Roto Riteup: March 29, 2024

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March 29, 2024

How does one get this technology in their home? Asking for a friend.

On the Agenda: 

  1. Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest
  2. Closer Chaos
  3. Quick Hits
  4. Various News and Notes
  5. Streaming Pitchers

 

Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest

On most Tuesday’s and Friday’s and some other days, Paul Sporer and I will be doing a $5 draftkings game for anyone that is interested. 

 

Closer Chaos

Jason Foley threw a clean innings versus the White Sox to get the save for the Tigers on Thursday. This was an interesting development as Alex Lange was considered the closer by most coming into the season, but that is in question now as Foley got the first save of the season. It remains to be seen if this is a committee moving forward of if Foley is the guy. 

 

Quick Hits

Royce Lewis left Thursday’s game with a quad injury.

Lewis had started off really great, going 2-for-2 with a home run before exiting the game. This has been the issue with Lewis throughout his time in the minors as he struggles to stay healthy but he has a massive amount of talent if he can stay on the field. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Nick Senzel was scratched from the lineup with a broken thumb. Speaking of being snakebit with health issues. Senzel has struggled with injuries all throughout his career, injuring himself taking grounders before the game. He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.

Max Kepler left Thursday’s game with a leg injury after fouling a pitch off of it. X-rays were negative. Consider him day-to-day at this time.

Justin Steele left Thursday’s start after this play.

He strained his hamstring and is expected to get an MRI on Friday. Consider him day-to-day for now, but manager Craig Counsell stated that they expect him to be out for a while which likely means an IL stint.

 

Various News and Notes

Frankie Montas threw six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out four in the victory over the Nationals on Thursday.
Frankie Montas threw six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out four in the victory over the Nationals on Thursday.

Montas was good, getting a 41% CSW on his fastball, but he wasn’t overpowering with a 10% swinging strike rate overall for the outing. Part of this success was the team he was facing in an underwhelming Nationals lineup, but considering this was his first start since 2022, it was a big step for Montas and he is someone that should be monitored in all formats.

Nick Martini went 2-for-4 with two home runs in the victory over the Nationals on Thursday.

Martini was a surprising name to see in the lineup in general, but he made most of his opportunity with a massive game. He is a career .288/.380/.449 hitter versus right handed pitching and could get more opportunities with TJ Friedl out with an injury, but he is mostly interesting in NL Only formats as he has never held down a full time job for long.

Garrett Crochet threw six innings versus the Tigers, allowing one run on five hits and no walks while striking out eight in the loss on Thursday.

Crochet transitioned from a reliever to a starter this off-season and was dominant in spring. In this outing, he was brilliant with his fastball and his slider, getting a 40% CSW on the fast ball and a 31% CSW on the slider. He will need to throw a third pitch more as he only threw his cutter seven times and his changeup four times, but the stuff is fantastic and there is a lot to be excited about in the overall package. He won’t win many games with the White Sox and there are questions about what his workload will be like as the season goes on, but I would bet on the arm talent.

Michael Conforto went 3-for-4 with a home run in the loss to the Padres on Thursday.

Conforto struggled in his first season with the Giants, but there has always been talent in his bat and the underlying skills were better than the surface numbers. He is worth a look in deeper formats, but the Giants propensity to platoon a lot of their bats makes him difficult to roster in shallower leagues.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Logan T. Allen

Pitching in Oakland is always a good opportunity to take advantage of. 

High Risk Options: Ross Stripling vs CLE. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Jared Jones at MIA

Jones has looked great in spring and makes his MLB debut in a good park against a team I am not afraid of. 

High Risk Options:  Zack Littell at MIA, JP Sears vs CLE, Jordan Hicks at SD, Ryan Weathers vs PIT. 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”





 

Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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NathanMember since 2018
9 months ago

The embedded links are just showing as links to me.

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Justin MasonMember
9 months ago
Reply to  Nathan

Fixed. Thank you!

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