Roto Riteup: June 29, 2013

Today is June 29, and we all know what that means…happy waffle iron day! Enjoy today’s Roto Riteup as you chow down on some delicious waffles.

On today’s agenda:
1. Eric Surkamp is back, sort of
2. A hitting spree for Erick Aybar
3. Bad news for Johnny Cueto
4. Jhoulys Chacin 15 consecutive scoreless innings

Eric Surkamp is back, sort of
The San Francisco Giants activated Eric Surkamp from the 60-day disabled list and then promptly optioned him to Triple-A. He is scheduled to start there Monday and should be one of the first choices should the big league club need a starter. Surkamp dominated High-A in his five rehab starts but Monday’s outing will be a very good test on how the Tommy John survivor handles higher level hitters. For deep leagues or NL-only formats, make sure to add Surkamp to your watch list. Prior to 2012, Surkamp looked like a promising source of strikeouts and ratios. He may not require a roster spot right now in standard leagues, however he could pitch his way back into the major leagues.

A hitting spree for Erick Aybar
Over the past 15 days Erick Aybar has hit .339 with two home runs and three steals. His seasonal line is now up to .282/.302/.380 and while that doesn’t look like much for fellow on-base percentage league players, Aybar being a shortstop helps put the proverbial lipstick on the OBP pig. He won’t set the world on fire in any one category, but he does hit in a lineup — albeit in the bottom third — that has scored a top 10 ranking in terms of runs and RBIs. In deep 5×5 leagues Aybar’s .275 average and runs, when looked at through a shortstop lens, make him a worthy option. Aybar is available in 40% of CBS leagues, 30 of ESPN leagues, and 52% of Yahoo! formats.

Bad news for Johnny Cueto
In yesterday’s start against the Texas Rangers, Johnny Cueto made four pitches after the first inning before being re-aggravating his right lat muscle. This could be the third time this year that Cueto hits the disabled list with the same injury. With the exaggerated twist in Cueto’s windup the probable culprit of the injury, perhaps the Cincinnati Reds will consider revising his windup. Apparently Cueto thought of refining his motion and scrapping the twist after his first DL stint. For now, it looks like 2013 may be somewhat of a sunk year for Cueto owners.

After Cueto exited the game, Tony Cingrani came on in relief and was less-than-spectacular for his four innings. He recorded three strikeouts but allowed six walks and three runs. Cingrani makes for the most logical choice to be promoted to help fill in for Cueto, as Cingrani has done it twice already. Currently owned in just 60% of CBS formats and less than 25% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues, it is time to once again grab Cingrani.

Jhoulys Chacin’s 15 consecutive scoreless innings
This season has been a mixed bag for Jhoulys Chacin. His shiny 3.59 ERA is weighed down by his paltry 5.10 K/9 rate. Over his scoreless inning streak Chacin has tallied just six strikeouts in his 15 innings. There is good news however,  as he has managed to cut a significant amount of walks thus far; his 2.64 BB/9 is over a walk per 9 better than his career average. Chacin has been lucky when it comes to not giving up a home run, but his 66.8% LOB% would be a career worst, despite his .280 BABIP being in line with his career norm. The results, from an ERA stand point, have been there despite his mediocre 4.09 xFIP.

With just a 7.7% swinging strike rate, Chacin’s lack of K’s shouldn’t be shocking. Likewise his career highs in F-Strike% and Zone% help explain his BB/9 thus far. For now he is only fringe-relevant in 12-team mixed leagues. Even without many strikeouts Chacin still makes for a stream candidate and not much more — at least until he begins to miss some bats.