Roto Riteup: August 2, 2016

The trade deadline has come and gone, and what an interesting day Monday wound up proving to be. Fangraphs has you covered with the deadline omnibus post here (and fantasy omnibus post here), and there’s obviously too much going on for us to dive into within the scope of the Roto Riteup. Instead, we’ll focus on one narrower aspect of the non-waiver deadline.

On the agenda:
1. Deadline league changes
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Deadline league changes
I highlight “non-waiver” simply as a reminder that deals can still occur, so you won’t necessarily want to bust your waiver priority or FAAB just for the sake of it. At the same time, the bulk of the deals that will involve players changing leagues – the most actionable fantasy event for those in AL-only or NL-only formats – is complete, and you can be pretty aggressive trying to scoop up new names in your player pool.

Here’s a quick look at the potentially relevant names who changed circuits.

NL to AL
Jonathan Lucroy – Texas
Francisco Liriano – Toronto
Tyler Clippard – New York
Matt Duffy – Tampa Bay
Jeremy Jeffress – Texas
Francelis Montas – Oakland
Charlie Tilson – Chicago
Jharel Cotton – Oakland

AL to NL
Matt Moore – San Francisco
Rich Hill – Los Angeles
Josh Reddick – Los Angeles
Ivan Nova – Pittsburgh
Drew Hutchison – Pittsburgh
Zach Duke – St. Louis
Josh Fields – Los Angeles
Joe Smith – Chicago
Jesse Chavez – Los Angeles

Again, there’s a lot more to unpack than just this, so I strongly recommend consuming what’s in the omnibus posts linked off the top if you have the time.

Various News and Notes
The Dodgers left Yasiel Puig behind in Colorado. Puig is too beautiful for the Dodgers, and here’s hoping someone nabs him in the post-waiver trading period. Yes, he’s struggled a ton this year, but there’s still enough talent to think he could put things together with a fresh start. Seventy-four percent of owners are still holding out hope, but they’ll probably need to move on in more standard formats if Puig is eventually sent to the minors.

The Yankees may release Alex Rodriguez at some point, which would be entertaining only to see where he lands afterward.

Danny Duffy struck out 16 batters and flirted with a no-hitter until I switched channels. He’s striking out just shy of 30 percent of batters, owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 5-to-1, and has fashioned a 2.98 ERA over 108.2 innings. That he has the same ownership as Puig can probably be corrected.

The Red Sox are calling up mega-prospect Andrew Benintendi, who’s already been scooped up in 16 percent of leagues. Freshly turned 22 and without any reps above Double-A (and only 63 games worth there), Benintendi has really had the rocket strapped to him since being selected seventh overall last year. He has a really nice power-speed combo long-term and has the plate discipline and hit tool to suggest he’ll be a real fantasy asset in the outfield. Whether he can hit the ground running in left – and just how much time he’ll see – is hard to tell, but he’s a must-add in keeper/dynasty formats if he isn’t already owned and he’s probably worth a near-term look in moderate-to-deep formats, too.

Aledmys Diaz is off to the DL for the Cardinals on account of a thumb fracture and could miss several weeks. Jhonny Peralta is about to be activated and will take on the role at short.

Due to “something in my elbow,” Danny Salazar is off for a precautionary MRI. He was lit up on Monday and the team doesn’t think he looks quite himself (hello, velocity drop), so they’re going to have a look. That makes sense, and the Indians will likely be chewing their nails until results come in, because he’d be a pretty major loss even with the recent struggles.

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: Zach Davies @ SD (Luis Perdomo)
The world is still a little tepid on Zach Davies, who is just 43-percent owned despite a 3.59 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. That skepticism is reasonable given the 23-year-old’s peripherals are slightly worse than that, that he pitches in Miller Park, and that his strikeout rate is a hair below 20 percent. On Tuesday, though, he tosses in Petco against a strikeout-prone Padres team with a 91 wRC+ overall, thinned out by deadline deals and with just a .151 ISO at home.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Kevin Gausman vs TEX (Cole Hamels)
It’s an especially thin streaming day on Wednesday, and unless you’re eager to take on Edwin Jackson and his sub-one strikeout-to-walk ratio, you might need to roll the dice with someone facing a tough opponent (or with little strikeout upside). The much-improved Rangers are a somewhat scary streaming opponent despite middling offensive numbers overall, but Kevin Gausman gets the call here almost by default. He’s at 24-percent ownership, so there’s plenty of opportunity to pick him up and hope against hope that the strong strikeout-to-walk profile can outweigh the issues with the long-ball.