Roto Riteup: June 25, 2016

Today’s Roto Riteup is all about the Biz.

On the agenda:
1. Pittsburgh’s Young Starters
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Pittsburgh’s Young Starters
Jameson Taillon made his fourth big league start yesterday, allowing four earned in four innings, walking one and striking out two. Aside from the three homers he gave up to the Cubs in his first visit to the Windy City, Taillon has been solid, but ultimately unspectacular. After he was absolutely dominant at Triple-A to start the year, the club doesn’t have much to teach him by sending him down, so they’re likely going to let him go through another couple starts before they have to decide if there’s a better option available.

The better option — and one who could come up even if Taillon remains — may be Tyler Glasnow. Glasnow continues to walk far too many batters in Triple-A, but for the second straight season he has an ERA at the level under 2.25, and his strikeout rate sits above 30%. He clearly needs to work on his command, and he’s had stretches of better control, but nothing sustained across more than a handful of starts. The Pirates really seem to want him to come to the majors, but they’re just not willing to accept the free passes, and rightfully so. I would suspect that if he can put together three starts with low walk numbers — say, no more than 6 total in that span — it’ll become tempting to recall him, but not before.

Various News and Notes
Don’t look now, but Adam Lind has 11 homers this season. His batting average and OBP are still poop-on-a-pringle, but his ISO is almost three-time better in Safeco than it is on the road. He’s got a weird profile, but he’s not a bad option in deeper leagues where the waiver wire doesn’t have much in the way of power available.

It appears likely that Jose Reyes will reunite with the Mets as soon as he clears waivers this afternoon. The Mets don’t need an everyday shortstop or second baseman, but they could use some help at third, and Reyes would also provide some depth up the middle. He’ll need some minor league ABs to work himself back into form, but don’t expect him to be down more than a week. The Mets need help, and while Reyes isn’t the SB monster he used to be, fantasy owners may be interested in him as a MI option should he get everyday ABs.

A.J. Reed is here! The Astros prospect has been promoted to the majors as Houston tries to suck some production out of their first base spot this year. Reed’s 2016 hasn’t been as stellar as his 2015 was, but he’s still a big man with big power who’s willing to take a walk. Reed’s average is likely to hinder his fantasy value, but he’ll have some worth in OBP leagues.

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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: Dillon Overton at LAA (Jhoulys Chacin)
Really, you could opt for Chacin over Overton, but a rookie making his debut is just more fun.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Bartolo Colon at ATL (Bud Norris)
Bartolo may not bring the Ks, but he brings the good times.