Streaming Charlie Morton and Cory Rasmus

Morton

Yes, Charlie Morton is 5-12 and just coming back from the disabled list due to a sports hernia, but I like him this week as he faces the Red Sox in a home matchup on Tuesday evening followed by a second start at home against the Brewers.

It’s playoff time and grabbing a guy who is owned in just 9% of Yahoo! leagues despite having a 3.84 ERA, 3.77 FIP, and 3.82 xFIP is pretty useful this late in the season. Morton was striking out more batters than he ever had in a previous season before his injury, and while there is always reasons to be cautious with a player returning from injury, now is the time you have to take risks if you are looking for a quick boost to your rotation.

It should be noted that Morton’s performed better this season by utilizing his secondary pitches more and not because of any added velocity. While it’s far from scientific, it gives me some confidence that he should be able to succeed coming off of his sports hernia even if he does not have his A-stuff. If he can continue to utilize his curveball as well as he was before his injury, he should be a great add during your team’s playoff run.

Rasmus

Adding Rasmus is definitely a risky move, as he has thrown a high of just 3.1 innings during his short stint as a major league starter. He will make his fourth start on Tuesday against the Mariners and is on track for his fifth start on Sunday against the Blue Jays.

He will be a two start pitcher with some high potential as he faces a weak Mariner lineup that has just a 92 wRC+ tomorrow night. Rasmus’ assortment of pitches may find him to be better suited as a starter rather than a reliever, and it is nice to see him getting a shot to start down the stretch run. With a low 90’s fastball and three other secondary pitches that he throws between 15-23% each, he has the repertoire to be a successful starter – which makes it confusing to me that the Braves and Angels are just now giving him the opportunity to make it in this role.

The one obvious concern is work load. Wins are still a big category in fantasy and he will need to go five in order to get you one. He is building of a 49 pitch outing so if he is able to coast through the early innings he should be able to pitch deep enough on Tuesday to get through the fifth, which would leave him even more stretched out for his second start on Sunday.

Rasmus is a risky pick but he is available pretty much across the board. On a team as good as the Angels and facing a weaker offense in his first start, I think he’s worth a look for tomorrow’s outing and if it goes well he is worth hanging onto for his second start on Sunday against the Blue Jays.