Roto Riteup: August 12, 2015

Yet another hump day. On the plus side of things, I started Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. It’s pretty awesome so far.

On today’s agenda:
1. Carlos Rodon cruises
2. Miguel Cabrera’s possible return date
3. Jose Fernandez to the disabled list
4. Streaming Pitching Options

Carlos Rodon cruises
Twirling seven scoreless innings of baseball against the Angels on Tuesday is a strong outing on its own. That he did it while allowing four hits and a single walk against a career high 11 strikeouts is all the more reason to be impressed. Rodon gathered 13 swinging strikes out of 107 total pitches with his slider accounting for a eight whiffs alone. Sure, the Halos haven’t hit southpaws particularly well this year — they rank 22nd in wOBA and 18th in wRC+ — though Rodon hasn’t exactly been a dependable pitcher either. His .356 BABIP against and 5.01 BB/9 hasn’t done his ERA any favors, and even with this strong outing Rodon owns a 4.61 ERA/3.72 FIP/3.77 xFIP on the year. I’ve streamed him where available on occasion, but I’m still worried about right-handed hitters laying off his change and waiting for a fastball or a slider. I’m admittedly lower on Rodon than the average baseball nerd as I worry about his overall control as evidenced even in yesterday’s outing where he posted a modest 11 first pitch strikes out of 26 batters faced. If you’re looking for strikeouts or K/9 down the stretch in a 14-teamer or deep 12-team league, Rodon offers that if you can handle your WHIP inflating some from his walks. He’s free to pick up in over 40 percent of CBS settings and more than 80 percent of ESPN or Yahoo! formats.

Miguel Cabrera’s possible return
The bad news is Cabrera — I refuse to call him “Miggy” because as an Oakland A’s fan, only Miguel Tejada can be known as Miggy — isn’t back just yet from his strained left calf, however he could be back in the Tigers lineup this weekend. He’s missed over five weeks of action thus far, but if it were up to him, he would have been activated yesterday. It’s a good sign that Cabrera feels ready to go as there is still enough season left for him to make a difference in these final seven-ish weeks.

Jose Fernandez to the disabled list
As expected, sad as it may be, the Marlins placed Fernandez on the 15-day disabled list with what is officially being called a right biceps strain, though it should be noted he was also dealing with some shoulder stiffness. No structural damage was seen via MRI, so there is some good news to take from this, however it is still a disappointing loss. The Marlins aren’t close to a playoff spot but baseball is less fun when Fernandez isn’t pitching.

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

A pitcher for today: Kevin Gausman at SEA (Hisashi Iwakuma)
Gausman is up against an M’s offense that rates a tick below average in both wRC+ and wOBA. He’s free to stream in more than half of CBS leagues as well as more than 85 percent of Yahoo! or ESPN formats.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Ervin Santana vs TEX (Cole Hamels)
Wellp, at the time of writing, four teams all had the same guy pitching tomorrow. His initials were TBA, leaving us with an awfully thin crop of stream candidates. I don’t love the Santana pick, but he is at home and the Rangers have the eighth highest road strikeout rate. I think I just broke my arm grasping at straws here, but que sera sera. Santana can be picked up in 40 percent of CBS leagues, 60 percent of Yahoo! formats and 70 percent of ESPN settings.