Roto Riteup: July 28, 2026

First degree robbery here:

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Trades!!!
3. Quick Hits
4. Various News and Notes
5. Streaming Pitchers

Closer Chaos

Steven Cruz threw a scoreless ninth inning against the Tigers to register the save on Sunday. 

The Royals turned to Cruz after Alex Lange got the save on Saturday night. The Kansas City bullpen has been a nightmare so it wouldn’t be surprising if Cruz factored into the save picture more often.

Trades!!!

Curtis Mead was traded to the Red Sox for Connelly Early late Saturday night. Mead is having a breakout season, hitting .254/.352/.500 with 17 home runs and six stolen bases in 327 plate appearances. The former top prospect has always had offensive upside, but has struggled defensively so much it prevented him from getting consistent playing time in the Majors. The defensive issues are still there and the Red Sox have said they may try him out at second base, but it seems more likely he will end up as their designated hitter more often than not. Brady House was recalled to take Mead’s spot on the roster. Early is on the IL but is close to returning and will add a lot of much needed talent to the Nationals rotation. He was dealing with an elbow injury, so there is some long term risk. 

Jose Urquidy was traded to the White Sox for Felix Doroteo on Sunday. Urquidy was designated for assignment last week by the Pirates. He will provide depth for the White Sox if needed. 

Quick Hits

Shea Langeliers was placed on the IL with a torn meniscus. He is expected to miss considerable time and his season could be over. Jonah Heim will take over the majority of the catching duties and is a good pickup in leagues where he is available. Brian Serven was recalled to take Langeliers’ spot on the roster. 

Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-Day IL with a hamstring strain. There is no timetable for his return. Spencer Jones was recalled to take his spot on the roster. 

Jeffrey Springs left Sunday’s start with hip discomfort. 

Consider him day-to-day at this time.

Spencer Steer left Sunday’s game with a hand injury.

He is expected to see a hand specialist on Monday which doesn’t sound good. Expect that he will hit the IL.

Various News and Notes
Michael Massey went 1-for-2 with a home run in the victory over the Tigers on Sunday.

Massey is hitting .274/.312/.440 with eight home runs and two stolen bases in 281 plate appearances. Massey is making a ton of contact and hitting the ball harder this season. He won’t ever be a massive power source, but he has been good defensively which ensures his playing time and allows him to accumulate.

Connor Prielipp threw 5.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out five in the victory over the A’s on Sunday.

Prielipp wasn’t overpowering, but did a good job of keeping the A’s hitters off-balanced and inducing weak contact. When he is sequencing well and can rely on the breaking stuff, he can he can be a valuable starter for fantasy. He gets a Mariners team who has struggled against lefties this season in his next start.

Kyle Leahy threw six innings versus the Reds, allowing two earned runs on six hits and a walk and struck out nine in the no-decision on Sunday.

Leahy set a career high in strikeouts in spite of not getting a ton of swing and miss. What he did was mix and match fantastically. He threw all six of his pitches 14% of the time or more. He will regress at some point, but his great command and control along with a deep arsenal allows him to outrun his poor underlying ERA indicators.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today: Brandon Sproat at SF

Sproat is a high risk play, but he has been better lately and has a lot of strikeout upside. 

Other Options: Tatsuya Imai at LAA, Walbert Urena vs HOU, Kumar Rocker vs SEA, Keider Montero vs BAL.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Landen Roupp vs MIL

Roupp has a tough matchup, but he has been better recently and is worth streaming at home. 

Other Options: Anthony Kay vs NYY, Seth Lugo at MIN, Gage Jump vs BOS, Christian Scott vs ATL, Colin Rea at STL, Brady Singer vs CLE, Hunter Dobbins vs CHC, Brandon Pfaadt at PIT. 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “Other Options.”