Roto Riteup: April 4, 2023

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April 4, 2023

If Luis Robert could have done this for the five home runs that Michael Kopech did give up, my fantasy teams would have fared better yesterday:

On the Agenda: 

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

 

Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest

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

 

Closer Chaos

The Chicago White Sox announced that Liam Hendriks began his last round of chemotherapy on Monday. This is great news that Hendriks is progressing well and the team did not put him on the 60-Day IL which means he could theoretically be back by the end of May. At this point, it is foolhardy to think he will be back in the ninth inning that quickly, but in leagues where you can stash him on the IL, you should just in case. 

 

Quick Hits

Kyle Bradish left his start on Monday after being hit in the foot with a comebacker.

This was disappointing because Bradish looked pretty good early. X-rays were negative so it seems like he may have avoided serious injury. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Max Kepler left Monday’s game with knee soreness. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Lars Nootbaar was placed on the 10-Day IL with a thumb injury. Nootbaar had missed the previous two games with what was being called with what was being called a jammed thumb but he was unable to grip the bat without pain on Monday, so the team decided to put him on the shelf for now. This doesn’t sound like much more than a minimum stay.

Thairo Estrada left Monday’s game after fouling a ball off of his leg. Estrada had gone deep and stolen a base in the contest so it was unfortunate he had to leave the game. The Giants had built up a huge lead so it may have just been precautionary. Consider him day-to-day for now.

 

Various News and Notes
Joey Gallo went 1-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Marlins on Monday.

The Twins pounded Johnny Cueto and the Marlins for 11 runs. Gallo is hitting .308 with three home runs so far this season which is great, but part of it is just the fact he is hitting bombs as three of his four hits have been homers. He has shown improvement in the swinging strike rate, zone contact and zone contact even if the latter is still below league average. This may be just a hot streak, but even if Gallo can hit .240, that could come with 40+ homers. He should be picked up in most formats just in case this is real.

Myles Straw went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases in the victory over the A’s on Monday.

Straw has been really good in the early season, making a lot of contact and putting his speed to good use. He is walking at a high rate and striking out less than 10% of the time. He probably won’t keep this up, but he has the ability to steal a ton of bases if he can, which is what you need considering the influx of stolen bases this season.

Anthony DeSclafani threw six scoreless innings against the White Sox, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out four in the victory on Monday.

This was unexpected as it was announced earlier in the day that Tony Disco would be the opener and Sean Manaea would follow. DeSclafani ended up being so good, especially with the slider, and so efficient that he went deep into the game. It appears the Giants will roll with a six-man rotation of sorts which is a bit frustrating for fantasy, but DeSclafani is an intriguing add because he has been good when healthy and the home park in San Francisco is perfect for his tendency to be a bit homer prone.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Nick Pivetta vs PIT

This could definitely backfire, but it is a pretty juicy matchup for Pivetta. 

High Risk Options: Dylan Dodd at STL, Matt Manning at HOU, Jose Suarez at SEA, Kenta Maeda at MIA

Pitcher for Tomorrow: None

Some interesting high risk guys, but no one I am truly comfortable with. 

High Risk Options: Hunter Gaddis at OAK, Kyle Gibson at BOS, Kyle Muller vs CLE. 

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.”





 

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.

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murraygd13
1 year ago

Gibson is at Texas

1