Roto Riteup: May 18, 2022

80 Grade fielding:

On the Agenda: 

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

 

COVID Issues

Jason Heyward was placed on the COVID IL. No word yet on whether he tested positive or is just exhibiting symptoms. 

 

Closer Chaos

Alexis Diaz logged his first Major League save for the Reds in their victory over the Guardians on Tuesday.

The Reds initially brought in Art Warren to close out the game, but he blew it by giving up a home run in the ninth inning. Diaz was able to lock it down after the Reds took the lead in the tenth. Diaz has some pretty nice skills and could emerge as the guy in Cincinnati, but this has been a committee all along and I am not expecting it to change.

Quick Hits
Sal Perez left Tuesday’s game with a thumb sprain. He was placed on the IL following the game. There is no clear timetable for his return, but considering how quickly the team made the move, it sounds like he could be out for a while.

J.P. Crawford left Tuesday’s game with an ankle injury. He stated after the game that it was nothing major and should be OK moving forward. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Brandon Nimmo left Tuesday’s game with an injury after fouling a pitch off his foot. X-rays following the game were negative. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Bryan De La Cruz left Tuesday’s game with a forearm injury after being hit by a pitch. X-rays were negative after the game. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Matt Duffy left the game versus the Rangers on Tuesday after colliding with Adolis Garcia in the field.

He was able to walk off under his own power, but it was pretty ugly. Consider him day-to-day for now.

 

Various News and Notes

Tucker Davidson threw five scoreless innings versus the Brewers, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out three in the outing. 

Davidson is ostensibly a two pitch guy throwing either his slider or fastball 87% of the time while only getting six total whiffs on them. He isn’t particularly overpowering, but he does a good job at limiting hard contact and usually gets a fair amount of ground balls. This wasn’t an overly impressive outing, but it is probably enough to get him another turn in the rotation.

Zach Eflin threw six innings versus the Padres, allowing one earned run on five hits and no walks innings versus the Padres.

Eflin was pretty good for his first start off of the IL, posting a 33% CSW while relying heavily on his sinker and cutter. Eflin has talent in his arm, but he has struggled with consistency. It is too early to know if that is happening here, but this is a nice sign that he could be on the right track.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today:  None

Some intriguing options, but they have risks. 

High Risk Options: Nick Pivetta vs HOU, Jordan Hicks at NYM, Dane Dunning vs LAA, Daulton Jeffries vs MIN, Drew Smyly vs PIT. Zach Davies at LAD. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Rich Hill vs SEA

HIll has quietly been very good and has a nice matchup here versus a struggling Mariners offense.

High Risk Options:  Bruce Zimmermann vs NYY, Carlos Hernandez vs CHW, Glen Otto at HOu. 

 

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 the recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”





Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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