Roto Riteup: September 17, 2026
Raving and ranting!
It was John Rave’s sixth of the season and third in September.
On the Agenda:
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Quick Hits
The Yankees and Twins battled until the 13th inning, with the Twins pulling off the victory. Victor Caratini drove Luke Keaschall in from second base for the walk-off run after George Lombard Jr. failed to pick up a bouncer up the middle.
Rookie Petey Halpin started in centerfield against a lefty for the second consecutive day and led the Guardians to a 6-3 victory over the White Sox with this three-run shot:
Fresh off the IL, Tommy Pham hit a three-run shot off Parker Messick. Messick was solid again though, punching out eight batters in six innings. Messick raised his ERA to 2.57 and Cade Smith scored his 37th save.
It was a great day at the plate for Padres rookie backstop Ethan Salas. He hit two home runs in the team’s 9-3 victory over the Rockies.
Alex Bregman’s big bounceback season continues:
It was his 26th dinger of the season. Bregman was a single short of a cycle. Teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong crushed two bombs as well. PCA is now up to 44 this season.
Crow-Armstrong (686) and Bregman (681) are first and second in the Majors in plate appearances. Bregman is close to reaching the 700 PA mark for the third time in his career.
Jared Jones punched out nine Brewers on Wednesday.
It was his third straight start with eight or more strikeouts.
Various News and Notes
Chandler Simpson stole his 42nd base of the season and is closing in on MLB leader Nasim Nuñez, who has 46.
Dodgers lefty Blake Snell left his start after one inning with left groin tightness. After the game, Snell said he expects to make another start before the end of the season.
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson is expected to be activated on Friday. Remaining on the schedule: 3 at CIN, 3 vs. MIA, and 3 at BOS.
Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday hit the injured list on Wednesday due to left wrist inflammation. Jeremiah Jackson should assume the bulk of the work at the keystone.
The Twins placed rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper on the injured list due to a strained left hamstring. Ben Ross was promoted and made his Major League debut on Wednesday. In 121 games (502 PA) between Double- and Triple-A, Ross slashed .273/.379/.500 with 73 R, 20 HR, 71 RBI and 20 SB.
The Cardinals activated their rookie stud JJ Wetherholt on Wednesday. Wetherholt went right back to leading off, going 0-3 with a strikeout.
A’s rookie outfielder Henry Bolte is on quite the tear. He hit his fifth home run of September on Wednesday. He’s batting .307 with 13 runs and six stolen bases as the team’s full-time leadoff hitter.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% on Yahoo)
Pitcher for Today: N/A (allow me to explain)
Other Options: Jeffrey Springs, ATH (8%) at TB
It’s a shorter slate on Thursday, there are very few sub-50% options, and they are all in position to sabotage your playoff position. Erick Fedde 페디 has been dancing on the peripheral of ratio destruction lately and cannot be recommended against a red-hot Tigers squad. Tanner Gordon of the Rockies hosting the Padres? No chance. Ethan Pecko at home against the Royals? Perhaps. He’s only reached five innings twice in his five starts and is a very dicey option. The one sub-50% guy I have a good feeling about is Jeffrey Springs. For starters, the Rays are a subpar offense against lefties (.301 wOBA, 91 wRC+). Springs has a good outing once in a while, usually away from his home park. He may be extra fired up to face his old team, which happens to be the best in the AL. I believe Springs has a decent outing on Thursday.
Pitcher for Tomorrow: Zac Thornton, NYM (22%) vs. PHI
The Phillies are playing for a playoff spot and the Mets are hoping to play spoiler. Zac officially dropped the ‘h’ (or was it the ‘k’?) a couple of months ago, and has been a true bright spot in this rotation, posting a 3.13 ERA (3.95 xFIP) in 12 starts since joining it in late June. The Phillies are not a very stout offense against southpaws (18th, 94 wRC+) and have been getting stifled by mediocre ones, including Yusei Kikuchi and Martín Pérez. Zac Attak!
Other Options: Connor Prielipp, MIN (6%) at LAA
It won’t be quite as hot as it’s been over the last few weeks in Anaheim and the Angels own one of the highest strikeout rates against lefties, at nearly 25 percent. The Twins should be road favorites here. Prielipp and the gang will get it done.
Vlad writes for RotoGraphs and is the head of fantasy baseball content at FTN Fantasy. He is a Tout Wars Expert League champ, member of the CDM Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and has been nominated for FSWA writing awards six times. Vlad has been playing fantasy baseball since 1995, winning 42 NFBC leagues since 2012 and ranking in the top percentile in NFBC’s Online Championship contest (33% win rate, 52% cash rate; 64 leagues). Much to the chagrin of his colleagues and most baseball aficionados, Vlad is a lifelong Dodgers fan who claims his first gut call at age 9 was Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run. You can follow him on X and BlueSky @RotoGut.
For what it’s worth, 3 runs in 6 innings raised Messick’s ERA from 2.51 to 2.57, not lowered.
yeah, thought about Springs too but thankfully stayed away