Roto Riteup: September 30, 2016

Well, this is it, folks. This is my final Roto Riteup of the regular season (I’m still figuring if I’ll do playoff editions or just switch into offseason mode right away). It’s been a trip, and I appreciate you reading and rolling with my advice on the news each morning, if you’ve done so. Zach and Justin are great dudes to work with, Eno a great dude to work under, and it’s resulted in a really fun year. So thank you.

On the agenda:
1. Self-evaluation
2 Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitcher Options

Self-evaluation
I’m a little bit anal, so when I was reflecting on the season I felt the need to go back and evaluate how I’d done throughout the year. I wasn’t going to go quite as far as looking at every recommendation in each news note, but the streaming pitcher suggestions seemed an easy spot to tackle. And they were a bit of a mixed bag, though generally I think I performed OK outside of May (when admittedly, I was very worn down by the NBA playoffs). Rarely did I crack the 40-percent ownership mark for a suggestion, and most of the recommendations I made were in the sub-25 percent group.

Month	Starts	W	Avg IP	ERA	WHIP	K/9
April	19	7	5.77	3.20	1.13	8.53
May	21	8	5.32	4.67	1.45	8.54
June	23	6	5.86	4.47	1.28	7.82
July	18	7	6.28	3.98	1.21	7.88
August	21	9	5.56	3.47	1.16	8.87
Sept/Oct	18	5	5.30	2.93	1.25	9.35
All	120	42	5.68	3.83	1.25	8.46

I’ll take a 3.83 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 8.5 K/9 for low-ownership streams for the year, though I certainly would have liked to do better. Next year.

Various News and Notes
Yoan Moncada is off to Florida in preparation for the AFL, having disappointed somewhat in his first major-league stint. The Red Sox prospect hit .211 in eight games, striking out 12 times in 19 at-bats.

Freddie Freeman’s hitting streak came to a close at 30 games, a nice season-ending run that pushed his batting line to a very strong .306/.404/.572. The Braves lineup was a wasteland early in the year, but Freeman’s own strong play and some positive regression around him have his totals at 33HR, 101R, 88RBI, solid production from the first base spot.

Speaking of awesome NL first basemen, check the Reds’ lineup closely Friday. Joey Votto took a pick-off throw to the chin and had to leave Thursday’s game, and while that wouldn’t normally keep him out, this is the last meaningless weekend of the Reds’ season, so who knows.

Not that you’d have any opportunity to start him again, but Jeremy Hellickson left his start yesterday with a knee sprain. He’s going to be among the top free agent starters, which speaks to both the year he had (3.78 ERA) and the complete lack of quality starting pitching on the market.

That market may also force injured catcher Wilson Ramos to the AL, as he’s unsure if his recently torn ACL will allow him to stay behind the plate. He’ll still have catcher eligibility in 2017, which is all that matters here for fantasy owners, and while a move from home would hurt his long-term value, it would also stand to help his counting stats next year if it means more games.

In a somewhat similar situation, the Indians are refuting a report that Michael Brantley could miss time into 2017. The shoulder issue that cost him all but 11 games this year still isn’t behind him, but the recovery timeline for the mid-August surgery is four-to-five months, according to the team, plenty of time to heal up for spring.

You won’t have Jason Hammel tonight for your final-weekend push, and it’s unclear if he’s going to throw Saturday or Sunday. He’s been dealing with tightness in his right elbow and the Cubs understandably don’t want to push it ahead of the playoffs.

You will, however, have Mike Trout, who had X-rays on his shoulder come back negative. He’s expected to be in the lineup Friday, though it’s worth double-checking.

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: A.J. Cole vs MIA (Andrew Cashner)
appears as if his appeal is going to allow him to take the bump. When he does, he’ll be opposite the worst offense of the last month, a Marlins team with a 72 wRC+ and a .122 ISO in that span. Even for the whole season, the Marlins only own a 91 wRC+ against righties. Cole isn’t all the way there yet, but the strikeout bump since making the majors is encouraging, and the setup here is great. Robert Gsellman and Matt Boyd are solid options, as well.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Archie Bradley vs SD (Clayton Richard)
There are still quite a few TBAs for Saturday, so we’re picking with someone limited information here. Archie Bradley stands at just 10-percent owned here on our final weekend, and that’s probably reasonable, giving the margin to which he’s come up short of expectations. He’s also striking out nearly a batter an inning, though, and the Padres represent one of the consistently poor offenses in the game – they’re dead-last in wOBA and second from the top in strikeout rate. Give Bradley one more spin and hope for a better 2017. Of what we know, Adam Morgan is a decent flier here, too.