Roto Riteup: May 7, 2018

The Roto Riteup hopes you always give it your best shot……

Meet @Jrizzi15.

The @SeattleUBase player came up just a bit short… https://t.co/KOF7VRPcSX pic.twitter.com/PMnA6o4dvb

— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 6, 2018

On the Agenda
1. Kershaw lands on the Disabled List
2. Molina Takes One for the Team
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pithchers

 

Kershaw Lands on the Disabled List
Claytomn Kershaw was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday after an MRI revealed that he’s suffering from left bicep tendinitis.

Clayton Kershaw on DL with biceps tendinitis in pitching arm. Third straight year of DL time. That decision to opt out just got more complicated.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) May 6, 2018

This will now be the third-straight season – and fourth in-the-last five – in which he’s missed time due to injury. Kershaw has suffered from diminished velocity on all of his offerings thus far, which has dipped into his SwStr% and K% among other metrics (HR allowed, command). The Dodgers will be activating Rich Hill to start on Tuesday, with Ross Stripling likely staying in the rotation for a while. There is currently no timetable for Kershaw’s return, but according to Andrew Friedman there’s no indication that there’s anything more serious going on. Fantasy owners will have to sit tight until we get a clearer timetable moving forward.

 

Molina Takes One for the Team
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina will be out for about a month after having surgery on his groin area. Any male in the world can literally feel the pain this man went through on Saturday, as a 100 mph pitch was foul-tipped off Kris Bryant’s bat into his groin.

Yadier Molina takes a ball to the balls. pic.twitter.com/o3i3STnD00

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) May 5, 2018

The ailment is officially being described as “a pelvic injury with traumatic hematoma.” Carson Kelly will get playing time while Molina is on the shelf, but isn’t useful in any format besides NL-Only. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Molina. This is a nightmare that anyone in the world can sympathize with.

 

Various News and Notes
Max Scherzer and Chris Sale combined for 27 strikeouts on Sunday, with Scherzer compiling 15 in the Nationals win over the Phillies.

.@Max_Scherzer is the first pitcher EVER to strike out at least 15 batters while recording 19 outs or less. pic.twitter.com/lpYhGLePIl

— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) May 6, 2018

Chris Sale has 371 Ks in his 40 games with the @RedSox, the second most by any player through 40 games with a single club in the last 100 years.

Randy Johnson, Ari – 417
Chris Sale, Bos – 371
Nolan Ryan, Tex – 355
Dwight Gooden, NYM – 342
Nolan Ryan, Cal – 341#DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/bc1TOnnPPX

— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) May 6, 2018

The 10+ K outing was Scherzer’s 69th of his career. He’s now 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. He’s also on pace to amass 370 K at this point. In short, Scherzer will start to have his homerun tendencies come to fruition, but it won’t hinder his overall fantasy value – which is that of a first round player. Sale is currently sporting a 2.02 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP thus far, but he’s only on pace to tally a meager 300 K. He’s now allowed 1 ER or less in four-straight outings and has logged 8 K or more in three-of-his-last-four. These two starters paired with Cole, Kluber, and Verlander make up the top-5 starters in baseball right now.

Making his first start since April 24th, Shohei Ohtani allowed 2 ER (1 HR) on 6 H with 6 K and 2 BB on his way to his third win of the season. Ohtani made it 6 IP without allowing a run, but walked Mitch Haniger to begin the seventh inning before allowing a two-run bomb to Ryon Healy to force him out of the game. He had all his offerings working, with his splitter continuing to be the most effective. He’s currently the eighth-best starter according to the ESPN Player Rater. He won’t finish in that spot, but somewhere in the top-20 is not unreasonable.

Travis Jankowski is hitting .316/.381/.526 with two triples , a stolen base, and four runs scored since being recalled from Triple-A on April 29th. Injuries have plagued the 27-year old outfielder the last couple of years, but this is a player with a knack for taking a walk (10% career BB%) and stole 30 bases just two seasons ago. Fantasy owners in deep mixed formats and NL-Only could find some value here.

Mariners manager Scott Servais removed Jean Segura from Sunday’s game against the Angels after learning he was dealing with a migraine headache.

Segura was dealing with a migraine headache today. It was getting worse as the game progressed so Servais removed him from the game

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) May 6, 2018

Segura should be considered day-to-day. He was 0-for-4 before departing, and has a .290/.315/.420 line with 2 HR, 5 SB, 23 R, and 24 RBI over 138 AB. He’s an easy top-10 SS the rest of the way.

Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed after Sunday’s game against the Giants that Mike Soroka will be taking over Anibal Sanchez’s spot in the starting rotation.

Mike Soroka will remain in the #Braves rotation going forward, Snit said after the game.

Anibal Sanchez would likely move to the bullpen once healthy. Sanchez has been running, playing catch, etc but would probably need to make a couple rehab appearances before coming off DL

— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) May 6, 2018

Soroka allowed 4 ER in 4 IP with 3 BB and 3 K spanning 84 pitches (49 for strikes) against SF on Sunday. The Giants are historically solid at making consistent contact and grinding out at-bats, so there’s no need to overreact to one mediocre outing for Soroka. Like we mentioned a couple of days ago on the Roto Riteup, he’s worth an add in all formats “just in case” things go very well in his first cameo.

Bud Norris says that his tricep injury will keep him out, “another day or two,” though it’s not something he’s worried about.

Bud Norris says his triceps soreness could keep him out for another day or two of rest, though he wasn’t alarmed by the injury or concerned it’s worse than requiring rest. #stlcards

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 6, 2018

Luke Gregerson and Greg Holland have a significant chance of being called upon to save a game sometime within the time period in which Norris is unavailable. With Dominic Leone also suffering from arm issues, the Cardianls don’t have much of a choice.

Yoenis Cespedes is day-to-day with a quad injury after leaving early against the Rockies on Sunday.

Yoenis Cespedes says it’s his right quadriceps that’s sore, not his hip, as the Mets announced. He called it a precaution, but shrugged when asked if he’ll play Monday in Cincinnati.

“I don’t know,” Cespedes said. “Maybe.”

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 6, 2018

Eric Longenhagen’s 13th-best prospect in the Yankees system prior to the season starting (Domingo German) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Indians in his first start in the MLB. While his control has been an issue throughout his time in the minors, he has two-plus pitches in the fastball/curve combo, and owns a 22% K/BB over 20 IP in the majors thus far. He’s not necessarily valuable in shallow formats quite yet, but deep-mixed and Al-Only owners should add him to see what he brings the next few weeks while Jordan Montgomery is on the shelf.

Mookie Betts was removed from Sunday’s game against the Rangers after getting hit in the shoulder by a throw from opposing first baseman Ronald Guzman while trying to complete a doube-play. The Red Sox say the injury isn’t serious – he’s currently day-to-day.

Aledmys Diaz will have an MRI on his injured ankle after initial X-rays came up negative. He sprained the ankle running through first base on Sunday against the Rays. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was summoned upon in his place.

Yasiel Puig will play in a rehab game Tuesday, with the hopes of being activated from the disabled list on Wednesday.

Yasiel Puig will go on a rehab assignment at Rancho Cucamonga tomorrow and be activated on Wednesday.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) May 6, 2018

Puig was placed on the disabled list due to a hip pointer and a bruised left foot. Alex Verdugo has been fairing well in his time with the club thus far, but Joc Pederson has also shown some gains in his plate skills. Fantasy owners need to watch how the Dodgers handle their lineup before deciding whether to add Verdugo or Pederson in their leagues.

D.J. LeMahieu is hoping to be activated from the disabled list on Tuesday when he’s first eligible.

Talked to #Rockies DJ LeMahiue … think’s he’ll be ready to come off the DL on Tuesday.

We’ll see.

— Patrick Saunders (@psaundersdp) May 6, 2018

Both Andrew Miller and Corey Knebel are expected to be activated from the disabled list late this week. Knebel In particular pitched for his second-straight day on Sunday, and should get the green light barring it didn’t go well health wise. The same applies with Miller who will give it another go in a bullpen session on Tuesday before the Indians deem him ready.

Jacob deGrom was placed on the 10-day disabled list after the Mets decided they wanted to be, “overly cautious” with his hyperextended right elbow. The move is retroactive to May 3rd, which means he’s eligible to return on May 13th. The narrative as of now is that he’ll be ready when first eligible. Rookie P.J. Conlon will take his spot in the rotation against the Reds today.

 

Streaming Pitchers
A Pitcher for Today: None
High-Risk Streamer: Fernando Romero
A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Ivan Nova @ CWS
The CWS offense is 29th in RPG at home and Nova has gone 6 IP or more and allowed 3 ER or less in four-of-his-last-five games started overall.