Roto Riteup: March 23, 2014

With two games that matter already under our belt, let’s dive into today’s Roto Riteup.

On the agenda:
1. A brief breakdown of last night’s starters
2. The Houston Astros bullpen
3. Skip Schumaker to miss up to a month
4. Jake Odorizzi named Tampa Bay’s fifth starter

A brief breakdown of last night’s starters

	Pitches	K’s	BB’s	Swinging Strikes	Runs Allowed
Ryu	87	5	1	8	0
Cahill	89	1	4 + HB	4	5

Hyun-Jin Ryu had good movement on his offspeed pitches and good velocity on his fastball, and the resulting eight swinging strikes attests to that. On the other hand, Trevor Cahill labored from the beginning with two Dodgers batters working the count to three balls in the first inning, including a walk to Adrian Gonzalez. It’s just one start, but Cahill did not seem sharp at all.

The Houston Astros bullpen
Despite the fact the Astros have yet to formally name a closer, that small detail shouldn’t stop anyone from looking at save options in Houston. Sure, the team probably won’t win a ton of games, but a team doesn’t have to be good for a closer to grab 30-odd saves. Right now the favorite is most likely Chad Qualls, although Matt Albers has been getting looks as has Josh Fields. Until Jesse Crain returns from his bicep injury, the Astros may even go closer-by-committee. For the long term, Crain seems to be the guy to own, however at least for the first month of the season Qualls should be the go-to guy. One can find Qualls available in 75% of Yahoo! formats, 87% of CBS leagues, and 93% of ESPN leagues. Crain is available in around 80% of both CBS and Yahoo! formats and over 95% of ESPN leagues.

Skip Schumaker to miss up to a month
As if the Cincinnati Reds didn’t have enough injuries, they have now lost super-utility man Skip Schumaker for perhaps as much as a month. Schumaker dislocated his left shoulder — the same one he separated last season and subsequently missed four months — diving for a ball in the outfield in Friday’s game. Never a fantasy star, Schumaker’s eligibility at second base and in the outfield made for a justifiable late round option in NL-only leagues. There isn’t much reason to keep him on your DL unless you play in a deep mixed league or an NL-only league.

Jake Odorizzi named Tampa Bay’s fifth starter
After a battle that lasted most of spring training, Jake Odorizzi has emerged from the pack that originally included himself, Erik Bedard, and Cesar Ramos. Yesterday Tampa’s skipper, Joe Maddon, announced that Odorizzi will be the club’s fifth starter. Odorizzi has an impressive minor league body of work, despite his pedestrian major league stats. Of course 37 innings does not a career make, and Odorizzi doesn’t turn 24 for several more days. He is available in virtually all ESPN and Yahoo! formats, though his ownership rate in CBS leagues is nearly 30%.

Of note: As a follow up to yesterday’s Roto Riteup, the Texas Rangers have indeed given Tanner Scheppers their fifth starter job. Also, my wager with fellow RotoGrapher Howard Bender regarding the closer situation in Texas isn’t looking good for me. It is still early!