Roddery Muñoz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The St. Louis Cardinals optioned right-hander Chris Roycroft to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday and are calling up right-hander Roddery Munoz from Memphis in a corresponding move, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo. In four appearances at Memphis, Munoz has allowed an earned runs on three hits while walking five and striking out seven in five innings. Roycroft had a strong spring training but allowed runs in three of his seven appearances in the regular season. The 27-year-old just hadn't been sharp with his command but will surely be given a chance again this year in St. Louis' bullpen in lower-leverage situations. Munoz, a 24-year-old Dominican, made his major-league debut last year with the Miami Marlins and had a 6.53 ERA and 1.58 WHIP with 70 strikeouts and 42 walks in 82 2/3 innings over 18 outings (17 starts).

The St. Louis Cardinals claimed starting pitcher Roddery Munoz off of waivers. Munoz made his MLB debut last summer with the Miami Marlins. Across 82 2/3 innings of work (17 starts) the 24-year-old struggled with a 6.53 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, with a 42:70 BB:K ratio. In Triple-A last season, Munoz posted a 4.96 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Under the hood, the right-hander held a hefty 13.7% barrel rate and 45.0% hard-hit rate which were among the worst marks by qualified pitchers last summer. Fantasy managers should expect Munoz to either serve as a back-end starter or a long relief option in St. Louis but should be left off your fantasy radar given his struggles during his rookie campaign.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Roddery Munoz turned in another impressive performance in Wednesday's 4-1 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies, striking out seven hitters while giving up only one run on three hits and two walks over six solid innings for his first career win. In the showing, Munoz joined the late Jose Fernandez as the only pitchers in Marlins franchise history to have 13-plus strikeouts and a sub-0.75 WHIP across their first two games with the team. The 24-year-old right-hander is giving Miami's injury-riddled rotation some valuable work since joining the major-league roster in late April, attaining a 2.45 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, and 14:3 K:BB over 11 frames (two starts). Despite the strong start, Munoz lines up to take the hill in a shy-away spot for fantasy purposes on Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers have scored an MLB-high 177 runs through 33 outings.