Roto Riteup: June 7, 2015
On this day in 1971, the US Supreme Court overturned the previous conviction of Paul Cohen, effectively making the public dropping of f-bombs legal. Today’s Roto Riteup will not utilize the court’s decision, but is glad to know it exists.
On today’s agenda:
1. Señor Baseball returns
2. Fun with arbitrary endpoints
3. Various news and notes
4. Streaming Pitcher Options
Señor Baseball returns
The Dodgers activated Yaisel Puig from the DL yesterday, immediately slotting him back into the three-hole in the lineup. The Dodgers outfield jam has become less so with Carl Crawford on the DL and Juan Uribe in Atlanta, so expect Andre Ethier to shift over to left field and play nearly every day against right-handers, with Alex Guerrero sticking to hot corner duties. After being moved to the 60-day DL, Crawford isn’t even eligible to return until the end of the month, so Ethier’s job appears safe for a while longer.
Fun with arbitrary endpoints
All stats are through Friday and reflect each pitcher’s last five starts
Chris Archer: 34.1 IP, 47 K, 6 BB, 2 HR; .307 BABIP, 1.31 ERA
Collin McHugh: 31.2 IP, 25 K, 6 BB, 3 HR; .357 BABIP, 5.68 ERA
Clay Buchholz: 37 IP, 30 K, 8 BB, 2 HR; .235 BABIP, 1.95 ERA
Carlos Carrasco: 35.2 IP, 39 K, 7 BB, 2 HR; .309 BABIP, 3.28 ERA
What do these pitchers have in common? They all start today, silly.
Various news and notes
After experimenting with the six-man rotation, the Mets are moving Dillon Gee to the bullpen and going back to the traditional five-man unit — excellent news for fantasy owners who are hoping for some two-start starting pitchers. I’d still expect Gee to make some spot starts here and there to keep Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard’s innings down, but that may not come until August.
After being pulled from Friday’s start with an oblique injury, Jake Odorizzi looks to be headed for the disabled list. Odorizzi won’t be able to see a doctor and undergo the full battery of tests until the Rays get back to Tampa after today’s game, but oblique injuries usually don’t just subside quickly.
Expect Evan Longoria to sit out with a sore wrist for the second straight day. The Rays are playing it off as a precautionary measure, so hopefully there’s nothing seriously wrong.
Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.
A pitcher for today: Mike Fiers at MIN (Mike Pelfrey)
Sure, Fiers has to face a DH, but the Twins don’t have a real DH and it’s a favorable ballpark.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Mike Bolsinger vs ARZ (Rubby De La Rosa)
It’s a half-day for games, so options are limited.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
It’s official. Ryan Zimmerman is done! He’s finished. He’s terrible wherever he is batting in the lineup.
$14MM contract = $86K per played game for an OPS of .622 and $108K per hit!
Don’t tell me about his past history of poor first halves and great second halves. I know all about it, and i’m not buying!
His Iso is down which is concerning, but his BABIP is also a comically low .232.
Troll.
I understand the frustration. And Zimmerman is not what he used to be. But there are reasons for some degree of mild optimism. He is hitting LHP with at least some authority (.192 ISO). His BABIP (.232) seems absurdly low, and should regress upward.
Then again, he is not what he used to be and he seems unlikely to ever be 2009-10 Ryan Zimmerman again. For OttoNeu purposes, he is a utility guy who (for this year) qualifies at 3B, OF and 1B. Played sparingly against opposite handed pitching, he should be an asset.