Roto Riteup: August 9, 2019

by
August 9, 2019

Shoeless Joe Jackson will be proud.

On the Agenda:
1. Various News and Notes/Quick Hits
2. Streaming Pitchers

 

Various News and Notes/Quick Hits

Gio Urshela hit two home runs for the second day in a row in the Yankees 12-6 victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday.

 

Urshela is now sporting a 142 wRC+; that would put him in the top-15 among all hitters if he qualified. The Yankees continue to battle injuries, and in the event that they lock things up fairly quickly (likely), it’s fairly possible that Urshela’s playing time wouldn’t suffer. Like I said yesterday, outside of a stagnant June, he’s been a quality player that has helped fantasy owners in deeper formats. He now has five home runs over his last three games, and should be owned in more than 55% of CBS leagues.

In the same game, Mike Tauchman went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. The longball was his 11th of the season, and the “Alex Chamberlain favorite” is now sporting a .297/.373/.566 line in 204 PA (144 wRC+). He hit .423 in the month of July, and has started August off with four multi-hit games in six starts.

Bo Bichette made history after going 2-for-5 with his ninth double and fourth home run in 11 games since being promoted to the major leagues.

 

He’s got the pedigree. He’s hitting high in the Blue Jays lineup. He’s showing solid plate skills thus far; and most importantly, he’s already demonstrating immense fantasy upside/potential. He’s a must-own down the stretch, and is making his 2020 draft cost higher by the day.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gregory Polanco has resumed baseball activities. He’s been sidelined since mid-June due to aggravating his surgically repaired shoulder, and was rather pedestrian when he was active. I’ve long been a Polanco truther, so I hope he comes back in September (currently the expectation) and shows he’s healthy. With that said, owners in dynasty formats have no real move they can make with him other than standing pat and hoping things improve.

Corey Kluber threw 24-of-41 pitches for strikes over three innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Columbus.

He allowed two runs in the game and had to ramp up to 50 pitches in the bullpen afterward. He’s set to have at least two more rehab starts, and could be back in action later this month.

After two-straight subpar outings on the road against the Padres and Rockies, Madison Bumgarner logged seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts and one walk. He’s posting a career-high F-Strike% with a similarly high SwStr%, and K/BB%. His SIERA (4.13) before yesterday’s start tells us that he likely won’t improve on his 3.74 ERA; but overall this season has been a success for MadBum.

According to David O’Brien of the Athletic, Austin Riley has been diagnosed with a partially torn LCL in his right knee. Riley has had issues with that knee in the past, and will meet with Dr. James Andrews to determine a rehab plan. We could be waiting a while before we see him again – which paired with his recent struggles – makes him an automatic cut in almost all formats if he wasn’t already.

Matt Boyd was rocked for five earned runs (three home runs) in two and two thirds innings pitched with three walks and one strikeout against the Royals on Thursday. It was the first time he struck out less than six since May 13th against the Astros, but it’s now the third time in a row that he’s yielded four earned runs or more to Kansas City.

We received a couple of Yankees injury updates yesterday. It’s looking good for Gary Sanchez returning this weekend.

The Mets signed Brad Brach and optioned Donnie Hart to Triple-A Syracuse. He isn’t a candidate for saves.

Hunter Dozier went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI against the Tigers on Thursday.

 

Dozier ranks among the top-30 hitters in wRC+ (135) and is up to 20 HR with a .284/.368/.542 line. His BB% is tremendous, Exit Velocity is top notch, and he’s tallied four multi-hit games over his last seven with four home runs during that time.

Aristides Aquino went 2-for-5 with a double, home run, and three RBI against the Cubs. He’s 9-for-21 (.429) with three home runs in seven games. He posted a 142 wRC+ at Triple-A this season with 28 home runs, and has found himself in the middle of the Reds lineup. It may be time to pick him up in 15-team leagues to see how things shake out in the short term.

Nicholas Castellanos went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored, and a walk in the Cubs victory over the Reds on Thursday. He has nine extra-base hits in 33 AB with his new club. Ian Happ blasted his third home run in his last four games in the same contest.

After two clunkers against the Yankees, Chris Sale righted the ship by going eight scoreless innings against the Angels – yielding two hits with 13 strikeouts.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his third home run in as many games. His “obvious regression” is taking it’s sweet time to manifest itself.

Jay Bruce went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his return to the Phillies lineup. Philadelphia optioned Adam Haseley as they wanted to continue to get him everyday playing time. Bruce hit fifth in the lineup, and will be a nice source of power the rest of the way.

The New York Post’s Mike Puma reported that there’s “optimism” that Brandon Nimmo can start a rehab assignment in the next week.

Dansby Swanson “isn’t close” to returning according to Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos.

After a rough July, Brian Anderson has rebounded to hit .345/.444/.862 in eight games in August thus far. He’s hit four home runs during that time, with two of them coming yesterday against the Braves.

Nelson Cruz is day-to-day after leaving yesterday’s game with a sprained left wrist. His reaction didn’t look great, and he’s had issues with the same wrist before. Fantasy owners should keep close tabs on this – especially in weekly formats as we head into Monday.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Less than 50% owned)

Pitcher for Today: Brad Keller at DET

High Risk Options: Drew Smyly at SF, Marco Gonzales vs TAM

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Tanner Roark at CHW

High Risk Options: Adrian Houser vs TEX, Jeff Samardzija vs PHI





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
alang3131982member
4 years ago

Thoughts on Reynaldo Lopez?

1