Roto Riteup: August 21, 2026
He has arrived!
BREAKING: The Seattle Mariners plan to call up left-hander Kade Anderson, the top pitching prospect in baseball, to start Saturday, sources tell ESPN. Anderson, the third pick in the 2025 draft, has a 1.06 ERA over 93.1 innings with 135 strikeouts, 13 walks and 47 hits allowed.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 20, 2026
On the Agenda:
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Quick Hits
Raisel Iglesias feels underappreciated despite being one of the best closers in baseball over the last decade. Since 2017, he has a 2.94 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and the second-most saves (272) behind Kenley Jansen (303). He earned his 26th save of the season on Thursday.
Congratulations to Jacob deGrom on the 2,000th strikeout of his career!
Here’s are the pitchers with the most strikeouts since 2014, the year deGrom joined the league:
- Max Scherzer, 2,452
- Gerrit Cole, 2,243
- Chris Sale 2,210
- Kevin Gausman, 2,048
- Aaron Nola, 2,022 (debuted in 2015)
- deGrom
- Sonny Gray, 1,975
- Justin Verlander, 1,883
- Zack Wheeler, 1,880
- Robbie Ray, 1.851
deGrom punched out 10 Nationals batters and has 2,008 career strikeouts.
The San Diego Padres ranked dead-last in runs before the All-Star break (379, 3.95 per game). They’ve scored the fourth-most since (164, 5.13 per game).
Shane Bieber dominated the Rays at Tropicana Field:
Daz Cameron 카메론 hit his first home run as a Jay off lefty Ian Seymour. Cameron spent most of this season with Doosan of the KBO where he slashed .287/.360/.473 with 9 HR and 9 SB in 75 games (314 PA).
The St. Louis Cardinals rallied for six runs in the top of the ninth to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-9. Closer Riley O’Brien notched his NL-leading 33rd save. Jordan Walker crushed his 26th dinger of the season in the third inning:
Various News and Notes
Bad news for Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia. He suffered a left hamstring strain just four days after being activated following recovery from his hand injury. Garcia is expected to be placed on the IL. Nick Loftin will likely handle the bulk of starts at third base while Garcia is out.
Ketel Marte will go on the 10-day injured list due to a knee injury. Marte did not arrive to Fenway Park for the series against the Red Sox and several rumors have been flying around since. The latest information does confirm that he has, indeed, suffered a knee injury:
Ketel Marte, his agent, Mike Hazen and Torrey Lovullo met today in what was described as a productive meeting. He will go on the 10-day IL today. His MRI showed some inflammation on the upper hamstring and medial joint of the knee. He received an injection this afternoon. The…
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) August 21, 2026
Purported lefty-masher Nelson Velázquez didn’t last long wearing the Houston Astros uniform, as he was designated for assignment Thursday. He earned just one start and two pinch-hit opportunities, going hitless in those five at-bats. Twenty-six-year-old second baseman Raynel Delgado was promoted from Triple-A Sugar Land, where he was batting .303 with just one home run in in 28 games.
The most anticipated promotion of 2026 has finally occurred — 22-year-old lefty Kade Anderson will finally make his big-league debut, this Saturday, at home, against the Chicago Cubs. Anderson was drafted third overall by the Mariners in 2025 and has been the best pitcher in the minor leagues, albeit in Double-A: 10-1 record in 18 starts, a 1.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 40.5% K, and a 3.9% BB (135: 13 K:BB in 93.1 innings). Anderson has been on a strict pitch count, not exceeding 80 pitches in any of those 18 starts. His ERA would have been 0.60 if not for a 5-ER outing in mid-May against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% on Yahoo)
Pitcher for Today: Hayden Wesneski, HOU (13%) vs. ATH
His last start against the Mariners was a rough one (5 ER in 4 IP), though he punched out six batters. This matchup against an A’s offense, without their four best hitters, should go his way. Make that five now that Jacob Wilson윌슨 is done.
Pitcher for Tomorrow: Patrick Sandoval, BOS (9%) at SF
Sandoval is set up for a bounceback start after allowing seven runs to the Pirates last week. The Red Sox will be road favorites and these Giants are the worst team in the Majors against lefties. Their 61 wRC+ (active hitters) against them ranks 30th and their 27.1% strikeout rate is the second highest (Orioles are worst, 27.3%).
Other Options: Cody Bradford, TEX (8%) vs LAA
Bradford faces the Angels for the second time in two weeks, this time in his home park. This won’t be a popular streamer, but I have confidence in Bradford turning in five good innings and a few strikeouts, and limiting run damage. The Angels have scored the fewest runs in the Majors since the All-Star break and are one of the five worst offenses against southpaws this season.
Vlad writes for RotoGraphs and is the head of fantasy baseball content at FTN Fantasy. He is a Tout Wars Expert League champ, member of the CDM Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and has been nominated for FSWA writing awards six times. Vlad has been playing fantasy baseball since 1995, winning 42 NFBC leagues since 2012 and ranking in the top percentile in NFBC’s Online Championship contest (33% win rate, 52% cash rate; 64 leagues). Much to the chagrin of his colleagues and most baseball aficionados, Vlad is a lifelong Dodgers fan who claims his first gut call at age 9 was Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run. You can follow him on X and BlueSky @RotoGut.
FWIW Padres beat writer Kevin Acee said Wednesday that “Joe Musgrove’s next start will be in the minor leagues” and that the Padres “want to make sure Musgrove is built up enough to not only throw 80-plus pitches in a game but to recover and be able to do it again five or six days later.”
To reinforce, MLB’s website still says TBD for today. Sounds like a last-minute decision.