Roto Riteup: June 24, 2016

Big Poppa Pump’s your hookup. Holler…if you hear me.

Now if only Scott Steiner and his freaks would come to Rotographs to help us with some of the more complex math issues.

On the agenda:
1. Adam Duvall won’t stop hitting home runs
2. Lincecum struggles
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitcher Options

Adam Duvall won’t stop hitting home runs
Adam Duvall hit his 21st home run of the season Thursday, tying him with Nolan Arenado, Todd Frazier, and Mark Trumbo atop the major-league leaderboard. That is more than a little surprising after the 27-year-old was the 104th outfielder off the board before the season and is still just 83-percent owned. I don’t blame people for being slow to react, especially with the sub-.300 OBP and unsightly player discipline profile, but he’s always hit for a lot of power in the minors. There’s some ISO regression that can be expected, and long-term he needs to figure out how to use the threat of his power to walk at least a little bit, but make the leap if he’s still out there in your league. For now, the power’s there and won’t slow up too much, with Duvall safely projected for at least 15 more home runs. He’s also oddly produced eight DRS in the outfield already, tied for eighth among outfielders, and could eventually add the flexibility of first base (four appearances, two starts) or third (three, one).

Lincecum struggles
Asked about Tim Lincecum’s comeback and a successful first outing recently, my only answer was that we still need more data. He did well to miss some bats even as his offerings declined before, and maybe the time off and a return to health would help with mechanical consistency, but he also just doesn’t have great stuff anymore. Well, we have more data after Thursday, and it suggests Lincecum is probably what we thought he was – he gave up four runs over three innings, striking out just two. Through two starts, he has a swinging-strike rate of 9.4 percent, which is solid but has only translated to four strikeouts in nine innings, same as the number of walks he’s issued. I get why he’s owned in 43 percent of leagues (fun). I’m just not sure there’s much here for fantasy utility.

Various News and Notes
Hey, James Shields survived! He gave up three runs over five innings, his best start since May 25. That’s damning with the faintest of praise, of course, but it’s where we are with him.

Noah Syndergaard will make his next start, which is great. Less great? Thor claiming his elbow flare-up was due to his increased workload and velocity (which, yeah). Last season, the 23-year-old threw 179.2 innings, and he threw 133 the year prior. He should be OK for 200 this year based on normal increases, and at 91, he’s in line for about that amount. But he’s averaging 1 MPH more on his heater and throwing a lot more sliders, which could be taxing his arm more. The MRI was clean, so keep an eye on his velocity next time out and breathe a sigh of relief for now.

There are more Mets-Jose Reyes rumblings. This has been your daily Mets-Jose Reyes rumblings update.

Rookie right-handed Adrian Sampson left his start Thursday without throwing a pitch due to elbow discomfort, departing after just two warm-up tosses. Vidal Nuno came in to replace him and could stand to draw another start if Sampson joins Taijuan Walker, Wade Miley, and Felix Hernandez on the shelf. Wade LeBlanc is on the way to start for Walker on Friday, too, his first major-league action since 2014. LeBlanc was terrific for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate before being acquired for cash this week.

The Red Sox placed Chris Young on the DL with a hamstring injury, and he’ll join Brock Holt and Blake Swihart there. Ryan LaMarre may get some extended playing time now, and, uhh, can Rusney Castillo come back? The Red Sox disabled list is way too crowded.

Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers or play DFS, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Cody Reed vs SD (Colin Rea)
A bit of a mixed bag in his MLB debut on the weekend, Cody Reed was at least able to show that his strikeout ability may carry over. The 23-year-old was striking out 23.8 percent of Triple-A batters and struck out 29.9 percent after joining the Reds organization part way through last year’s Double-A season, a bit of a change from his early-minors track record. Here, the lefty draws the Padres, who rank fourth in baseball in strikeout rate and 27th in wRC+ – they do hit lefties pretty well, though, so there’s a bit of bust potential here.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Brandon Finnegan vs SD (Drew Pomeranz)
I like Brandon Finnegan a lot here but don’t want to recommend back-to-back Reds for the sake of variety. There just aren’t a lot of great options, with many low-ownership arms drawing tough matchups, and I can’t convince myself to try to Run the Jhoulys again. So, we pick on the Padres twice in a row. Apologies. Finnegan’s peripheral numbers are more than a little dicey right now but this should be a chance for him to tally a few strikeouts without much bust potential.