Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: June 13, 2014

Quite possibly my favorite sporting event — yes, perhaps even above baseball — kicked off yesterday. Though the refereeing was less-than-stellar, I enjoyed the opening game of the World Cup. I’ll be rooting for South Korea as well as the USMNT. Here’s to hoping both can make it out of their groups. They’ll need some luck to do so.

On today’s agenda:
1. Brock Holt keeps mashing
2. The return of Jesus Montero
3. Nick Swisher is activated
4. The daily five

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Brock Holt keeps mashing
On the heels of yesterday’s 2-for-4 performance, Holt is now hitting .336/.373/.466. His .410 BABIP is quite clearly high, but as long as he continues to hit leadoff for the Boston Red Sox, he has value. Hold has made starts at third base, first base, and is only one more start away from being outfield eligible in most leagues. He possesses an above average contact rate and a bit of speed, though his limited power will leave you wanting. Holt is sure to regress on the batted ball fortune but for now he is worth picking up and utilizing. He is owned in just 23% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues as well as 42% of CBS formats. I don’t love his rest-of-season projections but Holt does offer solid average in deep enough leagues.

The return of Jesus Montero
The Seattle Mariners are in need of help at the designated hitter position. Thus far the combination of Corey Hart and Logan Morrison has hit .196/.280/.319, equaling a 69 wRC+. The club has called up Jesus Montero to attempt to bolster their DH ranks. Currently hitting .270/.345/.455 in Triple-A, Montero is expected to hit mostly against left-handed pitchers. Though he is still just 24-years-old, Montero has lost much of his prospect luster. I’d hold off on adding Montero until he shows he can hit major league pitching.

Nick Swisher is activated
Yesterday the Cleveland Indians activated Nick Swisher from the 15-day disabled list. Swisher has been mired in a season long slump and went 0-for-4 yesterday. He is still drawing walks at a decent rate, 13.1% BB%, but his .259 BABIP is dragging down his overall line. I expect him to have a bit of a bounce-back the rest of the way as his swing profile hasn’t changed much. Swish is hitting significantly more infield fly balls — the closest thing to an automatic out with a ball-in-play — but the infield fly rate takes about a season to normalize. Many owners have dropped him as Swish is available in 60% of CBS formats, 70% of Yahoo! leagues and 80% of ESPN formats.

The daily five
Starting pitcher: Andrew Cashner — $9,500
My boy Cashner gets a start against the New York Mets, the club with the sixth worst wRC+ against right-handed pitchers.

Starting pitcher: Drew Smyly — $6,400
I still believe in Smyly as a starter and today he gets a favorable match up against the Minnesota Twins. As a team the Twins have a 92 wRC+ and a 23.3% strikeout rate against southpaws.

Infielder: Anthony Rizzo — $4,900
Rizzo and his power square off against the right-hander Roberto Hernandez.

Outfielder: Coco Crisp — $4,400
The Oakland Athletics and Coco take the field against the righty David Pehlps. Coco owns a 136 wRC+ against righties this year.

Other hitter: Alexei Ramirez — $3,700
Alexi has hit for a 132 wRC+ against righties this year and at home up against the homer prone Jeremy Guthrie.

Remaining budget: $21,100

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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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FeslenR
9 years ago

Nick Swisher is usually a 2nd half hitter, wondering if Holt is worth adding in shallow leagues?

King Donko of Punchstaniamember
9 years ago
Reply to  FeslenR

I might be missing something but Swisher’s career 1st/2nd half splits look just about even.