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!
You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.
brian mctaggart tweet: Porter said he will enter season with a closer by committee.
im stashing crain in hopes that he’s the answer to the closer role.
Ah, thanks for the info. And yeah, Crain seems like the bet.
Scheppers might’ve been named the 5th starter, but he’ll move his way up the chain soon enough. When you have schlubs like Joe Saunders, Matt Harrison and Martin Perez in front of you, it won’t be difficult for Scheppers to move up to the #2 behind Yu.
I’m not sure that’s how rotations work in-season, or if it has any fantasy relevance which # starter he is.
Then you are ignorant. Let me help you: the 5th starter on a major league team is often skipped when off days give enough rest to pitch the other four starters instead. Thus your 5th starter may be limited to 25 starts while the other 4 guys in the rotation get 30. The logic here being that your 5th starter is usually your worst starter and thus you want to expose him as little as possible.
Scheppers is now the 5th starter, but since I think he’ll pitch better than some of the guys in front of him, I believe he’ll move up in the rankings and, when the Rangers need to skip a starter, it will be Saunders or Harrison, not Scheppers. More starts means more strikeouts, more win possibilities, more innings with good ERA/WHIP.
That’s why it’s “fantasy-relevant”, bub.
If he’s pitching well and on the innings pace they want, they won’t skip him. Not with the guys they’re trotting out there. After the first week of the season which # starter he is is just a matter of semantics.
Yes, you basically said what I said in fewer words. More concise is good!
Yes, if Scheppers pitches well, he won’t be skipped, someone else will, thus he won’t be the 5th starter anymore. Class dismissed.