Archive for Roto Riteup

Is it just me, or will the combination of the stretch run of baseball and fantasy baseball making life extra stressful? I am fully aware that I’m probably too old to care so much about baseball, but I do care this much.

• It took an 0-for-32 stretch, but Josh Reddick finally got a pair of hits in last night’s game against the Texas Rangers. Reddick has been a great surprise for not only A’s fans but also fantasy owners. His 29 home runs, 79 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases have made him a legitimate fantasy cornerstone. Only his batting average is lacking to make him a five category threat. Thinking ahead to next season, I’d expect Reddick to be drafted alongside upper shelf talent instead of being available on the waiver wire like this season.
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Since I linked to a My Little Pony video earlier in the month, and just yesterday I posted a link to a Calvin and Hobbes related things, I figured why not combine the two? Here is a lovely crossover from someone who is much more talented than myself.

• I’m okay with writing about Jon Jay twice in a one week span if you are. Jay went 2-for-5 in yesterday’s win over the Houston Astros and he even stole a base to boot. He just keeps hitting. He is owned in 53% of ESPN leagues now but still just 25% of Yahoo! leagues. We’re all aware of the different computations each site uses to calculate ownership, but Jay should be owned in 80% of all leagues by now.

• At this point I’ve given up trying to comprehend how A.J. Pierzynski is hitting all of these home runs. He hit his 27th long ball of the year yesterday and now has nine more home runs than his previous single season high. His ISO now stands at an incredible .230; almost 70 points higher than his previous best season. Writing this off as an aberration is the route that I’m going to take with this 35-year old catcher.
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Today is National Comic Book Day! In honor of that, here is a link to the primary comic influence in my life: Calvin and Hobbes. The amount of hours that I spent reading, re-reading and thinking about this comic in my youth can’t be measured. Without being hyperbolic at all, it is safe to say that Bill Watterson was one the primary architects of my imagination and writing.

• Eric Chavez clubbed his 14th home run of the season last night during his 3-for-4 day. All told that brings him up to 14 on the season — his most since his days in an Oakland A’s uniform. He has appeared at both first and third base this year and has proven to be a small asset in very deep mixed leagues or AL-only formats. He only has 300 or so plate appearances, but his overall line is a very respectable .284/.341/.487. Chavez is owned in less than 5% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.
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Despite the postponed (and yes, I almost typed “post ponied”) game, today’s Roto Riteup is not postponed at all.

• Catchers that posses even a modicum of hitting ability at the major league level is a rare and glorious event. Furthermore, for those catchers to be available in over 50% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues is unheard of. Well, except in the case of Jonathan Lucroy. Yesterday’s home run makes for 10 on the season now, and those 10 have come in just 312 plate appearances. He is still riding a career high BABIP this season, but his career BABIP is .318. There hasn’t been a significant change in his batted ball rates, so don’t expect the .321 batting average to be around for much longer. That being said, there aren’t many games remaining for Lucroy. If you’re in need of catcher help, and I know I am, then Lucroy is your guy.
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Today’s Roto Riteup is dedicated to that awkward moment (that happens to me at least five times a day) when all of your co-workers are asking you for fantasy football advice, and you say only write about baseball.

• Even before last night’s excellent 3-for4 game with a steal, Carlos Gomez has been turning it on as of late. His past week’s worth of games has him hitting at a .294 clip with two steals. He is up to 35 steals on the year, but has just 66 runs to show for them. His poor OBP is what really drives down his stolen base opportunities, and his walk rate his lowest since his 2008 season. For the short term, Gomez has the speed that can help push you to winning the stolen base category and thus he deserves to be owned. He is available in about half of all ESPN leagues and over 60% of Yahoo! leagues.
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If my nickname of “Professor Pony” sticks, I think I’d be 100% okay with that. Season three is just around the corner — at least I think it will be soon, no one really knows — and it should be the best season yet.

• Brett Anderson is sidelined once again with a right oblique strain. Assuming the injury is similar to the average oblique strain, this all but puts a wrap on Anderson’s 2012 season. Sigh. Just about all that I want in life is to see Anderson have a healthy career. As far as fantasy baseball is concerned, Anderson should be dropped in all leagues.
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With apologies to the Pirates and Cubs fans, I am writing this Roto Riteup before that game is over. To be fair, the first pitch was at 11:38 and I’m an old man who needs his sleep.

• My preseason hopes for Domonic Brown haven’t come to fruition, but he is hitting better as of late. After his 2-for-4 game yesterday — that included another home run — Brown is up to a .340 on-base percentage and a 103 wRC+. Ideally over the course of a full season Brown could hit double digit home runs, plenty of doubles and triples as well as stealing enough bases for it to matter. As for this season, Brown should be free to grab in almost every league.
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As much as I love fantasy baseball, I don’t much care for the stretch run.Too much stress on my mental frame. On a not totally unrelated note, I don’t care much for stretching or running either. Too much stress on my physical frame.

• Norichika Aoki is quickly becoming one of my favorite mid-season pick ups. Over the past month Aoki is hitting .294 with two home runs and eight steals. He’s scored 19 runs and driven in 13 over that time frame as well. Yesterday he cranked two doubles and then nabbed two more steals, bringing his season total of stolen bases up to 26. Honestly, it is hard to find a flaw in his game. He has 41 BB’s on the year against just 47 strikeouts. He has a shot at a 10 home run, 30 steal, .290 season — that is something I’ll happily take from one of my second basemen outfielders any year. Aoki is somehow owned in less than 30% of Yahoo! leagues. As of last week, his ownership rate in ESPN leagues was a mere 35%, but that has skyrocketed to 69%. If for some reason he is still available then go and grab him for your team’s final push. The Brewers are on fire as of late and Aoki has been on fire since July.
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I’m kind of confused. Yesterday was a big day in baseball, but if my twitter feed was accurate, most people spent the day watching something called “college football.”

• Waiver trade acquisition Stephen Drew popped just his second home run in an Athletics uniform last night. He is still having a disappointing and injury plagued season, but a few weeks worth of production here in the head-to-head playoffs or stretch run of rotisserie leagues could be on his horizon. Drew has batted everywhere in the lineup from lead-off to eighth, so it’s hard to predict exactly where Melvin will plant him going forward. For now, Drew makes for a solid pickup in deep leagues or AL-only formats. He is owned in roughly 20% of both ESPN and Yahoo! formats. I’ve written about (and gotten burned by) him in the past, but fool me seven or more times, and shame on me.
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Since I know you’re all waking up early to catch some Premiere League games, why not read about your fantasy baseball team too?

• Even prior to yesterday’s 2-for-3 game, Brennan Boesch was hitting .286 over the past week. He’s been mired in a slump for most of the season, but it seems as though he’s picking it up for the stretch run. If you need a player who must have playing time, Boesch has hit fifth or sixth in the lineup 13 out of 14 times since August 23. With plenty of chances to drive in runs with Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera batting in front of him, Boesch could really rack up some counting stats in the closing weeks. His ownership rate is 20% in ESPN leagues and 24% in Yahoo! leagues.

• After hitting his third home run of the season, hopefully Domonic Brown will see some more playing time. He is sporting is usual strong plate discipline skills — 10.7% rate thus far — and his ISO is up to .129 on the season. His wRC+ is just 93 yet, but that is in sporadic playing time. I’m still mildly optimistic for him next season, and for now I’ve grabbed him in a league where I badly needed an OF. He should be free to pick up in over 95% of both Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.

• If you’re looking for help at third base (and who isn’t?) then Lonnie Chisenhall could work. He was on base three times in yesterday’s game, twice via hits and once via a walk. The walk is most significant because Chisenhall has never really been one to draw the free pass. Even in the minors, his BB% never reached above 10% at any level for any amount of time. The upside is that he rarely strikes out and he does posses solid power. Cleveland doesn’t have anything to play for other than to look ahead to next season, so expect Chisenhall to get plenty of playing time. You can pick him up in about 97% of ESPN or Yahoo! formats.

• Another option at third base is Manny Machado. He also reached base three times in his game yesterday and while his rate stats aren’t anything to brag about, his counting statistics do impress. With four homers and two steals over just 127 plate appearances bode well for his future fantasy value. Machado is owned in about 30% of Yahoo! leagues and almost 40% of ESPN formats. For the rest of this season, I’d take Machado over Chisenhall.

• Kris Medlen is good. I feel like 13 strikeouts in seven innings kind of speaks for itself.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here are a couple matchups you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Today: Shaun Marcum vs NYM
Well, Fiers got touched up for four runs in the first two innings yesterday, but I’m feeling good about playing against the Mets today. He hasn’t been great since his return from the DL, but I like him today.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Brandon Morrow vs BOS
I am such a sucker for Morrow. Dat career SwStr%!! Unf.

A Hitter for Today: Garrett Jones at CHC (Jason Berken)
Sure the Pirates have slid to just one game over .500, but Jones is doing his job against right-handed pitching. Jones brings his 140 wRC+ against righties into Wrigley today. I like my chances here.