Roto Riteup: September 16, 2026

by
September 16, 2026

He was parallel to the ground!

On the Agenda: 

  1. Closer Chaos
  2. Quick Hits
  3. Various News and Notes
  4. Streaming Pitchers

 

Closer Chaos

Pete Fairbanks was placed on the 15-Day IL with nerve irritation. This will end his season. Michael Petersen and Calvin Faucher are likely to be the next man up for saves in Miami. 

Erik Tolman threw a perfect inning to register the save against the Phillies on Tuesday.

Tolman has been great since being called up, throwing 11.1 innings with a 2.38 ERA and 11 strikeouts. He has struggled a bit with walks since his arrival and control was a major problem for him in the minors. He is one of the leading candidates for saves rest of the way in Washington, but he will likely split the opportunities with Jack Sinclair.

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Quick Hits
Reynaldo Lopez was placed on the 15-Day IL with shoulder inflammation. This will end his season. JR Ritchie was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Tyler Wells was placed on the 15-Day IL with forearm tightness. This will end his season. Alex Cook was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Gage Jump was placed on the 15-Day IL with a shoulder impingement. This will end his season. Joe Rock was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Jesus Luzardo was placed on the 15-Day IL with shoulder inflammation. This will end his season, but the Phillies are hopeful he could be available for the playoffs. Kyle Backhus was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Shane Baz left Tuesday’s game after being hit by a comebacker on the elbow.

X-Rays were negative on the elbow. Consider Baz day-to-day at this time.

Kaelen Culpepper left Tuesday’s game with a hamstring issue. The Twins are calling this tightness. Consider him day-to-day at this time.

 

Various News and Notes
Alex Freeland went 2-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Reds on Tuesday.

Since being called up at the beginning of September, Freeland has been playing every day, but he has been pretty empty outside of the home run in the game and two stolen bases over the weekend against the Marlins. He is mostly valuable in deeper formats.

Travis Bazzana went 2-for-4 with two home runs in the victory over the White Sox on Tuesday.

Bazzana has been pretty good in his rookie season, hitting 14 home runs and stealing 19 bases with a .252/.344/.412 triple slash in 479 plate appearances. He has walked at a double digit rate and has been hitting towards the top of the lineup.

Cole Carrigg went 4-for-5 with two home runs in the victory over the Padres on Tuesday.

Carrigg has been up and down since his arrival to the Majors, hitting .261/.331/.444 with 10 home runs and nine stolen bases in 327 plate appearances. Carrigg makes a good amount of contact, but a lot of it is weak contact and he swings outside the zone too much. There are the makings of a decent accumulator if he can play full time next year, but his struggles versus righties (.237 average) and on the road (.213 average) makes him hard to trust.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today: Yusei Kikuchi vs SEA

Kikuchi has pitched better since the Angels parted ways with Mike Maddux and faces the worst team in baseball versus left handed pitching. 

Other Options: Erick Fedde at CLE, Cristian Javier vs KC.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Walbert Urena vs MIN

Urena has been great since the Angels changed his pitch mix and has a decent matchup here. 

Other Options: Justin Wrobelski at CIN

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “Other Options.”





 

Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

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