Roto Riteup: August 30, 2023

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August 30, 2023

Unreal effort:

On the Agenda: 

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

 

Waiver Weirdness

The Angels placed Lucas Gioltio, Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez, Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers. The Yankees placed Harrison Bader on waivers. Mike Clevinger has been placed on waivers by the White Sox. Carlos Carrasco was placed on waivers by the Mets. All teams in Major League Baseball are allowed to put in a claim on any of these players in the next 48 hours and it would be surprising to see any of them clear waivers outside of Carrasco who has struggled mightily this season. This will change the landscape of the playoff races and some fantasy leagues. We should have more information on Thursday, but I would expect a rule change coming in the off-season to address this. 

 

Quick Hits

The Yankees released Josh Donaldson on Tuesday. This may end Donaldson’s career at this point. He is droppable in all formats. 

Bo Bichette was placed on the IL with a quad strain. There is no timetable for his return. The move is retroactive to August 28th. 

Jorge Soler left Tuesday’s game with hip tightness. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Gavin Williams left his start on Tuesday with knee soreness. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Mickey Moniak left Tuesday’s game with back soreness. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

 

Various News and Notes

Liover Peguero went 3-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Royals on Tuesday.

Peguero has been up and down in his rookie season, hitting .248/.300/.446 with six home runs and four stolen bases in 112 plate appearances. Peugero has actually made pretty good contact in the zone and his swinging strike rate and contact rates are indicative of a guy that should strikeout less than the 31% he has so far. There is decent pop and speed here and with Oneil Cruz progressing very slowly, he should play regularly in Pittsburgh rest of the way.

Royce Lewis went 1-for-4 with a home run in the loss to the Guardians on Tuesday.

Lewis has been on fire since returning from the IL, hitting .294 with five home runs and a stolen base in 51 at bats. Lewis is a former top prospect that has struggled with health in both the minors and the Majors. He has transcendent talent and should be rostered in all formats.

Adam Duvall went 2-for-4 in the loss to the Astros on Tuesday.

Duvall has been red hot in the month of August, hitting .303 with nine home runs in 89 at bats. Duvall has had a weird season where he was the hottest player in baseball to start the season before getting hurt, then struggling upon his return and now being extremely hot again. This hot streak is likely to end at some point, but while he is hot, he should be rostered in all formats.

Alex Cobb threw a complete game versus the Reds on Tuesday, allowing one run on one hit and walk while striking out eight in the victory.

Cobb was one out away from a no-hitter which is why he was pitching so deep into the game, but Spencer Steer broke it up with a double to right center. Cobb was extremely effective with his splitter which has been the pitch that he relies on to get outs, but his sinker and curve command was immaculate getting a 47% and 45% CSW respectively without getting a single whiff on either pitch. Cobb looks to be back in control of his repertoire and should be rostered in any format he might have been dropped in when he was struggling.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Christopher Sanchez vs LAA

Sanchez has gotten back on track and gets a struggling Angels offense. 

High Risk Options: Brandon Pfaadt at LAD, Patrick Corbin at TOR, Zach Neal at SEA

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: None

Short slate with few options. 

High Risk Options: Matt Manning vs NYY, Sean Manaea at SD

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.”





 

Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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AnonMember since 2025
1 year ago

Apparently players can still play while on waivers. It was weird to see Bader in the game when the news of him being on waivers was already out there.

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CC AFCMember since 2016
1 year ago
Reply to  Anon

Ehh, remember when they had revocable waivers and all the players were on waivers at the end of the year?

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