Roto Riteup: April 9, 2026

Four homers in his last five games. Mama, there goes that man.

On the Agenda: 

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

Closer Chaos

Another episode of “Who’s Save Is It Anyway?” for the Twins as this time it’s lefty Kody Funderburk. There has been little clarity on ninth inning duties in Minnesota all winter and so far this spring. Before Opening Day, it was presumed to be a two-man committee with Cole Sands and Taylor Rogers. Four different closers have closed games out for the Twins. It was Sands that first Saturday, then three consecutive ones in this series against the Tigers: Cody Laweryson (Monday), Justin Topa (Tuesday), and Funderburk (Wednesday). Heading into Wednesday’s contest, their bullpen had the AL’s highest walk rate (15%). This might just be the murkiest bullpen in the Majors.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel in Arlington, but it might take some time to see it. Preseason plans of a Robert Garcia (LHP) and Chris Martin (RHP) committee have fallen to the wayside. Garcia has yet to receive a save chance and Martin blew his only one. Veteran southpaw Tyler Alexander earned the first two of the season last week, but he’s a middle reliever. Lefty Jacob Latz was booted from the rotation after one start, ceding to Kumar Rocker. Latz hasn’t allowed a hit in four appearances (five innings) and could move his way up the leverage ladder as the top lefty ahead of Garcia soon.

Our #oldfriend Jakob Junis shocked the fantasy world by converting a save opportunity on Monday and again on Tuesday. A below average starter in Kansas City from 2017-2022, Junis slowly shifted to relief work with the Giants from 2022-2024, and fully converted with the Guardians in 2025, producing a 2.97 ERA despite a 4.21 xFIP.  Junis doesn’t fit the profile of a typical closer. He’s primarily a slider/changeup guy with a subpar swinging-strike rate, but Junis does has plus control (career 6% walk rate). With Junis unavailable on Wednesday, the Rangers’ 15th overall draft selection in 2018 Cole Winn stepped in to earn the save against the Mariners. Winn fits the archetype of a traditional closer more than Junis and has five pitch types at his disposal, most notably a sweet sinker. I’m biased here as I picked up Winn for $5 ($1,000 budget) in my Main Event on Sunday. I think Winn steps in here as the sole guy before end of April.

Quick Hits

Zach Eflin received a second opinion on his right elbow earlier this week and it matched the first opinion. Eflin underwent Tommy John surgery on Thursday and will be out until sometime next summer.

Cubs outfielder Ian Happ missed two games tending to a bruised heel. The Cubs are off on Thursday and manager Craig Counsell expects Happ to return to the lineup on Friday when they kick off their home series against the Pirates.

The Astros rotation continues to take hits. A few days after losing Hunter Brown to a strained shoulder for a few weeks, Cristian Javier was removed from Wednesday’s game after one inning due to right shoulder tightness. The Astros need a starter for Sunday. Though many of us are pining for Spencer Arrighetti, he is expected to start at Triple-A Sugar Land today. Perhaps they call Arrighetti up next week to keep him on regular rest and have Cody Bolton and Ryan Weiss 와이스 manage the bulk of Sunday’s innings.

Various News and Notes

Byron Buxton might finally be waking from his early-season slumber. Before Wednesday’s contest, he was slashing .158/.233/.263 with 1 RBI and no home runs. Buxton went 3-for-4 with three runs against the Tigers on Wednesday, his third consecutive day as the leadoff man for the Twins after mostly batting second.

The Rockies pulled off a minor miracle as they swept the hottest team in baseball, the Astros. It was their first series sweep since early June of last season and their fourth win in a row. That Barney mink is looking fresh.

Rockies sweep the Astros!

It's Colorado's first sweep since last June 2-4 in Miami pic.twitter.com/bjxD5jrPhJ

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 8, 2026

Troy Johnston went 6-for-14 with a homer, four runs and three RBIs in the series.

The Keep Joe Boyle in the Rotation Fan Club was quiet yesterday as Boyle finally met his match in the form of “slugger” Nico Hoerner and the Cubbies.

It was a leadoff shot — Hoerner’s first of the season. Boyle lasted 4.1 frames, serving up five earned runs (six unearned) and walked three batters.

Streaming Pitchers

Pitcher for Today: Randy Vásquez, San Diego Padres (40% on Yahoo)

The Rockies’ mountain high will take a tumble as they leave that lovely Denver elevation behind for sunny San Diego and a date with a resurrected Vásquez. Vásquez showed improvement in the second half of last season, had a strong spring training, and has been lights out in his first two starts. His fastball velo is up a tick from last season and though it’s the most microscopic of sample sizes, Vásquez’s swinging-strike rate through two games is 15.5%. His career mark prior was 7.2%.

Other Options: None

Perhaps Rhett Lowder (20%) has a strong follow-up outing against the Marlins in Miami, but I can’t soundly recommend it. Same for Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (16%) and his 0.00 ERA, against the Mets.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Chad Patrick, Milwaukee Brewers (19%)

Listen, vanilla is a good flavor! Patrick doesn’t have the hottest stuff, nor is he a fireballer, but he often gets the job done. He should handle business at home on Friday against the Nationals where the Brewers should be hefty favorites.

Other Options: Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves (46%)

If you give me a choice between 1) 2026 Elder Breakout and 2) 2026 Elder Inevitable Implosion, I’ll take the latter. Though that time is not yet here. It’ll happen when we’ve fully bought into his transformation, then it’s BOOM. This is a streamable home start against a vanilla Guardians offense (it really is a good flavor).