Roto Riteup: August 31, 2013

Apologies for the tardiness of today’s Roto Riteup. If Kanye West penned these articles then you should be honored by my lateness (warning: language).

On today’s agenda:
1. The Baltimore Orioles have a new designated hitter
2. Welcome back, Angel Pagan
3. Evan Gattis gets sent down
4. Corey Kluber could return next week

The Baltimore Orioles have a new designated hitter
As speculated in yesterday’s Roto Riteup, the O’s have acquired a DH by the name of Michael Morse. The power hitting right-hander should help boost the club’s numbers against southpaws, as the Orioles have a hit a collective .248/.294/.406 line. A triple slash that gruesome translates to an 87 wRC+, tied for 20th in baseball. Morse’s ownership hasn’t changed much since yesterday and that is good for you. Pick him up now and let him hit in the lineup — that despite their struggles against lefties — has scored the fourth most runs in the majors. Morse is still available in 65% of Yahoo! leagues, 63% of ESPN formats, and 48% of CBS leagues.

Welcome back, Angel Pagan
Yesterday Angel Pagan played in his first major league game since May 25 after being activated from the disabled list. An injury to his hamstring kept him on the sidelines and one could reason that the injury has hampered his steals as well. After posting 37, 32, and 29 steals from 2010-12 (with an 80% success rate), Pagan has just seven steals against four times caught stealing thus far.

If Pagan gets back to stealing at a frequent rate, he could be a solid pickup in the closing weeks. Given that he immediately reclaimed his leadoff position, Pagan should be picked up by anyone looking for runs and steals from the outfield. The injury and missed time has frustrated many early season Pagan owners, as his ownership rate is just 34% in CBS leagues, 30% in Yahoo! formats, and 27% in ESPN leagues.

Evan Gattis gets sent down
In an effort to give Evan Gattis more consistent playing time, the Atlanta Braves have sent him to Triple-A for the duration of the weekend. A fast start catapulted Gattis on to fantasy radars everywhere but after a combined 12 home runs in April and May, Gattis has swatted just three additional homers since. Injuries and a lack of consistent playing time have slowed him down, however his numbers have declined as the season progressed. Since June, Gattis has posted wOBA’s of .240, .269. and .187 in consecutive months. Ideally he will get back on track in the minors as the Braves hope to see Gattis get eight-12 AB’s over the weekend and then come back up on Tuesday.

In two-catcher leagues, one should hang on to Gattis and hope the regular playing time sorts everything out. In regards to leagues where Gattis is being plugged in as an outfielder or shallow single catcher leagues, owners there have seemingly already let Gattis go. He is currently available in over 70% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues, though in CBS formats — where two catchers is standard in rotisserie — Gattis is available in just 39% of leagues.

Corey Kluber could return next week
Somewhere Cistulli is almost assuredly prancing about. Now imagine his reaction when he hears that Corey Kluber’s bullpen session yesterday went well enough for the Cleveland Indians to have him throw a simulated game Monday. Assuming the Tribe use this simulated game as a rehab start, Kluber would be on pace to rejoin the team soon enough to square off against the New York Mets in a series that kicks off next Friday. Kluber is owned in over 40% of CBS formats, however he is owned in less than 10% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues. Grab him now and make use of his strikeout rate and strong peripherals.