Roto Riteup: September 2, 2016

It’s September, which means things are about to get a little weirder on the fantasy front. That brings positives and negatives – there may be a few more streaming options and extra bats in the free agent bin, but some of those options will be far shakier, and playing time as a whole will now be distributed across a greater number of players. Team success doesn’t always matter in fantasy team building, except when it comes down to September and competitive teams are the easiest to project playing time for.

Anyway, can we all agree that September should never again be limited to just four games on a day’s slate? This is me, looking for baseball to watch as I got home from a four-day Baltimore road trip:

Yesterday was tough. And there’s not a ton to talk about, so let’s narrow in on what September may bring.

On the agenda:
1. September playing time
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

September playing time
By my very unofficial count, 27 players got the call on Thursday as rosters expanded. With most minor leagues wrapping up their seasons this weekend, there should be a handful more coming early next week (and again when minor-league playoffs wrap up). A lot of these will be largely meaningless in a fantasy context (unless you play in a league where the No. 10 reliever in a bullpen matters), but some are worth getting excited about, or at least doing further research on.

The table that follows shows the biggest projected spike in playing time for the rest of the season (minimum 40 plate appearances from here), compared to playing time so far, using Steamer ROS projections (which include manually edited playing time).

Name	Team	To Date PA	To Date PA/Tm Gm	ROS PA	ROS PA/Tm Gm	Change
JaCoby Jones	Tigers	8	0.06	47	1.62	26.94
A.J. Pollock	Diamondbacks	22	0.17	109	3.76	22.72
Yulieski Gurriel	Astros	24	0.18	92	3.17	17.58
Tyler Austin	Yankees	37	0.28	99	3.30	11.77
Patrick Kivlehan	Padres	19	0.14	41	1.41	9.90
Dansby Swanson	Braves	51	0.38	93	3.32	8.73
Xavier Scruggs	Marlins	42	0.31	68	2.43	7.75
Nick Buss	Angels	61	0.46	95	3.28	7.14
Teoscar Hernandez	Astros	59	0.44	91	3.14	7.07
Aaron Judge	Yankees	60	0.45	91	3.03	6.67
Orlando Arcia	Brewers	104	0.78	100	3.45	4.41
Guillermo Heredia	Mariners	53	0.40	48	1.66	4.15
Luke Maile	Rays	85	0.64	76	2.53	3.93
Raul Mondesi	Royals	114	0.86	97	3.34	3.90
Gary Sanchez	Yankees	111	0.84	96	3.20	3.81
Drew Stubbs	Orioles	67	0.50	53	1.83	3.63
Omar Narvaez	White Sox	54	0.41	42	1.45	3.57
Alex Bregman	Astros	153	1.15	112	3.86	3.36
Aaron Altherr	Phillies	129	0.97	92	3.17	3.27
David Dahl	Rockies	148	1.11	102	3.52	3.16
Jorge Polanco	Twins	156	1.16	102	3.64	3.13
Mikie Mahtook	Rays	125	0.95	88	2.93	3.10
Justin Morneau	White Sox	150	1.13	101	3.48	3.09
Andrew Toles	Dodgers	67	0.50	45	1.55	3.08
Ryon Healy	Athletics	161	1.21	106	3.66	3.02
Mike Zunino	Mariners	115	0.86	75	2.59	2.99
Max Muncy	Athletics	114	0.86	74	2.55	2.98
A.J. Reed	Astros	122	0.92	77	2.66	2.89
Brett Eibner	Athletics	130	0.98	80	2.76	2.82
Scott Schebler	Reds	175	1.33	109	3.63	2.74
Chris Young	Red Sox	168	1.26	90	3.10	2.46
Dee Gordon	Marlins	235	1.75	117	4.18	2.38
Jose Reyes	Mets	160	1.19	79	2.82	2.36
Trea Turner	Nationals	195	1.47	99	3.41	2.33
Jhonny Peralta	Cardinals	219	1.66	111	3.70	2.23
Cliff Pennington	Angels	132	0.99	63	2.17	2.19
Alex Dickerson	Padres	194	1.46	92	3.17	2.17
Roberto Perez	Indians	111	0.84	54	1.80	2.14
Nick Franklin	Rays	124	0.94	58	1.93	2.06
Tommy Pham	Cardinals	164	1.24	74	2.47	1.99
Sandy Leon	Red Sox	198	1.49	85	2.93	1.97
Keon Broxton	Brewers	194	1.46	83	2.86	1.96
Domingo Santana	Brewers	176	1.32	72	2.48	1.88
Jake Smolinski	Athletics	241	1.81	96	3.31	1.83
Cristhian Adames	Rockies	195	1.47	77	2.66	1.81
Tim Anderson	White Sox	308	2.32	118	4.07	1.76
Cameron Maybin	Tigers	289	2.17	109	3.76	1.73
Jett Bandy	Angels	187	1.41	70	2.41	1.72
Willson Contreras	Cubs	228	1.71	84	2.90	1.69
Oswaldo Arcia	Padres	193	1.45	71	2.45	1.69

Various News and Notes
Most notable of the impending call-ups may be Byron Buxton, who is back with the Twins after homering four times in a week at Triple-A Rochester. He’s struggled when given opportunities at the major-league level in the past but has little left to prove at Triple-A.

Hey, you know who else might be back? Yasiel Puig! After the Dodgers were unable to trade him when he was claimed on waivers, they’re changing course and reportedly bringing the .994-OPSing Triple-A outfielder back. Well, yeah, this should have been obvious, but it’s the Dodgers, and it’s Puig, so we couldn’t be certain. Playing time is likely to be scarce, mind you.

The Dodgers may also be getting Clayton Kershaw back sooner than later. The ace will pitch in a rehab game at some point this weekend. It wouldn’t surprise me if his rehab assignment is short given he’s Kershaw and the leverage of a potential MLB return, but keep an eye on reports about how his back holds up after the outing to be sure.

John Lackey is also on his way back, slated for a Sunday return against the Giants. Dallas Keuchel, meanwhile, is having his next start pushed back to Saturday or Sunday due to a bit of fatigue.

Neil Walker confirmed he’ll miss the remainder of the season due to back surgery to repair a herniated disk. That ends a pretty good year for Walker, one that saw him hit 23 home runs despite estimating he’s only been playing at 60 percent. The Mets will likely roll with Kelly Johnson as their primary second baseman from here.

Streaming Pitcher Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers or play DFS, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.

A pitcher for today: Alex Reyes @ CIN (Anthony DeSclafani)
Alex Reyes represents a riskier play here than some of the other available names, but the strikeout upside is too tantalizing, even against a Reds team that isn’t particularly strikeout prone of late. That Reds team has also had a somewhat middling offense, and even the threat of GAB isn’t enough to be discouraged here. Reyes is a strikeout machine, and while he’ll eventually need to figure out the control issues, he’s also almost always kept the ball in the park through the minors, so maybe there won’t be too much damage here.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Ivan Nova vs MIL (Jimmy Nelson)
Ivan Nova has looked like a new man since landing with the Pirates, getting sprinkled with the same pixie dust that helped J.A. Happ out. It might be a little early, after five starts, to buy in completely, but a home start against the most strikeout-friendly team in baseball? Yeah, I’ll take that in the 74 percent of leagues in which he’s available.