Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: July 6, 2014

Welcome to the final week before the All-Star Game! Time to make moves to win now or rebuild for next year.

On today’s agenda:
1. My affection for Christian Yelich grows
2. Thoughts on David Freese
3. Tommy La Stella is hitting
4. Quick thought on Odrisamer Despaigne
5. The daily five

My affection for Christian Yelich grows
I’ve spilled digital ink on Yelich before so I won’t wax poetic on him too much, just know he smashed his eighth dinger of the year yesterday. He’s hitting a cool .266/.345/.428 with 11 steals and 46 runs. Yelich has maintained his double digit walk rate and is an attractive option in the outfield given his leadoff spot in the Miami batting order. He is largely owned in ESPN and CBS formats — over 80% in both — but his 55% Yahoo! ownership lags behind. I realize each site calculates ownership differently but on the off chance Yelich is available in your league, grab him.

Thoughts on David Freese
Despite a rough .253/.325/.351 line for the season, Freese’s past 30 days have been much closer to his career average mark. Not even including yesterday’s home run, Freese has hit .295/.361/.398, very similar to his .281/.351/.415 career line, over the past month. His .417 BABIP over that time frame won’t hold up for long but the average is nice to see come back. Power isn’t Freese’s game, but he can provide a decent average at third base. I do worry about his elevated strikeout rate as his 27% K% is considerably higher than what we’ve seen from Freese in the past. If you’re hurting for help at the hot corner, Freese is an option, albeit it a less-than-ideal solution given his lack of power.

Tommy La Stella is hitting
Since being called up La Stella has crushed the ball to the tune of a .287/.376/.361 line. He’s drawn 17 walks against just 14 strikeouts and has stolen a pair of bases as well. Don’t count on home runs from La Stella but he will crack the occasion double. He has a strong minor league track record and the 25-year-old holds value in both standard 5×5 leagues as well as on-base percentage formats. Even if the Atlanta Braves go with a strict platoon with La Stella and Dan Uggla/Ramiro Pena (something they haven’t really done yet), La Stella holds the most value given his left-handed hitting. La Stella is available in over 75% of CBS formats and 90% of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.

Quick thought on Odrisamer Despaigne
For the third time in as many chances, Despaigne posted a quality start. Despite his glistening 0.92 ERA, trouble may be ahead for him. His 4.48 FIP and 4,86 xFIP tell a very different tale. Through 19.2 innings pitched Despaigne has managed just five strikeouts against eight walks. Of his 103 pitches last night, only seven went for swinging strikes. Looking through his game logs, his June 29 start lasted 102 pitches with just two whiffs and his first start gathered five swinging strikes on 86 pitches. These less-than-average numbers and low strikeout rate are a sharp contrast from his 11+ K/9 in Double and Triple-A this year. The Cuban hurler struggled with command in the minors and clearly his walk rate is something to be concerned about. I do like his stuff but I worry his control will get the best of him in the majors. For now I’d sit tight and wait to see what Despaigne does in his next start before I grab him.

The daily five
Starting pitcher: Alex Wood — $8,600
The Arizona Diamondbacks and their 83 wRC+ rate as the fourth worst offense when facing a left-handed pitcher.

Starting pitcher: Taijuan Walker — $8,000
Walker faces off against the Chicago White Sox and their third highest 22.5% strikeout rate against righties.

Infielder: Daniel Murphy — $4,000
For his career, Murphy has hit right-handers quite well and this year is no different. He currently sports a .294/.343/.435 and he should have himself a nice time against the righty Nick Tepesch.

Outfielder: Giancarlo Stanton — $5,500
Saving some dollars on the starters allows us to go big on Stanton. I like him post a big day against the southpaw Marco Gonzales.

Other hitter: A.J. Ellis — $3,200
My feelings towards Ellis should be clear by now, as I love his OBP, and today he his in Coors Field and holds the platoon advantage over Yohan Flande.

Remaining budget: $20,700

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