Daily Dr. Roto—April 5, 2018
Fantasy Baseball News and Notes
Phillies Manager Gabe Kapler has to be treading on the thinnest of ice right about now. In Thursday’s game he is starting Scott Kingery in RF and batting him 3rd. The problem is that Kingery is an infielder whose best position is 2B! I get the fact that Kapler wants Kingery’s bat in the lineup, but why not just leave Kingery in the minors until the team figures out a better long-term strategic plan? Kapler has shuttled guys in and out so much since the start of the season that no one has really been able to find a rhythm at the plate—and if they do hit well—they might not be in the lineup the next day! I cannot imagine that the Philly fans will stand for this kind of ineptitude much longer without booing Kapler every time he steps onto the field.
Mets OF Michael Conforto has been activated off the DL and is batting leadoff in Thursday’s game. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I drafted Conforto at the FSTA draft in Los Angeles in January. Many Fantasy owners panic when it comes to drafting players with injuries. I often see it as a buying opportunity. Think of it this way—if Conforto were healthy, he would have been a 7th or 8th round draft pick. All I needed to do was to start someone else in his place for about a month (or in this case a week) and get replacement stats before Conforto returned.
Another player who is close to making his debut this week is Red Sox SP Eduardo Rodriguez. As of now, Rodriguez is expected to start Sunday’s home game against the light hitting Rays. Regardless of how Rodriguez looks in his first game, I would be more than happy to pick him up on the waiver wire. His upside is 170 IP with an ERA under 4.00 and about a K per inning.
I cringe when I hear the word “oblique” when it comes to Fantasy Baseball as I know that an oblique injury normally means at least three weeks on the DL. Last night the oblique reaper came to Milwaukee and took away Christian Yelich in the 7th inning. I would expect the team to give him a few days rest and then see about placing him onto the DL this weekend. If Yelich is out, Hernan Perez will get a lot more playing time, with the outside chance that Keon Broxton gets called up. Perez is a great “plug and play” guy who can fill in multiple spots if needed. He offers Fantasy owners exceptional speed, so if you are in dire need of steals, he might be a good pickup so long as Yelich is out.
I have my eye on two pitchers throwing on Thursday for different reasons. The first is Twins SP Kyle Gibson. He looked great in the spring and he first start was solid too. If he can keep the Mariners bats at bay today at home I might become interested in free agency. I also want to look more closely at D’Backs SP Robbie Ray tonight against St. Louis. Ray struggled in his first start of the season (something Adam Ronis predicted in the off-season) and I want to see what is going on with his delivery. If he is walking batters again, he might regress big time in 2018.
