Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: June 8, 2014

Sticking with the 1980’s film theme from yesterday, today is the 31st anniversary of the film “Trading Places.” This scene depicts the scheme and events to get even with some shady bosses.

On today’s agenda:
1. Kendrys Morales finds a home
2. Thoughts on Khris Davis
3. Russell Martin: on-base machine
4. The daily five

Kendrys Morales finds a home
Yesterday the Minnesota Twins announced they signed Morales to a prorated one-year, $12 million deal. At a glance it seems counter-intuitive as the Twins already have Joe Mauer at first base and a full outfield in Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks and Josh Willingham. A closer examination would show the Twins have been middle-of-the-pack in terms of designated hitter production with their 105 wRC+ ranking ninth in the American League. Morales should represent a boost in offense without being a liability in the field. One downside is now catcher/DH Josmil Pinto will probably lose a decent chunk of his plate appearances. Given Pinto’s 21% ownership in CBS formats and sub-5% ownership rate in ESPN and Yahoo! leagues, the move doesn’t seem too great of a loss. I’d grab Morales now if you’re looking for some extra power from your 1B/UTIL spot.

Thoughts on Khris Davis
After beginning the season hitting for an 85 wRC+ in April, Davis has picked up his game over the last five weeks. In May he hit for a 131 wRC+ and now eight days into June he owned a 123 wRC+ before yesterday’s 2-for-5 game. Davis drew just one walk in his 105 plate apperances but has since drawn 10 walks in his past 111 PA’s. No surprise much of his value is tied not just to his bat in general but his power in specific and his .498 slugging percentage puts him in the top 25 in baseball (among qualified hitters). Without questioning his power, his other rate stats will determine just how high his value goes. As noted by the handsome and brilliant Mike Podhorzer, Davis is mostly already owned after his recent power surge, but his 63% Yahoo! ownership rate lags far behind his ESPN and CBS rates. I know each site calculates their respective ownership differences but in the off chance Davis is available in your Yahoo! league, grab him.

Russell Martin: on-base machine
Martin makes a great pair with Davis as Martin’s .351 career OBP helps offset Davis’ shortcomings there. Though Martin missed almost a month of the season due to a hamstring strain, now that he is healthy he is producing again. I’m not counting on another 20 home run season — 15 is plausible though — but his current .402 OBP is something to dream on. Martin worked a pair of walks in yesterday’s game and is up to a 14.8% walk rate,  putting him in the top 25 of baseball (minimum 100 PA’s). Despite not offering a ton of power, Martin has been finding himself hitting from the fifth spot most of the time, something that should provide a good amount of RBI opportunities. He is a must-own in two-catcher leagues and I like him in single catcher leagues in anything deeper more than the standard 12-team mixed league. Martin is available in over 70% of CBS formats as well as 90% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.

The daily five
Starting pitcher: Tim Lincecum — $8,800
Lincecum is at home against the New York Mets, a team that has struggled mightily against right-handed pitchers.

Starting pitcher: Jordan Zimmermann — $7,700
Crazy good value for Zimmermann today, especially when considering he is pitching in Petco today against a lineup that owns the second worst wRC+ against right-handed pitchers.

Infielder: Edwin Encarnacion — $5,200
The Blue Jays crush southpaws and as much as I love Jaime Garcia, I have to give the nod to the Jays today.

Outfielder: Jose Bautista — $5,300
Doubling down on a pair of Jays who just happen to own left-handed pitchers.

Other hitter: Neil Walker — $4,000
For just $4,000 I really like Walker against the homer prone Yovani Gallardo. That he’ll hold the platoon advantage over Yo-Ga is even better.

Remaining budget: $19,000

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.