Roto Riteup: May 12, 2013

Yesterday night Daric Barton hit a home run. The present author can virtually guarantee that every individual who was then wearing a Barton shirsey within a 50 miles radius of the author’s location stood up and danced. That the author is almost assuredly the only individual within said 50 mile radius to own a Barton shirsey is not a relevant point of fact.

On today’s agenda:
1. Chris Young aims for midweek come back
2. Ike Davis will bat clean up
3. A big night for Matt Dominguez
4. What to make of Adam Lind

Chris Young aims for midweek come back
Currently on the 15-day disabled list, Oakland Athletics outfielder Chris Young should be back in action on Wednesday of this week. With fellow outfielders Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick on the DL, Young should have no problem with playing time in the short term. For that matter, Young hasn’t had much difficulty finding playing time even with a healthy and full outfield. Despite not playing since April 30, Young is still ninth on the team with 101 plate appearances. His sound blend of power and speed make for a decent role player in deeper mixed leagues or even 12-team mixed leagues with deeper than standard rosters. Young is currently owned in 21% of CBS leagues, 11% of Yahoo! formats, and less than 5% of ESPN leagues.

Ike Davis will bat clean up
Yesterday Terry Collins, manager of the New York Mets, told reporters that he is done tinkering with the lineup and that Davis will resume hitting fourth starting today. There was nothing concrete about Davis remaining there long term, but Collins said that he is moving David Wright, Ike Davis, and Lucas Duda to run producing spots, at least for today. If Davis hits cleanup regularly — combined with regression in his .239 BABIP — Davis makes for a solid pick up. One can pick up Davis in over 40% of Yahoo! leagues, 50% of ESPN leagues, and 30% of CBS formats.

A big night for Matt Dominguez
Yesterday afternoon Matt Dominguez joined the club of players to hit at least one home run in the 2013 MLB season. In fact, Dominguez popped not one but two long balls to claim his first two home runs of the season. That being said, his slugging percentage — even counting both home runs — is now just .376 on the year. He is a warm body that is third base eligible. Unless you play in an all-AL West only league — which are actually quite fun — there probably isn’t a whole lot of value to be had owning him.

What to make of Adam Lind
For the second time in three games Adam Lind has hit a home run. He now has seven hits in his past five games and currently sports a flashy .409 OBP on the year. His current 19% walk rate won’t last forever, but his current 36% Swing% — if it continues — would be the lowest single season swing rate of his career. Lind has also cut his O-Swing% as well as his SwStr%. Being only first base/UTIL eligible hurts his value, but if Lind can hang on to some of the progress that his early season numbers indicate, he could have a solid year. He’ll sit against lefties most of the time, however his power and ability against right-handed pitchers shouldn’t be doubted. With Rajai Davis now on the 15-day disabled list, Lind may be in line for more playing time. Of the three major fantasy sites, Lind’s highest ownership rate is 15% at CBS.

Of note: Brandon Morrow has been scratched from today’s start and will be replaced with Chad Jenkins. Morrow missed his start Friday as well, and it seems as though his next start will be this Wednesday in an attempt to keep Morrow off of the disabled list.