Roto Riteup: June 14, 2012
Special note: Matt Cain’s perfect game netted me 91 fantasy points. For reference, a score of 300 on the week usually results in a win. If you have a good story — fantasy or otherwise — about last night’s perfecto, please share in the comments.
Kevin Youkilis is likely going to be moved before the trade deadline. This much we know. What we don’t know, however, is where he will end up. Youk’s value this year and next year depends on what happens over the next two months, so it’s time to dig in. While we can’t make a 100% accurate prediction, fantasy owners can at least plan ahead and forecast likely landing spots. So, I’m doing that for you; because you’re lazy, and I have a gift.
• Arizona is one prime destination for Youk. The Diamondbacks haven’t gotten great production from the hot corner (.293 wOBA), and they have pitching to deal. The D’Backs are still a ways off in the West, but they’re only five games out of the Wild Card, and Youkilis has another year left on his deal should the team choose to exercise his option. Moving Youk to the Arizona desert would mean more homers and a higher batting average for fantasy owners, though his RBI and runs scored could dip.
• The White Sox are another option for Youkilis, as Chris Cwik outlined here. The South Siders would give Youkilis a comfy home against competition he’s faced before, but his numbers wouldn’t be much better than they were in Boston.
• Another major competitor for Youkilis’ services is the LA Dodgers. The Dodgers have been running a cadre of players out at the hot corner, but all of them are better off in utility roles. LA is not friendly to right-handed hitters, so buyer beware if he ends up there.
• In non-Youkilis news, Kyle Drabek could have major elbow problems. Drabek felt a “pop” in his throwing elbow yesterday, but he was not feeling any pain afterward. Last time I felt a major popping sensation, I tore muscles, so this is really scary. I’ve long been a fan of Drabek’s stuff, but his results have left something to be desired. When elbow injuries come into play, players’ command is usually the problem, not their velocity. Well, Drabek’s command is already suspect (at best), so another setback could completely derail his major league career. If he does have a serious injury — think Tommy John surgery — even owners in the deepest of dynasty leagues can be fine giving up on him. Stashing him on the DL is not going to be worth the fifteen seconds it takes to navigate to that webpage.
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: Scott Diamond vs PHI
The Phillies don’t scare me, and while Scott Diamond is nothing special, he’ll do.
A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Dillon Gee vs CIN
I have a good feeling, even though guys like Joey Votto and Jay Bruce scare me.
A Hitter for Today: Josh Reddick at COL (Alex White)
If Seth Smith somehow finds his way into the lineup, I’d love to play him.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
I bought low on Youk about 2 weeks ago in my AL-Only league. So far that hasn’t worked out. He seems to be in a bad place mentally right now…is there some hope a trade could bring him back to form?
So, I also started JA Happ in a H2H last night which was an awful decision as he left a messy 21.60 ERA in 3.1 IP. Cain’s perfecto plus another 4 scoreless innings from relievers lowered my era for the day down to 4.15. If I win ERA this week it’ll be solely due to Cain.
I have R.A. Dickey and Matt Cain (and Daniel Hudson) on my standard 12 team mixed 5X5 non keeper. Being in a daily roto league though does not really allow me to fully enjoy their respective successes. I feel like all of the guys in my league owe me a beer at least. I’ve been double streaming for the majority of the season and that helped me “discover” Dickey before his breaking out. I streamed James McDonald early on, but someone got to him before I could keep him. Same with Vogelsong. Point being, streaming helps me see trends. I’ve got a 9 pitcher slots, SP/RP no matter. I’m trying to get to my 200 games started limit ASAP within reason, so that I can trade Cain and Dickey and Hudson for someone like Kimbrel, Papelbon, Chapman.
I’m lucky enough to have been in first place for the majority of the season, including now. I just traded Tyler Clippard for Carlos Gonzalez. I figure once Drew Storen returns then Clippard may lose some save opportunities. I’ve got Wieters, Salty as my Cs. Votto and Konerko 1Bs, K. Johnson and B. Roberts 2Bs, JJ Hardy SS, Han Ram and Pablo Sandoval 3B, A. Jackson, Bruce, Car Go, Quentin, Prado, Beltran OFs. Casilla, Wihelmsen, Brett Myers (trying to trade, but no takers, may drop and pickup Ryan Cook off waivers if he is still there), R. Soriano, E. Frieri.
Sorry for the dump of the lineup. Here’s the link to my team. http://games.espn.go.com/flb/clubhouse?leagueId=26066&teamId=3&seasonId=2012
I guess I am trying to figure out if I should try and upgrade any batters with Cain and Dickey once I reach my GS limit for the year. I’m on pace for 305 games (200 is the season limit cap), or 61.5% used to this point (77 games to start left).
What kind of crappy league to you play in where you can get CarGo for Clippard? That doesn’t sound challenging or fun at all.
I was as shocked as you were that someone offered that deal to me. I had to make sure that the Carlos Gonzalez was the real Carlos Gonzalez and that I wasn’t confusing him with someone else. When the trade was not vetoed by the league members, then I knew some people draft and then fell asleep at the wheel. I’m merely playing the hand that I’ve been dealt.
CarGo for Clippard? And that wasn’t shot out of the sky in seconds?
If Drabek needs TJ, this would be his second time.
I picked Dickey in The Game last night. So that was nice.
Unfortunately picking Andrew Miller knocked me out of first place in the RP rankings, and I didn’t even get one hit from my hitters. You win some, you lose some.
Do we think the Red Sox are going to trade him no matter what? Or only if they are out of the playoff race AND Middlebrooks is playing well?
I’m thinking of doing some reliever tweaking. I was gonna drop Walden for Doolittle. My league is deep and we value holds. It’s a Bullpenney cat. (H+S-BS). I don’t see Walden going anywhere. Any thoughts. Thanks.