Roto Riteup: March 27, 2013

Odds are, you really haven’t heard of the first player discussed in today’s Roto Riteup.

On today’s agenda:
1. Nick Tepesch beats Michael Kirkman for rotation spot
2. Other news from Rangers’ camp
3. Ricky Romero optioned to minors
4. Jonny Venters has an owie

Nick Tepesch beats Michael Kirkman for rotation spot
The Rangers brass has spoken, and they say that 23-year-old Tepesch will serve as Texas’ fifth starter at the onset of the 2013 season. Tepesch — who makes the Rangers despite never pitching in Triple-A — features a complete arsenal and shows “sign[s] of pitching maturity,” according to former big league scout Bernie Pleskoff. Tepesch’s minor league results have never been spectacular, but his numbers are solid enough. Kirkman, on the other hand, has been impressive as a left-handed reliever in Ron Washington’s bullpen, and the Rangers prefer to keep him there. With Colby Lewis and Martin Perez both scheduled to be ready for the big leagues by the end of May, Tepesch simply has to survive, not dominate.

Other news from Rangers’ camp
• Derek Lowe has made the Rangers as a member of the bullpen. The 39-year-old hasn’t been much more than an innings eater over the past couple seasons, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that Lowe wasn’t given the last spot in Texas’ rotation instead of being shoved into the bullpen, where he’ll be most effective as a mopup guy.

• Jurickson Profar has been officially sent to the minors. Profar making the bigs out of camp always seemed like a bit of a reach, since he wouldn’t be able to get the amount of playing time necessary for furthering his development.

Ricky Romero optioned to minors
Romero was an outstanding starting pitcher in 2009, 2010, and 2011. But, come 2012, Romero forgot how to locate the ball and was smacked around to the tune of a 5.77 ERA. Romero was a fun bounce-back candidate for 2013, but he didn’t exactly show signs of life during spring training. Romero walked almost 20% of the batters he faced and finished the spring with a WHIP over 2.00. Until Romero shows signs of repair in the minors, there’s no point in letting him waste one of your roster spots.

Jonny Venters has an owie
Venters left yesterday’s outing with what was diagnosed with a sprained left elbow. Venters missed time last year due to soreness in that very same joint, so this could end up being a major cause for concern. With no saves on the horizon anyway, Venters should be removed from your draft boards in standard and a majority of mixed leagues.