Roto Riteup: August 20, 2012

Today’s Roto Riteup is better than Saturday’s. I promise.

• Jhoulys Chacin will be returning the Rockies on Tuesday, joining a rotation that has struggled mightily in his absence. Chacin’s 2012 had resulted in a 7.30 ERA before he hit the DL, and it was hard to find any reason for optimism outside of his HR/FB%. Hopefully his stint on the injured list will help Chacin bounce back and return to what we saw in 2011, if not what we saw in 2010. You remember how good he was in 2010, right?

• Staying in Colorado, do you remember what I said on Friday about Michael Cuddyer? Well, I said “oblique injuries are tricky, but one must have some faith in training staffs…” Cuddyer is already back on the DL, and while his current timetable is two or three weeks, I would not be surprised if Cuddy didn’t play another game for the Rockies this year. It’s a shame that Clubhouse Presence isn’t a roto category, because that’s the only way you could convince me of Cuddyer having a good fantasy year. Cuddy’s walk-year with the Twins was super, but he just couldn’t follow it up despite moving to Coors. Cuddyer will only be eligible at first base and outfield next year.

• How often do we see players set a career high in their return from the disabled list? Not often, I’d say, but Jaime Garcia did just that yesterday afternoon against the flailing Pirates, striking out ten batters over eight innings of work. Garcia had major arm problems, yet somehow managed to return this year, so it’s great to see him be successful. I’m still weary of his left arm spontaneously combusting, but I’m not going to be too afraid of Jaime in drafts next year.

• Something to keep in the back of your mind, even though it won’t really matter for another few years: Starlin Castro’s extension means he’ll be playing in Wrigley until he’s almost 30 years old.

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: Justin Germano at MIL
Germano is interesting, and today’s options are limited.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Roberto Hernandez at SEA
I have a great feeling about this one.

A Hitter for Today: Ike Davis vs COL (Alex White)
I still have some faith in Davis against right-handed starts, and White has some serious issues despite really good stuff.