Roto Riteup: June 8, 2013

When consuming sunflower seeds one should always, always crack the shell, eat the seed, then spit out the shell. People who eat the shell frighten me with their primitive ways.

On today’s agenda
1. Salvador Perez’s value
2. A potential return date for Giancarlo Stanton
3 . Tony Cingrani should start Tuesday
4. Musings on two of yesterday’s starts

Salvador Perez’s value
After hitting 11 home runs in barely 300 plate appearances last year, many had hoped for big power numbers from Perez this season. He has delivered just two home runs — including yesterday’s blast — but he now has a chance to provide RBIs without having to hit home runs. Recently the Kansas City Royals under went a bit of a lineup shuffle, or perhaps more accurately a lineup optimization. Since that change, Perez has found himself hitting exclusively in the three hole. With on-base machine Alex Gordon still leading off, expect a nice boost in Perez’s RBI count. For those of you in 5×5 leagues and are in need of catching help, Perez may be available to pick up. His ownership rate in both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues is barely 60%, though he is owned in over 75% of CBS formats.

A potential return date for Giancarlo Stanton
Yesterday the Miami Marlins manager Mike Redmond told reporters that there is a chance that Giancarlo Stanton will make his return on Monday. Stanton has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since April 29 and would be a welcome return the Marlins lineup, not to mention fantasy squads everywhere. Hopefully fellow Stanton owners also play in OBP leagues, as his batting average has never been outstanding and Stanton will probably lead the league in IBB’s. Don’t expect a ton of counting stats from Stanton, as the opposing pitchers have no real reason to ever challenge him.

Tony Cingrani should start Tuesday
With Johnny Cueto on the disabled list, the Cincinnati Reds find themselves one starter short. While manager Dusty Baker acknowledged that Cingrani was “the likely choice” to start on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, Baker did leave room by saying it is too early to call for sure. Cingrani should be grabbed in weekly leagues now and daily leagues on Monday. Cingrani is owned in just 17% of ESPN leagues, 35% of Yahoo! leagues, and 60% of CBS leagues.

Musings on two of yesterday’s starts
In his second start in the majors this year, Chris Archer lasted seven innings and allowed just one run for his efforts. He was rewarded with the win despite a mere two strikeouts on the day. Through two starts he now has a .212 BABIP and a 6:5 strikeout to walk ratio. Neither of those numbers will last terribly long, as his BABIP is sure to climb and so will his strikeouts. Eventually David Price will return and Archer will probably be sent back down, however until that moment happens, Archer is a usable starter.

Jarrod Parker also pitched seven innings , though  he managed to double Archer’s strikeout total. Parker allowed three runs, just two earned, and walked two en route to a win. Yesterday makes six quality starts in a row for Parker and while his strikeout rate still isn’t quite what most expected, he has pitched much better than his first handful of starts this season. Prior to yesterday’s start, Parker did have a 10.3% SwStr%, good for the 20th best mark in baseball. The good outings are here and the strikeouts are coming. Parker is a buy. He is owned 55% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues and 66% of CBS leagues.