Roto Riteup: June 28, 2019

by
June 28, 2019

Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and ……dodge.

On the Agenda:
1. Various News and Notes/Quick Hits
2. Streaming Pitchers

Various News and Notes/Quick Hits
The Rays are calling up top prospect Brendan McKay from Triple-A Durham to start on Saturday against the Rangers.

The wait is finally over! Or is it? There’s no doubt that the two-way player is talented and ready to get a shot at the big leagues. Just check out this tweet from Jeff Passan of ESPN.

He’s been tremendous this season, and I for one am excited for what he can bring to the Rays and fantasy teams. He commands his mid-90’s fastball well, and uses a curveball, slider, and cutter as his secondary offerings (all rated 50-55). My worry is that his PC for the majority of the season has sat in the 70 range until recently. The Rays just played an 18-inning game and had to use Ryan Yarbrough in the process, so it’s definitely conceivable that this is just a spot start. Fantasy owners should pick him up anywhere they can, and bid big in FAAB this weekend (if you have any left). Even if this is a spot start it’s only a matter of time before he gets a more permanent role, so he’s well worth investing in. He also did this to Giancarlo Stanton recently….

Speaking of call-ups, the Brewers have recalled Keston Hiura from Triple-A San Antonio and sent down struggling infielder Travis Shaw.

Since being sent down, Hiura has posted a .321/.406/.655 line with a 150 wRC+, eight home runs, and 20 RBI in 96 PA, while going three-for-three in stolen base attempts. He did strike out 25% of the time – which does sit in the back of my mind since he mustered a 36% K in his 64 AB cameo in the majors – but regardless, his skillset is awesome. He really started to turn things on before being sent down, as he hit three home runs and notched a hit in five-of-six. He’ll be the full-time second baseman, with Moustakas likely shifting to third.

Scooter Gennett is expected to make his return to the Reds today. He only hit .182 in his six-game minor league stint, but he swatted 20 home runs, scored 80+ runs, and drove in over 90 for the second straight year in 2018, and should get somewhat full-time AB. This is bad news for Derek Dietrich and will likely result in Kyle Farmer or Phillip Ervin being sent down.

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported that Brian Cashman does not expect Giancarlo Stanton to return until August.
Andrelton Simmons has been activated from the injured list.

Yordan Alvarez left Thursday’s game against the Pirates in the fourth inning with left knee discomfort, but Astros manager A.J. Hinch said it was “precautionary.”

Kevin Kiermaier made an early exit in yesterday’s game against the Twins, but he’s seemingly day-to-day.

The Twins placed Willians Astudillo on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain.

Yonder Alonso’s time with the White Sox has come to an end.

This could mean that Zack Collins gets the majority of the at-bats at DH for the time being. Keep an eye on him.

Yandy Diaz went 0-for-7 with a sacrifice fly in his return to the Rays lineup.

Joey Gallo mashed two home runs in three at-bats with a walk in the Rangers win over the Tigers yesterday.

 

Edwin Diaz blew his second save in his last four chances (fourth of the year) against the Phillies.

Diaz had issues with home runs prior to last season, and that seems to have reared its ugly head thus far. No reason to panic, but having Seth Lugo might not be the worst idea in deeper leagues. To be fair, Hector Neris wasn’t much better yesterday.

Zack Wheeler had another strong outing against a good offense. It was about this time last season when he started to turn things on.

Aaron Nola logged 10 strikeouts in seven innings and has been strong in three of his last four.

Scott Kingery led off again and had a multi-hit game. We’re back!

Martin Perez tallied his first quality start since May 17th.

The Pirates shelled the Astros 10-0. Performances worth highlighting are:
Starling Marte (2-for-3, 3 runs, RBI, 12th HR, 12th SB)
Josh Bell (2-for-5, two-run home run, 22nd of the year)
Kevin Newman (3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, staying hot)
Corey Dickerson (1-for-4, two-run home run, .381/.400/.643 line since returning in early June)
Joe Musgrove (6 IP, 9 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 0 ER, still a buy candidate)

Orlando Arcia hit his third home run in his last six games.

Craig Kimbrel posted his first save as a Cub.

Chase Anderson was quality against the Mariners and has six strikeouts in four-of-five starts this month.

Bryse Wilson continues to demonstrate why he’s not ready to start in the majors.

Jason Heyward has 11 hits in-his-last 21 at-bats with five extra-base hits.

Blake Treinen isn’t too far off returning when he’s first eligible.

Ozzie Albies has a homer in two of-his-last three and is hitting .330/.396/.617 with six home runs and two steals in June.

Matt Adams hit a three-run homer for the second day in a row, and has a bomb in three of-his-last four starts overall.

Victor Robles also hit his third home run in his last six starts, but has yet to steal a base this month….

Trea Turner has a hit in seven-straight and has swiped four bags in that time.

Ryan McMahon went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an absolute shot!

Alex Verdugo has a hit in nine-of-ten, with three home runs in that time.

The Dodgers went back-to-back jacks twice against the Rockies. The first one was Cody Bellinger/Max Muncy:

Muncy ended up with two home runs on the night, and is on pace to beat his career-high numbers from 2018.

The second back-to-back home runs came from Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner:

Turner could give us 20 bombs again if he stays healthy and Verdugo is faring very well in his rookie season. He’s posting great results against LHP thus far too.

Chris Taylor is a broken record for me at this point. He went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a pivotal go-ahead RBI.

Walker Buehler only allowed one run in Coors his first time out this season, but was rocked for seven earned yesterday.

Wade Davis allowed four runs yesterday, and has now yielded 12 in his last 7.1 IP (eight appearances).

Christian Walker (first base) and Jake Lamb (third base) both played today against a right hander, with Eduardo Escobar coming off the bench.

Shohei Ohtani continues to rake.

 

Matt Olson hit his third bomb in his last six – his 14th of the year.

Kyle Hendricks could return before the All-Star break.

Top prospects Gavin Lux and Dustin May were both promoted to Triple-A, and Vidal Brujan was promoted to Double-A.

Maikel Franco hit his third home run in his last four games.

Garrett Hampson has been good these last few games (two hits and a triple yesterday), but Trevor Story will be coming back rather soon.

Streaming Pitchers (Less than 50% owned)
Pitcher for Today: Merrill Kelly at SF
Kelly has been good recently and has allowed two earned runs in 11.1 IP against the Giants spanning two starts this season.

High-Risk Options: Anibal Sanchez at DET, Wade Miley vs SEA

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Michael Pineda at CWS
The White Sox are without Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson, while Pineda has allowed three or less runs in eight of-his-last nine starts.

High-Risk Options: Adrian Sampson at TAM, Jordan Yamamoto vs PHI





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

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