Roto Riteup: May 21, 2026

DeLuca? DeLightful!

On the Agenda: 

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

Closer Chaos

The Athletics top lefty, Hogan Harris, appears to be pulling away with the closer gig there. Harris earned his fourth save of the season on Thursday, in extra innings. He is the only A’s reliever with a save this month. Jack Perkins could work his way back into the mix at some point, though his latest appearance on Wednesday was in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In that same game, Kirby Yates finally received a save opportunity with the Angels, but he blew it immediately. With the Angels up 5-4, Yates stepped into the top of the ninth inning and served up this solo bomb to Jeff McNeil:

Ryan Zeferjahn hit two batters in the seventh and was pulled for Sam Bachman, who gave up a single to Nick Kurtz, which hung an earned run on Zeferjahn. This bullpen remains in disarray, as does the franchise.

Don’t know about you, but I was pretty excited pulling up the box scores, seeing that the Twins won 3-1, and wondering who the winner of Pin the Tail on the Reliever was today. Turns out, this time, it was rookie right-hander Andrew Morris earning his first career save. Morris is the ninth Twins reliever with a save this season. Luis García and Justin Topa are the only ones with more than one save. RosterResource currently lists the three-headed “monster” of García, Morris, and Taylor Rogers as the closer committee.

Quick Hits

It’s finally that time! Gerrit Cole will make his first regular season, big league start since September of 2024, against the Tampa Rays on Friday. The Rays are 15-3 this month and have the best record in the American League. They spoiled Shane Baz’s return to Tampa and swept the inept Orioles.

It’s rare to see team beat writers correct Fantasy Twitter folks, but it happened with speculation about Marlins pitching prospect, Thomas White, on Wednesday:

I can politely confirm that Thomas White is NOT starting for the #Marlins on Friday or any time soon.

Eury Perez gets the ball for the series-opener against New York. https://t.co/hzrtCO29xw

— Isaac Azout (@IsaacAzout) May 20, 2026

Turns out, this is why White was scratched from his latest start at Triple-A:

Thomas White has been placed on the 7-day IL in Triple-A.#Marlins

— Fish On First Prospects (@FOFProspects) May 21, 2026

Details of the injury have not yet been released.

Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham was hobbling after a double in the second inning and was removed from Wednesday’s game against the Blue Jays. We will know more about his status on Thursday.

Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill tweaked his back leaping to catch Shohei Ohtani’s first-inning bomb on Wednesday (back, back, back…my back!). Merrill will likely have imaging done on the Padres day off today.

Random fact: Phillies rookie outfielder Justin Crawford currently sports baseball’s highest groundball rate, 61.1%. The last qualified hitter with a GB% over 60%? Tim Anderson in 2023, at 61.1%. In case you’re curious, there is only one qualified hitter with a groundball rate over 55% since 2023: Christian Yelich, 57%.

Various News and Notes

Hope you weren’t one of the 24% in the NFBC Online Championship who got cute and benched Kyle Harrison because of his date with the Cubs at Wrigley. He threw seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball and 11 punchouts.

Harrison brought his ERA down to 1.77.  Fun fact: Harrison’s grandfather, Skip Guinn, pitched for the Braves and Astros in the late 1960s. Like Kyle, Grandpa Skip was a lefty.

Sal Stewart continues to produce in his wildly impressive rookie season. He went 4-for-5 and smashed his 12th longball of the season:

Stewart and Oneil Cruz are the only hitters with double-digit homers and swipes. He’s creeping up close to the top 10 among hitters in the Fantasy Player Rater.

Aaron Nola served up four earned runs to the Reds on Wednesday and is now the only qualified starting pitcher with an ERA over 6.00.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today: Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI, 46%) vs. COL

E-Rod and his 1.65 home ERA host the Rockies and their MLB-worst 27.4% road strikeout rate. Hopefully, the Diamondbacks will provide Rodriguez with run support. They’ve won five of their last six games, averaging seven runs per game over that stretch.

Other Pitchers: None. There’s Luis Severino on the road, against the Angels, but I can’t recommend him. He has a 12.9% walk rate and 1.57 WHIP. I’d rather take a shot on Dustin May, home against the Pirates.

Pitchers for Tomorrow: Jeffrey Springs (ATH, 32%) at SD

The Athletics continue their show on the road with a three-game stop in sunny San Diego. It’s a good ballpark and solid matchup for Springs, who has held opposing batters to a .277 wOBA and .281 OBP away from Sutter Health Park.

Other Pitchers: Chris Bassitt (BAL, 12%) vs. DET