Roto Riteup: May 27, 2015
Today’s Roto Riteup was researched while the present author ate a popsicle. Well, technically it was an Otter Pop, but I think those should be considered a type of popsicle. Though it lacks a wood stick, it is still a self contained frozen treat. Things such as lemon ices, etc. are not popsicles to me.
On today’s agenda:
1. Jung-ho Kang continues to rake
2. Quad injury for Matt Adams
3. Quick thoughts on Adam Warren
4. Streaming Pitching Options
Jung-ho Kang continues to rake
After a slow April where he hit .269/.310/.346, Kang has been on fire in May. Prior to yesterday’s 2-for-4 game he was hitting .318/.392/.470. As is so often the case in month-by-month splits, BABIP has played a role in Kang’s numbers. His .333 April BABIP, while still above average, pales in comparison to his May .373 rate heading into yesterday’s game. Kang has appeared at both shortstop and third base enough times to be eligible in most standard leagues and should be plugged in at short wherever possible. It’d be very surprising to see Kang’s current BABIP hold for the season, however he is still one to be owned in almost any format. He’s only tallied two home runs thus far, but does have seven doubles and three stolen bases. Given how shallow shortstop is, as well as Kang’s potential power — plus he has seemingly settled in the fifth spot in the lineup — make him one to pick up. He’s free to pick up in over 60 percent of CBS formats and more than 80 percent of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.
Quad injury for Matt Adams
The St. Louis Cardinals may lose their primary first baseman for a spell. Adams left yesterday’s game after pulling up lame after rounding first base in the fifth inning. From the video it looks like a right quad strain, though no word on the severity of it. Count on Adams hitting the 15-day disabled list or missing a handful of games in the very least. He’s been in a fairly regular platoon with Mark Reynolds, the guy who will most likely see the biggest increase in playing time should Adams hit the DL. Reynolds’ poor rate stats make him an option in deep leagues or NL-only formats, and he can be picked up in more than 97 percent of CBS, Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.
Quick thoughts on Adam Warren
For the third consecutive outing Warren has tossed a quality start. The converted reliever hasn’t seen many strikeouts and sports a 5.68 K/9, however he did manage five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings yesterday. Warren induced 11 whiffs on 88 pitches against a Royals squad that doesn’t strike out often in yesterday’s outing and didn’t allow a walk. With a modest 32:18 strikeout to walk ratio, Warren has been dancing between raindrops en route to his 3.91 ERA. His 4.43 xFIP tells of rockier days ahead for the right-hander, but I do expect to see an uptick in his strikeout rate, as does ZiPS and Steamer. According to Brooks Baseball, Warren has been throwing fewer breaking balls this season, potentially to reduce wear and tear on him in his expanded role. He’s probably a stream option in deep leagues or a budget pick in DFS despite his recent success.
Streaming Pitching Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.
A pitcher for today: Brad Hand at PIT (Gerrit Cole)
As Zach Sanders mentioned yesterday, today isn’t a strong day for streaming pitching options. Still, Hand will be up against a Bucs squad which rates below average against left-handers. Hand is free to pick up, and is a bit of a risky start, in more than 98 percent of the three major fantasy sites.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Buck Farmer at LAA (C.J. Wilson)
The Angels haven’t fared too well against right-handed pitching this season. Farmer will be making his third career start in the big leagues and owns a strong 2.98 ERA and 2.70 FIP in Triple-A so far. Similar to Hand, Farmer is available in 95 percent of the big the three’s leagues.
You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.
Hey Dave,
You cool with dropping A. Simmons in 10-team roto (TB, OBP)? I have Crawford at SS and Guerrero (set for more PT) at MI. Would be adding either Aoki, Kang. or … Forsythe? Who you like there?
Cheers, man.
If you’re going to drop Simmons I like Kang the best
Kang is the best for rest of season. I’d probably drop Simmons.
If you are thin in the OF, drop Simmons for Aoki, since I think Aoki will perform the best going forward out of the group you have listed.
If you need MI or 3B help, then Kang is your guy.
In a total vacuum, I would rank them Aoki, Kang, Forsythe, Simmons. It’s really close between Aoki and Kang for me.
Thanks, dudes. I think it’s OF security I need most, so I might go for Aoki first and then Kang. I’m loaded at 2B/3B with Kendrick, Guerrero, Rendon (eventually), Bryant, Machado.
Kang > Aoki < Forsythe for me. Letting Simmons go would be good, yeah.
Sure, Drop for Kang.
Simmons value on field is largely fielding. That does not translate into fantasy often (if at all).
At what point should I lose hope in Jorge Soler? He has been pretty brutal all year and the power has pretty much dried up. Obviously he isnt droppable, but should I be looking to sell even if it means only getting 50 cents on the dollar for what I paid for him?
I’d wait. Long season MW, things can change in a hurry.
If by say, two weeks after AS Break he doesn’t pick it up, you can attempt to con….er haggle your way into a better deal/upgrade. Soler is too skilled and talented to give up on this early.
My concern with Soler is his value could crater even further once his .398 BABiP starts to drop. I agree Soler is too talented to just give up on, but I also worry that my chance to move him for something close to a decent return could evaporate if the power doesnt show up and the BABiP starts to drop.
I’ll wait a bit longer I guess, but my patience with him is definitely wearing thin.
Keep him on the bench. I think the warmer weather will help his fly balls carry, turning some of his doubles into homers. His 11 doubles are tied (with a bunch of others) for 25th most in baseball and Wrigley is a tough park to hit homers out of in the cold weather.
I still believe.
Hey Mike W, I would move Soler now, like you said so you can still get something good for him, if he still sucks a couple of weeks after the AS break, then you will get nothing for him, unless of course if this is a keeper league…Best of luck.
“Still, Hand will be up against a Bucs squad which rates below average against right-handers.”
…psst! Brad Hand is a southpaw.
D’oh. I had it right (or left) in my head, but wrote right on in the column. Wait, you know what I meant. Either way, the Pirates are bad against lefties. Still a good pick.
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Who should I pick up to replace Fiers? Rubby, B. Anderson, Shoe, or McCullers? ERA, WHIP, K, W, QS. Thanks David!
Shoemaker > Anderson > McCullers
What makes you like Shoe so much? Eno’s K-BB rate article says he might continue to be inconsistent cause of his homer problem. It seems like Fiers is a lot like Shoe. High K%, but is going to give up some HRs.
I like the home park a lot more for Shoemaker plus they have nearly identical swinging strike rates this season, with Shoemaker actually holding a higher career rate.
Fiers has a K/9 over 1.0 higher than Shoemaker, but the latter’s BB/9 is a full 1.0 better. It’s close, but I still give the nod to Shoemaker.
Rubby hasnt been bad of late. Give him a look. He isnt the Rubby of old. Anderson is to brittle, Shoe and McC are intriguing, but not sure that their value will hold another round thru the league.
If I’m looking at an extra bat on my bench, do you recommend going with Kang (behind Castro at SS for me) or Span (could start on a random week if schedules lineup favorably)?
If you need steals, Span, but in a vacuum I think I like Kang more.
Kang or Bogaerts. identical eligibility. 6×6
Kang for me, but I’m high on him.