Roto Riteup: September 23, 2015

Today the Tottenham Hotspurs — and noted goal scorer Son Heung-min — square off against Arsenal in the League Cup. I doubt many normal starters open the game on the field, but perhaps Son will come on as a sub and score in his third consecutive game.

On today’s agenda:
1. Some good news for Yadier Molina
2. Matt Moore’s strong start (again)
3. Billy Hamilton’s season ends
4. Streaming Pitching Options

Some good news for Yadier Molina
As a follow up to yesterday’s Roto Riteup, the Cardinals catcher may not miss the entirety of the regular season after all. Molina and the Cards received some good news in that the ligament tear in his left thumb wasn’t severe enough to force surgery. As the linked article notes, he’s set to continue icing his thumb regularly and will be reevaluated at some point before next week before we know anything else.

Matt Moore’s strong start (again)
On Tuesday, and for the second consecutive outing, the left-hander tossed a quality start. Moore lasted 6 2/3 innings before being lifted, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks. He sat down seven opposing batters on strikes and tossed a season high 104 pitches, with 17 (!) going for swinging strikes. On top of back-to-back quality starts, Moore has posted 17 whiffs in each of previous two starts, though the first was against the free swinging Orioles. Yesterday’s start was against the Red Sox, the team with eighth lowest strikeout rate against southpaws, something that makes Moore’s performance even more impressive. Via Brooks Baseball, his four-seamer sat 93.8 mph, and as noted last week, that velocity is up. Despite his recent form, I’m still sitting Moore against the Blue Jays for his next start.

Billy Hamilton’s season ends
In traditional 5×5 leagues, at least according to ESPN’s player rater, Hamilton has been the 24th best outfielder. His .226/.274/.289 line is awfully pitcher-esque — Zack Greinke is hitting .234/.242/.359 for comparison — yet the outfielder’s speed has allowed him to nab a league leading 57 bases. It’s hard to believe looking at his triple slash, but Hamilton actually managed to improve both his walk and strikeout rate this season compared to his career average. With his season wrapped up due to a shoulder injury and surgery being scheduled on said shoulder, he is droppable in all redraft leagues. I’m interested in him next year as the injury plus his poor rate stats could make Hamilton a somewhat buy-low candidate next year. Given the decline of the stolen base, as written by our very own Paul Sporer, along with the slight improvements to his batting eye, I like Hamilton in standard formats.

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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: Kyle Hendricks vs MIL (Zachary Davies)
I’ve ridden Hendricks as a streamer for much of the season, as while he’s burned me a couple of times, he’s been mostly solid. I’m counting on a quality start from him tomorrow against a sub-par Brewers offense. Look to stream the right-hander in 40 percent of CBS formats and around 80 percent of Yahoo! or ESPN settings.

A pitcher for tomorrow: James Paxton at KC (Johnny Cueto)
The Royals are only about average versus southpaws, so I’m gambling with Paxton. One of his biggest flaws thus far has been his control, and given that the Royals own a 5.5 percent BB% against lefties (worst in baseball), I’m hopeful Paxton doesn’t surrender too many free passes. He’s available in over 70 percent of the three major fantasy sites.