Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: August 8, 2014

Today’s Roto Riteup was written while I watched John Mulaney: New In Town on Netflix (warning: language). One of my favorite bits was his take on Home Alone 2.

On today’s agenda:
1. Adam Lind to return soon(ish)
2. A trio of two home run hitters
3. Thoughts on Chris Taylor
4. The daily five

Want to win $10,000 playing Opening Day fantasy baseball?  All first time depositors get a free entry into this contest by clicking the link!

Adam Lind to return soon(ish)
The Toronto Blue Jays are figruing to activate Lind from the 15-day disabled list on Monday, though he could be back sooner than that. The club placed Brett Lawrie back on the DL yesterday with another oblique strain, his third in as many seasons. Lawrie probably won’t be back until September but the move at least clears a roster spot for Lind. The left-handed hitting Lind absolutely demolishes right-handed pitchers and owns a career .291/.348/.511 mark against them. If you’re looking for a late season power surge, I’d grab Lind wherever he is available. Right now one can pick him up in over 75% of CBS and Yahoo! leagues as well as 65% of ESPN formats.

A trio of two home run days
Yesterday Chris Carter when yard for the 23rd and 24th time this season. You may have to overlook his 31.2% strikeout rate or his .225 batting average if you’re looking for a complete hitter, however if you’re selling out for power, Carter is your guy. He’s been on fire since the All-Star Break, hitting .277/.351/.508 in 74 plate appearances and that is before counting his 3-for-4 game yesterday. A .341 BABIP since the ASB has certainly helped fuel his line and we’re still dealing with a small sample size, not to mention an arbitrary date range. That being said Carter has managed to slash his strikeout rate down to 26% in the second half and has upped his walk rate to double digits. He is available in less than 30% of ESPN and CBS formats but he can still be picked up in almost 50% of Yahoo! leagues.

Wonderkid Javier Baez also blasted two long balls yesterday and now has three in just 14 PAs. Even accounting for the fact he’s only played in the hitter friendly park known as Coors Field, Baez’s power shouldn’t be doubted. The whiffs will be a part of his game so get used to seeing a 20%+ strikeout rate. Despite the hype around his call up Baez is still largely available. His 82% ownership in CBS is fair however his 63% and 50% rates in ESPN and Yahoo! formats respectively is far too low. Power from the middle infield is a treat which should not be left to the waiver wire.

Joining Carter and Baez in celebrating multiple home runs is Kolten Wong. Yesterday he went 3-for-4 with two home runs, as many RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base. He is still hitting a disappointing .247/.291/.410 on the season but we have to remember he is still just 23-years-old. Wong has been hitting from the two-hole as of late and figures to get the second most PAs on any given night. I wouldn’t expect many more two home run days from him but Wong still has value in fantasy leagues. He is available in 40% of ESPN and CBS leagues and 65% of Yahoo! formats.

Thoughts on Chris Taylor
Whether or not Taylor is the long term solution for Seattle at the shortstop position remains to be seen, though in the mean time he is playing and more importantly hitting. We’re still within the realm of the sample size being comically small — 11 games and 36 PAs — but the early returns look good. From High-A to Triple-A Taylor never failed to hit better than 30% above the league average. He doesn’t have much power however his AVG/OBP from the shortstop position holds a good amount of value. If you happen to be looking for SS/MI help, look no further than Taylor. He is available in over 90% of the three major fantasy sites.

The daily five
Starting pitcher: Hisashi Iwakuma — $9,500
I know the Chicago White Sox fare quite well against right-handed pitchers in many aspects, though they do own the fourth highest strikeout rate against them. I like Iwakuma to post a big strikeout day today.

Starting pitcher: Bartolo Colon — $7,200
A bit of a value pick here as Colon comes relatively cheap. I do like him against the Philadelphia Phillies and their inability to hit right-handed pitching. Their 83 wRC+ against righties is the third worst mark in baseball.

Infielder: Brandon Moss — $3,900
Moss is great value today as he’ll be up against the right-hander Kyle Gibson.

Outfielder: Mark Trumbo — $4,000
Trumbo will hold the platoon advantage over Tyler Matzek.

Other hitter: Kole Calhoun — $3,600
Some speed and potential AVG to balance out the power (and strikeouts) of Moss and Trumbo. I like Calhoun against Allen Webster today.

Remaining budget: $21,800

This post, covering one of the leading sites for daily fantasy, is sponsored and made possible by the generous support of DraftKings. FanGraphs maintains complete editorial control of the postings, and brings you these posts in a continued desire to provide the best analytical information on the latest in baseball.





You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.

10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Kaline's Ghost
9 years ago

Would you rate Taylor over Rutledge as an emergency replacement for Tulo?

Mike Wimmer
9 years ago
Reply to  Kaline's Ghost

I would lean Rutledge if I needed power and RBI from my SS more than batting average.