Roto Riteup: May 7, 2016
Today’s Roto Riteup is sponsored by bottom shelf 2013 Chilean merlot, best served chilled.
On the agenda:
1. Welcome back Jung-ho Kang
2. Injuries Galore
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitcher Options
Welcome back Jung-ho Kang
The Pirates activated Kang from the disabled list yesterday, and he made his 2016 MLB debut against the Cardinals. Kang severely injured his knee and lower leg late last year, but had an incredible rookie campaign: 15 homers and a .287 average over 126 games. Jung-ho, just 29 years old, will still need to work his way back into full-time action. With David Freese in the fold, the Pirates have the ability to be patient early, and the flexibility to rotate players around later. While Freese is stuck at third base, Kang can play some second as well, where utilityman Josh Harrison currently sits. Kang will be of great use in daily leagues now, but weekly owners may want to consider keeping him on the DL until he assumes nearly daily duty.
Injuries Galore
This biggest news yesterday was out of Los Angeles: Garrett Richards will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season, and probably close to half of 2017. Andrew Heaney could be next to go under the knife, but he’s attempting to rehab his way through his UCL tear before undergoing surgery. Odds are Heaney will need to have surgery, but since he’d miss the rest of this season anyway, it’s not a terrible idea to try rehabbing.
Jacoby Ellsbury didn’t even get to play a full inning yesterday before leaving with an injury. Ellsbury hurt himself while stealing third base, and is currently be listed as day-to-day. Two young fireballers also had to leave games early yesterday; Taijuan Walker lasted two innings before leaving with neck spasms, having allowed two homers prior to his departure. In the NL, Carlos Martinez left during the fourth inning, reportedly due to general fatigue. Expect Martinez to make his next start, but Walker could need an extra few days of rest next week, even if he believes he will not.
Various News and Notes
Despite hitting .260 with a .321 OBP, Adonis Garcia is being sent to the minors by the Braves. Garcia did make seven errors already this year, so perhaps keeping his glove away from Atlanta is wise, even in a lost season. No one the Braves replace him with will be worth owning.
Sticking in Atlanta, Ender Inciarte was activated from the DL. Inciarte played just three games this year before succumbing to injury, and his presence will boost the stock of teammates Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis.
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: A.J. Griffin at DET (Mike Pelfrey)
Griffin has been quite good this year, and outside of Texas he’s a tasty morsel.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Josh Tomlin vs KC (Edinson Volquez)
There’s not a bevy of options on Sunday, but Tomlin should do.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Of note: the Dodgers reportedly are seriously considering promoting Julio Urias soon – but only to help with the bullpen. That would seem to be a curious move as I’m not sure how that helps his development as a starting pitcher.
Plenty of great pitchers started in the bullpen (Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez), but the prudent plan to me would be to put Wood in the pen now, let Urias start in the bigs until Ryu or McCarthy is back, and then think about moving him. That gives you some latitude if one of those guys has a setback too.
Agreed. Also, one possibility of the Dodgers calling up Urias to pitch in the bullpen would be to limit his innings in the hope that he can be used through the end of this season. His limit is probably about 150 innings this year, so probably the only way he is a contributor in October is if he is in the bullpen.