Roto Riteup: May 10, 2023

There is no sport like baseball:

Nick Castellanos celebrating his HR with his son is pretty damn cool pic.twitter.com/ffCvTfjmyY

— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) May 10, 2023

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Quick Hits
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers

 

Closer Chaos

Kendall Graveman threw a perfect inning versus the Royals to register the save on Tuesday. Graveman has struggled this season, but he hasn’t allowed a hit or run in his last four outings. He has passed Reynaldo Lopez for the job for right now, but reports are that Liam Hendriks could return to the Majors as soon as next week, so this time as the closer will be short lived for Graveman.

 

Quick Hits

Max Fried was placed on the IL with a forearm strain. The Braves have stated they believe this to not be a serious issue, but it is concerning because this is usually a precursor to Tommy John surgery. There is no timetable for his return. 

Oswald Peraza was placed on the IL with an ankle injury. There is no timetable for his return but it does not appear to be a long term issue. 

Kyle Schwarber left Tuesday’s game after fouling a pitch off of his foot. X-rays were negative. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Aaron Hicks left Tuesday’s game with a hip issue. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Mauricio Dubon left Tuesday’s game with a hamstring injury. The injury does not sound like it is serious. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Various News and Notes</strong >
Jordan Diaz went 3-for-4 with three home runs in the loss to the A’s on Tuesday.

Oakland @Athletics 2B Jordan Diaz entered tonight with 1 home run in 89 MLB plate appearances.

He's homered THREE TIMES tonight. pic.twitter.com/OJzqXckJjY

— MLB (@MLB) May 10, 2023

Well this was unexpected. Diaz isn’t a big name prospect but he did hit the ball pretty hard last season, but a lot of it was on the ground. If he can make elevated contact consistently, this could be a nice opportunity for him to make waves in fantasy.

Casey Schmitt went 2-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Nationals on Tuesday in his Major League debut.

Casey Schmitt’s first big league hit and homer (with 60 family members and friends going nuts 😂) pic.twitter.com/IqhU5LjjlQ

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 10, 2023

Scmitt hit .313/.352/.410 with a home run and three stolen bases in 145 plate appearances in AAA this year. Schmitt has raw power in the bat and is a defensive wizard at the hot corner, but he tends to put the ball on the ground too much. He should get an opportunity to play regularly and could find himself becoming a valuable accumulator. If he were to raise the launch angle a bit, he could be a really valuable hitter in fantasy, but we need to see him do that consistently.

Paul DeJong went 2-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Cubs on Tuesday.

"THERE'S NUMBER 14!"

PAUL! DEJONG! #STLCards pic.twitter.com/QaUbFfIBsk

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 10, 2023

DeJong has been on fire since returning from the IL, hitting .350/.409/.650 with three home runs. The underlying skills are pretty good with a 87.5% zone contact and a 53.6% hard hit rate. I worry he will revert back to what he has been the last few years, but the hot streak is worth riding because he will play as long as he is hitting well.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Jhony Brito vs OAK

Brito has been up and down this season, but nothing gets you right like the A’s coming to town. 

High Risk Options:  Sean Manaea vs WAS, Rich Hill vs COL, Peyton Battenfield vs DET Kyle Muller at NYY. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow:  None

Short slate with a few high risk options, but no one I am really comfortable with. 

High Risk Options:  Bailey Ober vs SD, Brady Singer vs CHW, Mike Clevinger at KC. 

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.”