Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: July 22, 2014

If “The Daily Show” were a person, said person would be old enough to vote. Yes, probably my favorite late-ish night show celebrates its 18th birthday today. Without delving too deep into the realm of quasi-politics, I’ll just say one of my favorite clips is the retrospective of John Oliver (warning: language).

On today’s agenda:
1. Thoughts on Wily Peralta
2. A rough outing for Cliff Lee
3. Two Giants to the disabled list
4. The daily five

Thoughts on Wily Peralta
With 20 starts under his belt this year Peralta owns a solid 3.58 ERA/4.16 FIP/3.53 xFIP in 125.2 innings pitched. His 6.73 K/9 is nothing to write home about but his 2.36 BB/9 is helping keep his K:BB ratio at a healthy 2.84. I really like seeing his 54.5% ground ball rate, though home runs have given him fits this year. Peralta is allowing 1.15 HR/9, among the 15 highest home run rates in baseball (minimum 100 innings pitched). All in all I’d be fine streaming Peralta in standard 12-team mixed leagues and I’d own — though spot start — him in any format deeper than that. He is available in just 15% of CBS formats but 53% of Yahoo! leagues and 59% of ESPN formats.

A rough outing for Cliff Lee
In his first start in over two months Lee was peppered for 12 hits — including one home run — in 5.2 innings against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed just one walk but managed three strikeouts and recorded eight whiffs out of 90 pitches. The poor start drops his line to 3.67 ERA/2.87 FIP/2.98 xFIP in 73.2 innings this season. I’d call this a speed bump as Lee ‘s fastball sat 88-90 (89 mph average as per Brooks Baseball) and he flashed all of his pitches throughout the game. If you’re on the edge of contention and are looking for a push to put you over the top, I’d feel comfortable swinging a trade for him. He throws strikes, doesn’t walk anyone and he keeps the ball in the yard for the most part. Even his 3.67 ERA is ballooned by a .354 BABIP. I do have a small concern over his velocity but last season his fastball dipped to 90 and he was still elite. Seeing him at 88-90 isn’t much of a worry for me just yet.

Two Giants to the disabled list
Just two weeks after returning from the DL, Brandon Belt finds himself on the shelf once again. The Giants placed him on the 7-day concussion list after being struck in the face on Saturday. No word on how long Belt will be gone for but with the Giants tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the  NL West, missing the first baseman for an extended period of time will hurt.

Joining Belt on the disabled list is Matt Cain. Suffering from elbow inflammation for over a week now the move is being made retroactive to July 11. Manager Bruce Bochy indicated Cain will be reevaluated in a few days. For now it seems highly unlikely to see Cain return on Friday the 25th, the first day he is eligible. An MRI didn’t show any structural damage but even with that bit of good news we’re still left with questions. With no timetable for a throwing program — let alone a return date — I’d consider dropping Cain in shallow leagues. It is no secret he has bone chips in his elbow and given his 4.18 ERA/4.59 FIP/4.06 xFIP he wasn’t a bright spot in your fantasy rotation before the inflammation.

The daily five
Starting pitcher: Danny Salazar — $7,200
The young right-hander is up against the Minnesota Twins and their 16th ranked 93 wRC+ against righties. Their 21.7% strikeout rate against right-handed hurlers favors Salazar as well.

Starting pitcher: Kyle Hendricks — $6,500
Hendricks and his excellent changeup — our very own Marc Hulet graded it as “plus potential” last year — gets to face the San Diego Padres.

Infielder: Jose Altuve — $5,100
Altuve hits southpaws very well and the Houston Astros have posted a 116 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers this year, good for the fourth best mark in baseball. I’m worried for Scott Kazmir.

Outfielder: Jayson Werth — $5,300
This year Werth has been blasting left-handed pitchers to the tune of a .370/.452/.531 line. He’ll be up against a lefty in Yohan Flande at Coors Field. Advantage = Werth.

Other hitter: Anthony Rendon — $4,800
Another Washington hitter as the Nationals have hit lefties at the seventh best clip in baseball.

Remaining budget: $21,100

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