Roto Riteup: July 28, 2012

I’m torn. Today is Saturday, and thus the weekend, but it is also the last weekend in July. Where did the summer go? Seasons come and go, but don’t worry, the Roto Riteup isn’t going anywhere!

• The Zack Greinke trade has been covered by our own Marc Hulet and Matt Klaassen already, and will be followed up from a fantasy perspective a little bit later today. The deal itself sent Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Jean Segura, Ariel Pena and John Hellweg. Both Pena and Hellweg can strike batters out, but issues with control seem to be seriously hampering their route to the majors. Segura is really the class of this trade, and is the only one with fantasy implications.

• Late last night another trade went down, this time involving the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants. This particular transaction involved the Rockies receiving Charlie Culberson and cash considerations for Marco Scutaro. On the face of it, this deal seems puzzling to me. Scutaro is a still useful middle infielder while Culberson, despite being a former first round compensation round pick, seems to have stalled as a prospect. Culberson has never had a wRC+ above 110 in any level where he has accrued at least 200 plate appearances. This looks to be a straight salary dump by the Rockies. Scoots is hitting an abysmal .238 away from Coors launching pad, so his fantasy value just took a nosedive. Scutaro is owned in only about 30% of Yahoo! leagues but he is owned in almost 70% of ESPN formats. If you own him, I’d trade him in a package immediately before his numbers plummet.

• Over the past 30 days Coco Crisp has proven himself to be still useful at the top of a lineup. He is hitting .344 with 14 runs scored and five stolen bases. He has fluctuated heavily in my AL OF Tiered Rankings, but this past month has been a massive resurgence to him and his overall value. Despite the A’s having a (best in MLB) record of 17-3 in July, Crisp has been quietly setting the table. He is owned in only 32% of Yahoo! leagues but is up to almost 50% ownership rate per ESPN. I’d pick him up now if he is still available.

• Trevor Plouffe was moved to the 15-day disabled list yesterday evening. The move is retroactive to July 21, so Plouffe may be gone the minimum 15 days. Thumb injuries are especially hard to gauge, but it seems safe to think of Plouffe as a solid bet to return to form once he’s healthy. After his absurd start, he did eventually cool off but still managed to hit .300 over his last 14 days. For some reason his ownership rate in Yahoo! leagues has dropped 10% in the past week. It is still up at 70% overall, but there is no reason to jump ship. If for any reason Plouffe is on your league’s wavier wire, grab him now.

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: Wandy Rodriguez at HOU
Wandy’s first trip as a visitor in Houston should be a welcoming affair.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Mat Latos at COL
I’m still a Latos fan, even in Coors field.

A Hitter for Today: Quentin Berry at TOR (Henderson Alvarez)
Berry has been killing it lately and Alvarez isn’t a very good pitcher.