Roto Riteup: August 17, 2012

Apologies for the late edition of the Roto Riteup. I know at least five people died holding their breath, but I don’t think a jury could possibly convict me.

• Vance Worley is starting this evening in Milwaukee, and he’ll be pitching with a bone chip in his throwing elbow. While I do not possess a medical degree, what I do possess something called imagination, and having a bone chip does not sound like a good thing. Worley struggled over his past two starts, but he swears that his injury isn’t what caused his performances to be less than stellar. The Phillies are going to keep running Worley out there every five days, but you’ll want to be careful with the right-hander, playing matchups a little more than usual just in case this elbow thing is serious. Gun to my head, I’d say Worley finishes the season on the DL for precautionary reasons.

• The Mets are determined to screw with fantasy owners everywhere, as manager Terry Collins has said the team will go with a six-man rotation for the next couple of weeks, and potentially the rest of the season. However, there’s a plot twist. R.A. Dickey will continue to pitch on normal rest, which is very good news for fantasy owners who have been enjoying his Cy Young caliber season. Johan Santana has struggled mightily recently, and while Matt Harvey has been dynamite, it will probably serve him well to get a little extra rest as the season winds down.

• Michael Cuddyer returned from the DL, after missing the minimum 15 days with a strained oblique. Oblique injuries are tricky, but one must have some faith in training staffs to do their jobs and determine that a player is ready to return (unless it’s the Twins; don’t listen to a word they say).

• While it was expected, Logan Morrison is now officially done for the year, as the Marlins placed the left-handed hitter on the 60-day DL in an effort to clear a 40-man spot.

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: Hisashi Iwakuma vs MIN
Iwakuma may have to face a bunch of the Twins’ lefties, but his splitter should allow him to get through them with ease.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Jason Vargas vs MIN
Vargas has been on fire recently, and he’s always good at Safeco.

A Hitter for Today: Jon Jay vs PIT (James McDonald)
McDonald has been very hittable since the break, and Jay is very good at getting hits.





Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.

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