Roto Riteup: August 16, 2016

Start your day off with some Adrian Beltre, who is a damn treasure.

On the agenda:
1. Green shuts down Jays
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Green shuts down Jays
The Blue Jays were stifled by Chad Green, who struck out 11 batters over six shutout innings. That outing included 16 whiffs, nine of them on Green’s slider, which hasn’t, to this point, been a great pitch for him by PITCHf/x pitch values. That’s encouraging, especially since he threw the slide-piece 43 times (and has thrown it 40 percent of the time this year). It’s easy to get too excited about prospects from the Yankees (or Red Sox), but the 25-year-old has shown some serious promise this year – his strikeout rate spiked in Triple-A as he posted a 1.52 ERA over 16 starts, and his ERA at the MLB level is now down to 4.05. The home-run issues that have plagued him with New York are also uncharacteristic compared to his minor-league track record, and his solid ground-ball rate should theoretically help him mitigate that. He’s only two-percent owned if you want to give him a spin next time out.

Various News and Notes
Shin-Soo Choo is right back on the disabled list after less than two weeks back. It’s the fourth time this year the Rangers outfielder has hit the shelf, and this time it’s due to a fractured left forearm he suffered when hit by a pitch on Monday. It’s hard to spin the season as anything but a bummer for Choo, even with a 111 wRC+ in the 45 games he did manage to play. With four more years and $82 million left on his deal, the Rangers will look for Choo to right the ship next year. In the meantime, there are plenty of bats looking to fill his playing time in Texas.

Jayson Werth has reached base in 43 consecutive games. Hunter Pence made this ridiculous catch. It’s a good time for Jesus-adjace outfielders.

The Athletics will officially be without Jed Lowrie for the remainder of the season, as he’s set for surgery to remove a bunion. Seriously. This has to be up there on the list of embarrassing injuries to hit the DL with, at least if you don’t have grandkids yet. When healthy, this was likely Lowrie’s worst season, as he struggled to a .636 OPS and hit just two home runs in 87 games. With the injury track record and drop in performance, it might be difficult to find excitement for the 32-year-old entering 2017.

In better news, Garrett Richards may be on his way to avoiding Tommy John surgery. After opting to try to rehab his torn UCL, Richards is now seeing “significant improvement” and has progressed to throwing from 45 feet. He could be headed to the AFL, or at least instructional league, if all goes well. Keep an eye on this story throughout the offseason.

In more good news, the Indians are set to activate Danny Salazar on Thursday. Salazar was struggling a bit through elbow soreness before his time off, and the Indians will have to hope the break got him right ahead of the stretch run. It’s not as if many owners have given up on him given the investment (the season-long numbers are still terrific), but this is good news, assuming he’s back somewhere close to form.

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

A pitcher for today: Trevor Cahill vs MIL (Jason Hammel)
I’m always a fan of trying to stream a pitcher in a double-header scenario, because there’s a strong chance they’ll face something less than the opponent’s best lineup. In this case, Trevor Cahill comes off the DL for the first leg of a one-day back-to-back against the Brewers, a decent landing spot, particularly at Wrigley Field. The Brewers are not only a below-average offense with a 91 wRC+, they also lead the league in strikeout rate. Cahill’s hardly been a stud the last few years, but at four-percent owned, this is a cheap gamble to take.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Kyle Gibson @ ATL (Mike Foltynewicz)
The Wednesday slate has a lot of options, but they’re all somewhere in a vague middle of poor opportunities or low-upside arms. There are a few ways you could go, but when in doubt, I’ll pick on the Braves, baseball’s worst offense. Kyle Gibson’s strikeout rate makes him a bit of a lower-ceiling play – there are bigger swings for the fences you can take – but this feels like a safe way to steal six innings and four strikeouts in the 90 percent of leagues in which he’s owned.





Blake Murphy is a freelance sportswriter based out of Toronto. Formerly of the Score, he's the managing editor at Raptors Republic and frequently pops up at Sportsnet, Vice, and around here. Follow him on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC.

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O'Kieboomermember
7 years ago

Why is it easy to get excited about yankees/sox prospects? I saw a similar sentiment from Marc Hulet.

“Gonsalves is probably one of the best prospects in the minors that you’ve never heard of… and it’s probably because he plays for Minnesota. If he were in a New York or Chicago organization he’d probably be a top 50 prospect. ”

Can we please get some unbiased writing or some explanation of what you guys mean by this? Thanks.

O'Kieboomermember
7 years ago
Reply to  O'Kieboomer

Also Jesus was black so not sure what he’d have in common with Werth or Pence except hair.