Roto Riteup: June 5, 2013

Today’s Roto Riteup is dedicated to my Grandma, who celebrated a birthday yesterday. A better grandson would know what birthday this was, but alas, we move forward.

On today’s agenda:
1. Michael Pineda is rehabbing
2. Asdrubal Cabrera to the DL
3. Tom Koehler getting some love

Michael Pineda is rehabbing
After missing the entire 2012 season due to a shoulder injury, Pineda is finally ready to prepare for big league action. The right-hander will begin his rehab duty in A-ball this weekend, and there is no word on how long he’ll be stuck in the minors.

Pineda was dominant in 2011 in large part because of his velocity, as his fastball regularly sat at 95 MPH on most occasions, but throwing heat is always a concern following any sort of shoulder injury. Pineda’s slider was also effective in ‘11, but that was partly because of the change in speed from his fastball — when you’re looking 95, it’s hard to adjust to 84. Pineda’s pedigree means you almost have to add him in all leagues, but there’s no reason you need to start him before he proves he can be effective.

Asdrubal Cabrera to the DL
After making a quad injury worse in Tuesday’s game action, Asdrubal is going to require a stint on the DL to heal up. While Asdrubal was struggling with strikeouts this season, his .254/5/5 line still made him a fringe starting shortstop thanks to a quality lineup surrounding hin. Taking over for Asdrubal will be Mike Aviles, whom for some reason the bespectacled author wanted to call “Will Aviles.” Aviles has been Terry Francona’s utility man this year, managing a characteristic .283 batting average with a handful of homers and steals. Aviles is a good plug-n-play candidate for all owners now that he will receive regular playing time.

Tom Koehler getting some love
The Marlins right-hander was mentioned no fewer than two times in yesterday’s AMA over at r/fantasybaseball, so I figure it’s good enough reason to talk about the lad a little bit.

Koehler made his debut for the Fish last year, pitching out of the bullpen for seven of his eight appearances. Now 27 years old, Koehler is starting games for Miami and putting up decent numbers. In five starts this season, Koehler has an ERA under 4, but his strikeout rate leaves much cause for concern. Even as an older player at most minor league levels with a low-to-mid-90s fastball, Koehler has failed to consistently post impressive strikeout rates, leading one to believe that he may not have much success at the major league level. Ks or no Ks, Koehler does a solid job of generating grounders, but that’s not enough to make him an interesting fantasy option. If you have the luxury of not needing strikeouts, Koehler could be a decent spot starter for your squad, but he’s nothing more than that.