Roto Riteup: September 5, 2019

by
September 5, 2019

Who needs football when you see plays like this?

On the Agenda:
1. 2 Early Mocks
2. Various News and Notes/Quick Hits
3. Injury Quick Hits
4. Streaming Pitchers

 

2 Early Mocks
As Justin mentioned yesterday, he started his annual “2 Early Mocks” featuring some of the best fantasy baseball analysts in the industry. It’s always a nice exercise to try and project value for the following season; and this gives us our first glimpse of where analysts/pundits view the landscape. If you’re interested, I’m in league four with Jeff Zimmerman and others. If you’d like to keep up with the ADP data as more drafts get underway, you can visit here. As Justin also mentioned yesterday; big shout out to Smada of Friends with Fantasy Benefits and Prospects Live for making the sheet and compiling all the data. It’s a really helpful tool this time of year as we start heading towards the offseason.

 

Various News and Notes/Quick Hits
Trevor Bauer was great through four innings against the Phillies yesterday – but as we’ve seen too often this season – things started to unravel. All-in-all he yielded four earned runs on six hits over five innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He’s only posted two QS in seven GS with the Reds thus far; including posting an 8.40 and 1.70 WHIP in August. He’s allowed four earned runs or more in five of-his-last eight, and despite being a plus in the strikeout department, he’s becoming more harmful than profitable for our fantasy teams. Things could change in the Reds rotation, but if he starts every fifth day, he’ll be slated to take on the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Mets, and Pirates to end the season. You’ll likely have to trot him out there (like I will), but he could very well be fueling losses before adding wins.

Jorge Soler’s breakout continued yesterday after he swatted his 40th home run of the season.

His 129 wRC+ this season is his best mark since his brief cameo with the Cubs back in 2014. In his age 27 season he’s posting career-highs all over the place, but the most important one is in games played (140). He’s always had mammoth power, and has continued to display that this season in his Statcast metrics (96th percentile in Hard-Hit%, Exit Velo, xwOBA, Barrell%). It’ll be interesting to see where he lands in the #2EarlyMocks!

Michael Lorenzen did something pretty special yesterday….

Zac Gallen and Chris Paddock combined for 16 K and 3 BB in 12.1 IP yesterday. Gallen took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but was undone by Manny Machado with one out. It was the first time a rookie took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in Diamondbacks history.

Staying with the Diamondbacks, Ketel Marte swatted his 30th home run of the season when he clubbed a grand slam in the seventh inning off of Luis Perdomo.

Marte obviously won’t win the NL MVP, but man he’d be my fourth or fifth choice if I had a vote. He went 39th in my mock draft, and I would expect him to fall somewhere around the top-50 when drafts get rolling in 2020.

Trevor Williams logged his third-straight quality start after yielding three runs (two earned) to the Marlins yesterday. He generated six punch outs with one walk, and has a 15/2 K:BB over his last three starts.

After hitting .373/.460/.560 with four steals and two home runs in August, Kolten Wong is now 6-for-16 in September. He has two extra-base hits in that time and notched his 20th stolen base of the year yesterday.

Franmil Reyes now has hits in 9-of-11, with five being of the multi-hit variety. On Wednesday he blasted his fifth home run during that stretch and now has 34 on the year.

Eloy Jimenez went 2-for-4 with a double against the Indians, and now has six multi-hit games over his last seven overall. He was also robbed of being a hero in a savage manner by rookie outfielder Oscar Mercado.

Eduardo Rodriguez posted seven innings of scoreless ball against the Twins, and now has three such starts in his last four overall (yielded three earned runs at Coors Field).

Mookie Betts delivered a pair of home runs, a solo-shot and a three-run blast, in the Red Sox victory over Minnesota. His power metrics have taken a dip this season, and his stolen base attempts have taken a significant hit as well, but Mookie has continued to be a steady contributor for yet another year.

Aaron Judge launched his seventh home run in 12 games in a victory over the Rangers.

In other news, Rougned Odor hit his 22nd home run, but is still rocking a 67 wRC+. He could legitimately hit 30 HR with 10 SB and post a sub-75 wRC+. Kind of incredible.

Pete Alonso took sole possession of the home run lead after he blasted his 45th bomb in the fifth inning off of Anibal Sanchez yesterday.

He’s now just seven shy of Aaron Judge’s rookie home run record, and with the way things are going, there’s certainly a decent chance he can get it.

Joc Pederson continued his hot-hitting ways, swatting another two home runs against the Rockies.

Sean Murphy had a nice first start to his MLB career, as his first hit was a solo-home run off of Jake Jewell.

Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports reported that there’s a sizeable market for the recently released Jeremy Jeffress. The “contenders” for his services include the Mets, Rays, Reds, and Phillies.

 

Injury Quick Hits
Lindsey Adler reported that Giancarlo Stanton is heading to the Yankees spring training complex to begin facing live pitching.

Luis Severino and Dellin Betances are both slated to take another turn in their rehab assignments on Friday for Double-A Trenton.

Jordan Montgomery made his fourth rehab appearance yesterday and could be a bullpen piece for the Yankees down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Gregory Polanco will suffer yet another lost season as he’s receiving PRP injections for his shoulder and will be shut down from baseball activities.

Mitch Keller was able to play catch yesterday and could potentially make his second start of the week (vs STL) if things continue to go well.

Corey Dickerson made an early exit due to a sore left foot against the Phillies, but he’s expected to start today.

Nick Senzel was scratched due to a sore right shoulder. The Reds will likely handle this with care, meaning he could be out a few days.

Alex Verdugo suffered a setback in his rehab from an oblique injury. His timetable is now undetermined.

J.P. Crawford will miss at least another two more weeks according to Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Less than 50% owned)
Pitcher for Today: Elieser Hernandez vs PIT

High Risk Options: Glenn Sparkman vs DET, Kolby Allard at BAL, Nathan Eovaldi vs MIN.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Tony Gonsolin vs SF, Steven Matz vs PHI, Michael Pineda vs CLE
All close to the 50% barrier on ESPN, but I’m in for all three if available.

High Risk Option: Dinelson Lamet vs COL, Dylan Bundy vs TEX, Framber Valdez vs SEA, Jorge Lopez at MIA





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

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