Roto Riteup: August 9, 2015

This morning’s Roto Riteup is disturbed by local weather reports suggesting it will be back in the high-80s in the middle of next week.

On today’s agenda:
1. Welcome Back, Stephen Strasburg
2. Various news and notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Welcome Back, Stephen Strasburg
Strasburg’s 2015 has been quite the disappointment, what with a 5.16 ERA before heading to the DL in early July with an oblique injury. Strasburg returned last night and destroyed the Rockies over seven innings, striking out 12 and walking none. The Rockies aren’t a top tier lineup, but seeing Strasburg turn in his best start of the year immediately after returning from the disabled list is a great sign. Strasburg is scheduled to face the Giants next time out before seeing the Rockies again, only the next time will be in Denver. It’s probably too late to buy low on Strasburg, but consider giving it a shot anyway.

Various news and notes

In another career setback, Padres starter Brandon Morrow will undergo shoulder surgery, ending his season. Morrow got through all of 33 innings this year, but looked good doing so. Morrow has pitched just 120 innings over the past three years, and with shoulder surgery likely dampening his velocity, his time as a starter is probably over.

Sticking with the theme of injury prone pitchers, Jaime Garcia has been awesome this year and turned in another solid start last night. Garcia may have walked four, but he did not allow a run against the Brewers and his ERA is now a sparkling 1.77 through 10 starts this year. Jaime’s BABIP is down to .218, though, and over his career it generally sits around .300. Moving towards a more extreme GB% will help keep his BABIP a little lower, but there’s still some not-so-fun regression coming soon.

Francisco Liriano only made it through three innings yesterday after tweaking something in his non-throwing arm while batting. Liriano is expected to make his next scheduled start.

Preston Tucker hit another homer last night, bringing his total up to 11 over 259 plate appearances. His younger brother is a better prospect, but Tucker is fitting into the majors just fine.

---

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

A pitcher for today: Mike Fiers at OAK (Chris Bassitt)
Fiers in a big ballpark against a poor lineup? Yes please.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Jonathon Niese vs COL (Jon Gray)
In case you hadn’t noticed, Niese has been excellent recently.