Roto Riteup: May 28, 2016

Today’s Roto Riteup mourns for the career of Julio Urias. It was fun while it lasted, kid.

On the agenda:
1. Urias’ Short Debut
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Urias’ Short Debut
In his much anticipated MLB debut, Julio Urias couldn’t make it out of the third inning against the Mets. Urias faced 17 batters: he walked four, struck out three, and allowed three earned while throwing 81 pitches. Urias may not get another start for a while, since the Dodgers already wanted to limit his workload this season and may feel obliged to not throw him out there a second time. Moving to the big league bullpen is an option — and one that could allow him to settle into The Show and convince himself that he can take care of MLB hitters — but pushing him back to the minors would allow the club to continue to build up his durability instead of limiting him to 30-40 pitches a week. Anyone who added Urias should have figured this could be a short-lived stint, but couldn’t have been expecting such a pummeling early.

Various News and Notes
Adam Conley had a weird start last night. On the surface, he struck out three and walked just one while allowing two earned; but underneath in the depths, he plunked three and was unable to make it through the fifth inning. Conley’s kept his K-rate the same as last year while allowing fewer homers, but he’s walking more batters and his ERA is slightly higher. He’s still a very tempting play in spacious Miami.

Adam Duvall hit his tenth homer of the year last night, and his average sits above .260. He’s still striking out in three of every ten PAs, which makes .260 somewhat of a limit for his average, but he clearly has big league power and continues to be a worthy investment.

Jose Ramirez is having one hell of a year. After a 4-for-4 performance last night, his average is above .300 and he’s slugging 150 points higher. Ramirez is a shortstop by trade, but he’s been playing a mix of left field and third base this season, and should continue to play almost every day going forward, regardless of position. While he’s been around since 2013, this is Ramirez’s age-23 season, and we could be seeing the emergence of a .270-10-10 super-utility threat.

Rickie Weeks continues to get playing time for the Diamondbacks, especially against left-handed pitching. Weeks, who couldn’t get a job in the second half of last season, is a frustrating player, because he is just 33 and was good in 2014. Weeks is purely playing the outfield for Arizona, but even as a DFS platoon play, he’s not real attractive despite his power.

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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: Jesse Hahn vs DET (Matt Boyd)
Hahn against a rookie is a solid bet, especially since the A’s righty gets the advantage of his home ballpark.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Archie Bradley vs SD (Drew Pomeranz)
Bradley is a high-upside bet against a weak Padres squad who may not be rolling out their best lineup on a Sunday afternoon.