Roto Riteup: August 5, 2016

Sliding into your DMs like:

On the agenda:
1. OK, what gives, Jays?
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

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Follow the bouncing ball here: Aaron Sanchez is staying in the Blue Jays rotation. For now. The 24-year-old has a sparkling 2.71 ERA over 21 starts but has tossed 139.1 innings, already more than he’s thrown in any season across any levels. The Jays want to be cautious, but he’s just been too good to shift him to the bullpen full-time, even with the acquisition of Francisco Liriano. With Marco Estrada also dealing with some back soreness, the Jays will roll with a six-man rotation for the time being, judging Sanchez on a start-to-start basis. This may be the most sensible move for the Jays – there’s not a clear arm to remove for Liriano – and help get all of their pitchers some additional rest (no AL team has more off-days the rest of the way, either). Throwing six innings (he’s averaging 6.2) every six games the rest of the way would leave Sanchez at 192.1 for the season, ostensibly (or hopefully, as it were) with a few bullets left for the postseason.

This seems, at first blush and with limited medical information, a justifiable decision. It just kind of sucks from a fantasy perspective, as you’re unlikely to get a two-start week out of a Jays’ arm the rest of the way. So, yeah, don’t go dropping Sanchez just yet, if you planned to (his ownership is at 88 percent, down slightly from earlier in the week).

Various News and Notes
The Phillies are giving Jake Thompson the nod against the Padres on Saturday. Owned in just five percent of the leagues, the 22-year-old fashioned a 2.50 ERA over 21 starts at Triple-A this year, though his 16.8-percent strikeout rate leaves a little to be desired projecting him at the major-league level for this year. Still, it’s the team’s top pitching prospect in his major-league debut, and that’s cause for excitement, or at least tuning in.

Steve Cishek is off to the DL with a labrum tear, thereby removing any threat to newly anointed closer Edwin Diaz and lifting Tom Wilhelmsen into the setup role, based on our latest Bullpen Report.

Jay Bruce hit a three-run home-run against the cross-town rival Yankees for his first hit as a Met. That’ll win you fans quickly. Speaking of acquisitions, Rich Hill is expected to make his Dodgers debut on Sunday.

The Yankees are moving Luis Severino back into the rotation. With a hole to fill after the departure of Ivan Nova, it makes sense to give the 22-year-old another shot. Severino was shelled for a 7.46 ERA and .390 wOBA in seven starts earlier in the year but has thrown 8.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the last 10 days and owned a 3.25 ERA over 10 Triple-A starts in between.

Jordan Zimmermann is set to undergo an MRI on his right lat after it forced him from Thursday’s start in the second inning. It was his return from the DL (due to a neck strain), and while the team is saying the issues are unrelated, it’s not immediately clear if he’ll make his next start. Daniel Norris looms if Zimmermann can’t go.

One final note: Pick up Juan Uribe, who may be getting credited with Corey Seager’s stats if you play in a SportsNet LA-run league.

Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers or play DFS, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Jameson Taillon vs CIN (Anthony DeSclafani)
Apologies for back-to-back recommendations at the 40-percent ownership level, but uhh, is there a good reason Jameson Taillon is still out there in more than half of leagues? He’s the owner of a 3.52 ERA, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 7-to-1, and has really only been pushed once in his last four starts. The long ball is a minor concern, but the Reds are 28th in wRC+, 27th in wRC+ against righties, and 21st in road ISO. Stream Taillon, and if it works out, maybe give him a longer look over the next couple of weeks.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Homer Bailey @ PIT (Ivan Nova)
Flipping to the other side of this matchup, we roll with Homer Bailey in just his second start of the season. And it’s a risk, to be sure – the Pirates own a 100 wRC+, hardly a pushover’s rate. But that mark is a little worse against righties (96), they’re middling at home from a power perspective, and Bailey’s ownership is so low that the cost here is essentially nothing. The 30-year-old was decent in his July 31 return and was one of the game’s steadier arms before losing most of his 2015 season.





Blake Murphy is a freelance sportswriter based out of Toronto. Formerly of the Score, he's the managing editor at Raptors Republic and frequently pops up at Sportsnet, Vice, and around here. Follow him on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC.

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