Roto Riteup: May 23, 2026

“Alright Keegan, just go out there and get us going – start things off with a stri…”

[Kevin McGonigle enters the chat]

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Quick Hits
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers
5. Ottoneu Six Picks

Closer Chaos

Bryan King locked down his 5th save of the year for the Astros. While King’s days as a closer are waning. As of a few days ago, Josh Hader supposedly needed five more rehab outings. He has made two of those. Another week and Hader could be back in Houston. But don’t forget King’s name. Unless the Astros can get back into the thick of the race, Hader could easily find himself on the trade block by July, and that closer’s seat could open up again.

Louis Varland got a two inning save against Pittsburgh. Mason Fluharty had closed out the 7th, getting Oneil Cruz to fly out and keeping the score 3-1, but after giving up a walk and a single to start the 8th, he got pulled and Varland came on to put out the fire. A wild pitch and a ground out allowed an inherited run to score, but Varland K’d Konnor Griffin and got a grounder from Jhostynxon Garcia to hold the lead. The Jays added three in the bottom of the inning, and Varland stayed on to finish the night.

Anthony Banda became the 10th Twin to pick up a save this year. If that seems like a lot, that’s because it is. The Diamondbacks set a record by having 14 pitchers with at least one save just last season. The Twins are almost there and it isn’t even summer yet. Who is going to end up owning the 9th in the Twin Cities? No one. That’s my guess. Committees are often “committees” in name only, or are committees of just 2-3 players. This one though? This is a committee.

Anthony Nuñez got his third save for the Orioles and now has gotten the last two saves for the team, though they were 11 days apart. This is another unclear pen, though Nuñez is a name to watch and may now be the front-runner.

Chad Patrick now has two saves, after going 1.1 scoreless to close out the Dodgers. He seems to be finding a home in the pen, which is good because Logan Henderson started this one and showed no signs that he is giving up his rotation spot. Five shutout innings with 7 K, 3 BB, and 2 H against the Dodgers? Wow.

Bryan Baker is now at 14 saves on the season, after closing out a 4-2 win over the Yankees on Friday. Andrés Muñoz wrapped up his 9th save, while Pete Fairbanks notched his 6th.

Quick Hits

Jonny DeLuca left the Rays game Friday with a hamstring injury and appears headed to the IL. DeLuca had just been emerging out of a platoon so this is rough timing.

Denzel Clarke’s rehab was interrupted by a hamstring issue, and he is now not going to be back until after the All-Star Break. That’s bad news for fans of incredible catches, but it does mean more opportunity for guys like Henry Bolte and Carlos Cortez to get their feet under them.

Kodai Senga made his first rehab start and touched 97. That’s a great sign. If he can maintain that velo, I am going to be interested in adding him.

Max Muncy the Elder left Friday’s game after getting drilled on the wrist by a 95 mph pitch. Initial X-rays were negative and it sounds like Muncy may not miss much time, but the Dodgers don’t expect him to play the rest of the weekend. If you are in daily leagues, set your lineups accordingly.

Various News and Notes

Gerrit Cole was back on the bump at Yankee Stadium Friday night, and while he was not bad, he wasn’t vintage Cole, either. The good: only two hits and no runs over six innings. The “not vintage:” three walks and two strikeouts. The velo and movement looked fine, but Cole managed just five whiffs through 72 pitches. A little rust is to be expected, but don’t be fooled by the shutout or low hit total – Cole wasn’t getting swinging strikes and he wasn’t getting ground balls and he was giving up too many walks. None of that will stop me from having him in my lineups when he pitches next at Kansas City, but I am not counting on prime Gerrit Cole just yet.

As anticipated, Jose Caballero was back off the IL and in the lineup as the shortstop, hitting 7th on Friday. That pushed Anthony Volpe to the bench, but keep an eye on this one. Volpe was doing enough to earn a longer look, and the Yankees may have some options (Volpe at 3B instead of Ryan McMahon, for example) to get both Caballero and Volpe into the lineup. Caballero, by the way, was 2-4 with a caught stealing in his return.

The Guardians and Phillies treated us to an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel Friday. Cristopher Sánchez and Gavin Williams traded zeros for eight innings – Sánchez struck out six, walked two and allowed four hits while Williams struck out 11 without a walk, giving up four hits. They then gave way to two of the best closers in the game. Jhoan Duran made one mistake, Kyle Manzardo made him pay, and Cade Smith got the save.

It hasn’t been a fun season for Bubba Chandler, but facing a tough Blue Jays team Friday, the elite arm we have been waiting for showed up. It took him 99 pitches to go 5 IP, but Chandler allowed just three runs (only one earned), on two hits and three walks, with 11 strikeouts. His velocity was up across the board and he used his sinker far more often (18% vs. 2% on the year). That sinker, which has been sitting more than 1 mph slower than his four-seam, was also much harder. The four-seam averaged 99.3 (vs. 98.4 on the year) and the sinker nearly matched it at 99.1 (vs. 97.1 on the year. Given the different movement profiles of those pitches, if he can keep hitters off balance by mixing them more effectively – especially with velo that makes them look the same until they break – that could be a big boost. Multi-fastball usage is all the rage these days, and maybe this is Chandler entering the fray.

I am not entirely sure what to make of the Mets pitching set-up Friday. Tobias Myers went 1.1 IP, then Sean Manaea finished the second and handled the 3rd-5th innings. And Jonah Tong made his 2026 debut by striking out two and walking one over three no-hit innings to close it out. He was closing out a loss, so no save or win, but still an impressive debut. So is Tong a reliever now? For now, it sounds like he is at least sticking around New York and will be pitching again next week, but it doesn’t seem entirely clear what his role will be.

Jackson Holliday was 2-3 with a walk, and did this on Friday:

Just so we are all on the same page, that was not the most impressive homer ever hit, with just an .070 xBA, but that is not a short corner at Camden, and that ball would have gotten out of 11 other ballparks. Holliday was 0-4 with three K’s coming into the game, so excuse-me HR or no, Friday night had to feel good.

Curtis Mead was 2-5 with a home run which is notable because Atlanta starter Bryce Elder is a right-handed pitcher, Mead had been a small-side platoon guy most of the year, but with Brady House down in Triple-A, Mead got a start against a righty Friday and delivered.

Mead came into the game with a 118 wRC+ vs. lefties and a 127 vs. righties, so he is earning more of a look against same-handed pitching. The first game after the House demotion was also against a righty, but Jorbit Vivas started at 3B. The next two were against lefties, but Friday might be a sign that Mead won’t be platooning as much. Definitely something to watch because the dude is mashing.

Grayson Rodriguez earned his first win since July 31, 2024, despite giving up 4 ER in 5.2 IP, while striking out five, walking two and allowing seven hits. But you can survive that when your opposite number gives up two homers and allows 6 ER on 6 H and 3 BB in just 3 IP. Jacob DeGrom has now given up six HR in this last 9 IP. Over this last four starts, he has gone 22.1 IP allowing 16 ER on 21 H and 4 BB, including 8 HRA. Figuring out what’s up with DeGrom is worth a deep dive. One of the HR Friday was by Zach Neto, who added another one off the pen, as he is starting to heat up.

Streaming Pitchers

Streamers are under 50% rostered on CBS.

Pitcher for Today: Walbert Ureña (LAA, 26%) vs. Texas

I am not really scared of the Texas offense and Ureña has only given up more than two runs once this year.

Other options: No one, really.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Christian Scott (NYM, 36%) vs. WAS

There are some other pitches going Sunday that I like as streamers, but the matchups aren’t great. Brandon Sproat has the Dodgers. Matthew Liberatore is at Great American Ballpark. So Scott wins by default.

Ottoneu Six Picks

A new addition to my Roto Riteups will be sharing my Ottoneu Six Picks lineups. You can read more about Six Picks here but the concept is simple: six lineup spots (C, CI, MI, OF, SP, RP); $120 to fill those six spots; Ottoneu FanGraphs Points scoring. The only thing to keep in mind: Your SP will only score points if he starts and your RP will only grab points if he relieves. So no grabbing an RP-eligible player slated to start today.

Here is my Saturday lineup:

• Will Smith ($18.75) – I needed a catcher and he has the platoon advantage.
• Nick Kurtz ($27.25) – He only cost me $22.50 last week! But even at this price, I’ll take a shot at him going deep off Lucas Giolito.
• Colt Emerson ($3.25) – Let’s have some fun!
• Riley Greene ($16.00) – The matchup with a RHP in a good LH power park made this choice for me.
• Zach Wheeler ($19.50) – He has been so good and this matchup isn’t a bad one at all.
• Mason Miller ($28.00) – I never have enough leftover to pay him, but today I do!