Marco Gonzales (SP, SEA) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales is showing off some impressive command and limiting opposing bats with a 21.3 percent K-BB rate that’s currently nestled in between Luis Severino and Clayton Kershaw in 20th place on the leaderboard. That’s good company! However, and there is usually […]

Domingo German (RP/SP, NYY) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 0% of leagues ANALYSIS: With Jordan Montgomery likely to miss at least one turn in the rotation, if not quite a bit more, New York Yankees pitcher German looks to be the one to step into his rotation slot. He is technically a reliever on Yahoo right now, […]

Eric Lauer (SP, SD) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: The first four innings of San Diego Padres starting pitcher Eric Lauer’s Major League career were rough. After giving up six earned in three innings at Colorado in his debut, he opened his second start by allowing three runs to score in […]

Week 5 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

Welcome to May, RotoBallers! A quick note: Be mindful of how the 2018 season as a whole compares to 2017 with regard to HR/FB rates, swinging-strike rates, etc. when you’re analyzing a pitcher’s performance versus last year’s stats. It’s been an eventful SP week despite only being Wednesday, Nick Kingham is already owned in too […]

Chris Stratton (SP, SF) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Chris Stratton is a great addition, especially when looking at  deeper leagues. There is a lot to like about him and his gloriously-spinny curveball -- the 2.32 ERA and 2.69 FIP so far are no joke -- […]

Trevor Cahill (SP, OAK) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of leagues ANALYSIS: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Trevor Cahill continued to show plus whiffs by inducing 16 swinging strikes on 98 pitches against the Rangers, with only one really poor pitch on the evening. His giving up three earned over five was not the encore […]

Week 4 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

With nearly a month of the 2018 baseball season in the books, it's getting to the point where you start to have some legitimate bodies of work to study for pitchers, as well as earlier performances in the year that could feel rather irrelevant now. Matchup data continues to take hold and weaker teams ripe […]

Sean Newcomb (SP) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 5% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Sean Newcomb was robbed of his second victory in ‘18 on April 14 as Atlanta blew a 10-2 lead in epic fashion, but the southpaw still racked up seven strikeouts despite turning in just 10 swinging strikes. That’ll […]

Michael Kopech (SP) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 5% of Leagues ANALYSIS:The flamethrowing Chicago White Sox starting pitching prospect Michael Kopech has pitched 10 innings in 2018, allowing a lone run with 11 strikeouts against four walks. The four free passes are what we’re going to care about because we know the whiffs are […]

Zack Wheeler (SP) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of Leagues ANALYSIS: After crushing the Marlins in his first Major League start of 2018, New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was tasked with handling a much tougher Nationals lineup on Tuesday. While his overall line (6 IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 2K) does count […]

Freddy Peralta (SP) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 0% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta is not in the Yahoo player pool yet, but you will want to have his name stashed somewhere in your memory banks. Peralta, who turns 22 in June, has won all three of his starts this […]

Week 3 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

We’re over halfway through April and while nearly all data points are far from settled, they’re all we’ve got. Trends in plate discipline metrics can start to surface around this time, but please don’t go blindly extrapolating hot or cold starts into full-season lines. Let’s look at some arms performing well at various magnitudes throughout […]

RotoBaller Premium Tools - Hitter Matchups

Baseball is a beautiful game, and as lovely as it is to witness a great pitching performance, there's nothing like seeing a great piece of hitting. Of course, even the best hitters will likely fail at the dish around 65-70% of the time over the course of the season. While this lovely sport is truly […]

Joey Lucchesi (SP, SD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 11% of Yahoo leagues ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi will not always play the Rockies, but the rookie might wish he could after dismantling them a second time on Tuesday night. After allowing just one hit with three walks while fanning seven Rox over five […]

Week 2 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

With nearly two weeks of the 2018 baseball season in the books, it’s clearly getting toward that existential crisis time where you start to get itchy over those slow starts and brazen over the hot ones. I know you want results, but it’s not even halfway through April! You’ve got this. With that being said, […]

Marco Estrada (SP, TOR) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: Marco Estrada kicked off his 2018 by holding the Yankees to three runs with an even 1.00 WHIP over seven frames, which shows promise that the righty has reclaimed his form after an up-and-down ‘17 campaign. While he only induced five swinging strikes on the […]

Brent Suter (SP, MIL) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of Yahoo leagues ANALYSIS: Brent Suter isn’t going to blow anyone away with his velocity, but owns an unorthodox delivery and is currently 1-0 on the young season after holding the Padres to three runs over five innings of work on Saturday. I realize the 5.40 ERA isn’t […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

It’s the beginning of April and you know what that means! It’s fantasy baseball season and it’s time to overreact to everything! Step out of the fantasy football mindset that may still have its hold on you and remember that while each day does matter, this is a marathon and not a sprint. As is […]

Jose Martinez (1B/OF, STL) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Martinez looks like he could be the next late bloomer to turn into a power stud after tallying a .309/.379/.518 triple slash in 307 big-league PAs for St. Louis. I’m sure you’ve heard about his wild 2017 and his 90.4 MPH average exit velocity, […]

Yonder Alonso (1B, CLE) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10-12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42% of leagues ANALYSIS: Damn, y’all are fickle. Remember when Alonso made the American League All-Star squad last year with an awesome first half? Or are you really that burned by the second half that you’re just out on the guy? Even if I grant you that he’s […]

Matt Davidson (1B/3B) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10-12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: Davidson hit three home runs on Opening Day, in case you missed that. He is a poor defender and has some pretty crummy contact skills, leading some to want Yolmer Sanchez playing third for the South Siders instead (sorry, I wrongfully called them the […]

Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 33% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chapman could end up being the most valuable Matt in Oakland’s starting lineup by the end of 2018, as the star defender also boasts a power bat yet to be recognized at the Major League level. Chapman’s 14 homers in 326 PAs is decent, […]

Nate Jones (RP, CHW) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 37% of leagues ANALYSIS: Back then, pros didn’t want him. Now he’s hot, pros all on him. That was a stretch and I don’t care, Nate Jones is for real (when he’s healthy) and should prove much more reliable and effective than Joakim Soria in the ninth inning. […]

Keone Kela (RP, TEX) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 21% of leagues ANALYSIS: Kela was recently named the closer for the Texas Rangers. He may have previously dug himself into Texas’ doghouse, but he doesn’t deserve to be in fantasy ones too. Ignoring his brief disciplinary stint at Triple-A, the fireballer posted a 2.79 ERA (3.26 FIP) […]

Jack Flaherty (SP, STL) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 24% of leagues ANALYSIS: Thanks to an Adam Wainwright injury, Flaherty will open the season as the Cardinals’ No. 5 starter and get a chance to show off his fastball, slider, curveball and just maybe the changeup. His brief stint in the Majors (at age 21) didn’t go so […]

Marco Estrada (SP, TOR) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: To most folks, Estrada’s poor 2017 season just confirms the sabermetric counterpunch that had cast its shadow over his successful years. His 3.13 ERA of ‘15 had a 4.40 FIP and 4.93 xFIP behind it, only to produce a 3.48 ERA, 4.15 FIP and 4.64 […]

Michael Brantley (OF, CLE) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Stash in 10+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42% of leagues ANALYSIS: I know, Brantley is synonymous with injured and he’s starting the year on the DL so why are we discussing this? Well, this injury stint is just due to recovery from offseason ankle surgery and the concerns surrounding dealing with him potentially never coming […]

Lewis Brinson (OF, MIA) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 33% of leagues ANALYSIS: There’s little doubting Brinson is a talented player, but I understand why a 24-year-old that looked over his head during his cup of coffee last year is being shied away from. We can’t ignore that being Miami depresses value as well, but I hold […]

Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10-12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: Semien is poised to split leadoff duties with Matt Joyce for Oakland, with the 27-year-old seeking a rebound to his 600-plus PA seasons in 2018 and challenging for a 100-20-75-15-.250 season. It’s very unlikely his average jumps much past that, but he did pop […]

Neil Walker (1B/2B, NYY) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 16% of leagues ANALYSIS: We’ll dig a bit deeper here to speak on Walker, who was mercifully plucked from the free-agent pool already by the Yankees. When a guy gets into the Yankees starting lineup, then you probably want to pluck them from the FA pool as well. […]