Roto Roundup: Joey Votto, Corey Kluber, Edwin Encarnacion and others

Joey Votto expected to be placed on the DL

I wrote about Reds first baseman Joey Votto a few days ago detailing the fact that his left quad is still bothering him when he hits, and now we are learning that the Reds are expected to place him on the disabled list.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal was the first to report the news:

Sources: #Reds' Votto likely headed back to DL with same injury as before - strained left quad.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 6, 2014

Reds manager Bryan Price said after Votto returned from his first DL stint that he won't be 100% healthy for the rest of the season, and now this news confirms that report.

Fantasy owners will be hard-pressed to replace Votto at this point in the season, but there are probably some power hitting first baseman on your league waiver wire that will hit for more power than Votto has provided his owners this season.

For more on Votto and the Reds, make sure you check out Red Reporter, SB Nation's Reds fan site.

Edwin Encarnacion out at least 2-4 weeks

Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion left Saturday's game with a strained quad, and now we learn that he will miss at least the next 2-4 weeks. Fox Sports' Jon Morosi reported this news last night, via Twitter:

Edwin Encarnacion expected to miss 2 to 4 weeks, but that could change based on evaluation in next few days. DL is certain. @FOXSports1

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 7, 2014

Encarnacion had been enjoying another outstanding season at the plate before this injury, hitting .277 with 26 home runs, 57 runs scored and 70 RBI.

Like Votto, you won't be able to replace Encarnacion with someone off of your league waiver wire, but you can hope to find someone who plays every day who possesses some pop.

For more on the Encarnacion injury, check out Bluebird Banter, SB Nation's Blue Jays fan site.

Round'em Up

I am beginning to think that Indians starter Corey Kluber is entering the ace discussion. On Sunday, Kluber almost tossed a complete game, giving up just one run on 4 hits, a walk and striking out 10 in 8.1 innings in the Indians 4-1 win. The win moved his record to 8-6 with a 2.89 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 2.80 xFIP, a 1.18 WHIP and an outstanding 137-30 strikeout to walk rate in 125.2 inning this season. He has given up two runs or less in 12 of his 19 starts this season, including 10 of his last 13. Heading into Sunday's start, his 3.2 fWAR ranked 6th in MLB behind only Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester, Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka. That's some impressive company there.

By now, you have heard about the blockbuster trade that went down on Friday night between the A's and the Cubs. In case you missed it, Daniel Kelley offered his analysis of the deal here. Personally, I think it is a good trade for both teams, but you have to love what Theo Epstein is doing in Chicago. He has put together probably the best farm system in the game right now with the addition of Addison Russell and Billy McKinney to the current Cubs prospects that includes Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Arismendy Alcantara, and others.

This deal, in my opinion, raises the price for Rays ace David Price, and Rays GM Andrew Friedman must have been sipping some single malt scotch on Friday night after seeing this trade go down.

The main piece in the blockbuster deal from the A's point of view is starter Jeff Samardzija who is having a very nice bounce back season after a disappointing 2013 season. Yesterday, Samardzija made his first start for Oakland and he pitched very well in his first start in the American League. Samardzija limited the Blue Jays to one run on 4 hits, a walk and struck out 5 in the A's 4-2 win. He has given up two runs or less in 13 of his 18 starts this season, but struggled to a 5.45 ERA in his six June starts.

I expected more from Mets young starter Zack Wheeler this season, but he still struggles with his command at times, which gets him into trouble. On Sunday, Wheeler limited the Rangers to one run on 6 hits, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in 6.1 innings in the Mets 8-4 win over the Rangers. He is now 4-8 in his 18 starts, with a 4.07 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 3.54 xFIP, 1.38 WHIP and a 99-44 strikeout to walk rate in 101.2 innings. His strikeout rate has improved from 7.56 K/9 to 8.76 K/9 this season, and his ground ball rate has improved by 10% from 43% to 53% this season, so those are two encouraging signs for a brighter second half from Wheeler.

One of the many surprising first half performances belongs to Angels starter Garrett Richards. On Sunday, Richards dominated the Astros, giving up just one run on 6 hits, a walk and struck out 11 in 7.1 innings in the Angels 6-1 win. Richards moved his season record to 10-2 with a 2.71 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 3.23 xFIP, a 1.07 WHIP and an excellent 119-41 strikeout to walk rate in 116.1 innings. While his walks have increased a bit this season, his strikeouts per nine have increased by almost 3 K/9, from 6.27 K/9 to 9.21 K/9. In addition to the improved dominance, Richards also keeps the ball on the ground at a near 50% clip, and rarely gives up a home run. He could enter the top 20-25 starter discussion if he can pitch like this in the second half of the season.

Fantasy Sports Network is Coming Soon!

That's right, there is a new Fantasy Sports Network that is close to going live, and will be available on your cable providers real soon.

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Make sure you check out their site Fantasy Sports Network and check out all they have to offer.

Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy baseball, and football, content, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, as they provide links to some of the best fantasy content on the internet on a daily basis.