Alan Roden DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk and outfielder Alan Roden will take a seat on Saturday when the Blue Jays continue a series against the Cleveland Guardians. Kirk has started in each of the previous four contests. The backstop has begun to heat up at the plate, posting a strong .353/.353/.529 slash line with six total hits. Roden has not tallied a hit in each of his previous eight contests. As a result, Tyler Heineman will get the nod behind the dish, and Nathan Lukes will get the nod in left field. Fantasy managers should expect both Kirk and Roden to rejoin the starting nine on Sunday. This afternoon, both Heineman and Lukes are not worth targeting in DFS facing Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Alan Roden went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in Tuesday's 6-3 win against the Atlanta Braves. Roden struck out once while scoring twice and driving in two runs. The 25-year-old crushed his first big-league homer -- a two-run blast -- off of standout Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach that exited the bat at 106.4 MPH. His double, which also came off Schwellenbach, was struck well, too (104.4 MPH). Toronto's No. 5 prospect is 13-for-47 (.277), with six runs scored, four RBI, and three doubles in his first taste of big-league action. Roden isn't walking much but has displayed solid plate discipline, holding a strong 15.1% strikeout rate in his first 17 games.

Toronto Blue Jays outfield prospect Alan Roden will get the starting nod in right field and bat in the nine-hole against Zach Eflin and the Baltimore Orioles. Roden was one of the most impressive hitters during spring training. Across 20 contests, the 25-year-old posted an impressive .407/.541/.704 slash line with two doubles and two long balls. He held a 6:4 BB:K. Last summer, the Creighton product spent the campaign split between Double-A and Triple-A. Across 54 games at Double-A, Roden posted a .267/.373/.432 slash line with 11 doubles and seven round-trippers. He then hit for an impressive .314/.406/.510 slash line across his first 71 games at Triple-A. Fantasy managers should expect Toronto to give Roden opportunities early in the campaign while Daulton Varsho (shoulder) is sidelined. He carries low value in DFS formats this afternoon, but is worth taking a flier on in deeper AL-only formats.