Daily Dr. Roto—April 12, 2018
Fantasy Baseball–Panic or Don’t Panic
Texas Rangers 1B Joey Gallo is hitting .193
I am panicking a little about Gallo, but I am really panicking about the Rangers in general. The Rangers have just lost Rougned Odor (hamstring) and Elvis Andrus (elbow) to major injuries and they are both expected to be out of the lineup for a while. This leaves Gallo with less protection in the batting order and fewer opportunities to drive in runs. That said, Gallo still has prodigious power and his Achilles heel is always going to be his batting average. I still think that he hits 30 HR by season’s end.
Chicago White Sox 2B Yoan Moncada is hitting .200
Not only is Moncada hitting .200, he also has 21 strikeouts in 45 at bats. He is a mess at the plate and putting too much pressure on himself to make things happen. I am not sure that the White Sox can leave him batting leadoff much longer. However, once Moncada finds his rhythm, I think he will end up being one of the top 2B in MLB. In fact, I might try to make a trade for him now, hoping his current owner is disgusted with his early season start.
Cleveland Indians SS Francisco Lindor is hitting .184
I am certainly not panicking about Lindor. In fact, I love stats like these because I hope that his current owner (who probably drafted him in the second round) might be frustrated with him and give him to me in a trade. Which by the way, I would gladly accept in a mili-second!
Baltimore Orioles 3B Tim Beckham is hitting .211
Beckham has struck out 18 times in 52 at bats this season, so I am panicking right now if I own him. The Orioles changed his position to third base in the off-season to cater to Manny Machado without thinking twice about what it would do to Beckham. The Orioles also have Danny Valencia on their bench. Valencia loves hitting against LHP and I can easily see this becoming a straight platoon situation between these two players by the end of the month.
Chicago Cubs OF Ian Happ is hitting .182
I have some definite worries about Happ right now, especially because Cubs Manager Joe Maddon is the King of Platoons. I can easily see Happ playing only against RHP while Albert Amora Jr. gets the starts in CF against LHP. If this occurs, Happ might lose as many as 100-150 at bats on the season making him nothing more than a platoon player with upside. Happ might need an injury to another player to force Maddon’s hand to get more playing time.
Baltimore Orioles SP Kevin Gausman has an ERA of 6.60
Gausman is a very frustrating pitcher to own in Fantasy Baseball. On the one hand, he is capable of going seven innings letting up one run and pitching well, and on the other hand he could go five innings and let up four home runs and kill your team’s ERA. While I wouldn’t panic about Gausman, I would keep him on the reserve until I saw any kind of consistency from him in seasonal leagues. In DFS, I like him as a cheap contrarian play against certain opponents.
Los Angeles Angels RP Blake Parker has an ERA of 6.35
With an ERA of 6.35 and only one save under his belt, I think Parker owners should absolutely be panicking right now. It looks like Parker has lost the closer’s job to Kenyan Middleton and at best is in a closer-by-committee situation. Parker is a prime example of an older pitcher having a career year after the age of 30 even though his skills were not dominant. Fantasy owners would be wise to remember this and avoid players like Parker in the future.
