Roto Riteup: May 26, 2021

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May 26, 2021

The struggle is real:

 

On the Agenda: 

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

 

Trade!!!

The Mets acquired Billy McKinney from the Brewers for Pedro Quintana. The Mets are dealing with a rash of injuries, so this move makes a lot of sense. McKinney should get a fair amount of playing time for a bit as the Mets. Quintana is a 17 year old left-handed pitcher that was international signing out of Venezuela. He has yet to pitch in the minors, so there is not a lot of information on him. 

 

Closer Chaos

Amir Garrett gave up a solo shot home run in the ninth and was pulled by manager David Bell. Garrett was brought in to get the save, but after giving up the bomb, Bell replaced him with Lucas Sims to get the last out of the inning. Garrett had been fantastic in the month of May leading up to this outing, throwing 5.2 innings over six outings and not allowing a single run while striking out 10. The Reds closer situation seems like one that will be in flux most of the season. 

 

Quick Hits

Bryce Harper was placed on the IL with a forearm contusion. This is frustrating as the Phillies had said his absence was not injury related in a move to mislead their opponents. There is no current timetable for his return, but it will be interesting to see how Major League Baseball handles this behavior. 

Harrison Bader was placed on the IL with a rib fracture. This is disappointing because Bader was playing well. It is a hairline fracture, so hopefully he won’t miss too long. 

Zach Plesac was placed on the 10-Day IL with a thumb fracture. Apparently Plesac injured himself when he was “rather aggressively ripping off his shirt” in frustration after his last start. This is up there with the weirdest injuries of all time and extremely unfortunate. There is no current timetable for his return. 

Matt Duffy was placed on the IL with a back strain. There is no timetable for his return. 

Brian Anderson was placed on the IL with a dislocated shoulder. He is expected to miss multiple weeks with the injury. 

Marcell Ozuna was removed from the game on Tuesday with a hand injury. This was an ugly looking injury and he dislocated two fingers when it happened. It seems likely that he will hit the IL. 

Noah Syndergaard left his rehab start on Tuesday with elbow soreness. The Mets are characterizing the injury as “precautionary” but it is never good for this to happen to any pitcher, much less one returning from Tommy John surgery. 

Jazz Chisholm left Tuesday’s game with an ankle sprain. Manager Don Mattingly stated that the injury is believed to be mild, so consider him day-to-day at this time. 

Nico Hoerner left Tuesday’s game with a hamstring strain. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Corey Kluber left Tuesday’s start with a shoulder injury. He is expected to undergo further testing on Wednesday. 

Ryan Mouncastle left Tuesday’s game after being hit by a pitch on the hand. X-Rays were negative after the game. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

David Dahl left Tuesday’s game with a rib injury. He sustained the injury after running into a wall attempting to catch a home run ball. He would stay in the game initially, but leave during an at bat. Consider him day-to-day at this time. 

Brandon Belt left Tuesday’s game with a side injury. This is disappointing because Belt has been good this year and just came back from an injury. Consider him day-to-day at this time. 

 

Various News and Notes

Jurickson Profar went 2-for-3 with a stolen base in the victory over the Brewers. Profaris is hitting .263 with a home run and eight stolen bases this season and has a clear path to playing time in San Diego with Trent Grisham on the IL. He is still available in over 50% of leagues and is a cheap stolen base source for the short term. 

Taris Skubal threw five innings versus Indians, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out nine. Skubal gave up a solo shot to Cesar Hernandez to lead off the game, but was fantastic after that, keeping hitters off balance with his fastball and curve. He has a ton of strikeout upside, but he struggles with his control and command. I like him long term, but there is a lot of risk until he learns to command better. 

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Luis Garcia vs LAD

It is a tough matchup, but I have been impressed by Garcia thus far and the Dodgers aren’t at full strength. 

High Risk Options: Dane Dunning at LAA, James KAprielian vs SEA, Drew Smyly at BOS. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Spencer Howard at MIA

Howard has a ton of talent in his arm and the Marlins are missing Anderson and likely missing Chisolm . Definitely risky, but I am rolling with him. 

High Risk Options: Antonio Senzatela at NYM, Ryan Weathers at MIL, Carlos Martinez at ARI, Justus Sheffield vs TEX. 

 

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” but I may add them at some point. 





 

Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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kid
2 years ago

Skeptical of Bryce’s forearm “contusion”, which is a fancy name for a bruise, which is when the capillaries are ruptured. Wondering if “contusion” isn’t being used as a cover for a more serious condition… Perhaps a hairline/stress fracture? A G1 Tendon/Muscle strain? Nerve impingement? Trent Grisham and Mike Moustakas both went on IL with “heel contusions” (I own both, naturally), and I don’t buy those diagnoses, either.

Clear reason for concern w/Syndergaard. I have him IL’d in one league, and I’m probably cutting him free.

Jazz is an exciting player but the way he hurtles his body around the infield is going to result in more injuries. Ditto w/Acuna. Thrilling to watch, holding your breath every time they do it.

3
kid
2 years ago
Reply to  kid

Just happened to come across this little nugget on Cincinatti.com:
“Moustakas said an MRI showed ‘a little partial tear, I guess, in the plantar fasciitis or something like that'”. The article also says Mike is in a boot and “hopes to be out of it by the end of the week (5/23-5/29)”, per Manager David Bell. So, “contusion” was used instead of “plantar tear” because plantar fasciitis can be a nagging/frustrating/painful injury with a lengthy recovery timeline. (I suffered a Peroneal tendon strain, a muscle strain and a Anterior Talofibular ligament sprain in my foot in early March and I’m *still* recovering in an ankle brace, so the foot issues are now particularly worrisome to me, LOL.). IMO we don’t see Mike until Mid-June (and I own him in multiple leagues).

It is reasonable to assume that Trent Grisham is dealing with something similar (shame b/c I love that guy).

1
Ryan DCmember
2 years ago
Reply to  kid

Thanks for the Moustakas info, I hadn’t seen that

0
cartermember
2 years ago
Reply to  kid

I think all the injuries is a combination of a few things. First people are hurt, clearly. Second I’d say last year’s abbreviated season could theoretically make people more apt to get hurt. Read somewhere that IL is up something like 33% over any year prior, so we aren’t just imagining things. But I’d say that teams have enough data and good enough doctors that they simply aren’t playing through injuries, ever. Everyone is a little banged up, like always, except now they are going to the IL instead.

0