Roto Riteup: June 6, 2023

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June 6, 2023

Ice cold:

 

On the Agenda: 

  1. Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest
  2. Quick Hits
  3. Various News and Notes
  4. Streaming Pitchers

 

Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest

On most Tuesday’s and Friday’s and some other days, Paul Sporer and I will be doing a $5 draftkings game for anyone that is interested. 

 

Quick Hits

Brandon Lowe was placed on the IL with back issues. Lowe has had recurring back problems in recent seasons, so this is not nothing even if the Rays are calling it just inflammation. There is no timetable for his return. 

Both Nick Senzel and Jake Fraley were scratched from the lineup on Monday. Senzel has a sore knee and Fraley had an issue with allergies, so neither seem to be a serious issue. Consider them day-to-day for now. 

 

Various News and Notes

Andrew Abbott threw six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks while striking out six in the victory over the Brewers on Monday. 

There was a lot to take in from this outing. First, he did not exhibit great control and in spite of getting the six strikeouts, he was facing a Brewers team that has been the worst in baseball versus left-handed pitching this season. Maybe you can excuse the control a bit as he had walked guys in AAA at a 5.4% rate, but it was 10.6% in AA in 2022, so I am not willing to just ignore that. I worry more about his command which was hit and miss in AAA this season being in the Great American Ballpark. He will be the top pick up in FAAB this weekend, but I don’t think I will be willing to spend what others are going to.

Brayan Bello threw six innings in the loss to the Rays, allowing three earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five on Monday.

The line is a little deceiving as the runs he gave up in the fifth inning were a product of getting pretty unlucky on balls in play. More importantly, he only walked one in the outing and still had a 27% CSW on the day. I haven’t been the biggest of Bello fan, but this was a nice, under the radar start against one of the best teams in baseball which has me buying.

Nick Pratto went 2-for-5 with a home run in the victory loss to the Marlins on Monday.

Pratto has been great hitting over .300 since returning from AAA with four home runs and a stolen base in 133 plate appearances. He has even started to lead off over the last two weeks for the Royals which is an encouraging sign. He has changed his approach to be more selective at the plate and while he is still striking out at a 30% rate, it should come down as his swinging strike rate is 10% and he is making very good zone contact and not swinging outside the zone. The former top prospect is delivering on his pedigree.

Gary Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Cubs on Monday.

Sanchez is now on his third team this season, but has hit well since arriving in San Diego, hitting .258/.300.593 with three home runs in seven games. While he still strikes out too much, he could be a big factor for the Padres who have been punchless behind the plate. He is worth rostering in two-catcher leagues on the off chance he can reclaim some of his former glory.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Taijuan Walker vs DET

Walker has pitched better as of late and he has a nice matchup vs the Tigers.

High Risk Options: Matthew Liberatore at TEX, Clarke Schmidt vs CHW, Hayden Wesneski at LAA. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Jaime Barria vs CHC

Barria has been fantastic and gets a Cubs team that is striking out at the second highest rate in baseball over the last 30 days. 

High Risk Options: Jameson Taillon at LAA, Patrick Corbin vs ARI, Reese Olson at PHI. 

 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”





 

Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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Anon
10 months ago

Sanchez seems to be rolling and gets 3 games in Coors this weekend with 2 coming against lefties (Gomber, Freeland). With Cruz on the IL, Sanchez can probably even be counted on to get starts at DH against lefties.

1
Anon
10 months ago
Reply to  Anon

Same reason I’ve been targeting any stray LH Giants for the last few days – 3 games at Coors against Lamet, Anderson and Seabold the next 3 days. I would assume Wade and Conforto are both rostered in any competitive league but if Yaz or Sabol is on your waiver, they’ve both been playing and hitting decently the last week or so. (Fun Yaz fact: he has a career 1.120 OPS in 117 PA at Coors) Crawford is hitless his last 3 games but had a 4 game hitting streak before that. If Bart isn’t activated, Bailey is locked into the starting C spot (though he’s been much better from the R side than the L so far)

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TheUncool
10 months ago
Reply to  Anon

Don’t forget Pederson as there was talk that he may come off the IL today…

0
Anon
10 months ago
Reply to  TheUncool

Saw that after I posted. Yaz’s spot should be safe as he’s the only true CF on the roster (or at least closer to a true CF than anyone on the roster). Might push Sabol back to C (especially if Conforto is back also) since he’s mostly been in the OF recently

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