Roto Riteup: August 25, 2023

Nick Pollack is a fun house guest:

When you let @PitcherList stay at your house, prepare for your whiteboard to be vandalized pic.twitter.com/qPoKcmIAOH

— Justin Mason (@JustinMasonFWFB) August 25, 2023

On the Agenda: 

1. Quick Hits
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

 

Quick Hits

Shohei Ohtani was diagnosed with a tear in his UCL on Wednesday. Ohtani is expected to hit while he gets a second opinion on the injured elbow. He will not pitch again this season. 

Stone Garrett was placed on the IL with a fractured fibula. 

https://twitter.com/BarnHasSpoken2/status/1694517011294908828?s=20

Garrett was hot at the plate and finally getting regular playing time. This will end his season. Jeter Downs was recalled to take Garrett’s spot on the roster.

According to multiple reports, Stephen Stasburg will retire from baseball on September 9th. Strasburg has not been able to do much over the last few seasons due to a number of injuries. He leaves the Nationals with three years remaining on his contract.

Joey Votto was placed on the IL with a shoulder issue. He is expected to return after a minimum stay.

 

Various News and Notes
Michael Busch went 1-for-5 with a home run in the victory over the Guardians on Thursday.

First career homer for Michael Busch! pic.twitter.com/AtAQ2OAu0d

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 24, 2023

Busch is a top tier prospect that has been slow roasted in the minors but now has a chance to make an impact for one of the best teams in baseball. He struggles defensively, but he has a fantastic bat which is what we care about in fantasy.

Ryan Pepiot threw four innings on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and walking none with six strikeouts in the victory over the Dodgers.

Ryan Pepiot, K'ing the Side in the 5th. pic.twitter.com/RQZYsGTaLJ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 24, 2023

Pepiot was actually the third pitcher the Dodgers used in the outing, but he was allowed to throw the most innings of the four pitcher’s used. He was fantastic in the outing, getting a 34% or better CSW on all three of his pitches. Right now he isn’t going deep enough to be a starter we care about in fantasy unless he continues to get an opener, but if that is going to be the norm, he could be a viable win vulture down the stretch.

Nolan Jones went 3-for-4 with a home run in the loss to the Rays on Thursday.

Nolan Jones three-run shot for the lead! https://t.co/Vpxv3MieL1

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 24, 2023

Jones has quietly been very good this season, hitting .282/.360/.515 with 13 home runs and eight stolen bases. He is still striking out a third of the time due to the lack of zone contact, but there is real power and some speed that makes him an interesting fantasy player as long as he can keep getting regular playing time.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: None

Some interesting high risk options but none that I am confident in. 

High Risk Options: Brandon Pfaadt vs CIN, Kutter Crawford at LAD, Christopher Sanchez vs STL, JP Sears at CHW, Kyle Freeland at COL. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Hyun Jin Ryu 류현진 vs CLE

Ryu has been great since returning from the IL and gets a really nice matchup. 

High Risk Options: Javier Assad at PIT, Paul Blackburn at CHW, Jared Shuster at SF, Cole Irvan vs COL, Touki Toussant vs OAK. 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”