Roto Riteup: March 21, 2019

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March 21, 2019

Bat Flips Are Back!

On the Agenda:
1. Trout Extension
2. Various News and Notes

Trout Extension
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Mike Trout has signed a 12-year extension worth $430 million.

It goes without saying, but Trout is by far the best player in the world and deserves every penny of this. He was initially signed through the 2020 season, so this essentially just tacks on another 10 years to his deals. Not much from a fantasy perspective here. Trout is not only top-6 in wRC+ ALL TIME, but he’s been almost 20 wins above any other player in the MLB since 2012. Here’s a couple more tweets gushing about Trout – in case anyone needed a reminder of how talented he is.

Various News and Notes
Speaking of extensions, White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez has signed a six-year extension with $43 million in guaranteed money.

There are team options for the seventh and eighth years on the deal, potentially making the contract even more lucrative for Eloy. The biggest takeaway from a fantasy perspective is we don’t have to worry about service time! As you may recall, Jimenez was sent down recently, however, with this deal in place it would certainly seem like White Sox have nothing to gain financially or from a development standpoint by keeping him in the minors any longer. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that it remains, “undetermined” whether he’ll begin the season in the majors or in Triple-A. Let’s all hope he’s manning the outfield for the Sox come Opening Day. From a fantasy outlook, Eloy should be moved up at least three rounds in drafts. In the eight NFBC Main Event drafts recently, Jimenez has been taken on average at pick 138. He should be firmly in the top-75 now, so owners who received a discount in earlier drafts should be salivating right about now.

The first official MLB game of the year was eventful in many ways. Here’s a quick run down of a few highlights.
Oakland: Ramon Laureano hit leadoff, but reminded us that he has some swing-and-miss in his game (0-for-5, 3 K). Matt Chapman gave us an early opportunity to get excited, as he notched two extra-base hits – including one homer – while recording three RBI in five at-bats. Kris Davis and Stephen Piscotty homered, while Chad Pinder lost a belt!


Mike Fiers was not effective in this one, but Lou Trivino brought the filth once again – reminding us that if something happens to Treinen, that it might not be Joakim Soria who gets the nod.

Seattle: Domingo Santana is going just inside the top-200 according to the same Main Event ADP referenced before, but his price is about to shoot up after knocking a grand slam opposite field.


FWIW, I love Santana and think he’s been criminally underrated this entire draft season, with that said, Lou Trivino did this to him late in the game:


Marco Gonzales escaped with a quality start despite a rough beginning to the game. Hunter Strickland secured his first save with a clean ninth inning (two strikeouts), and Tim Beckham had one of the highlights of the night (or day?) with this stunning bat flip:


Jon Heyman reported that the Brewers are in serious talks with FA RHP Craig Kimbrel on a potential deal. In the same day, Adam McCalvy confirmed that Corey Knebel has, “taken a break” from throwing, leaving himself and Jeremy Jeffress sidelined for the Brewers at the moment.


Personally, I have multiple shares of Knebel. Right now those shares are seemingly close to going up in flames (at least for saves). The good news is there isn’t any pain here, but this is something we’ll have to monitor closely. Kimbrel has been falling recently and shouldn’t be. Wherever he lands he will close games, and Milwaukee would be an incredible destination.





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

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Emcee Peepantsmember
5 years ago

What do you make of Pinder starting both games in LF so far? He has started against both a righty and lefty and batted 5th. Is he the regular LF? If he gets most of the LF reps and still does his super-utility thing, there is some serious upside if he gets to 550+ PAs.

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davecarlton412
5 years ago
Reply to  Emcee Peepants

For clarity Marco Gonzalez and Kikuchi are both lefties. But if that Matt Olson hand injury is serious, Pinder will be in line for more starts in LF. I still think Pinder is a great get regardless.

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Mike Werner
5 years ago
Reply to  Emcee Peepants

There is serious upside with Pinder regardless of role right now. Best suited for deeper-formats for the time being, but he can really hit and has multi-position flexibility. I think when it’s all said and done we’re looking at a .250 hitter with 10-15 HR and 5 SB if he were to get say 300 AB. Give him an extra 150-200 at-bats and we could see a 20/10 season with good counting stats. I like him a lot.

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