Roto Riteup: August 8, 2022
I wish I could do anything as well as Trea Turner slides:
The prettiest slide in baseball is back. 😍 pic.twitter.com/fi8lI89xOg
— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2022
On the Agenda:
- Closer Chaos
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Closer Chaos
Mark Melancon threw a scoreless inning versus the Rockies, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out one to register his 15th save of the season. Melancon loaded the bases in the outing, but was able to get Randal Grichuk to ground out to end the game. Melancon has struggled this season and recently the Diamondbacks have said they would move to a committee, but he will obviously be a big part of that as the Diamondbacks would probably like to trade him in the offseason or before next year’s trade deadline.
Quick Hits
Tim Anderson’s suspension has been reduced to two games. Anderson was originally suspended three games for making contact with an umpire on July 29th:
Tim Anderson doesn't like a strike call and bumps into the umpire, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/KLgN6PMXrZ
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 2, 2022
Anderson served the first game of his suspension on Sunday and will serve the final game on Tuesday.
Mickey Moniak is expected to hit the IL with a fractured finger. Moniak broke the finger on Saturday during a bunt attempt. There is no timetable for his return.
Various News and Notes
Drew Rasmussen left his start after three perfect innings versus the Tigers. This was not an injury, but a planned action to help keep his innings at a manageable level as the Rays compete for a playoff spot. This is something to continue to watch as the Rays have a number of pitchers they may start to be more careful with.
Matt Manning threw seven scoreless innings versus the Rays on Sunday, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out seven in the no-decision.
Matt Manning, Dirty 78mph Curveball. 😨 pic.twitter.com/yZfUZ7xjJq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 7, 2022
Manning was great in this outing, especially with his slider and fastball command. Manning hasn’t been as dominant as we thought he could be when he was coming up as a prospect, but this is a good start to him being a viable fantasy team streamer if he can continue to attack the zone with good command.
Darick Hall went 2-for-4 with two home runs and a walk in the victory over the Nationals.
Darick Hall. Ring It.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/14Xj02BTXE
— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) August 7, 2022
Hall has quietly been very good, hitting .282/.321/.612 with eight home runs in 109 plate appearances. He is barreling the ball over 20% of the time and making good contact for a power hitter. He is striking out 27% of the time so the average may drop some, but the power is legit and he is playing pretty much every day.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: Jose Suarez at OAK
Suarez has been really good against the A’s recently. No reason to think he can’t keep it going.
High Risk Options: Yusei Kikuchi at BAL.
Pitcher for Tomorrow: James Kaprielian vs LAA
Kaprielian has pitched well of late and has a nice matchup here.
High Risk Options: Zach Thompson at ARI
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.
Don’t think most in the prospecting community expected Manning to be all that dominant pretty much all along, except perhaps those who drafted him for the Tigers.
Sure, his surface level MiLB stats looked nice enough for the most part, but MiLB stats are often enough not predictive of MLB results…
He’s been doing pretty much what was expected by most in the prospecting community me thinks…