Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: May 4, 2014

Today being Star Wars Day gives me a weak pretense to give you some links to things I find fun. This time it is the cast returning to their previous roles. The films, toys and books set in the “Star Wars” universe all played a major part in my childhood. I’ll always have a soft spot for playing “X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter” on the computer and fond memories of playing with my Star Wars Micro Machines.

On today’s agenda:
1. Several outfielders to the disabled list
2. A new starter in Toronto?
3. Juan Lagares, starting center fielder
4. The Daily Five

Several outfielders to the disabled list
The Milwaukee Brewers lost Ryan Braun to the 15-day DL not with the thumb injury, but to due to a strained right rib-cage muscle. The club made the move retroactive to April 27 and Braun is eligible to return May 12. Whether or not he is healthy enough to only spend the minimum amount of time on the DL remains to be seen. Both the Brewers and fantasy owners alike will sorely miss Braun and his offensive contributions.

Further south down I-94 the Chicago White Sox lost a personal favorite of mine in Adam Eaton to a hamstring strain. Between the hammie and sore knee that already caused him to miss five days, getting Eaton’s legs healthy is a top priority for the ChiSox. Giving him plenty of rest to fully recover is critical to Eaton’s continued success. Though he has just two steals thus far, Eaton possesses the speed to grab 20 bags over the course of a season.

Nestled in between Milwaukee and the southsiders we have the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Sweeney being placed on the 15-day DL. The outfielder I somewhat affectionately call “swingles” due to his apparent hatred of extra-base hits is expected to miss three weeks with a hamstring strain. Only those of you who play in the deepest of NL-only leagues should notice Sweeney’s absence.

A new starter in Toronto?
Yesterday afternoon the Toronto Blue Jays called up a top pitching prospect in Marcus Stroman. While manager John Gibbons did say Stroman will be used out of the bullpen in the beginning, he should get moved to the rotation sooner or later. With Brandon Morrow out at least eight weeks following surgery on his finger, Stroman may get his chance quicker than expected. Grab Stroman in any keeper league — well, not NL-only I guess — as he has a chance to be something special. He is already owned in almost 40% of CBS leagues and 15% of Yahoo! formats, however his ESPN ownership sits a mere 1%.

Juan Lagares, starting center fielder
The New York Mets have, for the moment, settled on Lagares as their center fielder. With Eric Young Jr. still hitting just .213/.318/.266 — though he does have 12 steals — Mets skipper Terry Collins will try to get Lagares as many plate appearances as possible. While Lagares and his .318/.343/.485 line looks great for now, a .417 BABIP tends to make anyone’s line look better than what it should be. Even without much power, Lagares is striking out in a quarter of his PA’s and still isn’t drawing a walk more than once in 20 PA’s. Once he comes back down to earth on his balls-in-play, expect the playing time to shift back to Young.

The Daily Five
Starting Pitcher: Alex Wood — $9,400
Since little things like pitcher handedness eluded me last night, I’ll stick with Wood against the Giants, however be aware that San Francisco has hit lefties to the tune of a 117 wOBA this season.

Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley — $7,100
The San Diego Padres have scored the fewest runs in the majors and trail 29th place by 18 runs. In other words, it isn’t really close. Their 85 wRC+ against lefties favors Miley here. He should go through that lineup like a wrecking ball.

Infielder: Carlos Santana — $4,400
Slow start aside, I love Santana against Andre Rienzo today. Santana will have the platoon advantage and Rienzo’s lack of control should lead to plenty of Cleveland runs.

Outfielder: Melky Cabrera — $4,700
Melky should be able to continue to play through a bone bruise on his shin courtesy of being drilled by a pitch. He should fare well against Edinson Volquez and his lack of command. Look for Melky to reach base a couple of times today.

Other Hitter: Carlos Gonzalez — $5,800
At home against an opposite-handed pitcher in Dillon Gee. I’ll take CarGo here.

Remaining Budget: $18,600

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