Roto Riteup: August 14, 2012

Today’s Roto Riteup recognizes that the Sun is not our friend, but our greatest adversary.

• Trevor Plouffe has returned from the disabled list, bringing his .266 ISO with him. Plouffe’s ailment had to do with his thumb, and he hasn’t played in a MLB game in three weeks. Thumb injuries can hurt power production, and that’s pretty much all he’s brought to the table this year. Be careful when setting expectations for the rest of the year.

• Mike Zunino is on the yellow-brick road to the majors, heading to Double-A after playing less than 30 games in Low-A. Zunino had 10 homers while playing for the Everett AquaSox, and he’ll be skipping a couple of stops on his way to Jackson. Zunino’s strikeout rate was a little higher than one would like, but when you’re walking 14% of the time and slugging .736, all is forgiven. If Zunino hits well in Jackson, then he could potentially start 2013 in Triple-A Tacoma and end the year with the Mariners. Expect Zunino to be the M’s everyday backstop in 2014.

• Andrew Bailey will finally be making his regular season debut in a Red Sox uniform, as the right-hander was recalled from the DL yesterday. Bailey missed the majority of the year after undergoing thumb surgery a day or two before the season began. As for what his role will be this year, look to the Bullpen Report for help.

• Three homers in Manny Machado’s first four games is not what I expected from the youngster, but he’s shown that his power is big league ready. He’ll have his downs, mind you, but it looks like the Orioles may have known more than we did when they called him up. He’s gone in all leagues at this point, and I suspect his value is going to be off the charts going into next year.

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: 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 Pitcher for Tomorrow: Bud Norris at CHC
Norris isn’t a safe option, but he should pick up some strikeouts.

A Hitter for Today: Erick Aybar vs CLE (Ubaldo Jimenez)
It’s not often I pick a shortstop, but here you go.