Questionable Closers: An Early Look at Some Unsettled Bullpens

As anyone who has played fantasy baseball for even five minutes knows, bullpens around the league are always in flux. There are fewer and fewer closers who are no doubt, always in for the ninth inning, always healthy, never slumping, and always celebrating wins for their team. We're seeing more and more teams go with […]

Harrison Bader Scores Two Runs on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader scored twice in Wednesday's Grapefruit League loss to the Miami Marlins. Bader went 1-for-4 with a double and he reached on an error. He was excellent defensively last season, but struggled to a .205/.314/.366 line. He showed good patience at the plate but has never really hit for a […]

Tyler O'Neill Gets Five At-Bats on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O'Neill played all of Wednesday's split-squad Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins, going 1-for-5 with a single and two strikeouts. O'Neill should have one of the starting spots in the Cardinals outfield and while the power potential is real with him, there remains a lot of swing-and-miss in his […]

Alex Vesia Picks Up a Grapefruit League Save

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Alex Vesia earned a save in Wednesday's Grapefruit League win over a split-squad St. Louis Cardinals team. Vesia tossed a perfect inning, striking out two and inducing a ground ball out. Vesia is not a well-known name, but he could end up being the most effective pitcher out of the Marlins […]

Matt Carpenter Expects to Play on Saturday

Updating a previous post, St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter (back) referred to being scratched from Wednesday's Grapefruit League lineup as "super preventative" and says he expects to play on Saturday. Carpenter was removed from the lineup just a few minutes before the first pitch of Wednesday's game, but apparently it's not much of a concern. […]

Giovanny Gallegos Struggles on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Giovanny Gallegos struggled in a split-squad Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. He pitched just 2/3 of an inning, allowing three runs on two hits and a walk. It was the first appearance of the spring for the projected Cardinals closer, and likely nothing to worry about. […]

Kwang-Hyun Kim Pitches Two Perfect Innings on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kwang-Hyun Kim was perfect in his Grapefruit League debut, facing six batters and getting all six outs. Kim struck out three and needed 29 pitches to get through his two innings. It was an impressive start for Kim, who seems to have an early lead for one of the open […]

Pablo Lopez Allows Two Runs in Wednesday's Start

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in 1 2/3 innings against a Cardinals split squad on Wednesday. Lopez was making his first Grapefruit League start of the season and couldn't make it through his scheduled two innings. He threw 36 pitches (just 22 for strikes) and hit […]

Paul Goldschmidt Gets the Start at First Base on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (elbow) got the start at first base for Wednesday's split-squad Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins. Goldschmidt had been limited to designated hitter duties because of his elbow, but he was able to throw to all bases and was cleared to play the field on Wednesday. "Goldy" […]

Matt Carpenter Scratched from Wednesday's Game

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter was scratched from Wednesday's Grapefruit League game due to back tightness. He was removed from the lineup shortly before the first pitch, replaced at third base by Nolan Gorman. Carpenter seems to go through back issues every spring, and was limited to just 129 games last season. He hit […]

Austin Gomber Throws Two Innings on Tuesday

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Austin Gomber got the start for Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. He tossed two innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out one. It wasn't the greatest outing for Gomber, but he was able to limit damage and threw 15 of his […]

Lewis Brinson Hits a Home Run on Tuesday

Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson went 2-for-2 with a home run in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros. Brinson is fighting for a job, as the Marlins brought in plenty of competition for the former top prospect. Brinson has been legitimately awful since joining the Marlins, but his perceived upside may grant him […]

Brandon Kintzler Pitches a Scoreless Inning on Tuesday

Miami Marlins relief pitcher and likely closer Brandon Kintzler made his Marlins debut on Tuesday, pitching a perfect inning. Kintzler came in to pitch the third inning against the Houston Astros and retired the side in order. For now, it looks like Kintzler is in the lead for the ninth inning role in Miami, and […]

Jose Urena Allows Just One Hit in Two Innings of Work

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Urena got the start in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game and tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out one. Urena's role has yet to be determined, although the fact that he threw every pitch from the stretch may be telling us that he's destined for the bullpen. Urena […]

Yadier Molina Gets a Hit on Monday

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina went 1-for-3 in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins. Molina hit a single and had his three at bats before being replaced by Andrew Knizner behind the plate. Molina is hitting .200 through three games, and despite his fairly low upside, he should still be fantasy relevant […]

John Gant Tosses Two Hitless Innings on Monday

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher John Gant got the start for Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins and threw two hitless innings. He ended up allowing an unearned run while walking one and striking out two. Gant is a candidate to be a short-term starter in the rotation spot left vacant by Miles Mikolas […]

Jonathan Villar Scores a Run on Monday

Miami Marlins infielder/outfielder Jonathan Villar scored a run in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He led off and went 0-for-1 with a walk. Villar is still hitless this spring, but he's expected to have an everyday role with the Marlins. His defensive position remains to be determined, but the versatile former […]

Sandy Alcantara Struggles in His Grapefruit League Debut

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara tossed two innings on Monday, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks, striking out one. Alcantara, who is expected to be the Opening Day starter for the Marlins, threw 38 pitches, just 19 for strikes. Control wasn't a huge issue for Alcantara last season, so […]

Brian Anderson Is Fine After Being Hit By a Pitch

Updating a previous report, Miami Marlins third baseman/outfielder Brian Anderson (hand) "is fine" after being forced to leave Monday's game due to a hit by pitch. Anderson took a Ryan Helsley fastball off his left hand, the same hand that he broke last season from a hit by pitch. It's a huge relief for the Marlins, […]

Brian Anderson Hit on the Hand on Monday

Miami Marlins third baseman/outfielder Brian Anderson (hand) was forced to leave Monday's Grapefruit League game after being hit by a pitch. The pitch seemed to hit Anderson in the left hand, which he had broken last season by a pitch as well. Last season ended early for Anderson due to the broken hand, so this is […]

Jordan Yamamoto Works Through Two Innings on Saturday

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jordan Yamamoto got the start in the first game of Grapefruit League play for the Fish. He tossed two innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and striking out two. Yamamoto had some impressive strikeout numbers last season, but he had some issues with his control. If he can […]

Jack Flaherty Throws Two Strong Innings to Start Spring Training

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, who will get the Opening Day start, started the first Grapefruit League game for the Cardinals against a split-squad Mets team. Flaherty threw two innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. He threw 32 pitches and will likely have another one or two starts of just two […]

Jack Flaherty to Start on Opening Day

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty will be on the mound for the Cardinals on Opening Day. He'll also take the ball for the team's first Grapefruit League game. Flaherty was excellent all of last season, but was elite in the second half, putting up a ridiculous 0.91 ERA and 0.71 WHIP. There's a […]

Miles Mikolas Could Get Late Start To Season

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (forearm) will get a late start to spring training and is not expected to be ready for Opening Day. Mikolas received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his sore right forearm, but he stated that he expects it to be all set after recovery and not a lingering issue. "If […]

Paul Goldschmidt Dealing With Elbow Soreness

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is dealing with elbow soreness early in spring training. "Goldy" may miss the first few Grapefruit League games, but it is not expected to be much of a concern going forward. It seems like the Cardinals are just being careful in order to make sure their first baseman […]

Drew Brees Will Be Back in 2020

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees announced that he will be returning for his 15th season as the Saints quarterback. There was some uncertainty about whether Brees would retire this offseason, but his return was the widely expected result. This leaves Teddy Bridgewater very likely to become a free agent instead, where recent rumors say […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. West

We've made it out west, folks! After covering every American League team and all of the National League East and Central, it's time for our final division of the winter: the National League West. The NL West has the bullpen that is likely to be the best in the National League. It also has one […]

Philip Rivers and the Chargers Officially Part Ways

The Los Angeles Chargers announced that longtime quarterback Philip Rivers will enter free agency. This rumor had been floating around for a while, but now it is official. Rivers started every Chargers game since 2006, and the 38-year-old has reportedly already received interest from Tampa Bay and Indianapolis. For now, the Chargers have Tyrod Taylor […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. Central

We've covered all of the American League and the NL East, and next week we'll wrap things up with the National League West. This week, it's the National League Central's turn though. There are plenty of players with fantasy importance in the Central, and that rings true in the bullpens as well. The National League […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. East

It's Super Bowl Week, and that means a lot in football, sure. But what about baseball? It means anticipation. It means the free agent pool is drying up, and players are starting to make plans for Spring Training. We don't know much about the 2020 season yet, but there has been enough movement to at […]