Red Sox Encouraged By James Paxton's Progress

The Boston Red Sox are encouraged about the progress of starting pitcher James Paxton (elbow) in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Paxton is ahead of schedule and is already throwing short bullpen sessions. The 33-year-old left-hander had elbow reconstruction last April and isn't expected to be ready to go on a rehab assignment until […]

Dylan Floro To Open Season On Injured List

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Dylan Floro (arm) will begin the season on the injured list, but manager Don Mattingly said he's "in a good spot." Floro has been behind in camp because of right arm soreness, but he threw a light bullpen this week and was scheduled to throw another on Friday. It sounds as […]

Jacob deGrom Getting MRI Exam On Friday

New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (shoulder) has officially been scratched from his Grapefruit League start on Friday and will undergo an MRI exam. deGrom is dealing with right shoulder tightness after playing catch on Thursday, and his availability for the start of the regular season is now very much in question. The 33-year-old […]

High-Upside Starting Pitchers: Swinging Strike Edition

Unlike the fantasy football world, there are not a lot of casual baseball fans playing the fantasy game. Have you ever heard of a friendly office fantasy baseball league? Probably not. If you're playing fantasy baseball for any actual stake, you are most likely competing against people who know what they're doing - at least […]

Pitcher Statcast: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is evidence […]

Launch Angle Analysis: Power Breakouts for 2022 Fantasy Baseball - Ketel Marte, Austin Hays, Jazz Chisholm Jr.

There are three essential components that go into hitting a home run. Putting a ball in play Hitting said ball at a certain angle range Hitting said ball above a certain velocity When forecasting how many homers a certain player will hit, these sabermetrics (strikeout rate, walk rate, launch angle distributions, and launch velocity distributions) […]

Breakout Outfielders That Will Keep Improving for 2022 Fantasy Baseball - Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Teoscar Hernandez

We've already covered the breakout infielders to target for 2022 fantasy baseball. In this article, we’ll stick to outfielders. Breakouts are perhaps the most fun part of fantasy baseball.  Being able to identify and grab guys as they reach their potential can often be the difference between winning it all and being lost in the […]

Adventures in Positional Scarcity - Catchers Edition for Fantasy Baseball Drafts

This question of how to handle the catcher position has taken on a new level of tough in 2022, at least in the opinion of this analyst. Catchers have always underperformed offensively relative to the rest of the positions, mainly because the first bullet point on their job description is not to hit the ball […]

Daily MLB Injury Roundup for April 1st, 2022

RotoBaller has assembled a list of daily MLB injury updates to help you prepare both your seasonal and daily fantasy baseball (DFS) lineups, every day of the MLB season. Below is our updated list of injured MLB players for April 1st, 2022. Only players on teams that are scheduled to play today will appear below […]

Andrew Benintendi (OF, KCR) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~165 pick CURRENT ADP: ~184 overall ANALYSIS: Kansas City Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi didn't amaze anyone with his numbers last season but contributed a little bit in each category, hitting .276 with 17 HRs, 8 SBs, 63 runs, and 73 RBI over 134 games. His 8.9% barrel rate (55th percentile) and 34.5% flyball […]

Avisail Garcia (OF, MIA) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~140 pick CURRENT ADP: ~166 overall ANALYSIS: Avisail Garcia was rewarded with a four-year, $53 million contract with the Miami Marlins after posting the best year of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. Overall, he slashed .262/.330/.490 with 29 homers, eight steals, 86 RBI, and 68 runs scored over 135 […]

NFBC Main Event Draft Recap with DraftCheat - Benched with Bubba EP 457

Bubba (@bdentrek) is joined by Peter Christenson (@DraftCheat) of RunPureSports. In this episode, Bubba and Pete will recap Pete's NFBC Main Event draft just minutes after it ended. They will go over Pete's team, other interesting picks, strategy, and much more to help prepare you for your upcoming fantasy baseball drafts. Be sure to subscribe […]

2022 SP Strategy & Player Takes with Chris Towers - Another Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Ep. 6

Jon brings on Chris Towers from CBS to talk about his SP strategy, the "injury prone" question, players takes, predictions, and more! Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, Saturdays from 3-5 PM, and Sundays from 3-5 PM. You can […]

Jacob deGrom May Not Make Friday's Start

New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (shoulder) may not make his scheduled Spring Training start on Friday. According to manager Buck Showalter, deGrom has a tight right shoulder. deGrom is tentatively scheduled to start the team's season opener on April 7, but that would potentially change if he's held out of Friday's start. deGrom's […]

Edward Cabrera Optioned To Triple-A

The Miami Marlins optioned pitcher Edward Cabrera to Triple-A on Thursday. The 23-year-old joined the team for Spring Training late and only had the chance to make one start. In that start, he pitched well, tossing three scoreless innings and allowing no hits and one walk while striking out three. Cabrera is one of the […]

Luke Weaver Exits With Thumb Blister

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Luke Weaver (thumb) was removed in the fourth inning of his Spring Training start on Thursday. He developed a blister on the knuckle of his right thumb. According to Diamondbacks beat writer Nick Piecoro, Weaver wasn't very concerned about the blister. The 28-year-old had a solid outing before he was removed […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes Takes Grounders On Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (ankle) went through some drills on the field on Thursday. He took some ground balls and also ran straight ahead at about 50% speed. The 25-year-old suffered a right ankle sprain about a week ago. The injury doesn't sound like anything significant, but there's a chance he could be […]

Reds Hopeful Luis Castillo Will Debut In April

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo (shoulder) will be traveling with the team to kick off the year, according to Reds manager David Bell. Two fellow injured Reds, starting pitcher Mike Minor (shoulder) and second baseman Donovan Solano (hamstring), will be with the team as well. The hope is that all three players will be […]

Shane Bieber To Start Opening Day For Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have named Shane Bieber the team's starting pitcher for Opening Day. He will face the Kansas City Royals next Thursday, April 7. The 26-year-old is coming off of an injury-shortened 2021 campaign. He was held to just 16 starts due to a shoulder strain that sidelined him for much of the season's […]

Josh VanMeter Traded To The Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired second baseman/outfielder Josh VanMeter in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In exchange, the Pirates have sent right-handed pitcher Listher Sosa to Arizona. The Pirates are a bit thin offensively (to say the least) so we could see VanMeter earning a good amount of playing time as soon as the […]

Erick Fedde Scratched With Side Tightness On Thursday

Washington Nationals right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde (side) was scratched from his Spring Training start against the New York Mets on Thursday. He was reportedly experiencing tightness in his right side, so the team opted to hold him out and send Josh Rogers to the mound in his place. Expect for the Nationals to pay close […]

Tim Anderson Suspended For Two Games

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson will be suspended for the first two games of the 2022 season. The suspension is a result of an altercation that happened late last season. In a September 27 game against the Detroit Tigers, benches were cleared and Anderson wound up making contact with an umpire. He was suspended […]

A.J. Puk To Open Season In Bullpen

The Oakland Athletics plan to use left-hander A.J. Puk out of the bullpen to open the regular season. Puk was expected to compete for a spot in the back end of the A's starting rotation this spring, but with the team holding onto Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea for now, Puk will instead open in […]

Brandon Belt Could Make Spring Debut Monday

San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (knee) is scheduled to debut in an exhibition game on Monday, but it's "very tentative," according to manager Gabe Kapler. Tuesday is the final exhibition game in camp. Belt has yet to play in a Cactus League game this spring due to knee inflammation, but he's been taking […]

Jairo Diaz To Throw For Teams Monday

Free-agent right-hander Jairo Diaz will throw for interested teams on Monday in Miami. The hard-throwing reliever didn't make an appearance in a major league game last year due to injury, and he last appeared out of the bullpen in the big leagues in 2020 with the Colorado Rockies, posting a 7.65 ERA and 2.25 WHIP […]

Jordan Romano Has Mild Ankle Sprain

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jordan Romano (ankle) has what manager Charlie Montoyo describes as a mild left ankle sprain, although the Blue Jays expect him to be ready for Opening Day next week. Romano sprained his ankle while walking his dog. It's something for fantasy managers to watch, but it shouldn't affect the 28-year-old […]

Blue Jays Name Jose Berrios As Opening Day Starter

Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo confirmed on Thursday that starting pitcher Jose Berrios will be the team's Opening Day starter on Friday, April 8, against the Texas Rangers at home. Berrios made a career-high 32 starts last year with the Minnesota Twins and Blue Jays, going a combined 12-9 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.06 […]

Yu Darvish To Start On Opening Day For Padres

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish has been tabbed as the team's Opening Day starter on April 7 on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Musgrove will likely be on the hill for the second game of the regular season. Darvish, 35, has looked good in spring training, allowing just one run and […]

Eric Samulski's Top 100 Starting Pitchers

I decided to publish a top-100 starting pitching rankings list! I have no idea why, though. These fantasy baseball rankings lists are often the most scrutinized and criticized of anything anybody publishes, so I'm not sure why I decided to open myself up to this. However, I've also been researching pitching all offseason and constantly […]

Royals Pick Up Mike Matheny's 2023 Option

The Kansas City Royals exercised their team option on manager Mike Matheny for the 2023 season on Thursday. Matheny took over as the lead man in Kansas City in 2020 and has led the team to a 100-122 record since. The former big-league catcher was with the St. Louis Cardinals previously for nearly seven years […]