Roto Riteup: September 29, 2013

Fifteen years ago today Jay-Z released the album Vol 2…Hard Knock Life. The title track (warning: language) rates among the top 50 most played songs on the present author’s iTunes. Many of you will have a fantasy titled sewn up or stolen from your grasp today, so feel free to gloat and/or vent in the comment section. Today is going to be a day of hard knocks for some of us.

On today’s agenda:
1. Carlos Gomez does it all
2. Tanner Roark will start today
3. A 30-home run season for Brandon Moss
4. Josh Reddick’s hot September

Carlos Gomez does it all
Seeing a player fill up all five categories in one day just brings a smile to the face. Yesterday Carlos Gomez hit a home run and nabbed two bases to bring a smile to this fantasy nerd’s face. Gomez’s 39 steals this year are a single season high for him as are his 24 home runs. Given Gomez’s 20+ home runs and 30+ steals, where he falls in next year’s draft will be very interesting. He took a step forward against right-handed pitching this year after being just over league average against righties in 2012. After being skeptical of his power repeating itself from last season to this year, count the present author among the believers in Gomez now.

Tanner Roark will start today
Streams take note! Amanda Comak of The Washington Times reported Tanner Roark will in fact be making the season’s final start today for the Washington Nationals. There has been some speculation about who would take the hill today, but after locking up the win yesterday, Nats manager Davey Johnson’s desired mark of 300 games above .500 is secure. Grab Roark and hope he propels you to the fantasy championship.

A 30-home run season for Brandon Moss
After the Oakland Athletics shipped off Chris Carter and essentially gave the keys to first base to Brandon Moss, many wondered — the author included — exactly what the A’s saw in Moss. Unsurprisingly, the people running the A’s are smarter than myself, and Moss rewarded the club with a 30-home run season and a 136 wRC+. The now 30-year-old slugger has had the vast majority of his offensive success against right-handed pitching and when properly platooned, has flourished in Oakland.

With next year being Moss’ second year of arbitration eligibility, expect the A’s to take advantage of his cheap power. Can we as fantasy players do less? Moss won’t come as cheaply in drafts as he did this season, but he is showing no signs of slowing down. Compared to last season’s 21-home run campaign, Moss has actually increased his walk rate while lowering his strikeout rate. He is a great source of relatively cheap power despite the park he calls home.

Josh Reddick’s hot September
Before the chants of “Homer! Homer!” begin, Josh Reddick has had a legitimately excellent September. Even before yesterday’s 2-for-5 performance Reddick was hitting .292/.362/.479 this month. Small sample size concerns apply, however he cut his strikeout rate while maintaining his walk rate and power. If this is the beginning of a new Josh Reddick, get in on the ground floor now. Looking at his seasonal line of .225/.307/.377 will scare off most suitors in next season’s draft, but a broken wrist can be partially blamed for his struggles. Take a late-ish round flier on Reddick and see if he can regain his 30-home runs and 80+ RBIs in what will hopefully be a healthy 2014 for him.

Finale note
Thanks to you, the reader, for helping make this yet another awesome fantasy baseball year here at RotoGraphs. If posts were pitcher wins, then this article would launch me past Frank Tanana and Herb Pennock. Thanks again.