Roto Riteup: Monday, August 1st, 2011

Today marks the first day of a new feature we will be trying out here at RotoGraphs. In an attempt to keep you, the fantastical reader, informed, we will be looking at some of the stories around baseball that have an effect on your fantasy team. Because this piece is ultimately being read by you, your opinion is requested. Please chime in using the comments and let us know what you would like to see from this piece.

After a wild trade deadline, the Rangers now have Neftali Feliz, Mike Adams, and Koji Uehara in the back of their bullpen. This trade has a few fantasy storylines, so let’s make it more digestible:

– Feliz is the incumbent, and even though he started his season off quite slowly, he’s bounced back and pitched well of late. In his past 24 appearances, the flame-throwing right-hander has 19 strikeouts in just under 23 innings, walking six and allowing three homers. It’s entirely possible he loses a few save opportunities, but I’d bet on him getting a majority of the chances the rest of the way.

– This trade’s biggest impact could come next season. Feliz, Adams, and Uehara will all be back under contract, so I would expect the Rangers to try Feliz as a starter again during this upcoming offseason. This past spring, they were worried about not having a closer, but that’s no longer an issue.

– If you owned Adams hoping he’d earn some saves after the Padres dealt Heath Bell, tough noogies. Moving from the NL to the AL is tough enough, but going from Petco to Arlington is painful. I wouldn’t drop him quite yet, but you’ll have to keep an eye of his performance.

With that behind us, let’s move on to some other talking points from around the league.

– Drew Pomeranz and Alex White now having to deal with Coors Field is a big disappointment. Sure, they get to face some weaker competition in the NL and will get to pitch in San Diego and Los Angeles from time to time, but this hurts their long term value. Coors won’t be such a big problem for White given his stuff, but it will hurt him when he makes mistakes.

– Ryan Ludwick’s roto value will actually be hurt by leaving Petco for PNC park in Pittsburgh. Yes, it’s true. Petco kills lefties, but it’s fairly neutral for right-handers when it comes to hitting homers. Try to sell a fellow owner on Ludwick’s move if you can, because they may not realize what they are getting into.

A Pitcher For Today (for those of you streaming): Cory Luebke vs LAD
Luebke has been very good this year, but most owners haven’t taken notice. Just about any time he starts at home, you can feel good about streaming him.

A Pitcher For Tomorrow: Rich Harden at SEA
The Red Sox may not have liked Harden’s medical records, but for one start against a historically bad lineup in a pitcher’s park, he’s worthy of an add.

PickSix Lock of the Day: Clayton Kershaw ($38.25) at SDP
Kershaw may be expensive, but trust me, this start will be worth every penny.
Prediction: 8 IP, 0 HR, 2 BB, 11 K; 28 points.