Roto Riteup: March 20, 2015

With no shortage of upsets in March Madness, let’s hope you, dear reader, do not get upset at today’s Roto Riteup.

On today’s agenda:
1. Matt Cain’s minor league outing
2. Bad news for Mike Fiers?
3. Matt Wieters could miss Opening Day

Matt Cain’s minor league outing
Yesterday the recovering starter threw 4.1 innings against a collection of Colorado Rockies minor leaguers. Cain tallied 51 pitches, 38 of which were strikes while hovering 90-92 mph. His elbow surgery to remove bone chips is almost seven months behind him and his September ankle surgery has been a non-factor for him thus far. Cain as well as the San Francisco Giants hope for him to be ready at the start of the season and his next time out should help determine the timetable. Expect Cain to reach 60 or even 70 pitches in his next start, though no word on whether it will be against strictly minor leaguers again or in spring training.

2. Bad news for Mike Fiers?
Yesterday Fiers was scratched from his scheduled start due to what the Milwaukee Brewers are calling shoulder fatigue. He was still feeling well enough to throw a bullpen session rather than his start, and could be back on mound for a game as soon as tomorrow, however no plan is currently set in stone. Last season — in just 10 starts and four relief appearances — Fiers showed an impressive 27.7% strikeout rate and strong 9.5% swinging strike rate. His strikeout tally last year corroborates with what we’ve seen from in 2012 and Fiers owns a 24.6% career K% in 223.2 innings. If Fiers was able to put together a full season last year with his career K%, it would have ranked 13th highest in baseball among qualified starters. Hopefully he gets back on track as Fiers’ current average draft position near 200 make him a great mid-to-late round grab.

3. Matt Wieters could miss Opening Day
Hit with a case of tendinitis, the Baltimore Orioles sent Wieters for X-rays Thursday. Fortunately the X-rays came back negative and the club plans to keep him from catching for a week. The O’s may have Wieters appear at designated hitter on Sunday, however that is yet to be determined. Wieters may have fallen down the draft boards following his offensive drop — his triple slash has dropped in each of his last three full seasons — but if he can make it into at least 130 games, he has 20 home run upside. The elbow should continue to improve with time and this latest blip on his injury radar should not affect his draft status.