Roto Riteup: April 16, 2013

Sports and sporting events are meant to be a distraction from the daily life. Even with teams that might not win it all, they still offer an escape in the form of entertainment. Sports should not be a cruel reminder of just how fragile of an existence we all share on this little floating rock in space. My heart goes out to all affected by the tragedy in Boston.

On today’s agenda:
1. Peter Bourjos‘ value
2. Kurt Suzuki’s boost in playing time and value
3. A cup of coffee for Oswaldo Arcia

Peter Bourjos’ value
Peter Bourjos had just one hit yesterday, but he made it count with a solo home run. He now has two home runs on the season, nearly matching last season’s total of three, albeit those three home runs came in 195 plate appearances. While power isn’t Bourjos’ strength, it is always nice to see a little pop from unexpected places. The fact that he is yet to attempt a steal this season is as equally surprising as his power. The author envisioned Bourjos to end the season with 25+ steals, as regular playing time and his own speed would simply lead to stolen base production.

Given that he has hit lead off for the last three games, one could expect Bourjos to start scampering on the bases a little more or staying put for the big hitters. Even if he doesn’t run much more than his projection, hitting in front of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, and Mark Trumbo should lead to plenty of runs scored. He is owned in 40% of CBS leagues but just less than 10% in both Yahoo! and ESPN formats. With Erick Aybar on the disabled list with a bruised heel, expect Bourjos to see plenty of time leading off and Trout hitting 2-hole.  Grab Bourjos if he is available and cross your fingers that he improves his numbers and proves himself as a top of the order (if not leadoff) hitter.

Kurt Suzuki’s boost in playing time and value
The Washington Nationals moved Wilson Ramos to the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. The team anticipates that he’ll only miss the minimum amount of time and this appears to clear up the catcher situation for at least two weeks. Kurt Suzuki, primarily a starter throughout his career, will now step into the full time catchers role. Suzuki doesn’t offer a ton of fantasy potential outside of guaranteed playing time, but for those of you in two catcher leagues that owned Ramos, Suzuki is worth rostering until Ramos comes back. He’ll run into the occasional home run, but assuming that he’ll continue to hit eighth in the lineup, don’t expect a ton of counting stats. Suzuki is currently owned in less than 15% of the three majors fantasy sites.

A cup of coffee for Oswaldo Arcia
That cup of coffee was “to-go” because almost as quickly as Arcia was called up, he was sent back down. With no speculation that he could take Aaron Hicks‘ job, Arica merely kept Wilkin Ramirez’s roster spot warm during Ramirez’s paternity leave. Arcia cruised through High-A and Double-A last year and though early, he seems to have translated those numbers nicely to the Triple-A level. Still just 21-years-old has three home runs, a stolen base, and a .500 OBP in Triple-A thus far.

At the rate in which Arcia is crushing the baseball, he may force the Minnesota Twins to call him up again sooner rather than later. He still strikes out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances, so refining his approach and plate discipline is going to be important. Even with the high strikeout rate, Arcia gets more than his fair share of walks, so perhaps the strikeouts are part of the package. Arcia should be owned in all Ottoneu formats and keeper/dynasty leagues, and he is even rosterable in AL-only formats. If you play in a deep mixed league with plenty of bench spots, Arcia could make for a good second half player. He is owned in 10% of CBS leagues but essentially 0% of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues. If you’re in a standard/vanilla league, you can hold on Arcia.