Effects of an Innocuous Move: Brian Goodwin to Cincinnati

If you would've told me at the start of the 2020 season that one of the two moves made by the Cincinnati Reds at the Trade Deadline would be for a Major League outfielder, I would've been forced to assume that any four Reds outfielders had been suspended for the season for pulling some sort […]

Harrison Bryant (TE, CLE) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED: 0% of Leagues ANALYSIS: It's been a red-hot start for a considerable amount of tight ends across the NFL this season, meaning that talented rookies like Cole Kmet, Adam Trautman, and Brycen Hopkins have been lucky to get a single look over the first three weeks. The […]

Tee Higgins (WR, CIN) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED: 4% of Leagues ANALYSIS: It surprised many that the Bengals opted to go with as high-level of a wide receiver as Tee Higgins early in the 2020 NFL Draft when their need for an improvement to the offensive line still permeates, but the strength of the Bengals […]

Giovani Bernard (RB, CIN) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues ROSTERED: 3% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Giovani Bernard has been a fixture in the Cincinnati Bengals backfield since 2013, and while the cast of surrounding characters has changed dramatically, his job description has largely remained the same. Even though Joe Mixon has taken up the vast majority of […]

Tap That: Episode #1.5 - UFC 253 Undercard

Brady Grove hosts the undercard portion for the newly official RotoBaller MMA podcast, "Tap That", and brings you the episode's first week in time to provide analysis of each fight and picks for DFS and straight-up wagers. In addition to this podcast, you can catch our team discussing other sports and topics as well. Like […]

Tap That: Episode #1 - New Eras and Balloon Animals

Brady Grove and Brett Mitchell co-host the newly official RotoBaller MMA podcast, "Tap That", and bring you the inaugural episode in time to provide analysis of each fight and picks for DFS and straight-up wagers. In addition to this podcast, you can catch our team discussing other sports and topics as well. Like and subscribe […]

Rex Burkhead (RB, NE) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues ROSTERED: 4% of Leagues ANALYSIS: When Rex Burkhead left the Cincinnati Bengals and signed on with the New England Patriots, those familiar with the Nebraska alum could see for miles away that he would be a great fit in the Tom Brady-led offense. Four years and a […]

Scotty Miller (WR, TB) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues ROSTERED: 4% of Leagues ANALYSIS: We have seen only a limited sample of Scotty Miller as an NFL wide receiver since the start of 2019 following his standout career at Bowling Green State, but with Tom Brady under center in Tampa Bay and a hodgepodge of question-mark-players […]

Logan Thomas (TE, WAS) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED: 1% of Leagues ANALYSIS: At 6-6 and 250 pounds, Logan Thomas definitely has a build that will prove useful in practically anything he could be assigned to do on the football field. The 29-year-old product of Virginia Tech was a three-year starter at quarterback, and while he […]

Austin Barnes (C, LAD) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues ROSTERED IN: 4% of leagues ANALYSIS: Picture this scenario: the 2020 MLB season is winding down, you need stolen bases wherever you can get them, and you aren't fortunate enough to roster the likes of J.T. Realmuto, Christian Vazquez, or Isiah Kiner-Falefa at backstop. In two-catcher leagues where the pickens get […]

Jared Walsh (1B, LAA) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jared Walsh is a rare creature, in that, he has been both a successful pitcher and batter throughout his minor league career since entering the Angels farm system from Georgia in 2015. Last season, in his first big league run with Los Angeles, Walsh […]

Rafael Dolis (RP, TOR) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: Rafael Dolis had a seven-year MLB hiatus, but after an extended run over in Japan, he has been a pivotal asset in the Blue Jays bullpen for the 2020 campaign. Ken Giles may have just returned from the IL and is slated to be […]

Tyler Mahle (SP, CIN) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: Full disclosure: the main drawback with Tyler Mahle is David Bell's propensity to pull him early, as evidenced by his Sunday outing of 2.2 IP, four hits, four walks, three earned runs, and three strikeouts. In fact, Sunday's game against St.Louis marks the fourth […]

Archie and the Gang: Navigating the New-Look Cincinnati Bullpen

As of August 31st, the day of the 2020 MLB Trade Deadline, the Cincinnati Reds sat at a record of 15-19, placing them at fourth-place in the NL Central and well outside of the NL postseason picture in this year of the expanded playoff format. While the Cincinnati offense has been far from elite through […]

Sam Hilliard (OF, COL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of leagues ANALYSIS: Sam Hilliard has been putting up eyebrow-raising numbers since arriving in the Colorado farm system in 2015 from Wichita State (21 HR and 37 SB in 2017 for Single-A+ Lancaster), but 2019 was a particularly triumphant year (causing eyebrows to raise so high they're hitting […]

Victor Reyes (OF, DET) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: 25-year-old Victor Reyes was never a top-rated prospect as he bounced around from the Atlanta and Arizona organizations before finding a home in Detroit, but he was able to earn a spot with the big league Tigers for the shortened 2020 campaign after an […]

Jacob Stallings (C, PIT) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: On a very stitched-together 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates squad, even Jacob Stallings name doesn't tend to stick out, and it certainly didn't jump off the page before the season started when compared to fellow Buccos backstops John Ryan Murphy and Luke Maile. While Maile hit the […]

Danny Duffy (SP, KC) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: Danny Duffy has put in a ton of work for the Royals over the years as both a starter and occasional reliever, and after a couple of seasons where he appeared to be losing his touch, Duffy is back to some good old Danny […]

Ty Buttrey (RP, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: The pressure is about as low as it can get for members of the 12-22 Los Angeles Angels bullpen, as Hoby Milner and Cam Bedrosian are currently sidelined on the IL; Jaime Barria isn't even currently with the major league club; and the likes […]

Josh Staumont (RP, KC) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Kansas City Royals have had quite an interesting year when it comes to bullpen management, as we have seen Trevor Rosenthal blast out of the gates with six saves as the Royals primary closer and longtime veteran Greg Holland has picked up a […]

Johnny Cueto (SP, SF) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: Johnny Cueto has quietly been one of the best starting pitchers in the game since his debut for the Reds in 2008, but the jury was out on how Cueto's career would proceed as a San Francisco Giant after injuries held him to making […]

Alec Bohm (3B, PHI) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 21% of leagues ANALYSIS: It has been virtually raining top-50 prospects in the MLB over the past week, with several extremely talented and high-profile young players getting the call up to the major leagues to provide a much-needed boost to their clubs in the race for the playoffs […]

Sean Murphy (C, OAK) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: If you took a look at any preseason odds for who would win the AL Rookie of the Year distinction for this season, you certainly saw Sean Murphy on the majority of shortlists, and that projection was well earned after Murphy earned five doubles, […]

Joey Bart (C, SF) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS: With a decent record yet a fifth-place standing in the ultra-competitive NL West, the San Francisco Giants, not satisfied with the play of either Tyler Heineman or Chadwick Tromp at backstop, made a huge decision this past week by calling up highly-touted catching prospect […]

Cristian Pache (OF, ATL) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 11% of leagues ANALYSIS: With Atlanta outfielders Ronald Acuna Jr. and now Nick Markakis sidelined on the IL, the Braves were in need of someone to step up immediately, and they chose to direct that call of duty to consensus top-25 prospect Cristian Pache. While Pache has only […]

Miguel Castro (RP, BAL) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues/Saves+Holds Leagues ROSTERED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Miguel Castro made his MLB debut back in 2015 for the Toronto Blue Jays, and in the five years since, Castro has had an up and down career as a bullpen prospect for the Jays, Rockies, and now the Baltimore Orioles (unfortunately bouncing […]

Zack Burdi (RP, CWS) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues/Saves+Holds Leagues ROSTERED IN: 0% of leagues ANALYSIS: It hasn't always been the easiest path to the majors for the Burdi brothers of the University of Louisville, and Nick Burdi saw his season ended almost immediately after being named the interim closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, Zack Burdi has made […]

Casey Mize (SP, DET) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 24% of leagues ANALYSIS: No one expected the Detroit Tigers to be contending for a playoff spot one-third of the way through this season, and now the organization is in the precarious predicament of what to do with the upper echelon of its prospect pool. Now that Ivan […]

Brandon Nimmo (OF, NYM) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Brandon Nimmo is always worth paying attention to for his talent and power/speed capabilities, and it might be easy to lose sight of his production this season while fellow Met Michael Conforto has the hot hand, but Nimmo is off to a hot start […]

Nick Solak (2B/3B/OF, TEX) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS: This is a season when every AB matters and defensive versatility can help maximize those opportunities, and with availability in the outfield and the corner and middle infield, Nick Solak presents can easily be plugged in on any given day. The former Louisville Cardinal […]