Roto Riteup: May 10th, 2012

Today’s Roto Riteup is all about pitchers, and not ones filled with adult beverages.

• Greg Holland is on his way back from the DL. The Royals’ reliever threw an inning in a rehab appearance, reportedly hitting the mid-90s with his fastball. Holland has dominant stuff, but the Royals won’t be sliding him into the ninth inning when he returns. Jonathan Broxton will continue closing games for Kansas City after “beating” Holland out for the job in spring training. Broxton’s ERA has been nice, but the peripherals aren’t there, and I could see Holland taking over sometime in the next month if the future unfolds in a certain fashion. I’d say Holland is worthy of a roster spot in a standard league or anything deeper, so make a play for him while you still can. If you can grab him while he’s still on the DL and hold onto him that way, even better.

• Are y’all ready for the Casey Janssen era in Toronto? After Francisco Cordero blew his fair share of games, he has been removed from the ninth inning. Of course, Sergio Santos will be finishing games when he returns from the disabled list, but until then, Janssen will be holding down the fort. Janssen is steady, but unspectacular. If you’re looking for a couple of saves while Santos is down, go ahead and grab Janssen.

• Rockies’ prospect Christian Friedrich struck out seven in his MLB debut. Granted, he faced the Padres at Petco, but seeing the big left-hander pitch well is certainly something to behold. Freidrich has had some poor minor league campaigns as of late, but he’s always had good upside. Snatch him up in dynasty leagues if he’s not gone already.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here are a couple matchups you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Today: Henderson Alvarez at MIN
There’s a limited slate of games today, so options are limited.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Felipe Paulino at CWS
Paulino put up some great numbers against the Yankees, and the White Sox are nowhere near as good of a team. Paulino should put up solid strikeouts, but I expect he can earn a win, as well.

A Hitter for Today: Colby Rasmus at MIN (Marquis)
Marquis still isn’t right, and if he misses big, Rasmus will be able to take advantage of it. At the very least, he should be able to draw a walk.