Roto Riteup: Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
– Granted he’s only had a handful of plate appearances in the bigs, but Trayvon Robinson does not look MLB ready to me. He’s been swinging quite a bit, often at bad pitches, and he has also been rolling over on balls. I was surprised to see him swinging so freely due to his high minor league walk rates, and it’s entirely possible that he’s just pressing right now in an effort to make an impression in his debut. Still, unless he becomes more patient and aware of what pitchers are throwing, he’s going to need another half-season in the high minors.
– The Atlanta Braves are skipping Tommy Hanson’s next start, scheduled for Friday. With an off-day on Thursday, the Braves can easily skip Hanson and keep everyone else in the rotation on track. Hanson has allowed a homer in each of his past six starts, and the 24-year old allowed four dingers during his last trip to the hill. Some of his problems are likely BABIP driven — .373 his last 5 starts — but Hanson himself has come out and criticized his command and admitted his shoulder still isn’t 100%. Missing a start or two could do Hanson and the Braves some good, and even if he does stay off the DL, owners might want to bench him until he proves he’s truly healthy.
– Luke Hochevar has looked quite good recently. The former number-one pick has turned in good starts against the Red Sox, Orioles and Rays, striking out 20 without walking a batter or allowing a homer in his past three outings. It would sure be nice to see Hochevar turn into a good starter so late into his career, but I wouldn’t bank on it. Still, Hochevar is a story worth following the rest of the year.
– If you own any Diamondback hitters, make sure they are in your lineup tonight. Arizona is still at home against Houston, and homer-prone Brett Myers is taking the hill. Justin Upton, Chris Young and Paul Goldschmidt could have field days.
A Pitcher For Today: Felipe Paulino at TBR
Did you know the Rays haven’t hit well at home this year? I not sure whether or not to put too much stock into that fact, but there aren’t a whole lot of options for starters and I like Paulino, anyway.
A Pitcher For Tomorrow: Cory Luebke at NYM
I also like Jeff Niemann at home against the Royals, but he’s more widely owned than Luebke is at this point. The Mets’ offense is looking quite sad, especially without Reyes or Murphy in the lineup right now.
PickSix Lock of the Day: Derek Holland ($.50) v SEA
I have a hard time seeing how this pick goes wrong.
Prediction: 7 IP, 7 K, 3 BB; 20 points
Past Predictions: 5 players, $64, 18.2 pts
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Hochevar seems to do this every year, spurts of greatness late in the year.
Eh, not really. Last year he was on the DL from mid-June through early September, and his September was just average. At least we’ll give him credit for not being awful. 2009 he was simply dreadful in August and September, posting an ERA of 8.01. 2008 he was on the DL from August 19 through the end of the year, but before that his August was only slightly better than the one he posted in 2009. I guess you could say he was good at the end of the year in 2007, his rookie season, but he only pitched in September and only 12 innings.
Hochevar will turn 28 in a month. Now, I’m not saying he’s Cliff Lee, but remember, Lee did not become a good starter until his age 29 season. There’s time for him yet.