Roto Riteup: June 5, 2015
The 2015 World Cup kicks off tomorrow! My South Korean squad has a tough task ahead of them, but I think they can make it out of group play. The USWNT is in the group of death, though they are arguably the best team in the World Cup.
On today’s agenda:
1. Consider Ben Revere
2. I flip-flip on Delino Deshields Jr., again
3. Love/Hate with Jesse Hahn
4. Streaming Pitching Options
Consider Ben Revere
I’ll admit I’m a sucker for speed, and Revere has plenty of that. He nabbed his 11th bag of the season yesterday — during a 3-for-4 game — and may once again clear the 30-steal mark, though topping the 40-steal plateau may prove difficult. Along with the steals, Revere also offers a likely .290 rest-of-season batting average. As strong as his AVG figures to be, don’t count on him to contribute much in on-base percentage leagues due to his poor walk rate. Despite his poor OBP, given his slot at the leadoff position — albeit for a sub-par offense — I like Revere in both traditional fantasy and DFS formats. He’s owned in 70 percent of CBS leagues already, but can be picked up in over 45 percent of both Yahoo! or ESPN leagues.
I flip-flop on Delino Deshields Jr., again
Already this season I’ve gone from liking his speed profile, to leaving him off my American League outfield rankings due to playing time concerns, to now once again championing his steal potential. Of course these opinions changed based on the Josh Hamilton acquisition and then subsequent move to the 15-day disabled list. As long as he remains on the shelf, I expect Deshields to receive the bulk of the playing time in Hamilton’s place. I’m still unsure how many plate appearances Deshields will get in the long term unless he shifts more to second base, but for now I’d consider grabbing him if you’re hurting for steals.
Love/Hate with Jesse Hahn
Continuing the semi-regular Love/Hate series with the A’s right-hander.
Love:
— 3.51 ERA backed by a 3.16 FIP
— 45:14 strikeout to walk ratio
— 51.9 percent ground ball rate
— 60.2 percent LOB%, a number that just has to go up with time
Hate:
— A relatively poor 6.08 K/9
— 0.41 HR/9 rate, a number that just has to go up with time
— 7.2 percent swinging strike rate prior to yesterday; then eight whiffs in 104 pitches against the Tigers
Availability:
— 44 percent CBS
— 32 percent Yahoo!
— 15.1 percent ESPN
Verdict:
The low swinging-strike rate and strikeout rate are closely tied to each other. I see Hahn settling in a solid stream option in standard leagues and someone to roster in deeper formats. I’ll admit I’m concerned about him from the stretch, as for his career Hahn has allowed a .235 wOBA with the bases clear versus a .314 wOBA with a runner on. That said, even when not pitching in the friendly confines of O.Co, his strong ground ball rate make him playable in most ballparks. I’m sold on him enough to grab him in the one league where I found him available.
Streaming Pitching Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.
A pitcher for today: Brett Anderson vs STL (Carlos Martinez)
Anderson has performed quite well this season and now faces the Cardinals and their league average offense against left-handers. One can find him available in over 65 percent of CBS leagues as well as 90 percent of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Alex Colome at SEA (Felix Hernandez)
The Mariners are a below average offense when facing a right-hander, however I’m not sure Colome will get the win while facing off against Felix. Colome can miss bats and exploit the M’s third highest strike out rate against righties. He’s available in more than 75 percent of the three major fantasy sites.
You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.
You Are John Kerry of the fantasy baseball world
Ha, that thought crossed my mind!
more like all other politicians….
I recently acquired deshields in a trade and have subsequently been offered marcus semien for him straight up. at first was inclined to accept but it’s an obp league and deshields’ excellent BB% is supported by minor league numbers and his excellent O-swing%. He also seemed to have won playing time and the leadoff job even while hamilton was playing.
It seems to me a leadoff hitter on a very strong offense with good on base skills and great speed is being a bit undervalued, especially in leagues where he’s 2B eligible.
Am I crazy for turning down semien for him?
Yeah, I would have grabbed Semien in a heartbeat.
Semien has looked terrible the past month, has been dropped in the batting order due to Zobrist’s return and is being benched semi-regularly for Parrino due to his terrible fielding. I am wondering if the window to sell high on Semien has closed? Sounds like you are still optimistic – or you just like him more than DeShields?
Is he really getting benched for Parrino much though? I think he has only sat 4 or 5 times all year. He is slumping and his defense is a problem, but I doubt he is going anywhere in that line up. I think a large part of the reason they hired Ron Washington is because Beane desperately wants Lawrie and Semien to succeed.
Even with the errors, I don’t see Semien losing many PAs to Parrino.
I like Semien more than shields by quite a bit, honestly.
I too hate when a pitcher gives up few HR.
Dat comprehension.
I made a deal to acquire Hahn right before his start yesterday, I flipped James Shields for him and a couple of nice offensive upgrades. I expect both pitchers’ K rates to regress over the course of the season, with my side of the deal moving in the right direction.
I also wanted to point out that over a similar number of innings last year, Hahn’s homerun rate was 0.49 HR/9, and that his rate on the road is half that of his rate at home. The sample size is getting large enough that I think we may be looking at a feature, not a bug.
I’m still not sold on his HR rate being this good. That’s better than Kershaw, Sonny Gray and any other qualified SP since 2008. Maybe Hahn is that good at keeping his home run rate down, and it’s possible given his GB% and home park, but I can’t call it a repeatable skill just yet.
Between Hahn and Jesse Chavez, who do you like more the ROS? Chavez has been close to dominant since going back into the rotation, but any concerns he wears down like he did last year again?
Chavez for this season, Hahn for 2016 and beyond.
Trumbo & Gallo are available tonight in my AL wOBA league (yeah.)
Would you use the #1 waiver claim on either of them, or keep waiting for Correa or some great NL import (Justin Upton?)
Depends where you are in the standings (and if it’s a keeper or dynasty league). If rebuilding in a keeper/dynasty wait for Correa, but if you’re contending, or in a redraft, I’d go with Trumbo.
David, do you like Devon Travis or Carlos Correa rest of the season in a 12 team mixed roto? Thanks