Roto Riteup: May 1, 2023

Take a ride on that knockdown pitch, big boy:

One of the best mike Shannon calls ever. RIP to the voice of cardinals baseball pic.twitter.com/ztM7bUGn3I

— Alex Brinkmann (@alex_brinkmann3) April 30, 2023

I don’t know how many hundreds of hours I listened to Mike Shannon’s voice on the radio but I promise you no one was better at passing rain delays by telling stories and/or drinking bourbon. No one. Rest in power, Mike, you were the best.
*And to answer your question; yes, since we already live in baseball heaven, Cardinal fans instead go to super-duper heaven.

On the Agenda:

1. News and Notes
2. Bumps and Bruises
3. Closer Kumite
4. Streaming Pitchers

News and Notes

As long as his checkup goes well today, Bryce Harper could return on Tuesday, less than six months after having TJ surgery and around two months earlier than his initial timeline. This is a fairly remarkable recovery and will pay big-time fantasy dividends for everyone who did the ol’ draft-and-stash with Harper, likely considering four months of games to be their best-case scenario. But instead – Bonus month!

The Dodgers are calling up Gavin Stone and the highly-touted prospect will likely make his major league debut on Wednesday, taking on the Phillies at home. Over six starts at Triple-A, Stone has a 4.74 ERA (4.91 FIP) and 1.26 WHIP, with 27 K (and 12 BB) over 24.2 IP.

Ahh, there was so much hope in Brady Singer starting to turn things around after he picked up the win over Arizona after allowing 1 ER in 6 IP while striking out five. Welp, consider that hope canceled; Singer got lit up by the Twins on Sunday, allowing 8 ER in 2.2 IP. He now has an 8.49 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over his first six starts and simply must grab fantasy pine until further notice.

Andrew Vaughn walked it off on Sunday:

That's more like it.

Andrew Vaughn ends the streak in a big way! pic.twitter.com/FJWL5JPFNt

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 30, 2023

Vaughn’s blast capped off a seven-run ninth inning that finally ended Chicago’s 10-game losing streak. I’m sure we’ll look back on this as the moment when those scrappy White Sox put finally put their dumpster fire out and went on to AL Central glory. Unfortunately, Andrew Vaughn just bombing his way to upwards of 20 HR won’t be enough for divisional gold – but luckily, Jerry Reinsdorf knows exactly what this team needs…

Veteran leadership:

Tony La Russa is literally asleep on the job 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Nlzx2EIhED

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) August 2, 2022

The next time someone uses “moonshot” to describe a home run, show them this and ask if they’re sure:

This Shohei Ohtani home run was in the air for SEVEN SECONDS! If that sounds absolutely amazing, it's because it is.pic.twitter.com/ImXghWUWFt

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 30, 2023

Legends claim that somewhere in the English language there exists one golden sentence, a phrase so perfect in its simplicity that the doubters among us would immediately cast aside their golden calves and rent their clothes in hopes of redemption. And I believe I have found it.

Big Dumper double-dong:

CAL RALEIGH'S SECOND HOMER OF THE DAY GIVES THE MARINERS THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/Fuh1LDWncl

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 30, 2023

 

Bumps and Bruises

Jacob deGrom hit the IL with forearm inflammation but don’t worry – everyone is optimistic it’s not a big deal. I’m sure it won’t be because baseball people are usually spot-on about these kinds of things.

For example. Tyler Mahle left his last start after just four innings but said afterward that he wasn’t concerned. And yesterday, it was announced he had a flexor strain and would be shut down from throwing for four weeks before being reevaluated. You know, that’s not actually a very good example of health optimism working out. But don’t worry, I’m sure deGrom will be totally fine.

Aaron Judge has been sidelined with a hip injury since Thursday and while the Yankees are expressing optimism that he won’t have to go on the IL, they’re also waiting until he’s evaluated on Monday before making any decisions. For those in weekly leagues, hopefully, his appointment is early in the morning.

Jose Urquidy exited his start against the Phillies on Sunday night in the sixth inning with an arm injury. If Urquidy does require an IL stint, J.P. France might be getting the call after posting a 2.33 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over his first five games at Triple-A, striking out 26 in 19.1 IP. France last pitched on April 28, allowing 2 R (1 ER) in 4.2 IP, striking out six.

Easton McGee made his debut for the Mariners on Saturday in impressive fashion, allowing just one hit and one walk over 6.2 IP in a no-decision against Toronto. And on Sunday he was promptly put on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain. The tight-pants curse continues.

Mike Yastrzemski had a sore side earlier in the week but was fortunately right back in the lineup the next day. But on Sunday it was no dice, Jim Rice, as Yastrzemski felt a pop in his hamstring while chasing down a pop-up down in Mexico and is now staring at a likely trip to the IL.

Closer Kumite

A.J. Puk was dominant again while picking up his fifth Save in the past two weeks in a 4-3 win over the Cubs, allowing zero hits and striking out one. The save chances on the Marlins might not always come in bunches but sporting a 0.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP has him finishing April as a top-five RP.

With José Quijada hitting the IL with elbow soreness, Carlos Estévez seems to have the Angels closer job to himself for the time being. Estévez picked up two Saves earlier in the week before Quijada was hurt and grabbed another one on Sunday in a 3-0 win over the Brewers, striking out two batters during a clean inning.

Félix Bautista pitched in two of the past three days, so Yennier Cano was called upon to pick up his second Save of the week in a win over Detroit. It’s Bautista’s job but Cano has arguably been baseball’s best setup man so far in 2023, having now gone 11 IP without allowing a hit or walk, with 12 K.

Streaming Pitchers

Streamer for Today: None, unless you count Drew Smyly, who is rostered ~70% on CBS and 50% on Yahoo but was actually available in three of my NFBC leagues, so perhaps he is in yours too. Smyly takes on the often hapless Nationals, in the first of his two juicy matchups this week. Big bucks, no whammy.

High Risk: None, again. I like Luke Weaver quite a bit as an add this week but aren’t exactly keen to roll him out against the Padres in the first start of his two-step.

Streamer for tomorrow: Tyler Wells, BAL @ KC