Roto Riteup: July 22, 2016

One of my favorite parts about this time of year is that trade action in fantasy leagues ramps up as a result of MLB trade action doing the same. Even in leagues where a trade deadline is later or doesn’t even exist, MLB teams pushing buttons and feeling out the market leads to some frantic offers. Me, I’m generally a more conservative owner, and you can catch me pulling back trade offers like:

On the agenda:
1. Urias outduels Strasburg
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Urias outduels Strasburg
Okay, so the Dodgers are down Clayton Kershaw for an undetermined amount of time, but what if – and hear me out – they already have the next best thing? Julio Urias can’t go deep, but he can be effective, and he held the Nationals to one run on five hits over four innings in a Thursday matinee, striking out four. No, he’s nowhere close to Kershaw (seriously, I didn’t mean the opening line, don’t @ me), and the fact that he’s nearly reached his career high in innings here in late July is concerning, but Urias is really starting to settle in as a useful arm (he has a 3.32 FIP and 3.57 xFIP behind his 4.69 ERA). He’s really only had two bad outings at the major-league level, and he’s becoming a solid streaming option even with the short stints (he’s available in 78 percent of leagues). He’s not quite there yet, but what he’s shown this year is really encouraging longer-term. Not bad for a kid hardly as old as Can’t Hardly Wait.

He pitched opposite Stephen Strasburg, by the way, helping hand the Nats’ righty his first loss of the year. Strasburg is now a woeful 13-1.

Various News and Notes
Matt Holliday is day-to-day thanks to a pitch he took to the face, resulting in a lot of blood and his removal from the game. Yasiel Puig could be missing time, too, as he tweaked a hamstring Thursday. That could limit the Dodgers’ ability to trade him over the next week-plus.

Staying on the trade front, everyone is available and nobody is available all at the same time, depending on who you ask. Andrew Cashner is pretty certain he’s going to be dealt, at least, and even with an unsightly 4.79 ERA, he’d be a top priority on the waiver wire for AL-only owners if he changes leagues. There just aren’t that many arms that seem poised to change circuits. Also on the radar, Jonathan Lucroy sat out Thursday but later subbed in, a bit of a false alarm.

Updating an item from yesterday, Koji Uehara expects to miss a month with his pectoral strain. Alan Harrison has you covered with more in the Bullpen Report.

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: Jon Gray vs ATL (Julio Teheran)
Through all the changes during a Major League Baseball season, the one constant has been the Braves sitting at the bottom of the league in wRC+. Their mark of 74 isn’t any better against righties (74) or at home (74), and it’s only improved slightly over the last 30 days (83). In other words, no matter how you split it, the Braves remain a good matchup. Jon Gray, armed with a 26-percent strikeout rate, should be poised to take advantage. He held the Braves scoreless over seven innings last week, and Atlanta doesn’t exactly inspire fear that a second look at him will change things.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Robbie Ray @ CIN (Keyvius Sampson)
Any stream at Great American is risky, but the Reds have been fairly inept at the dish for some time now. Owners of an 82 wRC+ overall and just an average .171 ISO at home, they’re a good bet to stream against in any environment lately. Robbie Ray comes in with some risk – hence the 11-percent ownership tag – but has the strikeout profile and ground-ball rate to make for decent streaming here.