Roto Riteup: September 3, 2016

Today is the last weekend for four months without NFL football, and this Roto Riteup author welcomes the distraction from baseball.

On the agenda:
1. Starters getting pushed
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Starters are hurt
Everyone’s getting pushed back a bit or flat out having their starts canceled. Jacob deGrom, for instance, is going to be skipped due to some forearm issues that have yet to be fully diagnosed. Rafael Montero will likely start in his place.

Dallas Keuchel hasn’t started since the 27th, and at this point he probably won’t start until at least the 6th, and this author assumes it will be even later than that.

Chad Green screwed up his elbow in his start yesterday, making it through less than two innings of work. Green apparently wasn’t confident in his ability to extend his arm, so that’s certainly not a good sign. Green seems likely to need some work done at this point, which would keep him out all of next year.

Various News and Notes
While other starters are getting hurt, Alex Cobb is back. Cobb threw five innings and struck out seven Blue Jays, walking just one of the 20 batters he faced. In the absence of some atrocious outings, Cobb will be looking like a top-36 starter next year.

Brad Miller hit his 26th homer last night, and his wRC+ is up to 122. While not a shortstop anymore, he’ll still be eligible next year and that’s cool.

Since July 1 (and through Thursday), Eugenio Suarez is hitting .272 with six dongers and three steals. His strikeout rate is still a bit too high, but not all is lost for a guy who may end the season with a sub-.250 average.

Rumor has it the Dodgers will be bringing Jose De Leon to the bigs tomorrow to start against the Padres, which should be a great deal of fun to tune in to. De Leon’s 2016 was slowed by injuries, but he’s been dominant in Triple-A, striking out nearly a third of the batters he has faced and posting a sub-1.00 WHIP in his first year at the level. De Leon has the chance to be a front-line MLB starter, but there will be some growing pains late this year and early next year if he sticks on the roster.

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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: Robert Gsellman vs WAS (Tanner Roark)
Gsellman’s first start went not terrible, so why not?

A pitcher for tomorrow: Eduardo Rodriguez at OAK (Kendall Graveman)
Rodriguez has been solid recently — his last start notwithstanding — so go for it in a friendly ballpark.