Roto Riteup: March 23, 2015

The Roto Riteup is back for 2015, baby! David Wiers and I will be your hosts for yet another year, providing white hot baseballing content on a daily basis during the regular season. For the next couple weeks leading up to Opening Day, we’ll be publishing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to keep you up to date on news of interest around the fantasy baseball universe.

If you have any suggestions for the 2015 RR — other than replacing Wiers with someone who doesn’t love My Little Pony — please do leave them in the comments.

On today’s agenda:
1. Brandon Finnegan optioned, to remain starter
2. Jhoulys Chacin needs a new home
3. Hyun-Jin Ryu is still not healthy
4. Select projections from your handsome author

Brandon Finnegan optioned, to remain starter
The Royals have sent their 2014 draft pick to the minor leagues, committing for the time being to keep developing Finnegan as a starter. After being drafted out of TCU, Finnegan threw seven innings out of the Royals bullpen last season, striking out 10 batters while walking just one. Finnegan went on to post a 10.50 ERA during six innings in the playoffs, but flashed great stuff and gave Kansas City another option late in games. Finnegan has yet to start a game above High-A ball, so he’ll open the season in Double-A to continue working on his craft. Finnegan could be up in the big league rotation later this year if things break a certain way, but we should definitely expect an appearance when rosters expand in September, whether it be in the rotation or in the pen.

Jhoulys Chacin needs a new home
In a surprising turn of events, the Rockies released Chacin yesterday. Chacin was expected to anchor a spot in the Rockies rotation, at least until he proved he was no longer worthy of such a job. Chacin has a career 3.78 ERA despite taking the ball in Coors Field half the time, but a shoulder injury cut his velocity by nearly two full miles per hour in 2014, derailing his campaign. Just 27, Chacin will latch on somewhere, but whether or not he receives a major league contract is up in the air.

Chacin’s absence opens the door for Eddie Butler or David Hale to start the season in the big league rotation. Hale has a nice 9:1 K/BB ratio so far this spring, and while Butler has been relatively solid, he got smacked around in a B-game in his last outing. Butler has some prospect pedigree, so whether or not he opens the ear in the bigs, he will be in line for a chance at some point this season.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is still not healthy
Ryu was supposed to throw the ball around yesterday, but he wasn’t able to do so due to continued shoulder soreness. It’s truly a shame, since Ryu was looking like a great value in 2015 drafts, but now he’s going to be looking at opening the season on the 15-Day DL. Keep dropping Ryu down your boards until you hear some good news.

Select projections from your handsome author
While my rankings are very much public, my projections are not generally published. Today, you get a peek behind the curtain, but mainly an extra chance to mock me.

Jason Kipnis: 575 AB, 14 HR, 27 SB, 73 R, 55 RBI, .260 AVG, .335 OBP
Alex Rodriguez: 250 AB, 7 HR, 2 SB, 30 R, 35 RBI, .240 AVG, .335 OBP
Martin Prado: 500 AB, 10 HR, 5 SB, 60 R, 60 RBI, .280 AVG, .320 OBP
Jedd Gyorko: 500 AB, 16 HR, 2 SB, 60 R, 60 RBI, .240 AVG, .305 OBP

Shane Greene: 180 IP, 12 W, 154 K, 4.00 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
Nate Karns: 140 IP, 5 W, 145 K, 4.50 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
Jarred Cosart: 190 IP, 12 W, 127 K, 3.50 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
Matt Cain: 150 IP, 7 W, 122 K, 4.00 ERA, 1.24 WHIP