Roto Riteup: May 4, 2015
Seeing that it was a lazy Sunday without much in the way of majorly impactful news, today’s Roto Riteup looks into the little things.
On today’s agenda:
1. Various news and notes
2. Streaming Pitcher Options
Various news and notes
– Dillon Gee struggled a bit yesterday, walking five batters in five innings of work but escaping with just one run allowed. Down in the minors, Noah Syndergaard has been an absolute beast in his last couple outings, striking out 19 batters over 14 innings and bringing his ERA down to 1.66. With the Mets in the race, we could see Syndergaard take hold of a rotation spot any day now, though Gee will likely get more rope than he deserves. Steven Matz has also been electric for the Mets Triple-A affiliate, posting an ERA of 1.84 over 29.1 innings of work.
– Drew Hutchison got rocked a little bit yesterday, and now has an ERA north of 7.00 in his first six starts. Hutchison’s velocity is down a tad this year, but not to the point where it would cause a complete collapse. Jason Collette had a nice comparison of Hutchison’s 2014 and 2015 on twitter.
– Sticking with the Blue Jays, it’s weird to see Miguel Castro optioned to the minors after looking like a promising closer earlier in the season. Castro does still need some work on his command, and sending him down will help the Blue Jays limit his service time this season. There’s no indication that he’ll work as a starter while in the minors, unfortunately.
– Say “hello” to Chad Billingsley, everyone. The Phillies optioned Severino Gonzalez after yesterday’s outing to make room for the veteran, who last pitched in the majors in 2013. Billingsley was a consistently solid starter for the Dodgers before injuries derailed his career, but a rebuilding Phillies team gives him the perfect opportunity to come back. Don’t pick him up, but watch him as a human-interest story of sorts.
– After delivering a trio of solid starts, Mike Pelfrey fell back to earth yesterday. Shocking as it was, Pelfrey’s ERA still sits at 2.63 on the year, so all is right with the world.
Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.
A pitcher for today: David Phelps at WAS (Jordan Zimmermann)
I’m a Phelps apologist, and would be interested even if he doesn’t pick up a win. Travis Wood at the Cardinals is another intriguing option, if that’s more your speed.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Michael Lorenzen at PIT (Jeff Locke)
Outside of the dingers, Lorenzen’s MLB debut was a success. Hopefully getting him outside of Cincy will help to keep the ball in the park.
Oh, and May the Fourth be with you.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
So, Chad Billingsley over the rookie…yeah…
What are the Phillies trying to do? They already suck, why not go with Severino?
I was slightly tempted in picking up Pelfrey for streamer, but all is right with the world now.
I’m actually okay with this, Gonzalez was very obviously not ready and has all of 17.2 IP in AAA, so I’d rather see him get more seasoning than get repeatedly shelled and potentially ruined long-term.
I can kinda see what RAJ is doing here, give Billingsley a shot and if he pitches well enough and stays healthy over the next two months maybe he can flip him at the deadline for a prospect or a couple minor pieces. Kinda similar to what I think they are trying to do with Harang and Papelbon.
Knowing RAJ though, he will become convinced Billingsley is a piece to build around and sign him to a long term deal. The most clueless GM in the game….
He’s almost 31, so he is ripe for an RAJ contract extension. I’d love to think that he really is setting up trade chips and letting talent develop in AAA, but that just doesn’t sound like something he would do. Fingers crossed.
Severino really isn’t a prospect, and Billingsley can build value and be traded.