Daily Dr. Roto—April 2, 2018
Fantasy Baseball News and Notes
How good did Twins SP Jose Berrios look this weekend? I know his great game came against the woeful Orioles, but at the same time he looked very much the part of the #1 starter the Twins have been seeking. If the Twins can keep getting great pitching from Berrios, Lynn, and Gibson, they might give the Cleveland Indians a run for the division title.
I am so done with Orioles SP Kevin Gausman. Once again, I was duped into thinking he might have improved as a pitcher, but the three home runs he let up proved otherwise. At this point I will only use Gausman as a potential contrarian DFS starter.
I have gotten a ton of messages about dropping players. Please remember this is Fantasy Baseball and the season goes to the end of September. I don’t care if a guy is not playing in the first week of April. Put him on your reserve squad and start someone else. Give your team time to develop and trust that the best players eventually get the playing time. Dropping rookies now makes no sense. You will only allow your competitors to grab them and then when they start getting called up you will be upset that you were too impatient.
I loved seeing the dominant start by Astros SP Gerrit Cole. He is in such a great spot to succeed this season. I can easily see him winning close to 20 games and getting close to 200Ks. In fact, it would not surprise me to see him in the conversation for AL CY Young.
Angeles SP Shohei Otani looked pretty good in his first ever major league start. Outside of one bad pitch to Matt Chapman, his pitches looked nasty and he was in total control on the mound. I think those Fantasy owners who did not panic may have cleaned up by drafting Otani after his ADP started to fall at the end of spring training.
Speaking of falling, it’s only a matter of time before Angels closer Blake Parker falls out of the good graces of the coaching staff. He is pitching badly and could lose his job by the end of April. I like Cam Bedrosian’s arm, but Kenyan Middleton is another name to file away as a potential closer.
I love how the Dodgers use SP Rich Hill. He throws about six innings and 90 pitches every time he starts. If the Dodgers continue to use him this way, he certainly can avoid DL stints for “rest” over the course of the season.
DFS Plays
Pitchers: This is a very rough night for starting pitching as there is no clear ace going today.
- Charlie Morton
- Sean Newcomb (could get K’s but has blow up potential)
- Matt Harvey
- Andrew Triggs
Favorite Stacks
- Astros (vs. Tillman)
- White Sox (vs. LHP)
- Toronto (hard to trust R. Lopez just yet)
Sneaky Stacks
- San Diego
- Atlanta (I love Roark at home, not nearly as much on the road)
Visionary Plays
- Wil Myers: He’s owned Betts in the past and should have lots of RBI chances
- Paul Goldschmidt Roto—9 for 21 against Ryu with 2 HR. Lock him in Visionary Style!
