Roto Riteup: May 19, 2023

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May 19, 2023

Confirmed first ballot Hall of Famer:

On the Agenda: 

  1. Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest
  2. Quick Hits
  3. Various News and Notes
  4. 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. 

 

Quick Hits

Franmil Reyes signed a minor league deal with the Nationals on Thursday. Reyes struggled with the Royals and was DFA’d, but he still has power and is now on one of the few Major League teams that could likely benefit from his presence. If he mashes in AAA, he could be up pretty quickly. 

Jose Trevino was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain. Ben Rortvedt was called up to take his spot on the roster. 

Dustin May was placed on the IL with a forearm strain. While this is scary sounding, the Dodgers stated that the recently repaired UCL is intact. He is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, but one would expect the Dodgers to be careful with the young pitcher. Gavin Stone is expected to be called up to replace May in the roster. Stone is a top pitching prospect and will be a huge waiver target in spite of mediocre production in AAA where he has thrown 35.2 innings with a 4.04 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP and 41 strikeouts this season. 

Seth Lugo was placed on the IL with a calf strain. This is disappointing because Lugo has been so good this season, but the injury is not expected to be much more than a minimum stay on the IL.

Tommy Edman left Thursday’s game with lower abdomen soreness after colliding with Lars Nootbaar in the outfield. 

This doesn’t sound super serious, so consider him day-to-day for now.

 

Various News and Notes

Taj Bradley threw five innings versus the Mets, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four in the no-decision on Thursday. 

This was Bradley’s first Major League action since being demoted to AAA where he struggled mightily. However, the Rays are in desperate need of rotation pieces after losing both Springs and Rsmussen to season ending injuries. Bradley was fantastic prior to his demotion and he was very good in this one after a rough first inning. The Rays are in a position where they need him, so while there may be ups and downs with the top prospect, he is a very interesting waiver target in leagues where he may have been dropped.

Gary Sanchez is expected to be called up by the Mets on Friday according to multiple reports.

Sanchez has been great in AAA since signing a minor league deal with the Mets, hitting .318 with a home run in seven games. He is still striking out at a 28% rate which isn’t encouraging, but he had a 25% walk rate. Sanchez had an opt out in his minor league deal and the Met apparently don’t want to risk losing him to another team. Sanchez is probably not relevant in fantasy initially, but we know there is power in the bat and the Mets could use an influx of power in the lineup, so he is someone to keep an eye on in terms of his playing time.

Oscar Mercado went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases in the win over the Dodgers on Thursday.

Mercado is only on the roster because the Cardinals need another outfielder who can play center with both Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill on the IL, but this gave me an opportunity to share that tweet which I thought was pretty cool. At best Mercado is a short term short-side platoon player best used as a punt play in DFS against a lefty.

Juan Yepez went 1-for-3 with a home run in the victory over the Dodgers on Thursday.

Yepez was only in the lineup because of Edman leaving with an injury, but he made the most of his opportunity. With the injuries racking up for the Cardinals, Yepez may be in line for more playing time and there is a lot of power in the bat. However, the Cardinals will likely platoon him so he is best used when the Cardinals are facing a lot of lefties in a week or in daily moves formats.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Brandon Bielak vs OAK

Not great upside here, but a great matchup.  

High Risk Options: Ranger Suarez vs CHC, Johan Oviedo vs ARI, Michael Kopech vs KC. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Patrick Corbin vs DET. 

Can’t feel super comfortable with Corbin, but you also can’t deny what he has been doing recently and this is a nice matchup. 

High Risk Options: JP Sears at HOU, Brandon Pfaddt at PIT, Louie Varland at LAA, Braxton Garrett at SF. 

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.”





 

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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raregokusmember
11 months ago

I think you meant Yepez is usable against lefties, not righties. 137 wRC+ vs. LHP and 21 wRC+ vs. RHP.

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