Roto Riteup: August 19, 2015

In continuing my theme of pushing my favorite films and music on you guys, today’s Roto Riteup is unofficially brought to you by Something Corporate’s Leaving Through The Window. It’s the one of the few vinyl records I really want, but I can’t justify paying the absurd prices being asked for it.

On today’s agenda:
1. Bad news for Maikel Franco
2. Welcome back, Jason Kipnis
3. A quick Lance McCullers update
4. Streaming Pitching Options

Bad news for Maikel Franco
The Phillies third baseman may be lost for the season due to a broken left wrist. Franco was hit with a pitch that tailed in on him last Tuesday, however he was just placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday. Immediate X-rays didn’t reveal a break, yet after Franco’s wrist continued to bother him, an MRI revealed a small non-displaced fracture. Acknowledging his strong performance to date — 13 home runs and a .277/.340/.490 line — Franco is probably someone to drop at this point in all redraft leagues outside of crazy deep 16 or 20-teamers. For those of you looking for a replacement at third or your corner slot, Danny Valencia is a guy I happened to have written up last week, and is a solid candidate.

Welcome back, Jason Kipnis
After spending 16 days on the disabled list dealing with inflammation in his right shoulder, the Indians activated Kipnis yesterday. Hopefully fellow weekly leaguers inserted him their lineups as he been and should continue to be one of the top fantasy second baseman. Kipnis was limited to a pinch hitting appearance yesterday, however I imagine we’ll be seeing him back in the starting lineup today.

A quick Lance McCullers update
This time of the year is always tough with rookie pitchers as innings limits are in play. It’s one of the big reasons I dislike Head-to-Head formats so much in fantasy baseball, along with week to week random variance. Regardless of my personal feelings towards specific fantasy league construction, McCullers is one of those rookies affected by limited use down the stretch. Until yesterday’s outing at Double-A Corpus Christi, he hadn’t thrown in a game since August 3. It seems likely the Astros won’t recall him until rosters expand, though I wouldn’t be shocked to see him have a regular season start or two skipped to save him for the playoffs.

---

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

A pitcher for today: Robbie Ray at PIT (J.A. Happ)
The Pirates have hit southpaws at a league average clip, but the Buccos own the eighth highest strikeout rate and seventh worst walk to strikeout ratio when a lefty is on the mound. Ray can be streamed in 70 percent of CBS settings as well as over 85 percent of ESPN or Yahoo! leagues. If you’re looking for a possible quality start with a good number of strikeouts, Ray could be your guy.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Let me preface this pick with saying at the time of writing, four teams have yet to name their starter on Thursday. With this knowledge in hand, I’m warily recommending Miguel Gonzalez vs MIN (Tyler Duffey). Gonzalez will be up against a Twinkies offense that rates near the bottom in both wOBA and wRC+ versus right-handed pitchers. If he goes five innings and get the win, I’ll be satisfied.