Roto Riteup: May 5, 2016

“Don’t throw a fastball down the middle to Big Papi.”

That’s Carlos Rodon’s advice to the world after feeding David Ortiz a 93 MPH fastball down the chute for a home run. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

Also, here’s this:

#OurMoment #Jays Hanser Alberto blows a big bubble and then……… pic.twitter.com/dqWR3CzA8Y

— Craig Robertson (@Craigerphotos) May 5, 2016

On the agenda:
1. Damned Yankees
2. Other New York struggles
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitcher Options

Damned Yankees
The Yankees are already banged up enough, and now they could be looking at an injury to their left fielder. Brett Gardner took a Dylan Bundy offering to the left elbow Wednesday and needed to be replaced, with Joe Girardi admitting afterward that Gardner, who is hitting .247 with two home runs and three stolen bases so far, could miss a few days. X-rays were negative, at least, but daily owners should keep an eye on his status.

This is just the latest break for the Yankees, who just placed Alex Rodriguez on the DL (he can probably be dropped if you don’t have a spare DL spot) and also lost Greg Bird before the season started. The Yankees are already a bottom-10 offense, and so even A-Rod’s average production is a big loss. What’s more, the team’s considering demoting Luis Severino and his 6.31 ERA, which would make sense were the Yankees looking particularly competitive right now, but they, uhh, aren’t.

Other New York struggles
So, are we worried about Matt Harvey? The sixth pitcher off the board even gave up three runs to Atlanta on Tuesday, and while we’re a day late for analyzing that start, it’s the comments that have come out since that are more concerning than his 4.76 ERA and downright pedestrian strikeout rate. “There’s something unknown we’re looking at,” Scott Boras said, which is an odd way to phrase things. Who knows? Boras was clear that Harvey is healthy despite a velocity decrease and that he expects his client to come out better for it, but an “unknown” hanging around what’s likely your top arm is at least a little concerning.

Various News and Notes
Carlos Correa finishing a triple short of the cycle seems like a reasonable occurrence. When teammate Jose Altuve does it on the same night, you know things are clicking. The Astros hung 16 on the Twins, an outburst that included a Jason Castro home run and Carlos Gomez knocking in multiple runs for the first time all season. Hitting’s contagious.

Russell Martin had a walk-off single and good god it’d be nice if he started hitting regularly. Speaking of breaking out of a slump, Bryce Harper was just lying in the weeds. What a moonshot. Harper’s AL counterpart, Mike Trout, is also very good, quickly erasing any memory of his cold start.

Dodgers’ minor-league shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena has been suspended for the remained of the season, the second time he’s been banned as such since signing a $25-million deal out of Cuba in 2014. In this case, the Dodgers are citing a violation of contract terms. Meanwhile, Outside the Lines is reporting that more PED suspensions are on the way. In other news, Hector Olivera’s administrative leave was extended again as the league investigates domestic violence charges against him. The Braves are shopping him, but I can’t imagine anyone bites while the investigation is ongoing.

Corey Kluber shut out the Tigers, Tyler Chatwood threw eight scoreless, and Garrett Richards is headed to a doctor due to fatigue issues. Same, man.

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: Kevin Gausman vs. NYY (Masahiro Tanaka)
Kevin Gausman has looked pretty sharp since coming off of the DL, and while the Yankees don’t strike out a great deal, they also don’t do much else, either – they have an 89 wRC+ as a team, a .125 isolated slugging, and just lost A-Rod (and maybe Gardner).

A pitcher for tomorrow: Drew Pomeranz vs. NYM (Noah Syndergaard)
Still kicking around the 50-percent ownership mark, Drew Pomeranz has been pretty impressive so far, and he appears to have a firm grasp on a rotation spot. The Mets offer some appreciable resistance with a 110 wRC+, but they also strike out a fair amount, and the game goes at Petco.