Roto Riteup: May 14, 2024

Me reaching for the gravy at the dinner table:

1) There’s not much like an amazing catch.

2) Why isn’t Jon Miller still doing national MLB TV games?

3) Angelos booting him out of Baltimore was one of his biggest blunders. pic.twitter.com/H3VIG654JR

— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) May 14, 2024

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

Jalen Beeks threw a scoreless inning versus the Padres to register the save on Monday. Beeks walked three in the inning which shows you his volatility, but he is at least in the mix for saves in Colorado if that is something that interests you. 

Quick Hits

TJ was placed on the IL with a broken thumb. 

TJ Friedl said after the game that it was his left thumb that got hit. He'll see a hand specialist tomorrow in Arizona to get more imaging done. He was hit up by the nail and was able to bend and extend the thumb, but it's very swollen. https://t.co/rNWHfUuHJv pic.twitter.com/ziZMzMqtT2

— Sonja Chen 陈星雅 (@SonjaMChen) May 12, 2024

I wrote yesterday that x-rays were inconclusive, but after another scan a fracture was revealed. He is expected to miss a month of action only six days after returning from an IL stint.

Adbert Alzolay was placed on the IL with a forearm strain. This doesn’t sound good at all but may explain his struggles this year. He can be dropped in all formats.

Tim Anderson was placed on the IL with lower back tightness. Anderson has missed games over the weekend and it apparently never got better. There is no timetable for his return.

Jung Hoo Lee was placed on the IL with a dislocated shoulder. This was not surprising after Lee ran into a wall on Sunday. Luis Matos was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Christopher Morel left Monday’s game with a toe injury after fouling a pitch off of his foot.

Christopher Morel seemed to walk off with an injury after walking in the top of the 9th pic.twitter.com/wtwW0HhT8B

— wdadfr (@wdadfr) May 14, 2024

Reports are that he is dealing with a bad bruise, so hopefully he will not need a long period of time to recover. Consider him day-to-day at this time.

Jorge Polcanco left Monday’s game with a hamstring injury. Consider him day-to-day for now.

 

Various News and Notes
Alex Bregman went 3-for-3 with two home runs and a walk in the victory over the Athletics on Monday.

Alex Bregman mashes his second homer of the game 💪 pic.twitter.com/lZbpGaG08m

— MLB (@MLB) May 14, 2024

Bregman had been struggling prior to this game, walking less and not hitting the ball very hard. He was still making a ton of zone contact and showing a great understanding of the strike zone. If someone dropped him in your league it appears he is starting to heat back up.

Luke Raley went 3-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base in the victory over the Royals on Monday.

Luke Raley demolishes his second homer of the year and first in Seattle.

At 432 feet, it’s the Mariners’ third-longest of the year. pic.twitter.com/SI9ejSbvLI

— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) May 14, 2024

Raley has been much better over the last two weeks after a bit of a slow start in Seattle, hitting .318 with two home runs and two stolen bases in 44 at bats. He still swings and misses too much, so there is risk in the profile, but there is also power and some speed and he is on the strong side of the platoon in Seattle.

Sean Manaea threw six innings versus the Phillies on Monday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out six in the no-decision.

Sean Manaea's 5th and 6th Ks. pic.twitter.com/OyIXkd3RYG

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 14, 2024

Manaea was fantastic in the outing, getting a 47% whiff rate on his changeup. Manaea was always a talented pitcher especially when his mechanics are clean. He has been great over his last two starts walking just two hitters in total. If he can keep men off the bases via the walk, he could be an all formats play.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Trevor Williams at CHW

Williams will regress at some point, but this is too good of a matchup to pass up. 

High Risk Options: Michael Wacha at SEA, Jose Butto vs PHI, Mitchell Parker at CHW, JP Sears at HOU, Ryan Weathers at DET, Quinn Priester at MIL 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Alec Marsh at SEA

Marsh has pitched well and gets a struggling Mariners offense. 

High Risk Options: Casey Mize vs MIA, Robert Gasser vs PIT, Griffin Canning vs STL, Trevor Rogers at DET. 

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.”