Roto Riteup: June 14, 2017

This is what it is like when I ask my coworkers to cover a shift for me:

Feeling down about your favorite team? Just remember: It could be worse. You could be the Reds. pic.twitter.com/LODOMAhRWC

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) June 13, 2017

 

On the Agenda:

1. A Rockies Resurrection

2. The Bour Supremacy

3. The Dodger Dumpster Fire

4. Various News and Notes

5. Streaming Pitcher Options

 

A Rockies Resurrection

According to manager Bud Black, Gerardo Parra may be out for longer than originally suspected. Apparently his injured quad is not getting better as quickly as the Rockies had hoped. This is good news for Mark Reynolds who is having a resurrection type season. Reynolds is benefiting from a bump in playing time due to injuries to Parra and David Dahl and in spite of having best start to his career, no one is buying him at the moment. Reynolds’ walk rate is the highest it has been since 2012 and he is striking out at a 24.8% clip, the best rate of his career. Add in the 17 home runs, 54 RBIs and a .309/.390/.578 triple slash and we are talking about an elite start. There are reasons to be concerned however. He has struggled versus left-handed pitching this year, hitting .197 this year against them. Also his K% has climbed this month and he is sporting a 35.5% strikeout percentage during june. However, this could be mostly related to the fact that the Rockies have only played two home games this month and he has a higher strikeout rate on the road. While he is pretty widely owned at this point, he may be an affordable option on the trade market as it is likely that people are waiting for the wheels to fall off.

 

The Bour Supremacy

The Marlins are expected to activate Justin Bour from the disabled list on friday. Bour has been one of the few bright spots for a struggling Marlins club. Before going on the DL, he led the Majors in homers and ISO during the month of May. While the power has been great, it has been the improvement he has shown versus left handed pitching that has allowed him to play full time as opposed to being at risk of being platooned. So far he has hit .350 versus southpaws and while that will regress, if he can at least be serviceable versus lefties, than he can threaten 30+ homers.

 

The Dodger Dumpster Fire

Ok, maybe the headline for this one is a tad bit misleading and biased because I am a Giants fan, but whatever… Adrian Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day DL with a herniated disk in his back. According to the Dodgers, this is an aggravation of a previous injury, but a serious issue nonetheless. Gonzalez has struggled staying on the field this year and even when he has, it has not been pretty. He currently has only one home run in 165 at bats and is slashing .255/.304/.339.

Cody Bellinger will move to first base in his absence, Joc Pederson has been activated from the DL, and Chris Taylor will assume a full time role in left field.

 

Various News and Notes

Chris Davis is dealing with a strained oblique muscle that was confirmed after an MRI. It is expected that he will be placed on the DL and will miss 2-3 weeks.

Matt Strahm will make his first Major League start against the Angels in Anaheim on Thursday. Strahm was a pretty popular sleeper pick coming into the season, but was bumped from the rotation after the Royals signed Jason Hammel and traded for Nate Karns. He struggled early on in the season but had been better before a poor outing last week against the Padres. He will be on a 60-70 pitch limit, but this will be a good indication of whether he can be transitioned into a full time starter for this season.

Franchy Cordero launched two home runs last night and has hit .327/.375/.635 with three home runs in 56 plate appearances to start of his career. Here is your NL Only pickup of the week!

 

Streaming Pitcher Options

A pitcher for today: Francisco Liriano vs TB

Tampa Bay leads the Major Leagues in most strikeouts versus left-handed pitching. Liriano can strike people out. If you don’t have cushion in the ratios then buyer beware, but if you are looking for cheap K’s and are chasing wins, then here is your guy! Should be a cheap DFS option as well.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Matt Strahm @ LAA

It is a really bad lower end slate and if you need a QS or win, he may be a bad choice because of the pitch limit he will be on, but he could rack up some strikeouts against a poor Angels lineup that doesn’t hit lefties well.