Roto Riteup: July 7, 2015

Don’t worry lads and lasses, the soccer intros shall continue for a little bit longer. Tonight the USMNT takes on Honduras at 9:30 eastern in their first Group A match of the Gold Cup.

On today’s agenda:
1. Josh Harrison out six weeks
2. Khris Davis and Jacoby Ellsbury to return shortly
3. Streaming Pitching Options

Josh Harrison out six weeks
Yesterday the Pirates placed Harrison the 15-day disabled list due to torn ligaments in his left thumb. As the title suggests, the club thinks he’ll miss about a month and a half with the injury. Count on Jung-Ho Kang to receive the majority of playing time at third base now, and Gregory Polanco to take over as leadoff hitter. Kang is a solid option and sports a better on-base percentage than Harrison, however the latter’s batting average has been higher. I still think Kang’s power hasn’t been fully tapped into just yet and he could make some noise in the second half of the season. One can find the South Korean free to pick up in nearly 70 percent of CBS settings and over 85 percent of Yahoo! or ESPN leagues. Most likely due to Polanco’s season long struggles, he is also widely available and should be grabbed if you’re looking for a little speed. Polanco is free to grab in just 20 percent of CBS leagues but over 30 percent of ESPN and Yahoo! formats.

Khris Davis and Jacoby Ellsbury to return shortly
The Brewers are likely to activate Davis today according to Todd Rosiak. Out for more than five weeks due to surgery on his right knee, Davis will be hard pressed to match his 22 home run total from last season given the missed time and now a potential playing time battle. Gerardo Parra has crushed the ball while standing in for Davis, though the most likely scenario would be to platoon the two hitters. If that is to be the case, Davis will still get the short end of the playing time stick as he’ll be mostly limited to facing southpaws. I’d wait to add him in standard leagues, however 14-team or deeper formats should look to pick him up. He’s available in more than 70 percent of the three major fantasy baseball sites.

Ellsbury is set to rejoin the active roster at some point tomorrow. The Yanks have missed their leadoff hitter for nearly two months, though Brett Gardner has done an excellent job in Ellsbury’s stead. In my weekly league where I own him I couldn’t pull the trigger to insert him into the lineup as I tend to be a bit gun-shy about people fresh from the DL.

Streaming Pitching Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Manuel Banuelos at MIL (Tyler Cravy)
The rookie fanned seven and didn’t allow a walk in his major league debut against a Nationals offense which rates much better against southpaws than the Brewers. I’m expecting a fair number of K’s from Banuelos today and he can be picked up in 75 percent of CBS leagues as well as more than 90 percent of ESPN and Yahoo! settings.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Jake Peavy vs NYM (Jacob deGrom)
The Mets stink against right-handers and I’m not ready to judge Peavy’s abilities on 14 innings of action this season. Peavy is free to stream in over 80 percent of the three major sites, but it isn’t exactly a risk-free start. Hey, he’s available for a reason!