Roto Riteup: August 29, 2012

Five stories in today’s Roto Riteup means you’re getting all the facts.

• Jose Bautista has proven that wrist injuries really suck, and the slugger is going to miss the rest of the season because of one. Bautista checked back into the Blue Jays lineup late last week, but he’s already back on the shelf and in need of a surgeon. Joey Bats should be ready to start spring training on Toronto’s active roster.

• If you were looking at Placido Polanco as a late season fantasy option, you can stop now. Polanco has officially been benched by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, and he figures to stay on the pine for the remainder of the year. Polanco has dealt with injuries all year long, and with a club option in front of him, he figures to be a free agent after the season ends.

• Replacing Polanco in the lineup will be Kevin Frandsen, a 30-year-old infielder with a .294 career wOBA. Frandsen has gotten some BABIP help on his way to a .351 average this year, and his game is eerily similar to Polanco’s. Frandsen offers nothing outside of his batting average, and since that’s going to come crashing down in a matter of days, you shouldn’t be picking him up.

• Marcus Stroman, a Blue Jays prospect who may have seen some action in September, has been suspended 50 games for PED use. Stroman is a tiny little right-hander who will be used as a reliever during his professional career, and this suspension sets his MLB timetable back to around June of 2013.

• Zach Stewart will be starting for the Red Sox today against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Outside of the way he spells his name, not much has gone right for Stewart in the big leagues. However, the right-hander does posses a couple skills that could keep him in the big league rotation for a year or do, including his ability to generate ground balls and throw the ball over the plate. Without striking batters out, Stewart is going to have real problems in the AL East if he’s anything more than an innings-eating long-reliever.

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: Joe Kelly at PIT
Kelly isn’t special, but he’s available everywhere and can get the job done.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Ryan Vogelsong at HOU
Vogelsong isn’t going to be available for streamers, but he’s an excellent choice in FanGraphs: The Game.

A Hitter for Today: John Jaso at MIN (Samuel Deduno)
Jaso is getting a lot of love now, and being the patient hitter he his, he’ll walk at least twice against Deduno. Bank on it.