Roto Riteup: June 20, 2023

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June 20, 2023

I know it has been a few days but I am still laughing at this:

On the Agenda: 

  1. Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest
  2. Closer Chaos
  3. Quick Hits
  4. Various News and Notes
  5. Streaming Pitchers

 

Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest

On most Tuesday’s and Friday’s and some other days, Paul Sporer and I will be doing a $5 draftkings game for anyone that is interested. 

 

Closer Chaos

Jordan Hicks threw a scoreless ninth inning, allowing just one hit while striking out one to register the save on Monday versus the Nationals. This is Hicks’ third save in as many days for the Cardinals confirming that he is in fact the closer for St. Louis while Ryan Helsley is on the IL. Giovanny Gallegos was expected to be the closer, but blew his first opportunity after Helsley went down. Hicks has the stuff to be a top tier closer, but health and wildness has been his downfall previously. He has not walked a batter in his last four outings and has not allowed a home run since mid-April, so I am betting that he can hold down the job for the immediate future and potentially the rest of the season if Helsley cannot return. 

 

Quick Hits

Anthony Rendon was placed on the IL with a wrist contusion. I don’t know why you might have Rendon still rostered in just about any format, but this is your time to drop him. 

Alejandro Kirk was placed on the IL with a hand laceration. He is not expected to miss more than the minimum 10 days on the IL. 

Hunter Greene was placed on the IL with hip pain. There is no timetable for his return. 

 

Various News and Notes

Henry Davis went 1-for-3 and a walk in his Major League debut. 

Davis is the former first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and a top 50 prospect in baseball. He has been pretty good this season, hitting .284/.433/.541 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases between AA and AAA. While he was drafted as a catcher and likely plays there in the future, he has been playing a lot of right field in order to fast track his development. This will allow him to get full time playing time in the Majors making him a huge upside play with catcher eligibility. He should be picked up in all 2-Catcher formats and deeper one catcher leagues.

Brendan Donovan went 1-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Nationals on Monday.

After a bit of a slump, Donovan has been on fire in June, hitting .302 with two home runs while leading off in the 13 of 16 games he has played. The power we saw in Spring Training has not stuck around, but he offers great batting average and the potential for a lot of runs with his multi positional eligibility which is always valuable.

Kerry Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Royals on Monday.

Carpenter has quietly been really good this season for the Tigers, hitting .280/.328/.514 with six home runs in 116 plate appearances. He has been hot since returning from the IL and while he is a strong side platoon bat mostly, he has value in deeper leagues if you are in need of power.

Alek Thomas went 2-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Brewers

Thomas is known as a defensive wizard, but he struggled in his first go around in the Majors this season. However, he was really unlucky posting a .195 with a .249 xBA and hitting the ball hard but on the ground. He is someone to watch because his defense could keep him in the lineup on a potent Diamondbacks offense.

Mike Yastrezemski went 3-for-5 with two home runs, including a walkoff in extra innings, in the victory over the Padres on Monday.

Yaz has been up and down this season, hitting .257/.321/.487 with 10 home runs in 210 plate appearances, but has been better over the last two weeks, hitting .286 with four homers. Yaz should play close to everyday for the streaking Giants and should be picked up in deeper leagues as he will likely move up the lineup.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: None

Some interesting high risk options, but none that don’t have red flags for their start. 

High Risk Options:  Michael Lorenzen vs KC, Kyle Freeland at CIN, Ryne Nelson at MIL

Kutter Crawford at MIN, Kyle Bradish at TB, Daniel Lynch at DET. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow:  Brady Singer at DET

Singer has pitched well of late and gets a bad Tigers team. This is probably a trap, but one I am ok falling for. 

High Risk Options: Kyle Hendricks at PIT, Rich Hill vs CHC, Tylor Megill at HOU, Matthew Boyd at KC, Paul Blackburn at CLE, Trevor Williams vs STL. 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”





 

Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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fartinyourface
1 year ago

Thanks Justin, hope you had a nice Juneteenth.

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