Roto Riteup: April 9, 2016

It is the first full weekend of baseball! Watch out for rain delays and managers pulling pitchers during a no-hitter.

On Today’s Agenda:

1. Schwarber tears ACL, LCL
2. Degrom leaves early
3. Trevor is having the best week ever!
4. Various News and Notes
5. Streaming Pitchers

Schwarber tears ACL, LCL
Kyle Schwarber is done for the season after news that he tore both his ACL and LCL in a collision with Dexter Fowler on Thursday Night. Schwarber had yet to play at all behind the plate, which all but dashes his chances at regaining eligibility at catcher for 2017. In shallower formats, check to see if Jorge Soler is available as he looks to be the obvious replacement. However, Tommy La Stella could receive added playing time until Javier Baez returns from the DL, if Joe Maddon decides he would prefer to move Kris Bryant into the outfield.

deGrom leaves early
Coming into Friday, there were concerns that Jacob deGrom might have to leave his scheduled start early due to the impending birth of his child. News came back prior to first pitch that he was likely in the clear as his wife was not expected to go into labor on Friday, according to her doctor. However, deGrom was forced to leave after six well pitched innings due to stiffness in his lat. His average fastball velocity was also down to 92.8 mph. Terry Collins and deGrom each brushed off both concerns, but keep a close eye on whether or not he is able to make his next scheduled start.

Trevor is having the best week ever!
After adding two more home runs on Friday, Trevor Story has lit the fantasy baseball world on fire. The question becomes, how long can he keep it up? The Rockies have a home stand going on and there is no reason he couldn’t stay hot through it, but if you can sell high before they start their next road trip, it would be recommended. After adapting to the look of pitches in Colorado, he could struggle once they return to the road. I have seen some amazing trades pulled off for Story in recent days, so it might be time to cash in. See, I even avoided a “Story” pun!

Various News and Notes
Dave Roberts pulled rookie Ross Stripling with 100-pitches in the eighth inning in spite of the fact he had a no-hitter going. The move blew up in Roberts’ face when Trevor Brown hit a two-run home run off of Chris Hatcher in the ensuing at bat. The Dodgers would go on to lose 3-2 in the 10th inning. #EvenYear

Korean imports Byung-ho Park and Dae-Ho Lee both hit their first career MLB home runs. Expect more to come along with a lot of strikeouts.

Ender Inciarte left Friday’s game with a strained hamstring. Drew Stubbs could be in for some added playing time if it is serious or maybe even Mallex Smith could see a call up…

Steve Cishek gave up the go-ahead home run to Chris Coghlan. If you are looking to speculate on saves, “easy option” might be Joaquin Benoit, but the sneaky option is Tony Zych who was electric in spring and has yet to give up a run so far this season.

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

A pitcher for today: Vincent Velasquez at New York (N)
Velasquez earned the fifth starter’s role after an extremely strong spring. While the matchup isn’t amazing, it is definitely a better park than in Philadelphia and there is enough swing and miss in the Mets lineup to provide some nice upside.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Jarred Cosart at Washington
Cosart had a nice spring, striking out almost one per inning. Sure the Nationals have a good lineup, but if you are looking for a contrarian play in a GPP, he will be extremely underowned. He’d bet on himself for sure, “allegedly.”