Roto Riteup: May 15, 2026

Big Willie Style!

Will Smith earned his first career start as a leadoff hitter and got jiggy with it right off the bat.

On the Agenda: 

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

Closer Chaos

A’s reliever Jack Perkins has been going through a bit of a rough patch. Apparently, April flowers sprout May sours. After six scoreless appearances and three saves in the second half of April, Perkins has allowed runs in three of his four appearances this month and two blown saves, including Thursday’s clunker. The go-ahead run? Jordan Walker, of course.

Thankfully, there wasn’t much else in the chaos department. White Sox lefty Sean Newcomb got the two-inning save against the Royals with Seranthony Domínguez getting the day off.

Quick Hits

Ben Brown continued to establish his case for sticking in the Chicago Cubs rotation when Matthew Boyd returns with four strong innings against baseball’s best offense, the Atlanta Braves. Brown threw 65 pitches (four innings), struck out seven, allowing just one hit and one walk. Brown is expected to take his next turn on Tuesday, at home against the Brewers. If he is efficient again, he could reach 70-75 pitches and potentially put himself in line for a win.

The San Francisco Giants expect to activate catcher Daniel Susac on Friday and southpaw reliever Erik Miller on Saturday. The Giants would likely DFA 33-year-old veteran backstop Eric Haase. If that happens, at least Haase goes out with a bang, taking Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto deep twice on Tuesday. Yamamoto also served one up to Harrison Bader and it was his first MLB game with three home runs allowed. Haase and Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar are the only two major league hitters with more than one home run off Yamamoto. Big Jesus Rodriguez FAAB spenders might not be happy this time next week when Susac is making more starts and outperforming him.

Speaking of Dodgers pitchers, Tyler Glasnow may not be out long. Out with lower back spasms since last Friday, Glasnow has been playing catch and expects to be out on the mound soon. He is eligible to return next Friday, May 22.

Christian Yelich’s cranky back is back. Yelich returned from a three-week IL stint (groin) on Tuesday, and might be heading back there after sitting out the last two games. We will know more on Friday.

Rockies righty Chase Dollander was pulled from Thursday’s start due to right arm tightness and will have imaging done on Friday. Some strange phrasing here from rookie manager Warren Schaefer:

#Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer on Chase Dollander:

“Just general arm tightness is what we’re going to roll with right now. We’ll do some evaluations and check back tomorrow.”

He added that he had no knowledge of any prior tightness or issues with the arm. @blakestbanter

— Eli Whitney (@eliwhtney17) May 14, 2026

Hopefully Chase won’t be rolling with Tommy J.

Various News and Notes

Congratulations to Seattle Mariners reliever Jose A. Ferrer and his wife on the birth of their baby girl! Ferrer was reinstated from the Paternity List on Thursday. By the way, Ferrer is not related to actor José Ferrer, winner of the 1950 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac. Here he is with Zsa Zsa in a frame from a role as another famous Frenchman:

Jose Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor, 35, star in the Oscar-nominated Best Picture Dec. 1952's "Moulin Rouge." Directed by John Huston, this musical was Gabor's biggest role yet while Ferrer was Parisian artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.https://t.co/XP475HJUPihttps://t.co/s80mMB72yG pic.twitter.com/qGjhmciQlI

— Gary Olsen (@filmlectures) May 13, 2026

Ferrer the actor was the first Puerto Rican-born actor to win an Oscar. Jose A. Ferrer (who is Dominican) may not be related to him, but you know who is? George Clooney. Ferrer married George’s aunt Rosemary Clooney twice, his third and fourth of five marriages.

Here is A.J. Ewing’s first career home run:

Ewing is not related to New York Knicks legend, Patrick, and was born two years after the Hall-of-Fame hoopster retired.

The Reds thrashed the Nationals (15-1) and JJ Bleday is looking like the waiver wire pickup of the month. He crushed two homers with six runs batted in.

Bleday is now slashing .321/.455/.755 since getting promoted from Triple-A on April 26. Meanwhile, McLainiacs rejoiced as Matt McLain hit a homer (his fourth), a double, and scored three runs. McLain has moved down to the bottom third of the order. Reds De facto ace Chase Burns mowed down Nats bat, punching out seven in a scoreless two-hitter, taking is record up to 5-1 and his ERA down to 1.87. Nationals starter Foster Griffin was brought back down to earth, serving up nine runs, and ballooning his ERA from 2.12 to 3.53. At least Griffin struck out seven batters.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)

Pitchers for Today: Randy Vásquez, SD (52%) at SEA

Changed my pick from yesterday from Spencer Arrighetti to Vásquez. The Mariners have been running hot, but I prefer the edge with T-Mobile’s pristine pitching environment and a game with a lower run line (7.5) than TEX-HOU.

Other Options: Dustin May, STL (15%) vs. KC

The Cardinals are home favorites today, and May has cleaned up his act on the mound since serving up 13 earned runs in his first two starts. Over his last six, May sports a 2.55 ERA (3.89 xFIP) and a 5.8% walk rate.

Pitchers for Tomorrow: Chris Bassitt, BAL (13%) at WSN

Bassitt has been a reliable veteran arm for several years now. He has run into some trouble in road games this season (4 ER at MIA, 5 ER at KC, 6 ER at PIT), but has done a better job at limiting damage lately, allowing just one run or fewer in four of his last six starts. The Nationals have surprised offensively, but have collectively performed better against lefties (124 wRC+, second in the majors) than against righties (102, 14th).

Other Options: Logan Henderson, MIL (34%) at MIN