Roto Riteup: October 2, 2012

If my writing seems (extra), blame it on the fact that I am watching my A’s tangle against the Texas Rangers. Call me crazy (call me maybe. Hey, I still like that song. It’s so dang catchy ), but I’m looking forward to seeing my A’s sweep the Rangers and win the West. And yes, I’m writing this while the game is still in the third inning.

• You know that song that goes “I’m trying to find the way to describe this girl without being disrespectful?” Well, I’m trying to find words to describe Jonathan Lucroy without being over the top. As I’m sure you all know by now, I tend to punt the catcher spot(s) in favor of streaming them as the season goes on. I picked up Lucroy in two leagues about a little more than a month ago and I haven’t stopped playing him yet. His ownership rate in both Yahoo! and ESPN is finally above the 50% threshold, so it seems as though others have taken note as well. Lucroy powered his 16th 12th home run of the season yesterday and those home runs have come in less than 400 plate appearances. Looking ahead to next season I sincerely think about drafting him as my #1 catcher and merely streaming my #2 spot.

• Speaking of players who I keep touting, Carlos Gomez popped home run number 19 last night. He remains available in 60% of Yahoo! leagues but is down to just 30% availability in ESPN formats.

• Norichika Aoki had his third three hit game in a week yesterday. He also stole his 29th bag but was caught once as well. That CS marks his first time being caught in seven attempts, just his eighth time being caught overall. Next season looks bright for the outfielder and I expect to have him on multiple teams. I would like to see a little more power, but 37 doubles, four triples and 10 home runs aren’t anything to turn your nose up at.

• At the time of writing, Mike Trout is 3-for-3. No commentary here, other than the fact that good lord, that kid is good.

• I think Will Venable is having decent fantasy season — not a great one mind you — and not many people are noticing. He has 23 steals, eight triples and nine homers. He’s only scored 61 runs and driven in 44 but the steals alone make him worthy of a roster spot. His AVG isn’t impressive, but it won’t kill your rate stats either. He just had a three hit performance yesterday that included two more doubles and I grabbed him for the final two games. Venable is free to pick up in 95% of Yahoo! leagues and 97% of ESPN leagues.

• So Chris Davis is just going bonkers now. He another home run yesterday, marking his sixth in five games. He has a home run in five straight games. His AVG is a respectable .272 and he has driven in 84 runs while scoring 74. His 32 home runs thus far is easily a career high and now that he has shown that he can translate his power to the major league level, he makes for an intriguing player come next year. Was this power for real? was this just an illusion? Queen once asked “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” Biggie responded that yes, in fact “It was all a dream. I used to read Word Up magazine…” (warning: lyrics, obviously)

• This is Rajai Davis‘ world, and we’re just living in it. At least it seems like it has been for the past two weeks. Over that time frame Davis hit .409 with a home run(!!) and a steal. He is still hitting and still available in 75% of Yahoo! and over half of ESPN leagues. If for some reason he’s still out there, grab him now.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here are a couple matchups you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Today: Dan Haren at SEA
Oh Haren. I know the Angels don’t want you back, but I would be totally fine if the A’s re-signed you.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Clayton Kershaw vs SF
It is the final game of the season. Go with the about-as-sure-as-it-gets in Kershaw.

A Hitter for Today: Adam Dunn at CLE (Justin Masterson)
Dunn is a beast and crushed right-handed pitching. Masterson has failed me this entire season, so don’t be shocked if he K’s Dunn three times today. Sigh.