Roto Riteup: June 16th, 2012

I’m not a betting man (that’s a lie), but if I was, I’d wager that this is the best Roto Riteup that has been published in the past 24 hours. And if isn’t the best, then I’ll wager that it is at least the most recent.

• If it seems like I was just touting and recommending Justin Masterson last week, it’s because you have an excellent memory. It’s tough to read into a single start against the Pirates, but a nine strikeout and three walk performance is always nice regardless of the level of opposition. The same caution applies to Masterson as last week, but he is seemingly began to reshape into himself of old. His ownership rate in both ESPN and Yahoo! is still just 41%.

• Late last night Alex Rios continued to show encouraging signs as we smacked a pair of solo homers in Dodger Stadium. He now sits at a .297 batting average, eight home runs and even seven stolen bases. He’s also been producing a healthy number of runs and RBI’s this season. With huge seasons from both Paul Konerko, who happens to hit third cleanup with a .438 OBP and Adam Dunn who hits fourth third with his .370 OBP, expect the RBI chances to continue. Rios has been penciled in as the fifth hitter for 21 straight games, so as long as he is hitting behind those on-base machines, expect plenty of RBI’s. Rios is still available in one third of Yahoo! Act accordingly.

• Juan Pierre stole a pair of bases last night in the Phillies’ loss at Toronto. Although it was in a losing effort, Pierre now has 13 stolen bases on the year to just two caught stealing. His average is about as empty as .325 can possibly get, as his ISO is a mere .047 on the season. Of course you didn’t target Pierre for his RBI count, so to see his average well above .300 and to see him still able to run at a reasonably well rate, he makes for a useful fantasy option. Even though he is limited to a fairly strict platoon as far as starts go, his ability to pinch run can lead to plenty of opportunities to run despite not reaching base on his own accord. A 15% ownership rate in Yahoo! and 17% in ESPN.

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: Doug Fister vs COL
Fister is pitching at home, but more importantly that means that the Rockies are the on road. In 36 home games the Rockies have scored 225 runs for an average of 6.25 R/G. On the other hand, in 27 road games the Rockies have scored just 91 runs for an average of just 3.37. I’m taking a flier on Fister.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Zack Greinke at MIN
I don’t care how expensive Greinke will be. I am 100% buying him in this match-up.

A Hitter for Today: Andre Ethier vs CHW (Philip Humber)
Ethier crushes right-handed pitching. Humber has given up 12 homers this year, of which nine were against left-handed batters.