Roto Riteup: Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

by
September 7, 2011

Thanks to his outstanding start Monday night against Minnesota, here are some thoughts on Chicago White Sox pitcher Zach Stewart:

– While Stewart performed well enough to throw a one-hitter Monday night, his pitch mix was very interesting. He threw one change-piece against the Twins, opting to use just his fastball and slider. Scouts and prospect analysts have argued over whether Stewart is going to be a back or middle of the rotation starter, or delegated to bullpen duty in the long run. Unless he puts some work on developing and using a changeup, he’s going to be forced to the pen sooner or later.

– If the White Sox end up bringing Mark Buerhle back next season, I’d be willing to bet that Stewart and Chris Sale switch places. Sale has much more upside and Chicago seems smart enough to realize they need to move him into the rotation sooner rather than later.

– If Buerhle goes off into la-la land or signs elsewhere, than we could see Stewart stay in the rotation unless the White Sox decide to go back to a classic five man rotation, in which case he’ll be in the ‘pen, anyway.

– If you happen to own Senor Stewart in a keeper or dynasty league, your best option is acting fast and trading him ASAP. If your league does not allow trades all year long, you’ll have to wait until the offseason, and will probably have to include him as a piece in a larger deal if you expect to get anything of value for him.

Now, to the rest of your morning fix.

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– Ubaldo Jimenez has been doing a better job at inducing strikeouts recently, but boy oh boy, he has had problems with the home run ball. Ubaldo has allowed a homer in six of his seven starts with the Indians, letting seven balls leave the yard over those starts. He has a 24/6 K/BB rate in his last three starts — each of which was at home.

– Despite being eligible to return from the Phillies’ disabled list, Jimmy Rollins isn’t going to be rejoining the big league club quite yet. The shortstop is dealing with a groin injury that he suffered in late August. Rollins has had a good but not great fantasy season, though he’s been solid in OBP leagues.

A Pitcher for Today: Guillermo Moscoso vs KC
Moscoso has been somewhat of a fantasy asset this year if you’re willing to deal with a limited amount of strikeouts. Odds are you’ll get a win and a low ERA and WHIP, to boot.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Luke Hochevar at SEA
I’m a fan on Hochevar, and we all know about Safeco and the Mariners’ offense. He’s also facing off against Jason Vargas, who has been lit up in recent starts, so a win is probable.

PickSix Lock of the Day: John Danks ($.50) at MIN
Getting Danks on the road is a blessing, but getting Danks on the road against the Twins’ lineup? Yes, please.
Prediction: 7 IP, BB, 9 K; 25 points
Last Week’s Predictions: 4 players, $116.25, 24.2 pts, 1 perfect prediction
All Past Predictions: 21 players, $420.25, 132.6 pts, 1 perfect





 

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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glp
14 years ago

Moscoso is 4-4, 5.05 ERA, 1.39 WHIP since the All Star break, hasn’t been useful since before that, and the Royals can hit. I’d sooner take Bruce Chen on the other side of the ball in that game.

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