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Roto Roundup: Chris Colabello, Oscar Taveras, Chris Sale and others

Ray highlights some of the top fantasy performers from Monday's roto action, including Chris Colabello, Oscar Taveras, Chris Sale and others.

By Ray Guilfoyle
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Colabello: Time to buy?

Twins first baseman/DH Chris Colabello is having one heckuva April, as he is hitting .353-.397-.529 with a home run, 8 runs and 20 RBI in 18 games. HIs .353 average is good for second, while his 20 RBI leads the American League, and ranks second behind Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton for the major league lead. The question for fantasy owners is whether or not he can keep this up. The short answer is: no he cannot.

Colabello hit just .194-.287-.344 with 7 HRs, 14 runs and 17 RBI in 55 games in 2013, and he has already exceeded his RBI total in a third less games this season. In addition, he has benefitted from an extremely high .469 batting average of balls in play (BABIP), so regression is in order in the near term. I would recommend trying to deal him if you can find a buyer cause there is some downside coming.

For more on Colabello and the Twins, make sure you check out Twinkie Town, SB Nation's Twins fan site.

Oscar Taveras: Is he nearing a promotion?

I watched Jenrry Mejia and the Mets bullpen shut out the Cardinals 2-0 last night, so it really isn't a surprise that the Cardinals are giving top prospect Oscar Taveras some time in center field in AAA Memphis. This tweet from Cardinals Farm:

Taveras is hitting well in AAA thus far in 2014, hitting .297-.348-.500 with three home runs, 12 runs and 12 RBI in 17 games. The Cardinals are currently running Jon Jay in center field on a regular basis, and we all know how much they think of him, They think so much of Jay's ability to play center field, they traded for Peter Bourjos in the offseason. While Jay is hitting well, Bourjos is struggling, hitting just .190-.261-.310 with six runs, two RBI and a stolen base in 46 plate appearances.

Taveras would probably need a 5-6 games in center field to get comfortable with playing out there, and the Cardinals could use his bat, as they rank 21st in runs scored, 27th in home runs, 22nd in OPS, and 21st in extra base hits. Yeah, they could use his bat in their lineup.

For more on the Cardinals offensive woes, check out Viva el Birdos, SB Nation's Cardinals fan site.

Update: There are reports on Twitter this morning that Taveras left Monday night's game with an another ankle injury. Nothing confirmed yet. We should learn more about this later today. Here is Derrick Gould from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, responding to a followers question on Taveras:

Hopefully the injury is nothing major.

Chris Sale to be placed on the DL

The White Sox announced earlier in the day that Chris Sale's wouldn't make his next start due to "general soreness",  but late last night we learned that the team placed him on the disabled list with a flexor muscle strain:

Sale is one of the best starting pitchers in the game, and was drafted as such, so this news comes as a shock to his owners. Hopefully, the injury is not serious and he is back in two weeks. Sale is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and a 29-7 strikeout to walk rate in 27.1 innings thus far in 2014.

For more on Sale landing on the disabled list, check out South Side Sox, SB Nation's White Sox fan site.

Round'em Up

The Mets announced on Sunday that Jose Valverde was out as their closer, and Kyle Farnsworth was going to take over the role. Last night, he earned his first save, pitching a clean ninth inning to close out the Mets 2-0 win over the Cardinals. All good news for those who bid FAAB dollars on him on Sunday, but then there is this from ESPN's Mets reporter:

It might be nothing, but something to watch over the next week or so.

I dropped Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano to #2 in my preseason second base rankings, as my thoughts were that his counting stats would drop with the move to Safeco Park. Through three weeks into the 2014 season, Cano is off to a slow start at the plate. After Monday night's game where he went 1-3 with a walk, he is hitting .270-.329-.351 with one home run, seven runs and eight RBI. It is way too early in the season, but Cano is on pace to hit 9 HRs, score 60 runs and drive in 68.  Certainly not what you expected when drafting him in the first round of drafts back in March.

The Nationals lost starter Doug Fister to an injury in spring training, and his injury has opened the door for Tanner Roark. Last night, Roark shut out the Angels on seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts over 6.2 innings in the Nationals 4-2 loss. Roark left with a 1-0 lead, but bad defense behind the bullpen allowed four runs to score in the eighth inning. Roark is now 1-0 with a 3.80 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and a 18-8 strikeout to walk rate in 23.2 innings. He has given up three runs or less, and has thrown six innings or more, in three of his four starts this season.

I think if the Phillies are struggling come June, we will hear Cliff Lee's name tossed about in trade rumors, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt to one of the division leaders by the trade deadline. Last night, Lee shut out the Dodgers on four hits, no walks and ten strikeouts over eight innings in the Phillies 7-0 win. Lee is now 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and an absurd 38-2 strikeout to walk rate in 35 innings of work. He has given up one run or less in three of his five starts so far in 2014.

Lee was given seven runs of support last night, with catcher Carlos Ruiz leading the way. Ruiz, batting cleanup, went 3-4 with a home run, two doubles, two runs scored and four RBI in the Phillies 7-0 win. Ruiz is now hitting .245-.365-.415 with a home run, 12 runs scored, 4 RBI, and an excellent 8-9 strikeout to walk rate in 53 at bats.

The Rockies placed Michael Cuddyer on the 15 day disabled list yesterday, opening up an outfield spot for recently called up Corey Dickerson. Dickerson responded by going 3-4 with a home run, double, two RBI and a stolen base in the Rockies 8-2 win over the Giants. Dickerson should continue to get playing time with Cuddyer on the DL, and is a solid waiver wire pickup in mixed leagues and shallower NL only leagues.