Roto Riteup: July 2, 2019

Could the mound in London actually have been lower?

ERod's vertical release point this year is at 5.778 feet on average.

In London, it was 5.727 feet.

It's a 115 pitch sample out of nearly 1700 total pitches this year, which puts the sample standard dev at about 0.015 feet.

— Connor Kurcon (@ckurcon) July 1, 2019

Interesting… I struggle converting back from the metric system too…

 

On the Agenda:
1. Tyler Skaggs
2. The Sleeper and the Bust DFS contest
3. Various News and Notes
4. Quick Hits
5. Streaming Pitching Options

 

Tyler Skaggs
Tyler Skaggs passed away at the age of 27. As a result, the Rangers and Angels game on Monday was postponed. Skaggs was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Texas where the team was staying for their upcoming road trip. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No cause of death has been released. Skaggs was the 40th overall pick in the 2009 draft and showed plenty of promise over his career in the Major Leagues with the Diamondbacks and Angels and was a fun pitcher to watch.

Due to the tragic passing of Tyler Skaggs, Alex and I have decided it best to not record On The Corner this week. The List will be pushed to tomorrow as well.

Instead, let's watch 47 seconds of Tyler Skaggs throwing one of the prettiest curveballs in the game. pic.twitter.com/F10bqKq1wi

— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) July 1, 2019

He will be missed.

 

The Sleeper and the Bust DFS contest
Every week The Sleeper and the Bust podcast puts together a DFS contest on DraftKings. The winner gets a shoutout on the podcast as well as in the Roto Riteup and my and Paul’s hard earned cash. To enter, click the link below:
https://www.draftkings.com/draft/contest/74000451

Apologize for not posting last week’s, I was out of town on vacation.

 

Various News and Notes
According to Pirates GM Neal Huntington, Chris Archer could miss his next start tomorrow. With the All-Star Break approaching the Pirates may try and give Archer some added time off as he has been dealing with a hip issue. Archer has struggled this season, so it would not be surprising to see them skip this start.

Brendan McKay made his hitting debut in the Majors on Monday, going 0-for-4 versus the Orioles. McKay hit .205/.313/.331 between AA and AAA this season, with four home runs. He is a more complete pitching prospect than hitting one, but in leagues where he has dual eligibility, he gains added fantasy value.

Craig Kimbrel gave up three runs in an inning of work versus the Pirates. Kimbrel came in non-save situation and proceded to give Josh Bell his third home run of the game and Jose Osuna’s fifth of the season. With the contract the Kimbrel signed, he shouldn’t have any competition for the role, this is just a frustrating blowup in a game that was clearly decided.

Jose Alverado came into the game in the ninth inning and pitched a scoreless frame, securing his seventh save of the season. This is the first save he has recorded since missing about a month due to a family issue. He appears to be high up in the pecking order for the Rays with Diego Castillo on the IL.

According to Tom Caron of NESN, the Red Sox are discussing using Nathan Eovaldi as their closer once he is ready to return from the IL. Eovaldi worked out of the bullpen in the World Series last year and the Red Sox have struggled to close out games, so this makes sense. There is no current timetable for his return.

 

Quick Hits
The Phillies have swapped Aaron Nola’s and Nick Pivetta’s spots in the rotation. This will give Nola a second start this week and take away Pivetta’s.

Dylan Bundy had his turn in the rotation pushed back from Tuesday to Friday.

Brad Boxberger was released by the Kansas City Royals.

 

Streaming Pitching Options (Less than 50% owned)
Pitcher for Today: None
Not a ton of great lower owned options.

High Risk Options: Jakob Junis vs CLE, Trent Thonton vs BOS, Tyler Beede at SD.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Dylan Cease vs DET
One of the top prospects in baseball making his MLB debut versus a bad Tigers team.

High Risk Options: Felix Pena at TEX