Roto Roundup: Jose Fernandez, Joey Gallo, and others

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Jose Fernandez: Expect Matt Harvey-like performance

Anytime a pitcher returns from the disabled list after the long recovery period from Tommy John surgery, one never knows what to expect upon his return. Most struggle with their command, and are placed on a innings limit for the season, or a pitch limit per game. I am not sure if Marlins ace Jose Fernandez will be on a pitch or innings limit, but I guess it all depends on where they are in the standings. The Marlins spent a lot in the offseason to build a contender, but things haven't worked out so well to date, but that could change once Fernandez returns.

It was announced yesterday that he will begin his rehab assignment this coming Saturday with High A Jupiter. This is after he pitched very well in an extended spring training game, tossing three innings and striking out the last six hitters he faced. These hitters weren't major leaguers, so we don't know the quality of the hitters he faced, but with his fastball already in the 94-97 range, one can assume it really didn't matter who he was facing.

He will get his first real test facing High A hitters on Saturday, and if he pitches well, one can assume he will move up to pitch in a couple AA games, then a AAA game or two. This is all my speculation, but he is due back toward the end of June or early July, so the Marlins will want him facing better hitters than one would see in High A real soon.

How will he perform when he returns? I see a Matt Harvey-like performance once he gets back to pitching in the big leagues. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball before the injury and I don't see that changing when he returns. He will need a few starts to get to that point, but I think it won't take too many.

He is owned in 94% of CBS leagues and 84% of ESPN leagues right now, so now is the time to grab him before the major media outlets start hyping his return from the disabled list.

For more on Fernandez and the Marlins, make sure you check out Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Marlins fan site.

Rangers to call up Joey Gallo

In Monday's Roto Roundup, Alex discussed the thumb injury to Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, and here is an excerpt:

Josh Hamilton provided an emotional walk-off win in Arlington on Wednesday afternoon against Boston's Koji Uehara in the Rangers' 4-3 win over the Red Sox, but earlier in the game the team lost its third baseman, Adrian Beltre, after the veteran jammed his thumb trying to breakup a double play.

Beltre will miss the next two weeks with a sprain and laceration in his left thumb, and won't take a swing for the next 12 days, according to the Fort Worth-Star's Telegram Jeff Wilson. Texas, which has won 8 of 10, was really starting to look like a contender in the American League West with improved play from Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, and had climbed all the way to third in the division, five games behind the Astros.

Alex speculated that the Rangers could call up Rougned Odor to replace Beltre on the active roster. Instead, the Rangers did one better.

They called up power hitting prospect Joey Gallo.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels announced the call up and stated that Gallo would only be up for the next two weeks. This season, Gallo is hitting .314-.425-.636 with 9 home runs, 21 runs scored, and 31 RBI in just 146 plate appearances in AA. He is coming off a 2014 season where he hit 42 home runs and drove in over 100 runs across High A and AA. He brings 80 grade power to the Rangers lineup, but with the power comes plenty of strikeouts. He is striking out about 33% of his plate appearances this season, after striking out almost 40% of his plate appearances in AA last season. Yeah, so he's going to strike out in the big leagues. It might be quite a bit.

He may not be up for long, but we don't know how long Beltre is going to be out. They say he will be out for two weeks, but you cannot predict hand injuries. Even when he returns, there is a chance Gallo stays up and plays some third base, outfield and DH to give Beltre, Josh Hamilton and Prince Fielder a day off to stay fresh over the long hot Texas summer. This all assumes Gallo isn't striking out 40% of his plate appearances though.

For more on the Gallo call up and the Rangers, make sure you check out Lone Star Ball, SB Nation's Rangers fan site.

Giancarlo Stanton: Hitting home runs but struggling at the plate

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton could be best described as the best power hitter in the game right now. Bryce Harper may have more home runs, but Stanton has more power. It seems like every one of his home runs are must see replays on MLB.com, as most land more than 450 feet away from home plate. Through the first two months of the season, Stanton is hitting .228-.320-.513 with 15 home runs, 29 runs scored, 44 RBI and 3 stolen bases. The counting stats are what we expected, but we expected more from Stanton in the batting average category.

Last season, Stanton hit .288-.395-.555 with 37 home runs, 89 runs scored, 105 RBI and 13 stolen bases. That was all before he was hit in the face with a pitch in September. This season, he is wearing a protective mask on the left side of his batting helmet to protect the left side of his face that was hit last season, and one has to wonder if it is affecting him at the plate thus far.

He is striking out more than last season and walking less. His swinging strike rate (SwStr%) is up from 12.9% last season to 15.4% this season. He is making less contact on pitches in the zone and out of the zone as well. His out of the zone contact rate is down 10% from last season, so something isn't right with Stanton. His batting average of balls in play currently sits at a career low of .257, compared to his career .326 BABIP, so he has been unlucky to an extent.

Stanton hit just .185 in May, with 9 of his 20 hits going out of the yard, so maybe he just had a bad month and I picked the right time to pick on him. I hope he can turn things around, as he is one of my favorite players in the game, and when Stanton is hitting, there is a good chance many are leaving the yard. Just imagine how many home runs he would have if he was making better contact in May.

Roto Roundup

Two of the early games last night were rained out, and there was only one game completed by the 11:00 pm last night, so I will cut it short right here. I will address any big performers in Wednesday's roundup.

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