Roto Riteup: August 27, 2026

Well done, Mr. Schwarber

That’s 40 or more home runs in four of his last five seasons. Schwarber and Aaron Judge are tied with the most homers (227) since 2022.

On the Agenda: 

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

Quick Hits

Byron Buxton sat out Wednesday’s contest against the Athletics due to hip discomfort. Buxton aggravated it chasing a ball in the outfield and was walked off the field with the help of a team trainer. If it continues to bother him and he goes back to the IL, it would be the third time since early July that he’ll go on there because of his right hip.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Tyler O’Neill is going on the injured list. This time, it’s due to a right rotator cuff strain. This brick of a man has only exceeded 500 plate appearances in a season once, in 2021. Not even yoga or Pilates can help him now.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher prospect Endy Rodríguez can’t catch a break. He underwent surgery yesterday to repair the labrum on his right hip and will have to abstain from baseball activities for at least the next seven months. Rodríguez hit seven homers and stole six bases, with 20 runs and 20 runs batted in, in 159 plate appearances this season.

The San Francisco Giants lost two starting pitchers in the last two days. Carson Whisenhunt was moved to the 60-day IL with an elbow injury that will result in either Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure. Veteran Adrian Houser was pulled from Tuesday’s start against the Reds in the second inning and was placed on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain. The Giants rotation is down to Logan Webb, Landen Roupp, and Blade Tidwell. Anthony Molina and Matt Wilkinson, who was optioned after a bad start on Sunday, may be called upon to start this weekend. The Giants and Diamondbacks have a doubleheader on Saturday and are the only two teams who don’t play this Sunday.

New York Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz is likely to miss the rest of the season and a good portion of the 2027 season after receiving a diagnosis for a partial tear in his right UCL. It’s a big blow to one of the strongest bullpens in baseball. Clarke Schmidt is going to begin a rehab assignment soon and should join the bullpen in a couple of weeks.

Various News and Notes

Jesús Luzardo surpassed the 200-strikeout mark for the second consecutive season after punching out nine Mariners in his seven-inning, one-hit outing on Wednesday. Luzardo struck out 216 in 183.2 innings last season and has 203 in just 163 innings so far this season. He lowered his ERA to 3.09. Bryce Harper hit his 27th homer of the season.

More voodoo from Padres starter Randy Vásquez who allowed just one hit and no runs along with two strikeouts in his team’s 3-0 victory over the Pirates. In nine starts since the All-Star break, Vásquez has a 11.9% strikeout rate and a 2.54 ERA.

It was a rare, strong outing for Rays pitcher, Freddy Peralta.

Before this outing, Peralta gave up between five and 10 earned runs in six-of-12 starts. Somehow, his ERA is only 5.11, down .22 points from his previous start. The only qualified starter with a higher ERA now is Arizona’s Merrill Kelly 켈리 at 5.35.

He’s been called Kenny from South Park (ok, only I do). His name is Jordan Lawlar and he can’t seem to catch a break, always finding a way to get hurt. On Tuesday, it was a 99-mph fastball to the head, though he cleared concussion protocol, started on Wednesday and did this:

 Eugenio Suárez is batting just .208 and is the only hitter with 350+ plate appearances who has a 35+ percent strikeout rate. Here’s his grand slam from Wednesday:

Things may have been awkward after the game, when Suárez was told that he was being placed on outright waivers, along with outfielder TJ Friedl. It’s possible but unlikely that a team claims Suárez to pay him his $3M due for these final 4.5 weeks. I do hear that the Mariners could use a true DH.

In that same contest, rookie Sal Stewart became the first Major Leaguer to drive in 100 runs.

Pete Alonso’s 14-game hit streak may have ended on Tuesday, but his heater has not.

This was Alonso’s 32nd dinger of the season and his ninth in 16 games. He is chasing Ben Rice (35), Junior Caminero (35), and Yordan Alvarez for the AL home run title.

The Colorado Rockies crushed the Washington Nationals 13-1. Hunter Goodman, Cole Carrigg, Troy Johnston and Connor Norby all went yard in the contest. Former Padres knuckleballer (and still a knuckleballer!) Matt Waldron started the game and pitched two scoreless innings. Relievers Will Dion, Luis Perales, and Orlando Ribalta gave up four runs apiece.

Ha-Seong Kim 김하성 walked off his old foe the Dodgers with a pinch-hit single off Tanner Scott!

He pulled his batting average up to .073.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% on Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today: None recommended

Thursday’s slate will have just seven games, and two of them may affected by rain (HOU-NYY, MIL-NYM). Someone somewhere may recommend Jake Irvin for a home start against the Rockies, but I am not that someone. The contest has a nine-run projected total, it will be quite warm (85+) and Irvin with his 5.82 ERA isn’t a pitcher we can rely on. He does have a 22.4% strikeout rate and the Rockies active roster strikes out at a 22.5% clip against righties, so if it’s a points league with a loose start minimum for the week, you might get away with it. Diamondbacks rookie left-hander Kohl Drake will be promoted to start against the Giants, and he has a much better matchup. He’s currently 0% rostered on Yahoo, and it’s against the grain, but I don’t mind it for deeper leagues.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Andrew Painter, PHI (18%) at LAA

There’s a helpful note about Painter’s mechanical adjustments in Jeff Zimmerman’s latest Mining the News that lends a bit of confidence about Painter for the remainder of the season. I believe he’s going to be a perennial All-Star and could earn a consensus top 150 ADP next season with a strong finish. The Angels offense is very watered down after Zach Neto and Mike Trout. Painter should have a nice start against them on Friday. The only problem will be snagging that win because Reid Detmers likely won’t give up many runs.

Other Options: David Peterson, CHC (19%) vs. CIN

The Reds strike out against southpaws at a rate of 25% and will be big underdogs when they visit Peterson and the Cubs. Peterson has punched out at least eight batters in two of his last four starts. In six starts and one inning of relief since the All-Star break, the former first-round pick of the Mets out of Oregon has a 2.25 ERA (3.42 FIP) with a 33:12 K:BB in 36 innings.