was removed from Friday’s game against the Marlins in the second inning after experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath. Rockies manager Bud Black said he had a “heartbeat issue” after the game, but no one from the Rockies medical staff is pegging this as a serious issue quite yet.

Blake Snell had a strong outing against the Red Sox on Friday (7.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K) and has now allowed 4 ER over his last 3 GS overall, with a whopping 24/1 K:BB ratio over 20.2 IP during that span. The possible breakout candidate made strides in the second half of 2017, and is well on his way to rewarding fantasy owners this year.

Sean Manaea followed up his no-hitter against the Red Sox with seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball, striking out seven with one walk. He’s now allowed only 1 ER over his last 3 GS (23 IP) with 21 K and 5 BB. He’s obviously not this good, and has never surpassed 160 IP in a season. With that said, he’s only 26 with a good amount of upside in his pedigree/arsenal. Similar to Snell, this could be the breakout we’ve been hoping for – especially if he stays relatively healthy the majority of the year.

 

Injury Quick Hits
Matt Kemp left Friday’s game with tightness in his left quad. He’s day-to-day.

Martin Prado was activated from the disabled list (knee surgery) and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout against the Rockies.

Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with a double and a strikeout in his return to the Red Sox lineup.

Dee Gordon is day-to-day after banging his knee on the outfield wall on a Yonder Alonso home run on Friday. I don’t usually laugh at players hitting walls but, I mean c’mon.

D.J. LeMahieu was removed from Friday’s game with a hamstring injury – the Rockies don’t think it’s overly serious — he’s day-to-day.

According to Ken Gurnick, Corey Seager is still feeling pain in his hip flexor area, but should be able to return to the lineup today.

Mac Williamson is in the league’s concussion protocol and was held out on Friday. Gorkys Hernandez replaced him in the lineup.

Christian Villanueva returned to the lineup on Friday from a sore hamstring.

Shawn Kelley played catch on Friday. He was recently diagnosed with ulnar nerve irritation and will likely take some time to get back on the diamond.

Joaquin Benoit has resumed a throwing program after suffering from a strained forearm in March. He’s still likely a couple weeks away from helping the Nationals bullpen.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said that Adam Eaton’s recovery from a left ankle bone bruise has been, “touch-and-go.”


There’s no clear timetable for his return. Fantasy owners will once again have to exercise patience with a guy in Eaton who was killing it to begin the year.

Josh Donaldson threw to bases on Friday according to manager John Gibbons. He should begin a rehab assignment relatively soon.

Anthony Rendon played catch on Friday and is eligible to come off the disabled list on Sunday. The Nationals haven’t given any indication as to whether that will happen or not, but the fact he’s doing baseball activities is a good sign.

Jonathan Schoop will play in extended Spring Training games until May 4th, where he’ll then begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie. The second baseman expressed that his oblique injury has been pain-free for over a week. He expects to need only three rehab games before being ready for MLB action (May 8th).

 

Streaming Pitchers
A Pitcher for Today: Jack Flaherty @ PIT

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Zack Wheeler @ SD
Wheeler has struggled his last two outings, but gets a team in SD that leads the league in K% (28%) and rank 25th in wOBA at home (.295).





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

4 Comments
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dope281game
6 years ago

anything on tyler anderson leaving his start early yesterday vs marlins

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Pirates HurdlesMember since 2024
6 years ago
Reply to  dope281game

Its in there, some kind of irregular heartbeat incident

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