Roto Riteup: Thursday, August 25th, 2011

by
August 25, 2011

– Despite being nearly ready to return in early-August, Adrian Beltre is going to be on the DL for a little while longer. Beltre aggravated his injured hamstring while running earlier this month, and has essentially had to start his rehab over from scratch, making an August return unlikely. It’s a shame for Beltre owners, as the third baseman was putting up good power numbers and could have expected his batting average to rise. His injury may have hurt his fantasy owners, but it has helped owners of Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland, as the two have have been seeing extremely consistent playing time.

– After trading for him a day earlier, the Rockies have called Kevin Kouzmanoff up to the big leagues. The 30-year old third baseman had been in the Oakland Athletics’ minor league system after struggling with the bat this year and last. Despite his recent numbers, it appears that the Rockies are going to give Kouz a chance to be their everyday third baseman for the rest of the season. While Kouzmanoff may have struggled with the bat in Oakland, he’s never had a home park like Coors Field, as he played in Petco Park before moving to the AL. Kouzmanoff still won’t be an offensive powerhouse, but is it possible that he could hit .260 with 24 homers if given a full season in Colorado? I think so. Thanks to his BB%, Kouzmanoff will not be an option in OBP leagues, even with the possibility of added power numbers, but he’s probably worth a flier if you’re in a slightly deeper than average NL-only league and need a 3B for the rest of the year.

– While it’s not yet confirmed, it sounds like the White Sox will be claiming Jim Thome off revocable waivers from the Minnesota Twins. If this happens, I’d like to think Chicago would play Thome every day and let Adam Dunn think about what he’s done in a dark corner somewhere. This move would be good for Thome’s September value thanks to Chicago’s hitter friendly park.

A Pitcher For Today: Brett Cecil vs KC
I’ve said it before, but I’ll have to say it again: Cecil has been good since coming back to the majors, and this is a good matchup for him.

A Pitcher For Tomorrow: Chris Capuano vs ATL
Capuano is good against left-handed hitters so the Braves offense may not be in full effect.

PickSix Lock of the Day: Nelson Cruz ($25.50) vs BOS (Andrew Miller)
I have no clue how this matchup can end well for Miller.
Prediction: 1-3, BB, HR; 14 points
Last Week’s Predictions: 4 players, $83.75, 23.3 pts
All Past Predictions: 15 players, $204.75, 102.3 pts

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Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.

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