Roto Riteup: April 9, 2021

How can you not love baseball?

Was looking for video of this earlier: Kolten Wong batting with tears in his eyes in his return to St. Louis. Don't know that I've ever seen something like it. pic.twitter.com/NJnvK0B4Dw

— Drew Silva (@drewsilv) April 9, 2021

 

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Sticky Situation
3. Quick Hits
4. Various News and Notes
5. Streaming Pitchers

 

Closer Chaos

Trevor Rosenthal underwent thoracic outlet surgery on Thursday. This is awful news. It is likely a 3-4 month recovery. This is a surgery that has not had great results in terms of players returning in with the same skills they had previously. He is droppable in all formats. 

Anthony Bass blew the save against the Mets on Thursday. This was a weird end to a game. Bass served up a home run to Jeff McNeil that tied the game. He then loaded the bases before hitting Michael Conforto with a pitch on what may be the worst call I have seen by an umpire in a few years. He has now blown two saves already, but will have a little bit of a leash with the contract the Marlins signed him to. Yimi Garcia seems like the logical next man up and should be handcuffed to Bass for the time being. 

 

Sticky Situation

MLB compliance officers confiscated balls used by Trevor Bauer during his start on Wednesday. The balls are reportedly heading to MLB league offices for testing. This is the first case of enforcement of the new policy around foreign substances and the targeting of Bauer isn’t surprising. It remains to be seen what MLB can do in terms of punishment as there is no agreement in the collective bargaining agreement. We should know more soon. 

 

Quick Hits

Ketel Marte was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain. Marte came up lame when trying to beat a play at first on a ground ball. He was in a ton of pain on the field and had to be helped off. It was originally characterized as a cramp, but it is clear that it is a bit more serious. There is no time table for his return. 

Paul Goldschmidt did not play due to lower back tightness. Consider him day-to-day at this time. 

James Paxton was placed on the IL with a forearm strain. Paxton looked good at the beginning of his start before leaving with the injury. He reportedly has been recommended to get Tommy John Surgery. This is unfortunate news for him as he was working with good velocity through spring and looked to be back to his old self. He is droppable in all formats. 

George Springer suffered a quad injury while rehabbing his oblique injury. The injury sounds minor, but it will likely push his return back a week or two at least. 

Max Kepler left Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury. After the game, manager Rocco Baldelli stated that he was “doing fine”” but did not state what the injury was. Consider him day-to-day at this time. 

Kolten Wong left Thursday’s game after reaggravating his oblique injury. This is concerning as obliques are tricky injuries that can recur pretty easily. Consider him day-to-day for now, but the Brewers did sign Dee Strange-Gordon after the game which may mean they expect Wong to hit the IL. 

 

Various News and Notes

Jon Gray threw 6.2 innings versus the Diamondbacks, allowing one run on two hits and striking out five. Gray was great in this outing, not allowing a hit until the seventh inning. He now has two straight great outings in Colorado which might surprise some people but in 2019, Gray had a 3.46 ERA at home in 75.1 innings with 71 strikeouts. GRay is a former top prospect that has been bitten by being a Rockies pitcher, but he looks great and should be rostered in deeper formats. 

Zac Gallen reportedly threw 67 pitches in a simulated game. Gallen is working his way back from a stress fracture suffered while in the batting cage. He threw multiple curve balls during the outing as well which was apparently the pitch that caused him issue according to MLB.com. He could be back fairly soon as long as he does not have a setback. 

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Julio Teheran at CLE

This is definitely risky as the Indians have already seen Teheran once this season, but they have struggled offensively. 

High Risk Options: Johnny Cueto vs COL, Taylor Widener vs CIN, Austin Gomber at SF. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Logan Webb vs COL

Webb looked very good through spring and was impressive at points in his first start. Gets the Rockies at home which isn’t a bad matchup. 

High Risk Options: Jeff Hoffman at ARI, Mitch Keller vs CHC, Garrett Richards at BAL, Adrian Houser at STL.