Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: April 13, 2014

On April 13, 1970 the Apollo 13 mission suffered the catastrophic failure that endangered the lives of the three astronauts aboard. For just a taste of the dramatic events unfolding, the film “Apollo 13” does an excellent job, however the documentary “Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back” is absolutely incredible.

On today’s agenda:
1. Bad news for Mat Latos?
2. Charlie Blackmon is on fire
3. Michael Bourn to return Tuesday
4. The Daily Five

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Bad news for Mat Latos?
After two separate setbacks struck Latos last week, he underwent an MRI yesterday to look for the cause of his forearm discomfort. What initially placed Latos on the disabled list was elbow discomfort, so the MRI results could reveal all sorts of issues. He did have bone chips removed from his elbow last October, though whether or not there are more chips is yet to be determined. For now it seems as though Latos won’t join the Cincinnati Reds until the last week of the month at the earliest. If you were hoping to buy low on him I would recommend holding off. Elbow injuries — while not as scary to me as shoulder injuries — aren’t something to take lightly.

Charlie Blackmon is on fire
As the brilliant and handsome Blake Murphy pointed out last week, Blackmon has surprised many by becoming the de facto center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Colorado Rockies. Including yesterday’s 2-for-4 performance plus a walk, Blackmon is the proud owner of a .500/.512/.737 batting line with one home run and three steals. His .486 BABIP is bound to come back down to earth but his career .343 BABIP is still well above average. Blackmon still has the potential to be a useful player, especially if he continues to hit atop the Rockies lineup. His strong Triple-A walk rates are yet to translate to the majors and at age-27 and over 500 major league plate appearances it might not ever. What Blackmon brings to the table is a useful albeit mostly empty batting average, a good amount of runs and 15-20 steal upside. Most CBS and ESPN roto owners have taken notice of Blackmon as he is available in just 25% and 20% of leagues respectively, but Yahoo! owners have let him slip through their fingers. He can be grabbed in over 40% of Yahoo! leagues as of writing.

Michael Bourn to return Tuesday
In other news regarding speedy leadoff hitters, Bourn is set to return to the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday according to Tribe beat writer Paul Hoynes. Bourn should still be penciled in for 30ish steals with a batting average that won’t sink your team. His status as leadoff hitter shouldn’t be in jeopardy as the club has used three separate leadoff hitters in his absence. Bourn is a useful player on a team that should score a good amount of runs. He’s available in over 40% of Yahoo! and CBS formats as well as 20% of ESPN leagues.

The Daily Five
Starting Pitcher: Scott Kazmir — $9,000
Kazmir gets whiffs and the Seattle Mariners have the fourth highest strikeout rate in baseball.

Starting Pitcher: Michael Wacha — $8,800
I just love Wacha. Few walks, good amount of strikeouts and he keeps the ball in the yard.

Infielder: Jose Altuve — $3,800
Altuve in a hitter friendly park like The Ballpark at Arlington is a great deal for less than $4,000.

Outfielder: Brandon Moss — $4,200
Moss against an awfully mediocre rightie in Chris Young? Advantage: Moss.

Other Hitter: Jed Lowrie — $4,200
Call it a homer pick if you wish, but I like Lowrie to have a good day today. I know he doesn’t hit from the left side as well as he does from the right, but he is seeing the ball well (13 walks against just five strikeouts) and I like him to get on-base today.

Remaining Budget: $20,000

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You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.

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kman
9 years ago

What are your thoughts on Homer Bailey? Any real red flags or just poor luck to start? Good buy low candidate?