Roto Riteup: Monday, September 19th, 2011

by
September 19, 2011

– If MLB.com is to be believed, the second game in the Red Sox-Orioles double header will be one for the ages. Brian Matusz, owner of a 9.84 ERA, will face off against John Lackey, who sports an ERA over 6.00. If you’re a betting man, I’d suggest putting all your monopoly money on the over. It doesn’t matter what the line is, because no line could be high enough for this game.

– If you’re still alive in your head-to-head playoffs, make sure you know your league rules heading into this week’s matchups. Some leagues may allow you to make roster changes at week’s end, but some may require you to use the same roster for what remains of the season. If you have to use the same roster the rest of the way, it opens up a great deal of extra pitchers for two-start weeks, allowing owners to do more than just scrape the bottom of the barrel.

– Drew Pomeranz striking out five San Francisco Giants isn’t big news, but his ability to induce grounders in his first two starts is. Against San Fran, Pomeranz had four balls end up in the air against 11 on the ground. In his major league debut, The Pomeranian allowed five balls in the air against seven on the ground. The young left-hander will have to keep this up if he wants to be successful in Colorado, but he appears to have a bright future ahead of him.

– Erik Bedard is supposed to be back in the Red Sox rotation tomorrow after missing the past three weeks of game action. Bedard last started on September 3rd thanks to a knee ailment. The injury prone lefty has been pretty darn good this season, and getting him back in action could be huge for Boston’s playoff chances. He’ll be limited by pitch counts in his next start or two, so I’m sorry to say Bedard doesn’t have much in the way of fantasy value for the remainder of this season.

A Pitcher for Today: Jerome Williams at TOR
When the best pitcher I can come up with is a journeyman in a hitters park, you know it’s a rough day. If Mike Minor is still unowned and gets the start, go with him, instead.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Jason Vargas at MIN
Vargas has showed signs of life lately, and even if he hadn’t, he gets to face the Twins. The Twins suck, if you didn’t already know.

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PickSix Lock of the Day: Derek Jeter ($7.50) vs MIN (Scott Diamond)
Jeter comes pretty cheaply for a guy who’s hit .346/.391/.432 over the past 38 games. Granted, his BABIP is been very high, but whatever.
Prediction: 2-4, 2B; 10.1 points
Last Week’s Results: 4 players (2 SP), $34.50, 52.50 points





 

Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.

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