Roto Riteup: September 4, 2012

Today’s Roto Riteup should help you brush off your Labor Day hangover with a sprinkling of Hot GIF action.

• Kris Medlen continued to be amazing yesterday. Though it was against the Colorado Rockies away from Coors, Medlen threw all nine innings without giving up an earned run, striking out 12 batters along the way. The last batter to face Medlen on the night was Wilin Rosario, who was caught looking on the following pitch, presented in GIF form for optimal enjoyment.

• I mentioned on Thursday that Joey Votto would be coming off the DL over the weekend, but the Reds opted to hold him in Triple-A to ensure he wouldn’t be rushing back. If you ask me, you’ve started playing games when you start a rehab assignment, and other than getting his timing back, Votto has likely been putting the same amount of pressure on his knees while in the minors. Nevertheless, expect Votto back either today or tomorrow.

• Alex Rodriguez is back with the Yankees after sitting on the DL due to Seattle’s revenge (in the form of a broken hand suffered during an at-bat). A-Rod played DH and hit in the middle of the Yankees’ lineup yesterday, and with Eric Chavez swinging a good bat this year, there’s a chance A-Rod gets a chance to rest by moving between the hot corner and the DH spot. He may be having the worst statistical season of his career at the plate, but A-Rod should still be owned in 12-team standard leagues.

• Dan Uggla has struggled to the tune of a .208 batting average and a .314 wOBA this year, and now his bat is going to be stuck on the bench. Uggla’s batting average slipped to .233 last year, but he made up for it by hitting 36 bombs and driving in 80 runs, which are no small feats for a second baseman. While OBP owners have been able to stomach Uggla thanks to his 15% BB%, standard league players had likely already dropped Uggla by now.

• Filling in for Uggla at second base will be Martin Prado, who will now be eligible at the position in 2013 Yahoo! leagues barring a change in their rules. Prado had been playing in left field, where Reed Johnson and Jose Constanza will taking over. Both players are interesting for owners who are looking to boost their batting average in the last month of the fantasy season, with Johnson ranking much higher than Constanza as a fill-in or plug-n-play option.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here are a couple matchups you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Today: Zach Britton at TOR
Toronto’s offense looks pretty bad right now, and they were almost no-hit by Joe Saunders yesterday.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Ryan Dempster at KC
Kansas City should remind Dempster of pitching in the NL.

A Hitter for Today: Andy Dirks vs CLE (Justin Masterson)
Dirks is sort of my man-crush, and having him beat up on Wiers’ boy would be sweet sweet victory.