Roto Riteup: May 17, 2015
Today’s Roto Riteup author would like to inform you that non-crispy hash browns are an affront to Uncle Sam and everything he holds dear.
On today’s agenda:
1. Travis Wood to the bullpen
2. Fun with arbitrary endpoints
2. Various news and notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options
Travis Wood to the bullpen
After picking up his first career save yesterday, it appears Travis Wood will continue to be a member of the Cubs’ bullpen. Wood helped a tired Chicago pen get some much needed rest, but this wasn’t just a fill-in job, as Tsuyoshi Wada looks to take Wood’s place in the rotation. Wood was excellent in 2013, and he’s raised his strikeout rate this year, but his career has been plagued by a mediocre fastball and the homerun ball. Wood won’t be able to be a high-leverage reliever, but he’ll pick up innings as the third lefty and the pen’s long man.
Fun with arbitrary endpoints
All stats are for May’s games through Friday
Justin Upton: 61 PA, .321/.410/.491, 2 HR, 7 SB; .385 BABIP
Michael Brantley: 61 PA, .360/.475/.680, 4 HR, 5 SB; .318 BABIP
Marlon Byrd: 55 PA, .341/.491/.878, 6 HR; .333 BABIP
Brian Dozier: 63 PA, .316/.365/.614, 3 HR, 2 SB; .326 BABIP
Chris Young: 19 IP, 16 K, 5 BB, 0 HR, 0.47 ERA; 2.26 FIP, 4.45 xFIP
David Phelps: 18.1 IP, 15 K, 4 BB, 0 HR, 1.96 ERA; 2.17 FIP, 3.23 xFIP
Wandy Rodriguez: 18.2 IP, 16 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, 3.38 ERA; 2.94 FIP, 3.88 xFIP
Various news and notes
– Hunter Pence has been activated from the DL by the Giants, so make sure he’s back in your lineups. With Pence back in the swing of things, Nori Aoki and Gregor Blanco will have to share time until — not if — Angel Pagan gets injured. The Giants have seen what Blanco can do before, and while Aoki may have slightly more upside, I can’t blame them for staying with what they know.
– Nick Franklin was activated by the Rays yesterday after missing the start of the season with an oblique injury. Franklin will likely take ABs from Tim Beckham, Logan Forsythe, and Asdrubal Cabrera while rotating through the middle infield. It’s unclear how Tampa Bay will blast through this logjam, but despite Joe Madden being gone, I’d expect them to figure out a way to get everyone time.
– Justin Morneau going to the DL with a concussion is an awful sign. Morneau really struggled with concussion issues just a couple years ago, so any recurrence is a scary thing, and not just for his career.
– Joe Blanton’s back in the bigs! The chunky right-hander has been called up by the Royals and will be on the roster starting today. He’s not fantasy relevant, but it’s a fun bit of nostalgia.
Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.
A pitcher for today: Noah Syndergaard vs MIL (Wily Peralta)
If you’re a gambling (wo)man, knuckleballer Steven Wright starts against the Mariners in Safeco.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Lance McCullers, Jr.
In only a half slate of games, McCullers is the most enticing option available. This may be a day to sit out.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Are you buying Phelps in deeper mixed leagues? Looking at Steamer and ZIPS, his numbers seem legit enough. Obviously the ERA will rise, but his FIP and xFIP both look solid enough with an okay K/9 rate.
He seems locked into a rotation spot for the time being and pitches in a really nice home park. Looking at Phelps projected numbers, they are really close to Chris Hestons. Any preference or ranking you have between Heston, Phelps or Jesse Chavez?
I am certainly buying Phelps. Named him as my deep sleeper heading into the year.
I have 2 questions, both about the Rockies.
1. I’ve heard Morneau’s injury was a cervical strain. Is it possible that this is not too similar to his previous head injuries and therefore might not be problematic. Perhaps he displayed a concussion symptom and that was enough to get him on the 7 Day DL.
2. What is Rosario’s playing time outlook. I assume he’ll be the regular at 1B until Morneau is back and then resume vs. LHP. Is there any chance he can steal some C at bats or is that career over with?
I think Rosario’s catching career with the Rockies is over. Maybe another team gives him a look, but he was pretty terrible behind the plate and Nick Hundley has performed pretty well overall so far. Unless injuries force the Rockies hand, I think Rosario’s catching career is pretty much over and the team has said as much.
I think Mike W’s reading and comprehension career is pretty much over.
In my defense, I wrote that before my Sunday morning Coffee buzz had kicked in….
Seems like they don’t want him behind the plate at all.
yeah–Rosario won’t catch, but he has tantalizing catcher eligibility this year. He seems like he’s worth a speculative add, right? Big upside, though last year was rough.
Still, I do hope Morneau’s okay and recovers and plays well.
I hope that you don’t run into “chunky right hander” Joe Blanton in a dark alleyway.
off topic but is there a stat for steal attempt rate, or attempted steals / times on 1st or 2nd with a free base ahead?
Not sure if there is a better way of finding this but Baseball-Ref does have players’ stolen base opportunities, so you could figure out attempt rate yourself on a per player basis with SB+CS/SBO
You can find SBO by going to a player’s page, then More Stats (next to Standard Batting) and its under Baserunning & Misc. Stats. Hope this helps!
Wada or Garcia as a 6th SP in a 20 team league?
Garcia will probably be the better pitcher, but let’s face facts he will probably (sadly) break down again after a month or so.
Yeah my thoughts too but what are the odds of Wada pitching for more than a month?
Lol no one is taking ABs from Forsythe. Check out the WAR leaderboards if you think his glove or his bat should sit in the dugout.