Roto Riteup: August 22, 2012

I was going to say something witty to introduce today’s Roto Riteup, but then I was all, like, “nah.”

• Even though he’s been brutalized in the minor leagues, Daniel Bard will be back with the Red Sox within a couple weeks. Bard walked more batters than he struck out while starting for Boston earlier this year, but even after returning to the bullpen in Triple-A, he hasn’t been able to right the ship. Bard’s past results as a member of a MLB bullpen are hard to sweep under the rug, but things aren’t magically going to get better after being called back to the bigs. With Andrew Bailey back in place, there isn’t even much of a chance for Bard to pick up some saves if things go well.

• Luke Scott is returning to the Rays’ lineup, but it’s coming at the expense of Sean Rodriguez’s roster spot. S-Rod has been an useful player for the Rays over the past few years — what with his ability to play every position on the field — but his offensive (read: fantasy) value only comes against left-handed pitchers. With Ryan Roberts and Jeff Keppinger on the roster, his role became somewhat redundant, and his performance made it easy for the Rays to option him back to the minors without hurting the club.

• Scott has been a disappointment this year, as his walk rate is at a career low and hasn’t been able to stay on the field for long periods of time. Barring unforeseen events, Scott will likely be eligible at DH, and DH only in all fantasy leagues next year, completely killing his value.

• Carl Pavano is done pitching this year, but his ERA, WHIP, and moustache have made him beyond worthless for fantasy owners. Johan Santana, on the other hand, has pitched well for stretches but is going to miss his scheduled start tomorrow against the Rockies. I expect Johan to be shut down for the remainder of the season within a matter of days.

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 CLE
I will keep running Iwakuma out there until he fails me. And he won’t. Ever.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Jake Westbrook vs HOU
A small slate of games leads us to the sinkerballer, who signed a contract extension yesterday.

A Hitter for Today: Scott Hairston vs Jeff Francis
Hairston smashes lefties, and Francis isn’t even a particularly good one.