Roto Riteup: August 13, 2012

Today’s Roto Riteup is a classic Monday edition. I can’t tell you what that means, but I can tell you that it’s totally true.

• Will Middlebrooks broke his wrist Saturday after being hit by a pitch from a member of the Cleveland Indians. Middlebrooks will not need surgery, but he will likely miss the remainder of the 2012 season. Middlebrooks has shown terrific power this year, and wrist injuries tend to linger and sap pop from hitters. Hopefully Middlebrooks will not be hampered next season, as he has the whole offseason to heal up and rehab his injured wrist. His keeper value will go down a small notch, but it will only be the equivalent of a couple of dollars in auction leagues.

• It’s almost like the Red Sox are psychic or something, because acquiring Danny Valencia for the Twins just days before Will Middlebrooks broke his wrist is something of a genius move. Valencia has had a miserable couple seasons after producing a .351 wOBA in his rookie season, but hopefully extended playing time in Fenway Park can get his career back on track. Valencia has some power, but his value mostly comes from his batting average. At the very least, Valencia is an interesting plug-n-play guy when he faces left-handed pitchers for the remainder of the year.

• Granted he’s only had three games by which to judge, but as a starter this year, Kris Medlen has a 25% strikeout rate and is getting 50% grounders when the ball goes into play. Count on Medlen remaining in the rotation upon Tommy Hanson’s return, with the Braves going with a six-man rotation to keep arms fresh for the postseason.

• The Miami Marlins are going to give Rob Brantly a shot to show what he can do in the big leagues, calling the left-handed hitter up to the majors. The 22-year-old catcher was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in the Anibal Sanchez trade, and he has been hitting the ball well since he switched squads. Brantly doesn’t appear to have the tools to be a stud catcher, but he should be able to hit for a decent average and pound some doubles while he’s at it.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here are a couple matchups you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Today: Alex Cobb at SEA
Cobb is a nice enough starter playing against an offense that can’t hit at home to save their life.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Matt Moore at SEA
I usually select cheap or infrequently owned starters, but this day doesn’t give me that opportunity. So, I’ll just continue to pick on my hometown Mariners.

A Hitter for Today: Domonic Brown at MIA (Nate Eovaldi)
Brown hasn’t hit a homer for Philly this year, and while I don’t necessarily think he’ll pick one up here, I do suspect he’ll have a nice game.