Roto Riteup: September 20, 2019

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September 20, 2019

When there’s a will there’s a way.

On the Agenda:
1. Various Updates
2. Quick Hits
3. Streaming Pitchers

 

Various Updates

Yankees starter Domingo German was placed on Administrative Leave under the MLB’s Domestic Violence Policy.

From a fantasy perspective, German had already been placed in the bullpen with the hopes he could be more effective for the playoffs, however, it’s now time to drop him in all formats. With only 10 days remaining on the regular season schedule, the only option for fantasy owners is finding a decent fill-in option for the rest of the way.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Kolten Wong exited Thursday’s game against the Cubs with a hamstring injury.

The injury doesn’t look good, and is also something that Wong dealt with last season. I’ve mentioned it before in other posts, but he’s having his best fantasy season to date (11 HR, 24 SB, 108 wRC+), and could be a nice bargain heading into 2020 drafts. He’s currently day-to-day, but owners in H2H matchups can drop him if you need immediate production over the next three days. Matt Carpenter entered the game in his place (Tommy Edman was already starting).

Bo Bichette was lifted from yesterday’s contest against the Orioles and taken for “precautionary” concussion testing.

As of the time of me writing this article there hasn’t been any further information, but the tone doesn’t seem too alarming for the time being. Keep a close eye on this; many fantasy owners have been relying on Bichette recently, and would need to make alternative plans if he’s expected to miss time.

Anthony Rizzo – who was expected to be in a walking boot – made a miraculous return to the Cubs lineup yesterday; hitting leadoff and blasting a solo-home run.

The Cubs are in a fight with the Brewers and the Nationals for two NL Wild Card slots, and Rizzo showed his toughness and grit by coming out and playing. Fantasy owners should probably expect him to gut it out as long as possible over the next week plus. On a side note, Javier Baez also entered the game, but as a pinch-runner.

Cole Hamels will not make his scheduled start on Sunday due to left shoulder fatigue. He’s posted a 6.39 ERA and 1.97 WHIP over 9 GS in the second half; and this could be part of the reason why. The Cubs will have Alec Mills start today, with Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish taking the ball over the weekend in arguably their biggest series to date against the Cardinals.

Craig Kimbrel returned from the injured list for the Cubs yesterday, but unfortunately, he was greeted with an unsettling welcome. After the Cubs tied the game by scoring three runs in the ninth against Carlos Martinez and the Cardinals, Kimbrel came out for the 10th inning to hold them at bay. He got Dexter Fowler to strike out to begin the frame, but yielded a solo-home run to Matt Carpenter that would end up being the game winner. As crushing as that was for Cubs fans, from a fantasy perspective he should receive save chances the rest of the way, which is what we need him for.

Speaking of the NL Wild Card, Lorenzo Cain left Thursday’s contest against the Padres due to a combination of knee and ankle injuries.

Cain homered earlier in the game, but this a player who’s missed a substantial amount of time due to soft tissue injuries throughout his career. We’ll have to get more updates on this issue as well, but once again if you’re in dire need, then look for other options. For what it’s worth, Cain’s 76 wRC+ this season is his worst since 2011, and his ability to control the strike zone (K/BB%) is significantly down as well. Trent Grisham replaced him in the lineup, and remains an intriguing asset for deep league owners.

Mandy Bell of MLB.com reported that Jose Ramirez was able to take BP from both sides of the plate yesterday. This is obviously favorable news for the Indians, but fantasy owners will more than likely have to keep him on their IL slot for the remainder of the season.

Jean Segura will be heading for tests on his left hamstring after leaving yesterday’s game against the Braves. The thought is that even if the results of the tests turn out to be a mild strain, the 29-year old shortstop will be shut down. The Phillies would likely mix-and-match should he be shut down.

Aaron Judge was held out of the lineup yesterday due to jamming his right shoulder on Wednesday while attempting to make a diving play. We’ll see if he’s back in the lineup today, but the Yankees current spot in the standings could give them incentive to hold him out for a few days; which would be highly detrimental to H2H owners.

 

Quick Hits
Ronald Acuna took one more step in his attempt to become only the fifth 40/40 player, blasting his 40th home run off of Aaron Nola in the third inning.

After missing about a week of action, Mookie Betts is expected to return this weekend against the Rays, but he’ll likely be relegated to DH duties.

Mike Clevinger continued his Top-10 SP in the 2H pace after holding the Tigers scoreless over seven innings yesterday.

After slumping in August, Oscar Mercado has rebounded this month by hitting .323/.395/523 with two home runs and two stolen bases. He went 1-for-3 yesterday with his 14th stolen base and 64th run scored in 405 AB this season.

Jack Flaherty had a 3.80 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over four starts against the Cubs heading into Thursday’s start, and ended up hurling eight innings of one run ball; striking out eight and walking one. That brings his ERA for the season down to 2.96, to go along with a 214/52 K:BB over 182.1 IP.

Tommy Edman logged his fourth multi-hit game in his last six, and is now hitting .313/.353/.672 with five home runs (11 XBH) in September.

Nico Hoerner went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against the Cardinals, and is only 3-for-21 with six strikeouts and no walks over his last five games.

Trey Mancini went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored against the Blue Jays on Thursday, and has been absolutely scorching hot in September (1.067 OPS, 11 XBH, 5 HR, 19 RBI, six multi-hit games over last seven).

Cavan Biggio went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI in the Blue Jays victory over the Orioles on Thursday. The rookie has struggled in the BA department all season, but he’s logged six multi-hit games over his last seven, and now has 15 HR and 13 SB (0 CS) on the season over 324 MLB AB. He has a ton of sleeper appeal heading into 2020, but there’s just going to be issues with BA.

Brett Gardner hit his eighth home run in September, and with 26 HR is already well ahead of his previous career-high mark of 21 set in 2017. The 35-year old has double-digit HR/SB for the fifth time in six seasons.

Keston Hiura received his third start in as many days and tallied an extra-base hit for the second-straight game.

Eduardo Rodriguez continued his stellar month of September (0.70 ERA, 0.94 WHIP), tallying 10 strikeouts and yielding one run (zero earned) with two walks and two hits over six innings against the Giants.

Mauricio Dubon went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored out of the lead-off spot against the Red Sox, and now has a five-game hit streak going.

Shed Long continues to rake this month, going 3-for-5 with a run scored, two RBI, and a walk in the Mariners victory over the Pirates. The recent talk has been all about my Kyle Lewis (warranted), but Long has a good amount of talent as well, and we’ve seen some of that over his last seven games (six multi-hit games), as well as over the month of September (.354/.392/.583, three home runs). He’s been caught stealing/picked off three times this season, but he has an above-average Sprint Speed score according to Baseball Savant, and has demonstrated the ability to steal in the minor leagues.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Felipe Vazquez could face possible deportation if he’s convicted of the sex crime charges that he’s been accused of.

The Twins continued to demonstrate their love for the long ball, depositing another four “bouncy balls” over the Target Field fence in route to a win over the Royals.

Sano is sporting his best wRC+ (132) since 2015 and his 31 HR is a career-high. Cruz is posting the second-best wRC+ (158) of his career, and his 39 HR gives him six-straight seasons of 37 HR or more. Garver came on the scene this season, and has cemented himself as a top-5 catcher all year. He’s first in OPS (1.016), third in WAR (3.8), and second in home runs (31) among all catchers this season.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Less than 50% owned)
Pitcher for Today: Dylan Cease at DET

High Risk Options: Merrill Kelly at SD, Anibal Sanchez at MIA

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Zac Gallen at SD

High Risk Options: Johnny Cueto at ATL, Justus Sheffield at BAL





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

4 Comments
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Kit Davidson
4 years ago

I’m surprised to see Gallen is still rostered so low that he can make this list. That boy is legit.

0
Mike Werner
4 years ago
Reply to  Kit Davidson

I only looked at ESPN ownership; I’m sure it’s higher in other spots.

1
Anon
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike Werner

He’s 63% rostered on Yahoo. I’ve got him on my roster and my fear at the start of the week is that the DBacks would be eliminated and choose to shut him down, but they’re still mathematically in it so he should put in a normal outing against a team that really struggles against righties.

BTW, both the Red Sox and Giants could be mathematically eliminated tonight which could mean skeleton lineups tomorrow. They’re both playing teams that are still in it so maybe they play it straight up but something to keep an eye on.

0