Roto Riteup May 12, 2017

Zack Greinke had an almost no-hitter Thursday night. He struck out 11 in eight innings after giving up a solo home run to Gregory Polanco. Following the game, he said he was throwing harder, but as he was “trying to throw it down the middle, it kind of goes down and away.” He also credited his slider that was feeling better since spring training.

On the Agenda

1. News and Notes
2. Jose Berrios to Start Saturday
3. J.D. Martinez is Back

News and Notes

–Dallas Keuchel continues to dazzle after his outing against the Yankees. He’s currently 6-0 (I know you guys and girls don’t care about wins, but oh well). He struck out nine pinstripes Thursday and when contact was made, the balls went into the ground quite a bit. A 13.50 K/9 rating with just five hits in 25 batters faced in that outing. He’s healthier this time around and just look at that movement.

59 seconds with Dallas Keuchel’s Movement/Command. pic.twitter.com/rhA4ruZ8kH

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 5, 2017

–Adrian Beltre took batting practice Thursday. He’s not running full speed yet, but he has been fielding balls at third base. Unfortunately, there’s still no timetable for his return.

–Addison Russell could sit out again Friday with shoulder soreness. Javier Baez will get responsibilities at shortstop if this occurs.

Jose Berrios to start Sunday

Jose Berrios will be promoted to the Twins Saturday. Last season with Twins, Berrios struggled at the beginning when he tallied up a 10.20 ERA in 15 innings. Just 20 strikeouts over that campaign. He faired well when he was demoted back to the Rochester Red Wings and finished that stint with a 10.10 K/9 rating.

He was struggling with maturation issues (nothing off the field of course) when he couldn’t seem to transition his strong numbers from minor league play to the Twins. The 22-year-old has a 2.58 FIP in Triple-A this season with 39 K’s in 39.2 innings. He faces the Indians in Cleveland Saturday.

He needs more outings before we can get a real feel for him and take him seriously. He’s going to be ridiculously cheap once they add a price tag on him, but anticipate a lot of lineups stacking against him in the daily game.

Here are Eric Longenhagen’s recent notes on Berrios.

J.D. Martinez is back

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez should be ready to come back to the major league club Friday after being out all season with a sprained ligament in his right foot. This is on the heels of Jim Adduci’s right oblique injury.

He’s been struggling during his rehab assignment. He went 4-23 with two home runs across two teams.

In typical Martinez form, he won’t have an entire season of games under his belt. He played in 158 games in 2015, but he can’t seem to be dependable in a season-long type of format to stay healthy, but that doesn’t keep a lot of people away from him.

Proceed with caution especially in the daily game against the Angels Friday. He’s activated, but it’s not a 100% chance he gets the start.