Roto Riteup: September 10, 2013

Two days ago Jim Carey tweeted a certain picture that has the present author brimming with excitement. The mere prospect of what is being called Dumb and Dumber To being filmed is cause for celebration. The movie already has a pre-production IMDB page — not to mention an entire generation of fans waiting for a sequel to a film that had such amazing moments like this.

On today’s agenda:
1. Alex Rodriguez keeps hitting
2. An end to Ike Davis‘ season
3. Josmil Pinto’s hot start

Alex Rodriguez keeps hitting
Regardless of what one may think of him on a personal level, Alex Rodriguez is showing that he is still a very good hitter. After last night’s 2-for-4 performance that included his fifth home run of the season, A-Rod is hitting an impressive .294/.384/.477. Add in the four bases he has stolen and A-Rod has been filling up the stat line. ESPN leagues have taken note as he is owned in over 84% of leagues there, however CBS formats lag behind at a 65% ownership rate and Yahoo! leagues are even further back at 46%. If one happens to be looking for a third/corner/UTIL player for the final weeks of the season, Rodriguez could be the right choice.

An end to Ike Davis‘ season
After several days of speculation, the New York Mets have placed Ike Davis on the 60-day disabled list with a strained oblique. The move officially brings an end to Davis’ season and opens up playing time at first base for Lucas Duda and Josh Satin. Duda will probably get the majority of the playing time and grabbing him for the homestretch could make sense.

If one can look past Duda’s poor average, he offers a little power and plenty of RBI opportunities going forward. He has hit cleanup in eight of his past 10 game started and hit fifth in the other two games. For fellow on-base percentage leaguers, Duda’s makes for an even more appealing option, as his current .359 OBP and 14.7% BB% give him a huge boost from standard 5×5 leagues. Duda is available in 84% of CBS leagues and 97% of both ESPN and Yahoo! formats.

Josmil Pinto’s hot start
Though his major league career spans a mere seven games, Josmil Pinto has come out swinging and some people have noticed. Of course a .750 BABIP can make anyone look good and Pinto’s .750/.800/.1.500 line clearly won’t last forever. That being said, Pinto does offer plenty of offensive upside, especially for a catcher.

Last year was a revelation for Pinto as he went from an okay hitting catching prospect to someone who crushed High-A and Double-A as a 23-year-old. He wasn’t exactly young for his level, so take his 153 wRC+ in Double-A with a grain of salt. This year he built on the foundation that last season brought him and rocketed up from Double-A to the majors. In 453 Double-A PA’s this year Pinto has essentially repeated last season wit ha 153 wRC+ this year. Pinto has just 70 Triple-A PA’s under his belt, however he hit well enough — and the major league situation was right — to find himself in the majors. He should post a solid batting average and has enough power to post double digit home runs over the course of a full season. For specific counting stats, Pinto had been hitting eighth, though he was moved to second yesterday. If he continues to hit in a favorable spot in the lineup, Pinto could make for a nice surprise in the final weeks.

With Joe Mauer battling concussion symptoms on the disabled list, Pinto seems to be the guy to own in Minnesota. He should be grabbed in any two catcher league for now, and looking to next year, could take over catching if Mauer moves to first base. Pinto is available in over 95% of all three major fantasy websites.