Roto Riteup: May 26, 2016

I once went to a Jays-Yankees game and sat near a guy in head-to-toe Red Sox gear. Tonight, I saw someone with a Timofey Mozgov Cleveland Browns jersey in Cleveland. I, myself, own a signed Andrea Bargnani jersey, an Eric Hinske jersey, and any number of other awful apparel and memorabilia items.

None of it is anywhere near as bad as this jabroni:

You’re doing it wrong, buddy. pic.twitter.com/FSdjWFikYv

— Chris Hrabe (@chrabe) May 25, 2016

Who hurt you, fam?
On the agenda:
1. Le receveur returns
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Le receveur returns
Our long national nightmare is over. Mired in the slump to end all slumps, Russell Martin finally broke free on Wednesday with a pair of home runs. Homerless to this point, Martin was hitting .172/.243/.180 entering the game, a line that would make some pitchers blush. One big night doesn’t erase that or turn things around, but it’s a necessary win for many fantasy owners – Martin was the fifth catcher off boards, remains 62-percent owned, and was started in 48 percent of leagues. Signs of life and glimmers of hope are important when such a major investment appears to be a sunk cost.

The Blue Jays also recalled second baseman Devon Travis, who promptly went 1-for-4 with an RBI. He hit eighth but could work his way into the lead-off spot in time, and he’s worth an add in most formats with an unimpeded path to playing time, a strong 2015 behind him, and a great rehab assignment in the books.

Various News and Notes
Following up on yesterday’s breakdown, the Mets will not skip Matt Harvey’s next start. He draws the White Sox on Monday, and in the event things don’t work out, it’s probably not safe to assume he’ll get two starts next week.

The Yankees will get Alex Rodriguez back from the DL on Thursday, and expectations can go sky-high after he hit a pair of home runs at Double-A, complete with a bat flip. OK, so don’t go too crazy, but at least look to activate him if you’ve been patient enough to keep him on your DL. New York got some bad news, too, though, as catching prospect Gary Sanchez suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb.

Jorge de la Rosa is out of the rotation for the Rockies after another rough outing. His 11.421 ERA is probably a mark that can be matched by Chris Rusin, his replacement, however uninspiring Rusin’s profile may be.

Sticking with enormous ERAs, the Diamondbacks are trying to figure out what to do with Shelby Miller, who needs to get it together. He turned in another awful outing Tuesday, and it sounds like Arizona is considering sending him to the minors to get right. The owner of a 7.09 ERA and a 6.57 FIP may benefit from the chance to figure out why he can’t miss bats and can’t hit the strike zone at all right now.

Nomar Mazara, aka The Monster Mazara Cueto, refuses to stop hitting. It would be annoying if it weren’t a lot of fun.

Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers or play DFS, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Kevin Gausman @ HOU (Lance McCullers)
The Astros have nearly an average offense (wRC+ of 95) but they strike out a ton, whiffing 25.8 percent of the time (second only to Milwaukee). Kevin Gausman has been pitching well, limiting walks and keeping the ball in the park. The chance to matchup with a high-strikeout opponent could be the catalyst for his strikeout rate punching north of 20 percent..

A pitcher for tomorrow: Adam Conley @ ATL (Williams Perez)
Adam Conley is off to a nice start to his 2016 season other than the spike in walk rate, and the Braves should present a nice opportunity for him to push things forward. They own the league’s worst offense by wRC+ and strike out an average amount, a nice place for Conley to nudge his own strikeout rate a little higher while getting his ERA back under 4.00.