Daily Dr. Roto — April 20, 2018
First Look at Week 4 FAAB
Hitters
Teoscar Hernandez — I love the fact that he has been hitting second in the Blue Jays lineup as he gets to see fastballs that he can rip. If he continues hitting this well, he might even keep a regular spot in the lineup when Josh Donaldson returns.
Mark Canha — Canha is a beast against LHP and might qualify at 1B and OF if given enough playing time. Better in moves than allow daily moves so you can shuttle him in and out.
Joey Wendle — Wendle did not play much this past week as the Rays played the Rangers whose starting rotation is littered with LHP. Look for him to be in the lineup more in the future as he is the primary 2B vs. RHP.
Jose Bautista — The Braves signed Joey Bat on Thursday to see if he can be their regular starting 3B until Austin Riley comes up in September. I wouldn’t run to pick him up anytime soon, as he’s going to need a few weeks in extended spring training to get his baseball legs back.
Martin Prado — Another veteran who will be returning to the lineup soon is Prado. The Marlins desperately would like to move Prado to a contender, so they are planning on showcasing him as their regular 3B when he returns. Brian Anderson will play more 1B/OF until the Marlins move Prado.
Adam Frazier — Frazier should be the biggest beneficiary of Josh Harrison’s injury. Frazier is a decent contact hitter and has surprising speed, so those Fantasy owners in desperate need of speed might want to invest a few dollars in Frazier.
Tyler O’Neill — O’Neill was brought up just in case Tommy Pham’s groin injury sends him to the DL. As of now, it seems like Pham thinks he can play this weekend. If he can, there’s a good chance that O’Neill gets sent back down to the minors. If Pham is out, O’Neill will get his chance to see what he can do. I like O’Neill as a good stash in dynasty leagues.
Nick Senzel — With the Reds at 3-15 and just firing their manager, there is no better time to bring up Senzel. However, the Reds know they are going nowhere this season, so they do not want to punch his time clock earlier than necessary. I expect Senzel to get the call immediately after the Super Two deadline.
Pitchers
Reynaldo Lopez — Lopez throws hard and has been keeping hitters off balance in his first few starts. I would be careful paying too much for him as I think he can have a few blowups over the course of the season, but if you use him judiciously, you might find that he can help your team in K and K/IP.
Matt Boyd — He’s on a crappy team, and he’s not much of a strikeout pitcher, but Boyd seems to have improved his command in recent starts. If he can avoid giving up too many HRs, he might be a sneaky addition in deeper mixed leagues.
Joe Jimenez — It’s only a matter of time before Shane Greene implodes and Jimenez is the closer. Get him now while you still can.
Jose Alvarado — There is no way the Rays don’t trade Alex Colome at or before the trade deadline. Once they do, Alvarado should have a great shot to close out games.
Tyler Mahle — Mahle might turn out to be a bright spot for the Reds by the end of the season. For right now, he still is letting up too many walks and HRs, but I see seeds here of a young pitcher learning his craft. Pay $1 or $2 for him and stash him on your roster and wait to see if he gets better over the course of the season.
Chris Stratton — Admittedly, for someone who preaches patience, I overreacted on Stratton after his first two outings were perfectly mediocre and cut him. I regret it right now big time. His last two outings have been gems (14 IP giving up only six hits), and he looks like the pitcher I thought he was back in spring training. Invest if you need a solid arm at the backend of your rotation.
German Marquez — If you take out Marquez’s second start where he let up seven runs, you would see that he has thrown 14 IP giving up seven hits and three runs to go along with 14 Ks. Take advantage of those skewed numbers and pick up Marquez now before your competition does. He’s going to have some bad games, but he will have plenty of good ones too — maybe even some great ones.
Jarlin Garcia — Garcia has been on fire for the Marlins (even beating the Yankees this past week) and I am sure he is going to go for a ton in FAAB. But, I won’t be bidding on him. I refuse to spend a lot of money on pitchers who have crappy K: BB ratios and right now Garcia’s ratio is 13:11. Those numbers will get you killed over time in the major leagues, and I don’t want to be around when the implosion happens. I am not saying not to bid on Garcia; I am saying don’t overbid on Garcia until his ratios improve.
