Roto Riteup: September 16, 2013

Today’s Roto Riteup is sponsored by tonight’s sub-par Monday Night Football offering. Instead of watching the Bengals beat up on the old Steelers, why not partake in a baseball game on your television?

On today’s agenda:
1. Johnny Cueto returns to the mound today
2. Jake Odorizzi to come up this week
3. Stephen Strasburg should make a start this week
4. Cory Luebke shuts down rehab

Johnny Cueto returns to the mound today
Not having seen a big league mound since the end of June, Cueto should not be expected to dominate in his return to the hill today. Cueto faces the Astros and should have some sort of pitch limit in place, but he should still be able to get through five innings of work. David Wiers did a good job of covering Cueto yesterday, so let this simply serve as a followup visit to the Roto Riteup office.

Jake Odorizzi to come up this week
Most prospects have already made their way to the big leagues, but the Rays have held off on bringing some of their talent to the majors while their Triple-A team battles for a championship. Odorizzi has good stuff and good results, as long as you don’t think giving up homers is a no-no. Outside of the dingers, we should see a solid career in the middle of the rotation for the right-hander. With no obvious reason otherwise, Odorizzi should be placed in the bullpen for the stretch run, and he could be an interesting candidate for a SP-eligible reliever.

Stephen Strasburg should make a start this week
The powerful right-hander was trying out a new pitch during a bullpen session and felt some tightness in his forearm, forcing the Nationals to replace him for last week’s start. After doing some long-toss yesterday morning, Strasburg is on track to work on the mound today before making a possible return on Thursday. Strasburg has been quietly awesome this season, and the Nationals and fantasy owners need him back on the mound if they want to have any shot at a championship.

Cory Luebke shuts down rehab
Attempting to recover from 2012 Tommy John surgery, Luebke has struggled with his rehab all season long. After a couple of setbacks, Luebke had gotten through four bullpen sessions before Padres decided to shut the left-hander down after a new bout of elbow soreness. Luebke was supposed to use Winter ball to build up his arm strength and prepare for 2014, but there’s a very good chance we don’t get a chance to see Luebke until Spring Training. Luebke may not even be ready to start the 2014 season, but whenever he does come back, owners should get excited about his ability.