Roto Riteup — Presented by DraftKings: July 2, 2014

It was way too hot last night for any reasonable man to work with a computer on his lap, but this author soldiered through to bring you the Roto Riteup.

On today’s agenda:
1. Clay Buchholz didn’t suck last night
2. Steve Pearce keeps the bat alive
3. Shane Victorino a week away from rehab assignment
4. The Fardel Five

Clay Buchholz didn’t suck last night
Coming into last night’s start against the Cubs, Buchholz had an ERA of 6.75 and a FIP of 5.06, and now those numbers are just a little bit lower. Buchholz struck out only two Cubs over 6.1 IP, but he managed not to walk anyone and didn’t give up a dinger.

More exciting than the result was Buchholz’s velocity, which was back up to 2012 levels; his fastball was a crisp 93, and his cutter sat at 89.

Steve Pearce keeps the bat alive
Pearce, a career journeyman who played with three teams in 2012, is having a monster year if you haven’t noticed. Pearce is a career .253/.328/.412 hitter with a wRC+ of 100, but he’s slashing a sweet .327/.385/.592 this year, which equates to a nasty 170 wRC+. As you would imagine, Pearce’s BABIP is on the high side, but the power in his age-31 season could be entirely real. Pearce has shown pop in his small stints in the past, and playing in Baltimore is only going to help power numbers.

Pearce hit another bomb last night, bringing him to 10 in 165 plate appearances. If Pearce can keep his power, even a drop in BABIP will keep his batting average manageable, which makes him a real fantasy candidate.

Shane Victorino a week away from rehab assignment
Victorino has only played 21 games this year, and after an injection in his back, he’s getting ready to prepare for a return to the majors. Victorino did not hit well in his small stint earlier this year, and his return could cause some complications for Mookie Betts, which is never a good thing. We’re still a week away from being a week away, so keep an eye on this hot developing story.

The Fardel Five

SP: Brandon Workman | $6,700 | vCHC
SP: Tom Koehler | $6,800 | vPHI
1B: Chris Davis | $5,400 | vTEX (Miles Mikolas)
OF: Josh Hamilton | $4,300 | @CWS (John Danks)
OF: Gregory Polanco | $4,000 | vARZ (Chase Anderson)

Workman should keep runs off the board, and the mashers should do the opposite.

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