Roto Riteup: May 24, 2022

You know it is summer when the kids start playing in the sprinklers.

lol gio pic.twitter.com/UxmU9NHhjJ

— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 24, 2022

 

On the Agenda: 

1. Sleeper and the Bust DK Contest
2. COVID Issues
3. Closer Chaos
4. Quick Hits
5. Various News and Notes
6. 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. 

 

COVID Issues

Robert Stephenson was placed on the COVID IL. There is no word yet whether he tested positive or is just experiencing symptoms. 

Josh Donaldson was placed on the COVID IL on Monday. Donaldson is reportedly just experiencing symptoms so there is a chance he will return shortly. He is also appealing a one game suspension for comments made towards Tim Anderson. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

 

Closer Chaos

Josh Hader was placed on the restricted list as he attends to a family situation. In his absence, it seems likely that Devin Williams will fill in as the Brewers closer. 

 

Quick Hits

Steven Matz was placed on the IL with a shoulder injury. Matz left Sunday’s start after just four pitches and was in obvious pain, so this is not surprising. He is droppable in most formats. 

Dylan Carlson was placed on the IL with a hamstring injury. There is no current timetable for his return. 

Connor Overton was placed on the 60-Day I with a stress fracture in his back. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with the injury. 

Freddy Peralta was placed on the IL with a lat strain. This is disappointing and reports are that he will miss considerable time with the injury. He is worth stashing on your IL, but is also cuttable if you have a roster crunch as it is possible he misses most if not all of the rest of the season. 

Hunter Renfroe left Monday’s game against the Padres with a hamstring injury. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

 

Various News and Notes

Alex Cobb threw six innings versus the Mets, allowing six earned runs on ten hits and no walks while striking out seven in the loss on Monday. 

Alex Cobb is last season’s Eduardo Rodriguez pic.twitter.com/aLoIIBoxtP

— In play, out(s) (@Kirkdiese) May 24, 2022

Cobb got the short end of the stick in this one. Above you see a play that had Darin Ruf caught the ball, it would have saved five of the six runs that Cobb allowed. A number of the hits he allowed were soft infield singles that the Mets were able to leg out as well and he had a .474 BABIP in the outing which brought up his BABIP to .411 on the season. While his ERA is 6.25 on the year, he has a 2.72 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. This is one of the easiest buy low opportunities out there.

Max Kepler went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in the victory over the Tigers on Monday.

Max Kepler is responsible for the 600th, 700th and 1,000th home runs by a #MNTwins player at Target Field. pic.twitter.com/WNEQFg9o0C

— Twins Dingers (@TwinsDingers) May 24, 2022

Kepler is quietly having a really nice season, hitting .262/.368/.446 with six home runs and two stolen bases in spite of the fact he has been getting a bit unlucky as well. His xBA is .318 and his xwOBA is in the 95th percentile. He should be rostered in all formats and is worth trading for as the numbers don’t yet jump off the page.

Tyler Anderson threw eight scoreless innings in the victory over the Nationals on Monday, allowing just five hits and no walks while striking out eight.

Tyler Anderson, K'ing the Side.

With a PitchingNinja T Shirt Behind HP. 😀 pic.twitter.com/XCWdxzp1aT

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2022

Anderson was fantastic in this one, sporting a 32% CSW and mixing his pitches really well in the outing. He has been really good for the Dodgers, striking out 42 in 43.2 innings with a 3.30 ERA. He has done a great job limiting base runners this year, but he has allowed a ton of fly balls which is concerning as balls start to fly more in the summer. I am riding the hot streak right now, but get ready to jump off as soon as the balls start flying out of the park.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)
Pitcher for Today: Kyle Freeland at PIT
Freeland has been great in his two starts on the road this year and is in a great matchup to begin a really nice two-start week.

High Risk Options: James Kaprielian at SEA, Dane Dunning at LAA, Bruce Zimmermann at NYY, Jordan Hicks vs TOR.

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: None
Some interesting high risk starters, but none that I am really trusting.

High Risk Options: Aaron Ashby at SD, Dylan Bundy vs DET, Jakob Junis vs NYM, Rich Hill at CHW, Zach Thompson vs COL, Tyler Wells at NYY, Glen Otto at LAA.

 

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.”