Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: June 6, 2014

Today’s Roto Riteup was written while I watch “Star Trek Into Darkness” on Netflix. I never watched any of the older films or the TV shows, but the reboot that came out in 2009 was something I enjoyed.

On today’s agenda:
1. Thoughts on Kendrys Morales
2. Another three-hit game for Chris Owings
3. Andrew Cashner to start tomorrow
4. Welcome to the big leagues, Eddie Butler
5. The daily five

Want to win $10,000 playing Opening Day fantasy baseball?  All first time depositors get a free entry into this contest by clicking the link!

Thoughts on Kendrys Morales
In case you’ve somehow missed it, the 2014 first-year player draft began yesterday. The relevance to Morales is now he no longer comes with the price tag of losing a draft pick. As CBS’ Jon Heyman reports, it seems possible for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers as well as the ever present “mystery team” looking for a bat, expect Morales to sign soon. With the return of Carlos Beltran and the situation with Mark Teixeira still up in the air, the Yankees may or may not come bidding. As Morales would be best suited for a designated hitter role or limited time at first base, signing with an American League club seems most logical. What he lacks in batting average and on-base percentage he makes up with his slugging ability. Morales is coming off of back-to-back 20 home run campaigns, both coming in pitcher friendly parks. If you happen to be hurting for power, make a play and pick up Morales. He is available in 60% of CBS formats and 80% of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.

Another three-hit game for Chris Owings
Yesterday Owings posted his eighth three-hit game of the season and pushed his line to .285/.323/.462. He cracked his fifth home run of the year yesterday to go along with six steals. Owings still isn’t drawing many walks but his 5.5% BB% is enough to not be useless in OBP formats for your middle infield slot. A .340 BABIP is helping fuel his success but given his high ground ball rate and his good speed, he should continue to post a better-than-average batted ball rate, though perhaps not .43 points higher. I would be okay giving him my MI gig, but I wouldn’t love the idea of him being my only shortstop eligible player. Owings makes for a solid player in 14-team mixed leagues or 12-teamers with deep rosters. His 30% ownership rate in CBS is his highest among the three major sites as his 10% Yahoo! and 5% ESPN rate lag far behind.

Andrew Cashner to start tomorrow
One of my personal favorites is scheduled to return to major league action in tomorrow’s start. He currently slated to come off of the disabled list and make the start against the Washington Nationals. Cashner has changed both his grip as well as his release on his slider, the pitch thought to be the cause of his elbow discomfort. Here is hoping Cashner can (finally) put his injuries behind him and make the rest of his expected starts.

Welcome to the big leagues, Eddie Butler
The Colorado Rockies top prospect (among both pitching and position players) makes his MLB debut tomorrow. Too bad he has the tough luck of facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team with the third best wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. Butler is yet to face Triple-A hitters and now gets throw into the major league rotation. I’m not expecting much from the 23-year-old this year but he should have a strong career ahead of him.

The daily five
Starting pitcher: Cole Hamels — $8,900
Hamels is up against the Cincinnati Reds, a club that owns a 79 wRC+ against southpaws, tied for second worst in baseball.

Starting pitcher: Marcus Stroman — $6,000
Don’t look at his 7.30 ERA but instead focus on his 2.98 FIP/2.99 xFIP. The St. Louis Cardinals are middle of the pack in terms of offensive production against right-handed pitchers and I like Stroman’s price and talent.

Infielder: Derek Norris — $3,400
The A’s and Norris take on  the lefty Wei-Yin Chen. Norris hits southpaws very well, as do the A’s as a whole.

Outfielder: Yasiel Puig — $5,600
Budget picking on Stroman gives us a little more flexibility in our budget and allows us to splurge on Puig. He feasts on right-handed pitchers and should have a big day against the rookie in Coors Field.

Other hitter: Adrian Gonzalez — $4,800
I’m doubling down on Dodgers hitters today.

Remaining budget: $21,300

This post, covering one of the leading sites for daily fantasy, is sponsored and made possible by the generous support of DraftKings. FanGraphs maintains complete editorial control of the postings, and brings you these posts in a continued desire to provide the best analytical information on the latest in baseball.





You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.

5 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Mike Wimmer
9 years ago

I take it you would start Cashner tomorrow then? Or would you leave him on your bench and see how he does in his return? I’m a big Cashner fan as well, but it worries me he didnt get at least one rehab outing before returning.