Roto Riteup: May 29, 2013

Today’s Roto Riteup lacks a certain pizzazz, but makes up for it in hustle and grit.

On today’s agenda:
1. Wacha Wacha
2. Carlos Zambrano stops in at Single-A
3. Brandon Morrow has a sore forearm
4. Brett Lawrie has a boo-boo

Wacha Wacha
After passing him over for earlier promotions, the Cardinals are bringing pitching prospect Michael Wacha to the big leagues. Wacha will start Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals despite posting subpar results in Triple-A. While he technically hasn’t, Wacha has pretty much skipped all other forms of minor league ball on his way to AAA, pitching a grand total of 21 innings before seeing his promotion in 2013. While Wacha may not have ceiling of a Taijuan Walker or a Zack Wheeler, he should have the stuff to stick in the middle of big league rotations for years to come. Wacha is interesting in standard mixed leagues because of the ballpark he plays in, but he’s certainly worth an add in NL-only leagues.

Carlos Zambrano stops in at Single-A
The Phillies signed Zambrano a couple weeks back and is set to make tune-up starts in the minor leagues. Zambrano was flat out awful for the Marlins last year, and even though he’s a mere 31 years old, this will likely be his last chance to make a big league roster. There’s no need to pick Zambrano up before he makes a couple starts, and if you’re watching him to determine his viability, pay attention to his command, not his velocity.

Brandon Morrow has a sore forearm
While he’s supposed to make his next start, Morrow’s forearm injury is more than just a wee bit concerning. Morrow has been injured a bunch in the past, including some pertaining to the forearm, so this injury is nothing new. Morrow hasn’t been dominant like he was in 2012, or like he was in a different fashion in 2013, so perhaps some time sitting in the corner by himself could be for the best. Keep an eye on Morrow’s status over the next couple of days, especially to see if his velocity returns during his next start.

Brett Lawrie has a boo-boo
Speaking of injured, flightless Blue Jays, Lawrie missed yesterday’s game after spraining his ankle the night before. Lawrie is hitting a paltry .209/.268/.374 on the year, and the young third baseman is having serious trouble avoiding strikeouts. Lawrie was once a fantasy ubermensch, but now he’s looking more like sauerkraut.