Roto Riteup: July 24, 2012

The Marlins and Tigers made a trade yesterday afternoon, sending Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to Detroit as the Tigers work to secure their spot as an American League favorite. Let’s break it down into some quick and dirty Roto Riteup style pieces, shall we?

• Anibal has been a top-notch starter in the NL since 2010, but one wonders how he’ll do against stiffer competition. Sanchez works with a good overall repertoire, and his slider should be able to put away even the toughest of AL batters. His changeup is his big weapon against lefties, and he’ll have to face his fare share of them should the Tigers run into the Yankees come playoff time. For the rest of the fantasy season, consider Anibal’s value to be slightly down due to the change in league.

• Omar Infante is the fantasy asset with the most to gain from this trade, as the 30-year-old may now be slotted at the top of a lineup featuring Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. Even if Infante does move to the bottom of Detroit’s lineup card, he’ll still be able to hit for a high average and score some runs. His value can really only go up.

• Jacob Turner is the main piece going back to Miami in this trade, giving the Marlins a top pitching prospect to add to their farm system. Turner has advanced through the minor very quickly, but he’s stalled a bit in Triple-A this year. Turner has good stuff, and pitching in a friendly park while in the NL should do wonders to his 2013 value and beyond.

You know who else was traded today? Ichiro. Let’s talk about him, shall we?

• Well, Ichiro isn’t great anymore, and hopefully the Yankees have the sense to bat him at the bottom of the order. If you’ve ever watched him in batting practice, you know that Ichiro can put on a show when he pulls the ball, and that could very well happen in Yankee Stadium. He’s not going to be a premium power hitter, but expect much better HR numbers than Ichiro provided in Safeco.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here are a couple matchups you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Today: Freddy Garcia at SEA
The Chief may be facing King Felix, but the Mariners can’t hit at home, and Freddy knows Safeco well. Other options include Brett Cecil (vs OAK).

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: N/A
Wednesday’s streaming options are very, very limited. Take the day off from rotating pitchers through, please, because I can’t in good faith recommend a starter.

A Hitter for Today: Alejandro de Aza vs MIN (Cole DeVries)
Which “de” will prevail? I believe it’s de Aza in a hitter’s park against a homer-prone righty.