Roto Riteup: June 18, 2026
Rookie catcher Joe Mack is getting hot!
On the Agenda:
- Closer Chaos
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Closer Chaos
Dodgers lefty Alex Vesia earned a rare save opportunity with Tanner Scott having pitched and earned saves on Monday and Tuesday. Vesia issued two walks in the top of the ninth inning, but got the job done for his third save of the season. Scott should remain the closer for at least the next month, until Edwin Díaz is ready. Díaz has finally been scheduled to throw a bullpen session this week and is projected to be activated not long after the All-Star break.
Three saves? Only three?? Sad times for managers who invested in WBC stud closer Daniel Palencia, as he hits the injured list for a second time after offering virtually no help in the saves category. Ninth inning duties are projected to be shared by righty Jacob Webb and 39-year-old veteran lefty, Caleb Thielbar. On Wednesday, Thielbar earned the last two outs in the eighth and Webb pitched the ninth to earn his second save. Webb’s lone blemish was a solo shot by the Rockies’ Kyle Karros. Webb rocks a career-best 27.5% strikeout rate this season and a career ERA under 3.00, but has never been a closer nor earned more than two saves in a season.
Giants closer Caleb Kilian last pitched on Sunday and did not enter Wednesday’s contest against the Braves. Lefty Matt Gage appeared in the bottom of the ninth with a 5-2 lead to face lefty Mike Yastrzemski, struck him out on a foul tip, then proceeded to get hammered for three earned runs on four hits, including a Mauricio Dubón homer. Tristan Beck stepped in for the final two outs to earn his first save of 2026 and secure the 7-5 victory for the Giants. Twenty-nine-year-old Beck is a Stanford alum and joined the Giants in a 2019 trade for reliever Mark Melancon.
Quick Hits
Nolan McLean was feeling it on Wednesday: no earned runs, three hits and one walk allowed, with nine punchouts in seven innings.
McLean had been struggling over his previous six starts (6.38 ERA, 5.08 xFIP). Worst of all, he had issued 12 free passes in his last three (15 IP). Next on tap are two home starts against the Cubs and Phillies.
Bo Bichette hasn’t just been heating up this month, he’s scorching! He’s 24-for-55 (.436) over his last 13 games and has six straight multi-hit games. Last season, Bichette tied Luis Arraez for the second-most hits (181) behind Bobby Witt Jr. despite missing 23 games. Bichette still has a lot of gains to make with his current .254 batting average.
Colson Montgomery crushed two dingers on Wednesday:
The only player with more home runs than Montgomery’s 40 since the All-Star break is Kyle Schwarber (49). Believe it or not, it was his first two-homer game of his big-league career.
Various News and Notes
Julio Rodríguez was removed from Wednesday’s game due to hamstring spasms. Roto prayer circle time for good news on Thursday.
Subdued southpaw Cole Ragans joined Garrett Crochet and Spencer Strider on the 60-day IL. Ragans has been out since May 8 with elbow impingement. Technically, it was a transfer from to the 60-day, with activation eligibility date of July 17.
Giants lefty Carson Whisenhunt earned his first MLB win, striking out two, with two runs allowed on six hits. It was a spot start as Whisenhunt, but don’t be surprised to see him return sometime after the All-Star break.
The Los Angeles Angels acquired veteran catcher Tyler Heineman from the Toronto Blue Jays. With Alejandro Kirk back and Brandon Valenzuela proving his worth, Heineman was expendable. He will serve as Logan O’Hoppe’s backup and will occasionally pitch the ninth innings when the Angels are down by 10.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)
Pitcher for Today: Shane Drohan, MLW (15%) vs. CLE
Drohan will toe the rubber today against a Guardians offense that has been decimated by injuries. Angel Martínez, Chase DeLauter, and José Ramírez were all placed on the IL this week. JRam is expected to return sometime between the All-Star break and the MLB trade deadline. The Brewers are home favorites and the game’s projected run total is 7.5.
Other Options: Sean Manaea, NYM (14%) at PHI
This one is against the grain since the Phillies are home favorites and an explosive offense. They’ve been subpar against southpaws. Their 87 wRC+ ranks just 25th and Manaea is fighting to maintain his rotation spot.
Pitchers for Tomorrow: Randy Vásquez, SD (33%) at TEX
Vásquez should be able to handle the Seager-less Rangers, though whether the Padres will provide some run support is another story.
Other Options: Griffin Jax, TB (31%) vs WSH
Jax rocks a 2.57 ERA since joining the Rays rotation in late April and that includes a six-run implosion against the Tigers on June 1. He has yet to surpass five innings and faces a juggernaut Nats’ offense, which is why he’s a conditional streamer, not a primary.
Vlad writes for RotoGraphs and is the head of fantasy baseball content at FTN Fantasy. He is a Tout Wars Expert League champ, member of the CDM Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and has been nominated for FSWA writing awards six times. Vlad has been playing fantasy baseball since 1995, winning 42 NFBC leagues since 2012 and ranking in the top percentile in NFBC’s Online Championship contest (33% win rate, 52% cash rate; 64 leagues). Much to the chagrin of his colleagues and most baseball aficionados, Vlad is a lifelong Dodgers fan who claims his first gut call at age 9 was Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run. You can follow him on X and BlueSky @RotoGut.
Kilian pitched Wednesday in the resumption of the suspended game, getting the final two outs in the ninth.
I loved this:
“Heineman was expendable. He will serve as Logan O’Hoppe’s backup and will occasionally pitch the ninth innings when the Angels are down by 10.”
Heineman has pitched enough in his career (8.2 IP) that he actually has an OOPSY ROS projection (8.69 ERA BTW).
He also has Stuff+ figures – Stuff+ is 7 but his Location+ is 97 which is actually better than 3 of the 62 qualified pitchers