Roto Riteup: June 21, 2021
For those of you in need of a bedtime story for the kids:
Do you love fantasy sports? Do you love, or at least tolerate at bedtime, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"?
If you answered yes to both of the above, then you might love, "If You Give A Sports Fan A Fantasy Team"! pic.twitter.com/inyF7lOI0T
— ThatMouthyWife (@MrsDSalinger) June 18, 2021
On the Agenda:
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Quick Hits
Carson Kelly was placed on the IL with a fractured wrist. Kelly had returned recently from a broken toe, so this is a huge bummer. He is likely out for the majority of the season, if not all of it. The Diamondbacks brought up top catching prospect Dalton Varsho, who becomes interesting in 2-catcher formats.
Austin Gomber was placed on the IL with forearm tightness. His MRI came back clean, so that is good news, but there is no timetable for his return.
Christian Arroyo had to be helped off of the field in Sunday’s game after a collision in the outfield:
For those who missed the Christian Arroyo injury earlier, here you go.
Fingers crossed y’all 🤞🏻#RedSox | #DirtyWaterpic.twitter.com/PAhCLGMi4l
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) June 20, 2021
Arroyo has been diagnosed with a bone bruise on his shin. He may need an IL stint depending on the severity, but the Red Sox believe he should be ok long term.
Adalberto Mondesi left Sunday’s game with side soreness. Consider him day-to-day for now, but he is expected to undergo further testing on Monday.
Various News and Notes
Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-4 with three home runs in the victory over the Mets.
We moved Kyle Schwarber to the leadoff spot on June 8.
In 13 games since, he's hit 7 HRs and 14 RBIs.
The Best Leadoff Hitter in @MLB™@kschwarb12 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/2sieZjrSG0
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 20, 2021
He now has five home runs in his last two games and has been leading off for the Nationals. He is destined to cool off and still struggles versus left handed-pitching, but he has found his groove and is too low owned in shallower formats.
Sam Hentges threw five scoreless innings versus the Pirates, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out four. Hentges does a great job with his command and control which makes up for underwhelming stuff. He gets a good amount of ground balls and weaker contact which helps him get out of innings. His 93% zone contact could come back to bite him eventually, but I trust the Indians organization with guys like this and he has a rotation spot right now with both Plesac and Beiber on the IL. He is an interesting streamer with a nice matchup versus Minnesota coming up.
Shed Long Jr. went 1-for-4 with a walkoff grandslam in the 10th inning victory over the Rays on Sunday.
ROOKIE PLAYING LIKE A VET❗️@JonathanIndia pic.twitter.com/oTc463r2t8
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 18, 2021
Long has hit .320 over the last week and is splitting his time at second and left field for the Mariners, who are allowing him to play regularly. He is a former top prospect that is still just 25-years-old with power and speed and is worth looking at in deeper formats.
Sammy Long threw six innings, allowing just two runs off of four hits and a walk in the victory over the Phillies.
Sammy Long was touching 95 mph with his fastball and then dropping 76 mph hooks like these today: pic.twitter.com/EwDXHQladf
— Jonathan Metzelaar (@JonMetzelaar) June 21, 2021
Long’s only walk was a product of being squeezed really badly by the umpire, who had a tight and inconsistent zone throughout the day, which made the home run he gave up a two-run bomb rather than a solo shot. Long was very impressive throughout the outing and his fastball/curve combo was reminiscent of early career Barry Zito. He should be rostered in most formats.
Wilmer Flores went 4-for-4 with two home runs in the victory over the Phillies on Sunday. Flores hit both of his homers to virtually the same spot in left center on pitches that missed their spots in the zone. Flores has some pop in his bat and he is playing somewhat regularly, but he is likely to lose playing time as the Giants begin to get healthy. He is a short term stopgap for the time being.
Wilmer Flores – San Francisco Giants (6) Solo 2 today. pic.twitter.com/vdmECHbyOW
— MLB HR Tracker (@hr_mlb) June 21, 2021
Top prospect Wander Franco is expected to make his debut on Tuesday for the Rays in their series against the Red Sox. Franco is crushing AAA, hitting .315/.367/.586 with seven home runs and five stolen bases this season.
Here’s the moment Wander Franco found out he was getting called up https://t.co/HHS3uKIJgA
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) June 21, 2021
It will be interesting to see how his power translates early in the Majors, but he is one of the most hyped prospects we have seen in a long time and should be rostered in every league.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: None
Short slate with few options
High Risk Options: Jake Odorizzi at BAL, Merrill Kelly 켈리 at BAL, Brett Anderson at ARI
Pitcher for Tomorrow: Ross Stripling at MIA
Stripling has been much better lately and has a nice matchup in a larger NL park.
High Risk Options: Johan Oviedo at DET, Chris Flexen 플렉센 vs COL.
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.
I heard some prospect got promoted too, not sure if it’s noteworthy for fantasy though.
Yes, we’re all excited about Sebastian Rivero.
I also heard a few things about a top prospect getting called.