Roto Riteup: June 6, 2023

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July 6, 2023

Elly De La Cruz – electronic cheater:

Removing the tongue that generally stays cheek-planted, Elly De La Cruz didn’t cheat at anything. The murder of a baseball? Yes. But the electronic swing tracker attached to his bat that briefly caused some controversy doesn’t have anything to do with how EDLC is positively lighting the baseball world on fire. After going 3-for-6 last night with two doubles, a steal, and the above homicide, De La Cruz is now slashing .318/.356/.536 over his first 118 PA, with 4 HR, 25 R, 14 RBI, and 11 SB. Again, in just 28 games and at 21 years old.

Baseball is fun and only getting funner with the latest generation of players…And somewhere Brian McCann slowly continues to seethe into an ungodly rage.

On the Agenda:

  1. News and Notes
  2. Bumps and Bruises
  3. Streaming Pitchers

News and Notes

It’s official – Mike Trout had hamate surgery yesterday and is expected to miss 4-to-8 weeks, putting his return in mid-August at the earliest. But we also have a long track record of how returns from this surgery tend to go. IE I wouldn’t expect the power back right away, or even at all (completely) in 2023. Bum. Errrrrrrr.

Screw bacta tanks – Codify has the right idea:

Jordan Walker absolutely crushed a ball 444 feet for a two-run home run to dramatically put the Cardinals ahead in the ninth to complete a five-run comeback in a win over the Marlins only to see St. Louis lose in the ninth when closer Jordan Hicks airmailed an easy throw over Paul Goldschmidt’s head.

And this, sir, is less clutch:

The good news is that since being recalled at the start of June, Walker is slashing .295/.374/.495 over 107 PA, with 5 HR and 4 SB. The better news is that hopefully, this St. Louis death spiral is what finally convinces the front office that maybe, just may-yyybe, building teams mostly to just compete in NL Central while mostly just hoping for the best with player development driven by the “Cardinals Way”, is no way to be a premier franchise in 2023 and beyond.

I may play a homer-ific Cardinals fan on TV but in reality, this rock-bottom has been needed for a while and hopefully, they use it to actually bring about real organizational change. Or, I guess, keep refusing to develop quality pitchers, sign more subpar starters from the discount bin, and just rely on the ol’ “devil magic” to find a way to win your NL Central “world series”. Dealer’s choice.

Pablo López was ridiculous on Wednesday night, dominating the Royals for his first career shutout, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out 12. While excellent, López is still just around #40 SP on the Razzball player rater but do be aware a lot of his value is being dragged down by a 3.89 ERA that’s backed by a 3.18 FIP, 3.45 xFIP, and 3.31 SIERA. His other main roto stats, however, are tracking for career bests, with a 31% K%, 1.09 WHIP, and 138 K that is quickly approaching his season-best of 174 K last year. With the his ERA tracking down, this is the trade target you’re looking for.

Well, at least, I’m hoping so after I made the move in the RotoBaller staff league. You gotta believe I hate giving up  my guy Reid Detmers but Daddy desperately needs some offense and the difference between Detmers and López is probably not Ozuna. Fingers crossed.

Trevor Story (elbow) is nearing a rehab assignment, with manager Alex Cora saying it could happen sometime soon after the ASB ends.

Anthony Rendon (shin) is expected to return to the Angels this weekend. I’m sure this time it will stick.

The Brewers placed Rowdy Tellez on the 10-day IL with forearm inflammation, with Owen Miller likely to see most of the reps at first base in his absence. A lingering injury might help explain some of his recent struggles:

April: .247/.333/.553, .368 wOBA, 131 wRC+, 8 HR

May: .240/.329/.427, .327 wOBA, 103 wRC+, 4 HR

June: .170/.215/.227, .200 wOBA, 19 wRC+, 0 HR

Bumps and Bruises

Dansby Swanson left last night’s game in the seventh inning with a bruised left heel but manager David Ross doesn’t expect it to be an issue. Consider him day-to-day.

Tommy Edman was scratched last night with wrist discomfort. While it doesn’t appear to be a serious issue, this is the time of year when things like this get players sat down for some extra pre-ASB rest. Be prepared, scout style.

Speaking of which, Astros general manager Dana Brown wouldn’t commit to whether Jose Altuve (back) will hit the IL but it seems an absence through the ASB seems likely considering Brown alluded to there being no strong reasons to try and rush him back.

After injuring his wrist on Monday, Josh Naylor missed his second-straight game on Wednesday. Consider him day-to-day.

Streaming Pitchers

Streaming Pitcher for Today: Michael Lorenzon, DET vs OAK – I’m not sure if you’re aware but Oakland is not super great at baseball. Okay, okay, neither is Detroit but Lorenzen always manages to go at least 5 IP and even though a 5.30 ERA in June is pretty ugly, the opponents have been too – in three of the six starts he allowed a total of 17 ER to ATL, ARI, and Coors field; in the other three, he allowed a total of 4 ER to CHW, KCR, and MIN.

High Risk for Today: Hogan Harris, OAK @DET – Remember a long time ago when we talked about Detroit not being very good at baseball? Well, it still holds. Getting a Win from an Oakland pitcher is never to be expected but Harris had been pretty serviceable before his last two starts* (10 IP, 8 ER to NYY and @TOR), posting a 2.57 ERA in 28 IP over a five-start run.

*Oakland has used an opener for Harris in four of his seven “starts”.

Streaming Pitchers for Tomorrow: Ross Stripling, SF vs COL – This might just be me trying to project hope – given the continued absurd level of injuries on my teams and very limited options for replacements, your ol’ pal Nick has a lot of Stripling this week. Sidebar: Are we still making Ross’s?





 

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alan fogelMember since 2020
1 year ago

HOGAN! (Thanks Colonel Klink)

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