Daily Dr. Roto — May 3, 2018
Fantasy Baseball News and Notes
— Fantasy Baseball fans (as well as New York Mets fans) are thanking their lucky stars right now as SP Jacob deGrom’s MRI on Thursday came back negative. One report out of New York has him missing as many as four starts. Another (according to Mets Manager Mickey Callaway) says he will be ready to pitch next Monday. Regardless of which report you believe, this is terrific news for the Mets because either way deGrom won’t miss too much time and evaded serious injury.
— Dodgers SP Hyun-Jin Ryu left Wednesday’s game with a leg injury. Keep an eye on Walker Buehler, as he might get the call-up from the minors later this week and could fill in.
— Want a sneaky mid-season pickup? How about Pirates 3B Jung Ho Kang? Kang is back in the United States after South Korea allowed him to leave the country after his multiple DUI arrests. Kang has 30 days to get himself in baseball shape before the Pirates have to decide on what to do with him. He could be a sneaky source of power in the second half of the season if he looks good.
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— The Atlanta Braves resurgence is beginning. OF Ronald Acuna was called up recently as was SP Mike Soroka. Soroka threw a six-inning gem in his first outing, and now the team is debating whether or not to allow him to pitch again later in the week and eventually get rid of Anibal Sanchez. With the Washington Nationals struggling, this might be the time for the Braves to take advantage. If Soroka sticks in the rotation, bid heavily this weekend on him in FAAB.
— What the heck is going on with Cubs SP Yu Darvish? He threw 56 pitches in his last outing, and his current ERA is 6.00. I think now might be a good time to trade for him if his current owner is frustrated with how he’s looked thus far. In that same vein, take a closer look at Toronto Blue Jays SP Marcus Stroman. Stroman has been horrendous thus far this season, but his start on Wednesday was encouraging, and he might be turning a corner. Get him now before his owner realizes that he’s improving.
— I was also encouraged by the start of Reds SP Luis Castillo on Wednesday. Castillo has been horrible this season walking tons of batters and letting up untimely home runs. He is too good of a pitcher to let this continue. I still would like to see the Reds put RP Amir Garrett into their starting rotation. He has value in the bullpen, but they could really use another starter who can go deep into games.
— The Los Angeles Angels pitching staff is an unmitigated mess right now. RP Kenyan Middleton went onto the DL this week with elbow inflammation and has been replaced by Cam Bedrosian. SP Nick Tropeano was also placed on the DL with elbow inflammation. It looks like Andrew Heaney will get every chance to stick in their rotation for now. He could be an interesting pickup on weeks where he has two starts.
— My favorite under the radar pitcher right now is Tigers SP Matt Boyd. He’s had one bad outing on the season and has looked more dominant than ever before. There’s a great chance he’s available in deeper mixed leagues. I would get him now before others realize that he’s pitched well since the end of last season.
— I hope people listened closely in the preseason as Adam Ronis and I championed Red Sox OF Mookie Betts. Betts is on fire this season (he’s currently hitting .365 with 11 HRs) and is an early candidate for AL MVP.
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