Roto Riteup: September 4, 2013

Today’s author of the Roto Riteup had admittedly been out of the MLB loop due to preparations for the sexy time that is the NFL season.

On today’s agenda:
1. James Paxton, Carlos Triunfel get the call
2. Kyle Drabek gets the call
3. Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, and Yadier Molina all return

James Paxton, Carlos Triunfel get the call
As speculated last week in my September Prospect Watch series, Paxton is coming up to the Mariners for the last month of the year. I thought Pax would be pitching out of the bullpen in the majors, but the Ms are going to move to a six-man rotation and let the big left-hander start games. Paxton struggled for most of August after dominating the rest of the year, but he’s struck out 10 batters in his last 10 innings of minor league work, walking only two and allowing a single homer.

Some of you may remember Triunfel from his days as perhaps the Mariners top prospect from 2008 to 2010, but the right-handed infielder is still amazingly just 23 years old, and he swung a decent bat in Triple-A Tacoma this year. Triunfel isn’t exactly a patient hitter, and he strikes out a little too often to make him a starting middle infielder, but he’s an interesting piece due to his past pedigree and still young age. There isn’t really a spot for him on the Mariners future roster, but he could play his way into a move and greener grass on the other side.

Kyle Drabek gets the call
Drabek is sort of a favorite prospect of mine; not because he’s going to be an ace, but because his stuff should play much better than it does. Drabek was one of the major pieces going to Toronto when the Blue Jays dealt Halladay to the Phillies, but he struggled in 2011 and 2012, and he’s missed most of the last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Drabek has put up excellent numbers in his rehab outings, so there’s some hope that the 25-year-old could still turn into a middle of the rotation arm. The biggest things to watch with Drabek are his control and grounders; if he can keep the walks below 10% and a groundball rate around 50%, it’s time to start getting excited about him again.

Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, and Yadier Molina all return
Cabrera had missed the last three games with an abdominal injury, but he played last night against the Red Sox. With the Tigers all but clinching the AL Central, Miggy’s not needed in the lineup ASAP, and it sure seems like he’s not doing so awesome in the health category. He’ll still crush the ball, though he may only hit .300 now.

CarGo was on the 15-day DL, but now he’s been activated by the Rockies. Gonzalez still can’t hit for the next few days at least, so be sure to keep him out of your lineups even though he’s eligible to play.

Yadier didn’t really miss any time because of his wrist injury, but it was a concern, so coming back the next day is always awesome. Yadier was supposed to be getting rested a little more down the stretch, and this added soreness should help cement that.