Roto Riteup: August 31, 2018

Live footage of me attempting to catch a fly ball…..

On the Agenda:
1. Cutch to the Yankees
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

 

Cutch to the Yankees
The Yankees acquired Andrew McCutchen from the Giants in exchange for infielder Abiatal Avelino and another prospect that hasn’t been named as of yet.


This was a sound move by the Yankees from a pure baseball prospective, as Aaron Judge has obviously taken much longer than expected in his recovery from a hand injury. From a fantasy lens, this is at least a moderate bump to McCutchen’s value. AT&T Park owns the worst Park Factors for RHB home runs over the last three years, with Yankee Stadium sitting first in the same category. McCutchen’s Hard% (44) is currently sitting as the best of his career, he’s continuing to walk (13%), and his SB/Spd score are both his best marks since 2014. Now the Giants have allowed McCutchen to run more this season (13-of-19 in SB attempts), but the Yankees could be less likely to do so, as they sit 26th in SB attempts per game as a team. He’s been striking out more than ever before and his HR total/ISO don’t promote a ton of optimism in that category moving forward. However, you’d have to assume the park change along with a better lineup and a neutral schedule make for a positive outlook moving forward. The Yankees will likely use him in right field, likely dropping Shane Robinson from his part-time role, and possibly cutting into Neil Walker’s playing time as well. The Giants will now be forced to play Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco more than they like. The hope is they can get Alen Hanson into a more prominent role, as he’s by far the most fantasy relevant player who’s not getting consistent playing time on the Giants. We’ll have to see how things play out, but in most deeper formats, Hanson would be the guy I’d put a small bid on in the case he does receive a bump in playing time.

 

Various News and Notes
Joey Votto returned from his 15-day hiatus (leg) to go 0-for-5 with a strikeout against the Brewers. I literally picked him up off waiver in a fairly savvy 12-team league I’m in, so this is just a reminder that while Votto hasn’t had the most productive year, he’s still one of the best hitters in the game. The Reds have a fairly decent schedule in September – one that features matchups against the Royals, Marlins, and Padres – you have to deploy Votto everyday and hope that his power metrics can tick back up.

Eddie Rosario made an early exit from Thursday’s game against the Indians due to a quad strain.


This could end up being a lengthy absence, but as of now he’s likely day-to-day. Fantasy owners that need to make lineup decisions going into next week should keep their eyes open for more news on this front. It’d be best to assume that he’ll be out for at least a week to be safe. Rosters are set to expand and he may not even be placed on the disabled list, which complicates things even more. Robbie Grossman replaced him in yesterday’s game and would likely receive the bulk of the playing time in his place. With that said, Byron Buxton seems to be healthy and is hitting .386/.413/.659 with 9 XBH (1 HR) since August 14th at Triple-A Rochester (10 games). He has a 10/1 K:BB ratio, but he’ll be up soon, and we know what he likes to do for fantasy owners in September. He’s worth a speculative add in most formats.

Shohei Ohtani will make his return to the mound on Sunday against the Astros.


While I have a million thoughts on this situation, I’ll toss them aside for now to talk about what we can expect moving forward. Fantasy owners that have either held on to Ohtani (pitcher) or picked him up recently, should definitely keep him benched on Sunday. He’s been great against the AL West this season, but the risk is too profound due to the matchup, his health, and limited pitch count. While I disagree with him being out there pitching in the first place, his arm is so good that he could give fantasy owners some value during the stretch run. If there aren’t rainouts for the Angels the rest of the way – and Ohtani pitches on normal rest – he’ll be set to face the White Sox, Mariners, Rangers, and Athletics twice in September.

Franmil Reyes hit a walk-off solo-home run in the 13th inning against the Rockies on Thursday.


Reyes should be owned at this point. While he only ranked 27th on Eric Longenhagen’s pre-season list for the Padres system, Reyes posted a .324/.428/.614 line with 16 HR, 52 RBI, 14% BB, and a whopping .290 ISO in 250 PA with Triple-A El Paso. His best fantasy trait is his power, and man he’s been putting that on display in the majors lately – hitting three home runs in his last 13 PA. He now has a five-game hitting streak, semi-regular playing time, and a .306/.377/.645 line in August. He’s a deeper-league add for now, but keeper/dynasty leagues should really start keeping an eye on him as his power alone can go a long way. There’s admittedly some gains that need to be made with his hit tool, but he has strong patience and doesn’t strike out at an egregious rate. Super interesting hitter moving into the final month.

German Marquez allowed 2 ER on 2 H with 13 K and 1 BB over 8 IP against the Padres on Thursday. It’s now the ninth time in-his-last 10 GS in which he’s allowed 3 ER or less. He’s sitting sixth among all starters in xFIP in the 2H thus far (2.62), while sitting eighth in K% (31) and 11th in GB% (50). Now, like all Rockies starters, we have to worry about the home/road splits. He has been significantly worse at home (5.77), but his schedule moving forward is good enough to ride him out in most formats moving forward. Barring a skip in the rotation, Marquez will receive five more starts. Three will be at home, where he’ll get the Giants, Diamondbacks, and Phillies to end his regular season. His two away starts will be against the Giants and Diamondbacks.

Quick Hits:
Julio Urias was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He’s been strong in the minors thus far and will be a bullpen piece for the Dodgers down the stretch.

David Wright played a full game at Triple-A Las Vegas and could make his way to the Mets sometime soon.

Clint Frazier has begun rehab games at High-A Tampa. He’s been out since July due to recurring concussion symptoms.

Kris Bryant started in left field and led-off in a rehab game. He’s expected to be activated from the disabled list on Saturday according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Zach Davies will be called up to start against the Cubs on Monday. Since July 27th, he’s posted a 4.05 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with a 29/14 K:BB ratio over 33.1 IP (7 GS) at Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Matt Shoemaker could be activated by the Angels this weekend according to the Orange County Register. He’s been out since May due to forearm surgery.

Eloy Jimenez’s agents could file a grievance against the White Sox  because he hasn’t been called up (according to Jon Heyman).

With Jose Iglesias being placed on the disabled list (possibly for the rest of the season), Ronny Rodriguez got the start at shortstop and went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run.

Mike Montgomery allowed 4 ER in 4.1 IP with 6 K and 1 BB in his return to the Cubs rotation.

Justin Upton went 1-for-4 with a run, RBI, and three strikeouts in his return from the disabled list. Albert Pujols was officially placed on the 10-day disabled list and will miss the rest of the season.

Gary Sanchez will make his return on Saturday against the Tigers according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone. He’s went 3-for-15 with 2 HR in four rehab games. He should be immediately activated in all formats.

Rick Renteria said that Jose Abreu is still “at least a week away” from resuming baseball activities.

According to Jane Lee, Athletic’s manager Bob Melvin said Thursday that he gives Sean Manaea a, “less than 50/50 chance” of returning this season.

Jason Heyward is day-to-day with a hamstring injury.

 

Streaming Pitchers

A Pitcher for Today: Anibal Sanchez vs PIT (If available), Nick Pivetta vs CHC (if available), Brad Keller vs BAL
Not a ton of options for today that are low-owned. I like Mike Fiers, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Nathan Eovaldi if you’re in a shallow format. Sanchez – if healthy – has been fairly safe and gets a PIT offense that’s 26th in wRC+ in August (83). Pivetta has found more success at home – posting a 2.97 xFIP and allowing 2 ER or less in three of-his-last four at Citizens Bank Park (26% K/BB at home, 17% K/BB on the road). Keller has a 3.07 ERA in August, has upped his K/9 and SwStr%, and owns a strong GB%. The BAL offense averages a full run less on the road (3.4, last in MLB) than they do at home.

A Pitcher for at Tomorrow: Luis Castillo at STL, Steven Matz at SF, Derek Holland vs NYM
Castillo has been formidable against STL this season (besides one start) and has a 46/4 K:BB ratio over the last two months with improved velocity and underlying metrics. Matz gets the nod based on the matchup. The Giants were bad offensively before they lost Posey and McCutchen – who knows what depths it will get to now. On the other end, Holland dominated the Mets a couple starts ago, but that was at Citi Field. There’s added risk this time, as the Mets are top-10 in wRC+ this month and rank fourth in RPG on the road. His 3.36 xFIP and 9.6 K/9 at home can help combat that though.





Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

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feslenraster
5 years ago

Franmil should be owned in non-OBP leagues, yes.