Roto Riteup — Presented by DraftKings: July 9, 2014

Today’s Roto Riteup knows how to split wood like a real man, not just a pretend one.

On today’s agenda:
1. Three starters to the DL
2. Francisco Liriano to return
3. James Paxton to throw 50 pitches Saturday
4. The Fragmented Five

Three starters to the DL
A trio of big league starters with some name (and SEO) value are headed to the Disabled List, so here we go…

Justin Masterson has been nursing a knee injury for a few weeks, and the Indians are finally giving him a rest. Masterson has had some serious control issues during his contract year, and worst of all it’s come with a serious decline in velocity: Masterson’s fastball is almost a full 3 MPH slower than last season, and could be a contributing factor to his BABIP woes. If Masterson returns with poor velocity, he’s not worth taking a chance on the rest of the way.

Josh Beckett is heading to the DL with hip problem, and he has already received a cortisone injection. Even Year Josh Beckett is having an Odd Year Josh Beckett kind of season, having easily his best year since 2011, his last full season in Boston. No specific timetable has been set, but if Beckett is back at the 15-day mark, he’ll merely miss a singular start thanks to the All-Star break.

We talked about it yesterday, and now Ricky Nolasco had landed on the DL. Nolasco has been dealing with elbow issues all year, but the good news is that his UCL is intact, and his issues lie elsewhere. Nolasco is out indefinitely, and don’t be surprised if he’s out for a month or more.

Francisco Liriano to return
Liriano has been dealing with an oblique injury since mid-June, but after dominating in his rehab outing a couple days ago, he’ll return against the Reds this weekend. Liriano may have been a fantasy league MVP last season, but he’s had a little issue with walks this year, as well as some BABIP and HR/FB% problems.

James Paxton to throw 50 pitches Saturday
The Mariners’ left-hander will continue on his way back from injury by throwing a simulated game on Saturday. Paxton’s Saturday outing will follow a 31-pitch effort from yesterday, and he is just a few steps away from returning to bolster Seattle’s rotation. Paxton will likely not be back until about a week after the All-Star game, if not later.

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The Fragmented Five

SP: Dallas Keuchel | $6,800 | @TEX
SP: Josh Tomlin | $6,500 | vNYY
3B: Chase Headley | $4,600 | @COL (Jair Jurrjens)
OF: Khris Davis | $3,700 | vPHI (Robert Hernandez)
OF: Will Venable | $3,200 | @COL (Jair Jurrjens

This should give you a solid foundation to build around with the vast amount of money left over.

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