Roto Riteup: July 31, 2020

I feel personally attacked by this poll:

On the Agenda:
1. COVID IL Issues
2. Closer Chaos
3. Quick Hits
4. Various News and Notes
5. Streaming Pitchers

 

COVID IL Issues
The series between the Phillies and Blue Jays has been postponed according to manager Charlie Montoyo. There are still concerns about playing in Philly’s home park after the Marlins had a COVID outbreak there. Make sure you get all of the players out of your lineups.

 

Closer Chaos
James Karinchak came into the game in the ninth and got the save versus the Twins. Brad Hand was not available after pitching the last two games, but Hand has struggled and it appears that Karinchak is first man up when they do go to make a move.

Daniel Hudson recorded his first save of the season on Thursday. Sean Doolittle has been pitching earlier in contests and has been dealing with some reduced velocity. Hudson was the guy the Nationals turned to in the playoffs and World Series, so it is not surprising that he would be the preferred option in the ninth. Plus, it allows me to share this:

Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth inning, allowing only one hit and recording the save versus the Tigers. Leave it up to Mike Matheny to make the closing situation in Kansas City more clouded than it already was. At this point it looks like it may be a straight committee in KC and that should be avoided if at all possible.

Edwin Diaz came into the game in the ninth inning in a non-save situation versus the Red Sox and gave up a hit and two walks. Following the game, the Mets manager stated that he was going to consult with the Mets brass and determine whether Diaz should be pitching in high leverage situations. This sounds like the Mets may be going in a different direction. Pick up Dellin Betances if he is available on your wire as he seems most likely to get the fair majority of save opportunities in the near future.

Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 45-day IL with a strain in his right shoulder. This is the same injury that affected Corey Kluber and it sounds like it is more likely that his season is done. Nicky Goody came in and got the save on Wednesday, but JEsse Chavez and Jonathan Hernandez seem to be the likely guys to grab the role.

Cole Sulser got the save opportunity versus the Yankees on Thursday and promptly served up a home run to Aaron Judge. The Orioles bullpen is a mess and likely a situation that you want to avoid in general.

 

Quick Hits
Gleyber Torres left Thursday’s game after being hit with a pitch on his elbow. X-rays were negative. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Cameron Maybin was placed on the 10-day IL with a leg injury. Victor Reyes appears to be in line for more time in the outfield now.

Wade Miley was placed on the IL on Thursday. This will allow Tyler Mahle to stay in the rotation in spite of the fact that Anthony DeSclafani is expected to return on Saturday.

Mike Trout was placed on the paternity list. This was talked about most of the summer and the time has come. Trout will likely miss a few games and be back at some point early next week.

 

Various News and Notes
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, MLB will play seven inning double headers starting on August 1st. This was approved by both the owners and the player’s union. The idea is to avoid overworking players with so many consecutive games, especially since the Miami outbreak has caused a number of teams to miss so many games already. This is something to consider when setting lineups as quality starts and other stats will be harder to get for teams playing a lot of double headers.

Teoscar Hernandez went 3-for-4 with two home runs versus the Nationals on Thursday. Hernandez now has four home runs on the season. He has always been a StatCast hero, but struggled with his strikeout rate and playing time. While the former is still an issue, the latter doesn’t appear to be. If you need power and can sustain the eventual drop in average, Teoscar is worth riding the hot streak.

Daulton Varsho has been called up to the Majors by the Diamondback. Varsho is an offensive first catcher. It seems unlikely that he can carve a huge amount of playing time considering how bad he is defensively, but he is worth the speculation in NL Only and deeper mixed leagues with two catchers because he could be a top 5-10 catcher if given a full role.

Both Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria were activated from the 10-Day IL on Thursday. Neither are super interesting in fantasy, but Longoria figures to play everyday and Belt should play a fair amount as well.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: Randy Dobnak vs CLE
This may be crazy, but Cleveland’s lineup does not inspire much fear right now.

High Risk Options: Garrett Richards at COL, Spencer Turnbull vs CIN, Alex Cobb vs TB

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Tyler Chatwood vs PIT
Chatwood is always a scary play, but he looked good in his first start and he gets a bad PIttsburgh team.

High Risk Options: Jordan Lyles at SF, Michael Wacha at ATL, Yusei Kikuchi vs OAK





Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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Jackie T.
3 years ago

Riding the hot streak isn’t a thing.