Roto Riteup: April 3, 2024
Books trip to Pittsburgh
The Pirates have a new food item called "The Renegade"
It's a foot-long hot dog topped with potato pierogis, pot roast, pickles and onions 😳Who thinks they could eat the entire thing?
(via sterls_mc/IG) pic.twitter.com/B7rMWMtsVr— MLB (@MLB) April 2, 2024
On the Agenda:
- Closer Chaos
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Closer Chaos
Michael Kopech threw 1.2 innings versus the Braves, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one to register his first save of the season. Kopech wasn’t super sharp, giving up a home run to Marcell Ozuna, but he got the job done. It seems like Kopech will be in the mix for saves, but the White Sox are clearly looking at him as a multi-inning guy as well.
Quick Hits
Joey Bart was traded to the Pirates for Austin Strickland. Bart was designated for assignment by the Giants and the Pirates are in need of some catching depth with Yasmani Grandal on the IL. Bart could be DFA’d again once Grandal is healthy, but this is worth monitoring as Bart is a former top prospect.
Various News and Notes
Brice Turang went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and a walk in the victory over the Twins on Tuesday.
Brice Turang with two beautiful pieces of hitting so far.
A single to right-center and a double going the opposite way.
He has been quite hot to start the season.
pic.twitter.com/Dq0BdH0yaP— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) April 2, 2024
Turang has been stealing everything in sight this year, going a perfect 6-for-6 on the basepaths. Turang is making a ton of contact in the zone and could find himself moving up the lineup if he can keep it up. He is widely available in 10 and 12 team leagues and should be a priority pick up if you need speed.
Alex Marsh threw seven innings versus the Orioles, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out five in the victory on Tuesday.
Alec Marsh
Future Front of the rotation starter in my eyes pic.twitter.com/SDdyNW5f4j— Hollywood Muse 🎥🎬 (@RoyalsMuse1) April 3, 2024
Marsh was excellent, throwing five different pitches with none of them being thrown over 25% of the time or less than 10% which kept the Orioles guessing. His sweeper and slider were especially effective getting 60% whiff rate on each. Marsh has a great home park and if he can continue this pitch mix, he could become an effective pitcher for fantasy in spite of the lower strikeout rate.
Davis Schneider went 1-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
Down to their last out … Davis Schneider's BLAST gives the @BlueJays the lead in the 9th! 😮 pic.twitter.com/oPHMaMIcJc
— MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2024
Schneider was a semi-popular sleeper candidate for some, but he has struggled with strikeouts throughout his minor league and major league samples. He is playing some and if he can continue to show contact and power improvements, he could find himself as a full time player in a really good Toronto lineup.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: None
Not many great lower rostered options.
High Risk Options: Logan Allen at SEA, Zack Thompson at SD.
Pitcher for Tomorrow: None
Short slate with not many good options.
High Risk Options: Ryan Weathers at STL, Josiah Gray vs PIT, Martin Perez at WAS.
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.
Last night for Toronto Garcia entered way early while Green entered in the 8th and finished off the 9th (earning a W). Does that indicate maybe Green is the guy for now in TOR? And who’s a better saves spec – Green or D Robertson in TEX?
Garcia came in against the 7-8-9 hitters but it was a high leverage spot (2 on, 0 outs, down by only one run). I think it still shows a high level of trust in Garcia. I don’t think we know anything for sure this early in the season but it looks like Garcia might be the guy who puts out fires earlier in games whereas Green gets later innings even if it’s lower leverage. But way too early to make out much from the usage history.
I think Green drops down in the hierarchy once everyone is healthy in Toronto whereas Robertson has a shot at becoming the closer eventually, but that’s just speculation from some rando on the Internet.
Completely agree here with misgrad99. I think Garcia is the high leverage guy and could get saves until Romano is back, but it is probably pretty fluid.
Does PNC Park have takeout containers? Because give me five of those dogs, if so.
These are the answers we need.
I like that you’re providing the word doc of past picks. That’s one thing that I think is missing in general for the fantasy baseball industry as a whole, performance record. Much appreciated on the transparency there.
Thank you! I started doing it because I used to get comment saying my picks always suck and I wanted to know if they actually did lol. I think transparency is important for us in the industry.
You list this for both today and tomorrow:
High Risk Options: Logan Allen at SEA, Zack Thompson at SD.
Both play today so maybe just a cut and paste error. Just sharing a heads up since I noticed.
Fixed! Thank you!
Thoughts on Crochet dominating Atlanta? Could he be a top 50 SP going forward? Top 40?
That cutter completely changes his outlook. It’s in a perfect velocity and movement band between his fastball and slider. I’d still be wary, but he’s definitely less risky and more appealing now. The complete lack of a working change of pace does worry me a bit.
IP will be the determining factor of how valuable he is. Not necessarily quality. He’s very unlikely to go over 120 IP imo. Don’t know where that puts him, but make of it what you will.