Roto Riteup: August 25, 2018

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August 25, 2018

Mothers put their arm over you in the car, and fathers do this….

On the Agenda:
1. Low-Owned Players Crushing It
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

 

Low-Owned Players Crushing It
There’s been a few hitters that are widely available that have been rather hot the last few days. Here are a few of them.

Kendrys Morales: Last 7 days – .500/.500/1.318, 6 HR, 9 RBI
Morales has certainly not been a consistent source of production this season, but his ownership has cropped up to about 25% in ESPN leagues based on his recent output. There are massive discrepancies between his xWOBA and xBA according to Statcast, and his plate skills are the third-best of his career to this point. He’s a solid pick-up – especially in deeper-mixed formats.

Melky Cabrera: Last 7 Days – .300/.364/.800, 3 HR, 6 RBI
Melky has been playing consistently and brings some batting average with moderate pop to the table. He’s been hitting sixth in the Indians lineup and could be a decent add in the short-term in AL-Only formats. For what it’s worth, Greg Allen has a hit in 11 of-his-last 12 games to go along with six stolen bases. He’s the much more attractive option of the two and is mixed league worthy.

Jonathan Villar: Last 7 Days – .304/.385/.565, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 SB
Villar has been strong since being moved to the Orioles – amassing four home runs and four stolen bases with a .262 BA. Stolen bases are hard to come by and Villar will continue to hit high in the Orioles lineup – he should be owned in more leagues (11% on ESPN).

Honorable Mentions: Alex Gordon, Billy McKinney, Jeff McNeil, David Fletcher, Ramon Laureano, Hunter Renfroe, Ryon Healy.

 

Various News and Notes

We received a few updates on injured Yankees yesterday from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.


As stated in the article, Aroldis Chapman received a PRP injection in his left knee and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Zach Britton snagged a save chance for the Yankees last night. Didi Gregorious should be activated close to when he’s first eligible. The Yankees have been using Gleyber Torres at shortstop, with a mix of Ronald Torreyes and Neil Walker at second base. Aaron Judge continues to slowly progress from his hand injury and Gary Sanchez should begin rehab games today, with the hopes of being activated in a little over a week.

Buster Posey is expected to undergo hip surgery that will require a six month recovery time.


The procedure is apparently quite common, but the recovery timetable remains the biggest concern. With Posey having had multiple ailments in his career, as well as a disappointing season in 2018 statistically, it leaves a lot of questions heading into next season. If he hits all of his benchmarks and returns on time he’ll still have a bit of a late start in Spring Training. However, as we’ve seen with major surgeries, they often take longer to recover from. My personal opinion is to hope for a late-April, early-May return, but I always try to be conservative and take the long side plus some. Posey will 100% be going at his most depressed cost ever in 2019 drafts.

Mallex Smith was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a viral infection. It’s so serious that he’s currently being hospitalized. Rays manager Kevin Cash expects it to be a short stay in the hospital, but there’s no timetable for when he’ll return to the Rays lineup. Smith has been providing speed in a scarce market and is thus, tough to replace. With Tommy Pham close to coming back, the Rays will likely use a mix of Brandon Lowe and Carlos Gomez while he’s sidelined.

George Springer was sidelined for a fourth-straight game on Friday, but the Astros are confident he should be back in the lineup soon. Tony Kemp has continued to fill in.

 

Streaming Pitchers:
A Pitcher for Today: Wei-Yin Chen vs ATL
Chen has a 2.05 ERA and 1.04 WHIP spanning 57 IP at home. His results over 3 GS against ATL this season aren’t optimal, but he allowed 3 ER with 4 K over 5 IP in his lone outing against them in Marlins Park. The Braves rank 18th in wRC+ this month.

High-Risk Option: Lucas Giolito at DET
Giolito has allowed 3 ER or less in three of his last four, and he’s posted a season’s best 9.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in August. The Tigers are 26th in wRC+ this month (80) and despite being better offensively at home (4.2 RPG), they rank in the bottom-10.

 

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Shane Bieber at KC (If available), Derek Holland vs TEX
Holland has allowed 2 ER or fewer in four of-his-last five starts at home – which happened to be against very stiff competition. The Rangers offense is much less successful on the road, which is echoed by their RPG (4.0, 24th).
High-Risk Option: None – not a lot of low-owned options in good spots tomorrow.





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

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