Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: May 25, 2014

Today’s date marks the 37 year anniversary of the film “Star Wars” being released and 31 years since “Return of the Jedi” first opened. Rather than link to “Star Wars” itself, here is a great take on the ending of “The Empire Strikes Back” and RotJ, courtesy of Kevin Smith and “Clerks.”

On today’s agenda:
1. The Odor in Texas is growing
2. A big day from George Springer
3. Welcome back, Adam LaRoche
4.The Daily Five

The Odor in Texas is growing
Since being called up from Double-A, Rougned Odor has hit .278/.297/.500 in 38 plate appearances. That line looks better than what it was prior to yesterday’s 4-for-5 game as he was hitting just .194/.219/.290. Odor is yet to draw a base on balls other than being hit by a pitch as well. For a 20-year-old who is yet to see Triple-A pitching, Odor hasn’t totally embarrassed himself though. Don’t expect Odor to post a great on-base percentage as even in the lower minors he didn’t draw a ton of walks. He does have a little bit of pop and a good amount of speed, hitting 11 home runs across High-A and Double-A last year while also stealing a combined 33 bases. With Jurickson Profar set to miss most of the season it looks as though Odor will get plenty of playing time as long as he keeps hitting relatively well. I’m not ready to say he is a must-own in 12-team redraft leagues but I’d probably pick him up in deeper leagues. His low spot in the batting order will hurt his runs scored but could open up his running game. Odor’s 16% ownership in CBS far surpasses his 2% Yahoo! and 1% ESPN rates.

A big day from George Springer
Yesterday Springer posted his first multi-home run game, blasting a pair of two-run shots against the Seattle Mariners. He is still posting a tough-to-stomach 32.9% strikeout rate but is up to six long balls and 20 RBIs on the season despite not being called up until the third week of April. Springer’s speed hasn’t translated as well as I hoped — his 1 SB and 2 CS isn’t too appealing — and his -0.6 base running value is disappointing. Still, Springer brings enough to the table right now to have value in standard leagues. Springer is owned in over 70% of both ESPN and CBS formats but is owned in just 53% of Yahoo! leagues.

Welcome back, Adam LaRoche
The Washington Nationals will activate LaRoche from the 15-day disabled list prior to today’s game. LaRoche is hitting a robust .319/.421/.504 in 133 PA’s though his triple slash is inflated by a .373 BABIP. His 15% walk rate would be a career best if he can manage to make it last and his 18.8% strikeout rate would be his second lowest mark of any season. On top of LaRoche trimming his SwStr% to 7%, his 37.7% swing rate would be the most selective of his career as would his 21.2% O-swing%. If he can continue to show off his new found patience at the plate, LaRoche could be in line to post a quietly valuable season. He won’t replace Prince Fielder, but LaRoche should come at a fraction of the cost. He is available in 20% of CBS leagues and over 40% of both ESPN and Yahoo! formats.

The Daily Five
Starting pitcher: Hisashi Iwakuma — $10,800
He faces the Houston Astros. That seems to generally bode well for pitchers.

Starting pitcher: Ian Kennedy — $9,000
Kennedy is at home in Petco Park and will pitch against the Chicago Cubs and their 73 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers.

Infielder: Josh Donaldson — $5,200
Donaldson doesn’t come particularly cheap, but he does have the platoon advantage over J.A. Happ and owns a 154 wRC+ against southpaws thus far.

Outfielder: Gerardo Parra — $3,600
Whether he faces Rafael Montero, Daisuke Matsuzaka or if Parra starts both parts of the doubleheader, he will hold the platoon advantage.

Other hitter: Carlos Gomez — $5,200
Gomez faces off against the left-handed (and 37-year-old) Randy Wolf. It will be Wolf’s first start since September 22, 2012. Gomez is at an advantage any way you cut it here.

Remaining budget: $16,200

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