Roto Riteup: September 22, 2015

I’m late to the Rick and Morty party, but man, that show slays me. My favorite episode thus far is probably Meseeks and Destroy, though Total Rickall is a pretty outstanding story too.

On today’s agenda:

1. Yadier Molina’s busted thumb
2. The Good Samardzija shows up
3. Streaming Pitching Options

Yadier Molina’s busted thumb
If it seems like the Cardinals have been hit with a lot of injuries lately, you wouldn’t be wrong. Between Matt Holliday still nursing a hamstring to Randal Grichuk’s shoulder woes and Matt Adams still not playing full games in the field, the Cards starting position players are pretty banged up. Adding Molina to the list of injured players is the latest, and arguably one of the gravest. He’s caught 134 games — of which he started 131 — however given his torn ligament in left thumb, we may have seen the last of Molina until the playoffs. For fellow Yadi owners scrambling for a replacement, I just picked up Tom Murphy. After his home run on Monday, Murphy is up to 22 dingers on the year between Double-A, Triple-A and the bigs. Don’t count on great rate stats from him, however playing at home this week gives him a chance to shine in Coors Field. After this home stint the Rockies are on the road in another hitter friendly park in Arizona then San Francisco to wrap up the season, so other than the final series, he’s hitting in favorable parks. Murphy is available in 98 percent of CBS formats and over 99 percent of Yahoo! or ESPN leagues.

The Good Samardzija shows up
After scuffling through a lot of innings this year, Jeff Samardzija pitched a gem in the opener of a double-header in Detroit. He allowed a lone hit and zero walks to go with six strikeouts during his complete game shutout. The Shark needed just 88 pitches to finish the nine innings, with 10 pitches going for swinging strikes. Even with the terrific outing he owns a modest 5.04 ERA/4.18 FIP/4.30 xFIP on the year, and while you can’t expect only one of 22 balls in play to fall for a hit every start, it’s at least a good sign from Samardzija after he tossed five clunker starts in a row. Unfortunately the remaining schedule for him doesn’t get any easier as he’ll pitch in Yankee Stadium in his next start before hosting a rematch against the Tigers in Chicago for his season finale. For a more complete breakdown of his season, be sure to check out Mike Podhorzer’s write up of Samardzija from last week.

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

A pitcher for today: Robbie Ray at LAD (Alex Wood)
The Dodger offense looks good against lefties on the year, however they’ve been pretty average in the second half. I like Ray’s changeup and yeah, he burned me in his previous start, yet I’m still confident he’ll gets some whiffs and be effective today. He’s a bit of a risky start, but Ray is available in 70 percent of CBS settings and more than 90 percent of ESPN or Yahoo! formats.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Marcus Stroman vs NYY (Ivan Nova)
Ain’t no brakes on the Stroman hype train! For some reason he’s still unowned in half of CBS leagues, 60 percent of ESPN formats and 70 percent of Yahoo! settings. The Yanks have a strong offense, but I’m breaking character and going with a “momentum” pick here. It helps that Stroman is pretty darn good.





You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.

4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
baltic wolfmember
8 years ago

I can’t figure out how Stroman is available in that many leagues—couldn’t get him for love or money in my keeper leagues even when he was injured.

Hey David: I understand this sounds like a crazy question. But is it okay to start Severino in a 12 team points league, where a quality start earns you an extra 3 points (-4 for a loss)?

I’ve got a feeling that Severino will do better than he did last time against the Jays—I love that kid’s self-confidence. A QS seems quite possible, esp. with no Tulo in the lineup. I’ll check to see if Martin is starting before I do anything so rash.

The great thing is that I have Keuchel and Arrieta going twice for me this week, and my opponent has Kershaw and Greinke going only once. (One week matchups.) I may be able to take a chance—Lamb worked out for me last night to the tune of 23 points.

Thanks.

Rick
8 years ago
Reply to  David Wiers

How do you feel about Colon, Smyly or Peavy tomorrow? I’m in a similar boat with Stroman not available. I’m facing Price and Arrieta twice and I have Gray and Sale only going once.
I’m especially worried after the Rays blew Archer’s lead for me last night and his next start this week is against the Blue Jays.