Roto Riteup: August 18, 2018

by
August 18, 2018

All-in-all you’re just another brick in the wall.

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

Various News and Notes
Gary Sanchez – who’s missed nearly three and-a-half weeks with a groin injury – is starting to ramp things up.


The Yankees GM Brian Cashman mentioned two days ago that Sanchez was on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beginning on August 24th. The more than likely scenario is that he returns sometime within a week after starting the assignment, but you can never be certain with soft-tissue injuries. Either way, it looks like he should be coming back relatively soon – just in time for fantasy owners to make a final run.

Joey Votto was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Thursday due to a right leg contusion.


Votto is currently the 16th ranked first baseman on the ESPN Player Rater. He’s posted his second-worst BA of his career (.284), and despite the Reds sitting in essentially the same spot in RPG from last season, he’s failed to capitalize on opportunities to the degree he did last season. He’s been a second-half guy in the past, but he’s only hit .256 with one home run since July. While the BB% will continue to be otherworldly (and let’s be honest, a .284 BA is pretty good), this might finally be the season that he doesn’t end up crushing it down the stretch. There is an extensive injury history here and the Reds have no reason to push him. With that said, his Statcast metrics remain strong – some even better than prior years. His stay on the disabled list is expected to be minimal, so Tucker Barnhart and Brandon Dixon won’t have any long-standing impact as they take over for Votto in the short-term.

Indians manager Terry Francona mentioned on Friday that Trevor Bauer could be ready to return to game action after 4-to-6 weeks.


In a career year that was going to catapult him into the upper echelon of fantasy starters – Bauer suffers a terrible injury that has landed him in a walking boot for the foreseeable future. Even if he makes it back in four weeks (I’m not a doctor, but it’s always best to expect the longer side of a timetable), that would give him at most four-to-five starts the rest of the way – assuming there’s no setbacks. Unfortunately, my advice is to cut bait if you need the roster space. Hopefully we see him get healthy and contribute to an Indians team that needs him in their hopes for a deep playoff run. He is still ranked fifth among starters on the ESPN Player Rater.

Aaron Judge played catch on Friday and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that there’s a chance he could take some dry swings if he came out if feeling well.


He ran the bases about a week ago, but my initial thoughts on his return timetable remain the same – it’s going to be on the long-end of the four-to-six weeks that was initially given. Right now he’s been sidelined about three weeks after having surgery to repair a wrist fracture. I worry about power hitters that have hand/wrist surgery. Doesn’t mean you should trade or drop Judge in shallow formats, just temper expectations when he returns. Who knows, he could be an absolute freak and hit like nothing happened?

According to Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, Marcus Stroman was dealing with a blister on his right hand during Friday’s game against the Yankees and it could result in a stint on the disabled list.


After allowing 5 ER on Friday, Stroman’s ERA has now dropped to 5.27 (3.80 xFIP). Blister issues have plagued a myriad of starters in the big leagues, including the Blue Jays own Aaron Sanchez. The Blue Jays would likely be able to slot Sanchez himself into the rotation to fill in for Stroman, but Joe Biagini or even Jaime Garcia are also options.

Avisail Garcia was removed from Friday’s game against the Royals in the third inning due to a “managers decision” according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. With that said, we have to worry that there’s something more going on there in terms of his health. Stay tuned.

With some good news from the White Sox camp, Welington Castillo played DH and went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout in his first minor league rehab game. He’ll be eligible to return from his 80-game suspension later this month and is worth picking up now based on how bad the catcher position has been thus far.

A scary scene from Busch Stadium after Eric Thames and Lorenzo Cain collided into each other in pursuit of a fly-ball to right field. Thames would end up leaving the game due to right knee soreness, but luckily both players don’t seem to be seriously harmed.


Hernan Perez came into the game in his place, with Ryan Braun also receiving a pinch-hit appearance. Braun has been sidelined the last couple of days with a rib issue, but should be back in the lineup shortly.

Some good news on the Kenley Jansen front:


With Jansen dealing with this issue, the Dodgers have used Scott Alexander and others in the ninth inning. Dave Roberts even mentioned prior to Friday’s game that Kenta Maeda would be given the ball in the ninth inning should a save chance arise. When Jansen returns we’ll have to monitor his usage, the Dodgers could theoretically ease him into things.

According to Astros managers A.J. Hinch, Jose Altuve is expected to go out on a rehab assignment this weekend with Triple-A Fresno.


He’s been sidelined since July 25th with a knee issue, but he’s getting close to coming back. Tyler White has been serving as the main first baseman during Altuve’s absence, with Yulieski Gurriel manning second base. Once Altuve returns it’ll move White back to mainly a bench role. George Springer also returned to the lineup yesterday, rendering Tony Kemp useless in AL-Only leagues.

With James Paxton going on the 10-day disabled list, Felix Hernandez is expected to be slotted back into the Mariners rotation. Paxton is currently day-to-day after being diagnosed with a left arm contusion. X-rays were negative, so “King Felix” may only receive two starts before Paxton returns.

Streaming Pitchers
A Pitcher for Today: Brad Keller at CWS
Anthony DeSclafani and Jakob Junis did what we needed them to do yesterday (hopefully you listened), and Keller should do the same. The White Sox offense is awful at home ( I noted various stats yesterday as well), and Keller registered nine strikeouts against them in his last outing.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Reynaldo Lopez vs KC
Let’s pick on an offense that’s struggled on the road (3.8 RPG) and rank 21st in wRC+ over the last 30 days (93). Lopez has a 3.86 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 3 GS against them this season, and honestly there’s a miniscule amount of streaming options today.





 

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
GGDB
5 years ago

Judge didn’t have surgery, and it’s just a chip-fracture, nothing was seriously compromised. It never had to be immobilized. It may effect his power this season, but it is on his throwing arm, not the lead arm in the batter’s box which takes most of the shock of hitting. I wouldn’t be all that worried once it heals completely.

0