Roto Riteup: August 31, 2021

80 Grade Glove:

chances of catching a foul ball are thru the roof pic.twitter.com/L9Xvg1jtZp

— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 29, 2021

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. COVID Issues
3. Quick Hits
4. Various News and Notes
5. Streaming Pitchers

 

Closer Chaos

Manager Mike Schlidt stated on Monday that the Cardinals will use matchups in the ninth inning moving forward. Staying true to that, Giovanny Gallegos threw a perfect inning to get the save in the victory over the Reds. This has been a long time coming as Alex Reyes has had shaky skills all season long. Gallegos looks like he is the lead of the committee, but multiple guys could factor in including Reyes, Genesis Cabrera, Luis Garcia, T.J. McFarland, and Junior Fernandez. 

 

COVID Issues

Matt Barnes and Martin Perez were placed on the COVID IL. They are joining Enrique Hernandez and Christian Arroyo. With Barnes out, it further entrenches Adam Ottavino in the closer role moving forward. 

Alex Wood was placed on the COVID IL after testing positive for COVID-19. Wood is symptomatic and not feeling well, so expect him to miss at least 10 days, but probably longer, which would make him droppable in most formats. 

Johnny Cueto was placed on the COVID IL due to having symptoms. He has not tested positive yet, so this could be precautionary, but considering Wood has the virus, it wouldn’t be surprising for Cueto to have it as well. 

 

Quick Hits

Wilson Ramos will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL and MCL. This is devastating news for Ramos who tore his ACL previously when in Washington. This could potentially be the end of his career. 

Alcides Escobar left Monday’s game with a knee contusion. X-rays were negative after the game, so consider him day-to-day at this time. 

 

Various News and Notes

According to manager Dave Roberts, Cody Bellinger will be a strong side platoon bat for the most part. This isn’t surprising as Bellinger has hit .129 against left handed pitching this season. However, that isn’t that much better than the .187 he has hit against righties. Bellinger has been droppable for a while, but this kind of puts the nail in the coffin in 10 and 12-team mixed leagues. 

Leody Taveras went 2-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Rockies.

pic.twitter.com/6ccn0GQG6J
Leody Taveras hits a solo shot (1) to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

— MLB Updates (@MLBNews1234) August 31, 2021

Taveras has struggled in the Majors this year, hitting .062/.129/.062 with no home runs and four stolen bases coming into tonight’s game. He was much better in AAA, hitting .245/.343/.475 with 17 home runs and stealing 13 in 381 plate appearances. There is a talent in his profile and if he can make enough contact and continue to walk, he could be an insanely cheap bounce back next season. He is worth gambling on the rest of the way because of his power/speed upside.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Edward Cabrera at NYM

Cabrera was impressive in his first start so I am rolling him out there for a matchup versus the disappointing Mets. 

High Risk Options: Mike Minor vs CLE, Miles Mikolas at CIN

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Kyle Freeland at TEX

Freeland has been really good recently and has a nice matchup versus the Rangers in Texas. 

High Risk Options: J.A. Happ at CIN, Zach Thompson at NYM, Taylor Widener vs 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 the recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”