Roto Riteup: June 12, 2026

Only Crooks in the Building!

Congrats to Jimmy on his first home run of 2026.

On the Agenda: 

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

 Closer Chaos

In this section yesterday, I discussed the lack of save opportunities for the Baltimore Orioles this season. So, of course, they pick up a save on Thursday. Only, it was veteran Andrew Kittredge (his first of the year), not Rico Garcia. In that game against the Mariners, Garcia entered the eighth inning with a 7-5 lead. He earned two quick outs (power lefty bats Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone) before giving up two singles and getting pulled for lefty Grant Wolfram, who earned the final out of the inning. Kittredge entered the ninth to face the top of the Mariners’ order, and got the job done. It’s fair to consider Kittredge as “in the mix” for ninth inning duties, though perhaps not “the” guy. It doesn’t matter all that much from a fantasy perspective beyond this week since Ryan Helsley will be activated after a few rehab appearances.

No chaos here, just pure adulation for Jacob Latz who earned a win pitching two innings against the Royals on Thursday. He punched out three batters and did not allow a hit nor a walk. His ERA is down to 1.69. Pure stud.

Quick Hits

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson has been on quite the heater. He is in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak and has homered in three consecutive games. Here’s his 11th of the season, his lone hit on Thursday:

Burleson batting average is up to .290 and his OPS is up to .842. He appears to be enjoying batting between Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker, as would anyone.

Cole Carrigg hit his first career homer on Thursday:

Carrigg is better known as a speedster in industry Minor League Fantasy Baseball leagues. He stole 30 bases in 57 games at Triple-A before his promotion last week, 46 in 2025 and 51 in 2024. Expect him to be a popular FAAB target in 15-teamers this Sunday.

Bryan Woo was uncharacteristically lit up for seven earned runs by the Baltimore Orioles. If you recall, he also gave up seven to the Cardinals in late April. The only other time he allowed that many in a game in his career was against the Yankees in September of 2024. One of those runs was Juan Soto’s 40th home run that season (well, technically two runs since Gleyber Torres was on base).

So much for early-round safety. Orioles “reliable” starter Kyle Bradish has walked three or more batters in 11 of his 14 starts. The only two pitchers with more walks than Bradish’s 39 are José Soriano and Bubba Chandler. Both have 40.

Sharing this because I love Seiya Suzuki so much.

It was his first career road grand slam and third of his career.

Various News and Notes

Shohei Ohtani left Thursday’s game against the Pirates with knee inflammation. Manager Dave Roberts isn’t concerned and expects Ohtani to be in Friday’s lineup.

Check out Roki Sasaki’s last three starts:

• May 23 at MLW: 5 innings pitched – 4 hits – 2 earned runs – 4 strikeouts
• May 30 vs PHI: 5.1 innings pitched – 3 hits – 1 earned run – 7 strikeouts
• June 5 vs LAA: 7 innings pitched – 2 hits – 0 earned runs – 10 strkeouts

Don’t know about you, but this is trending in a great direction where at this point, the only reasonable thing to expect is a complete game shutout against the White Sox on Friday and then no-hitter against the Padres in the following week.

Tyler Phillips earned his first career win as a Marlins starting pitcher. He fired 70 pitches over five scoreless frames (2 H, 2 BB, 5 K) against the Diamondbacks on Thursday. His next start will be a road one, on Tuesday, against the Phillies, a game that might confuse me if I watch it without my contact lenses looking at Phillips vs. Phillies.

Shane Bieber looked great in his recent rehab outing in Triple-A. He pitched six innings with no runs allowed and five punchouts. Expect Bieber back in the Blue Jays rotation in about 10 days.

I’m excited to get Jordan Lawlar back into my lineups. His roto teammates on the GutSquads have missed him. Lawlar and the Diamondbacks will play three against the Reds at Great American Ball Park this weekend.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% on Yahoo)

Pitchers for Today: Tatsuya Imai, HOU (42%) at Kansas City Royals

Imai had a rough start to him major league career, but has been a dependable starter over the past month. Since his six no-hit innings in Arlington on Memorial Day weekend, Imai pitched well against strong offenses — 8 H, 4 ER and 13 K in 11 IP against the Brewers and Athletics. The Astros are road favorites in this one.

Other Options: Pending

I’m hesitant to provide streaming recommendations I don’t feel confident in. That’s a good thing, right? Most of the starters on Friday are over 50%. The two potentially viable streamers besides Imai are Jack Leiter (at BOS) and Landen Roupp (vs CHC). Leiter has been very volatile from start to start and is tough to properly time in our starting lineup. Roupp got off to a great start, but has been very hit-or-miss lately. Case-in-point, he was bombed by the Brewers on June 1 for eight runs (and issued five free passes), then fired 5.2 strong innings of one-run ball against the Cubs in Wrigley in his last start. If I had to pick one, it would be Leiter.

Pitchers for Tomorrow: Cade Cavalli, WSH (33%) vs. Seattle Mariners

Cavalli allowed four runs to the Diamondbacks on Sunday. In his previous 10 starts, he allowed three or fewer. He owns a 3.50 ERA at home and should be able to get the job done on Saturday.

Other Options: Griffin Jax, TB (29%) at Los Angeles Angels

Jax has allowed more than one run in a start once since joining the rotation on April 26, though the first two starts were when he was still ramping up. It’s a solid matchup for him.

Have a great weekend, my roto friends!