Closers and Saves Report - Week 10 Waiver Wire

What a disappointing week for pitching. Not a single no-hitter? That's not very 2021 of you. So there weren't any no-hitters this week, but there were some bullpen changes, with a new committee forming and an old committee getting even more confusing. A couple of injuries have complicated things around the league as well. With […]

Brad Miller (2B, 3B, OF, PHI) - Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 32% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Ever since Bryce Harper went down with injury, Brad Miller has been in the Phillies' starting lineup every day.  Against lefties, he bats sixth, and against righties, he bats third.  Hitting that high in the lineup on a daily basis leaves plenty of […]

Amed Rosario (SS/OF, CLE) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Amed Rosario was one of the premier pieces that enticed Cleveland to send Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets, and rumors swirled of potential future locations, but he's finding his groove for the Tribe and should soon be making an […]

Brad Miller (2B/3B/OF, PHI) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Brad Miller's rostered rate has skyrocketed this week, but he remains available to add in nearly three-quarters of Yahoo leagues. The versatile 31-year-old entered play on Thursday carrying a hefty .319/.380/.527 line, with five home runs and three stolen bases in just 100 plate […]

Ji-Man Choi (1B, TBR) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: Though he just made his 2021 debut last week after knee surgery in March kept him sidelined, Ji-Man Choi looks to be in midseason form. The 30-year-old has hit .345/.472/.655 with a pair of home runs, seven runs, and eight RBI in nine games. […]

Danny Santana (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, BOS) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: Since Danny Santana was called up to the majors for the Boston Red Sox, manager Alex Cora has not stopped talking about the new dimension Santana offers the lineup with his speed.  When a manager sees that kind of value, the playing time […]

Brendan Rodgers (2B/SS, COL) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: Brendan Rodgers has recently been called up by the Colorado Rockies, and though his previous MLB runs have ended in disappointment, this might be the extended opportunity he needs to finally break through. The five-year top-rated prospect has already collected two hits […]

Eric Haase (C, DET) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues ROSTERED IN: 4% of leagues ANALYSIS: Eric Haase has a bad rap after three limited MLB stints that ended in disaster, but it looks like he's the kind of player that needs to warm up. Through 36 AB this season (already his longest major league stint), Haase has hit […]

Kris Bubic (SP, KC) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: It's been smooth sailing so far for Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic in his second stint in the Royals' rotation. Through two starts, Bubic has pitched 11 innings and allowed seven hits, five walks and two earned runs while striking out […]

Odubel Herrera (OF, PHI) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: With the multitude of injures in Philadelphia right now, the team has been forced to lean heavily on their supporting players. And as of late, few supporting players have been hitting as well as outfielder Odubel Herrera. Herrera has three multi-hit games over […]

Josh Staumont (RP, KC) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 46% of leagues ANALYSIS: Despite the early season questions, there's been no doubt who the closer is for the Kansas City Royals over the past month. Josh Staumont has recorded five saves since April 24. No other Royal has earned a save over that stretch. While Staumont […]

Alek Manoah (SP, TOR) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 38% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Toronto Blue Jays are calling up starting pitcher Alek Manoah to make his MLB debut against the New York Yankees on Wednesday. He is widely available on the waiver wire and fantasy managers in all formats need to make adding him priority […]

Austin Slater (1B/OF, SF) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 5% of leagues ANALYSIS: If Austin Slater simply was hitting with greater regularity, he would be in much higher demand. The 28-year-old Stanford alum had a great power/speed burst in 85 AB last year, and has started off 2021 with five home runs and seven steals […]

Points League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 9

We'll be doing this roundup of point league happenings every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the […]

Jacob Stallings (C, PIT) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues ROSTERED IN: 5% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jacob Stallings is a shining example of a rare trait at the catcher position: offensive consistency. Despite his team's lack of success, Stallings is well on his way to a career-season, so far hitting 14 XBH (ten doubles, four HR) and a .248/.356/.442 […]

Shane McClanahan (SP/RP, TB) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 33% of leagues ANALYSIS: Rookie Shane McClanahan has started off his MLB career to the tune of some fantastic results out of the Tampa Bay rotation. The 24-year-old lefty has thrown 22.1 innings over the course of five starts, so far netting a 4.03 ERA and […]

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 9

Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season is here and man, does it feel good to have it happen in mid-May rather than September. This time last year, fantasy playoffs were starting. This season, we've got a long way to go and I for one could not be more excited we still have over four […]

Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9

We have completed another week of MLB action, and we have once again been littered with injuries. Both good and bad things arise from injuries. Let's start with the bad, which means losing a player, sometimes a key player from your roster. The good is a chance to add a new player, and certain players […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9

Injuries have been up around the league, and middle infielders haven't been spared, so things are looking a bit thin out there on the ol' waiver wire. You can still find help, though, and that's the goal of this exercise. Most of the players who will be written up in this feature won't be the […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9

Arguably, the three best teams in baseball to this point reside in the NL West. That imbalance can be felt in the records of the 'other' teams in that division. The same thing can hold true in fantasy, especially this early in a season. Not everyone's record (in head-to-head leagues) is created equal. People can […]

Catchers to Stream - Week 9 Waiver Wire

It's your resident catcher advocate here, with my weekly defense for baseball's most maligned position. Instead of giving into easy narratives about the lack of talent at the catcher position and how they're the kickers of fantasy baseball, I'm here to create a place where catchers are celebrated for how they can help our teams. […]

Rich Hill (SP, TBR) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 47% of leagues ANALYSIS: At 41 years old, Rich Hill just keeps on chugging along. After allowing four runs in each of his first four starts, the lefty has allowed just three opponents to cross the plate in his five turns since. Perhaps the most encouraging sign is […]

Josh Staumont (RP, KCR) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 48% of leagues ANALYSIS: On May 1, the Royals routed the Twins by a score of 11-3, giving them a division-leading 16-9 record. They didn't win again until May 14, losing 11 straight before taking the first game of a doubleheader against the White Sox. This run of futility […]

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Week 9

Welcome to the top hitter streamers column for Week 9 of the MLB season (5/24 through 5/30). This weekly piece should be helpful for anyone looking to gain an edge in their league. If you need a fill-in for an injured player or want to exploit some plus matchups to gain an edge on your […]

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers: Week 9

Wow. Just wow. Back-to-back nights with a no-hitter this week between Corey Kluber and Spencer Turnbull. We're up to six no-hitters this year, and it seems that's enough of a story to (thankfully) overshadow old men complaining about the unwritten rules of the game. As always, let's go through and recap the past two columns […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 9 Waiver Wire

Two more no-hitters were thrown in the American League this week, making bullpen and closer news very much secondary in the pitching world. But it's only a matter of time until we see a team turn a bullpen game into a no-hitter, right? A couple of bullpen games have turned into shutouts already, so it […]

Kike Hernandez (2B/SS/OF, BOS) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: Boston Red Sox infielder/outfielder Kike Hernandez returned from the injured list this past week and was reinserted right back into the top of the team's lineup right away. He led off each of his first three games back upon his return and went […]

Spencer Turnbull (SP, DET) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: Someone may have already beaten you to the punch on Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull. That tends to happen when you pitch a no-hitter and have a 2.88 ERA and 0.96 WHIP on the year. That combination of feats is usually not […]

Harrison Bader (OF, STL) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader has made some great strides at the plate so far this year. He's been the team's everyday centerfielder in May and as long as he continues to deliver at the plate, that shouldn't change. Bader had some […]