Roto Riteup: May 2, 2013
Today’s Roto Riteup was written under the influence of awesome.
On today’s agenda:
1. Injury Notes galore!
Injury Notes galore!
• Matt Harrison needed a second surgery on his ailing back after experiencing pain a mere eight days after his first surgery. Harrison was originally placed on the DL with a herniated disk, and after two surgeries, it’s hard to see him returning at all this year. If he does make it back to the bigs, it likely won’t be until August, so it’s pretty safe to drop him and free up your DL spot if you’re under a roster crunch.
• Matt Garza was finally able to make his rehab start in Double-A, and he’s now just a few starts away from returning to the Cubs. Garza has been a top-25 fantasy starter since moving to Chicago, but I doubt that he’ll be able to stay in top-notch company. Garza is certainly worth an add in standard mixed leagues, but don’t expect him to return and save your rotation.
• Johnny Cueto is making a rehab start tomorrow, and he’ll make at least a couple more afterward before returning to the Reds. With replacement Tony Cingrani pitching well, Cueto will probably be bumping Mike Leake from Cincinnati’s rotation. Leake is a capable MLB starter, but he’s not the kind of guy you worry about finding a spot for. Cueto was dominating prior to his injury, so hopefully the right-hander will be able to find his groove once again.
• Despite reporting elbow tightness, Stephen Strasburg is still going to be manning the hill for his previously scheduled Saturday outing against the Pirates. While not exactly impressive audiences everywhere, Strasburg has still managed to strike out almost a batter an inning while pitching to a 3.13 ERA. This is a situation to keep your eye on, but nothing to be overly concerned with.
• After undergoing an MRI, R.A. Dickey will still start for the Blue Jays on Saturday. Dickey’s problem thankfully lies in his neck and not his throwing arm, but it does sound as if the injury has altered the knuckleballer’s performance on the mound. Dickey was sure to have a dropoff in performance after moving to Toronto, but I’m not sure anyone saw this type of slide coming.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
“Garza has been a top-25 fantasy starter since moving to Chicago, but I doubt that he’ll be able to stay in top-notch company.” Any particular reason as to why you think that?
His pitching arm is held together by duct tape and hope.