Roto Riteup: May 3, 2013

Today is Space Day! As a young lad, the present author fondly remembers a family trip to the Kennedy Space Center (as well as Disney World) back in the mid 1990’s. With the Curiosity rover is still exploring Mars, NASA and space exploration in general is always good to hear. As Bill Nye famously said: “science rules!”

On today’s agenda:
1. Yuniesky Betancourt to first base
2. The return of Aramis Ramirez
3. Ryan Zimmerman returns, Anthony Rendon sent down
4. Another Justin Grimm quality start

Yuniesky Betancourt to first base
Well, Yuniesky Betancourt hit cleanup for the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday. He has hit four home runs in the past seven games and lineup shifts don’t make that much difference, however it struck the author as rare. Indeed, outside of this season, Yuni hasn’t been in the lineup as the fourth hitter since 2007 — as a pinch runner for Raul Ibanez. Yuni is still sporting his trademark low on-base percentage, but he is eligible at third, second, and first base. If you are hurting for warm bodies in the infield, there is always Yuni. He is guaranteed playing time at first base for the short term, at least until Corey Hart returns near the end of the month.

The return of Aramis Ramirez
Today the Brewers will activate Aramis Ramirez, and given the previous paragraph, not a moment too soon. The same article above tells us that Ramirez won’t be playing full games or back-to-back games in the early going, however Ramirez’s bat is worth activating on your fantasy squad. A final, scarcely related note was Brewers manager Ron Roenicke saying:

“I’m concerned about this team more than I’m concerned about the other team and how they feel about things. If running is part of our game and we score more because of it, we’re going to run.”

With that in mind, expect a good amount of steals from the likes of Carlos Gomez, Norichika Aoki, Jean Segura, and Rickie Weeks. It wouldn’t surprise the author to see 30 steals from each of those players. Weeks would be the most pleasant surprise, but if the manager is giving a unilateral green light, it could happen.

Ryan Zimmerman returns, Anthony Rendon sent down
Speaking of third baseman coming back from injury, Ryan Zimmerman will be activated today by the Washington Nationals. Directly related to that move, Anthony Rendon was sent down to Double-A after yesterday’s game. Rendon showed his usual willingness to take a walk and showed a solid overall approach at the plate. Really nothing ground breaking on the evaluation front regarding Rendon, but the author would be wise to leave any prospect evaluations to the prospect evaluators.

Another Justin Grimm quality start
In his fourth game started of the season, Justin Grimm posted his fourth quality start. His 2.28 ERA/3.11 FIP/3.71 xFIP as well as his 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio are the makings of a worthwhile fantasy starter. Though he took the loss yesterday, Grimm struck out nine and scattered 10 base runners in 6.2 innings pitched. No doubt Grimm is not a 2.28 ERA pitcher, however if he continues to strikeout over a batter per inning, Grimm will earn a place on fantasy rosters in almost every league. Grimm is currently owned in less than 40% of CBS, Yahoo!, and ESPN formats.