AJ Pollock Sent To White Sox In Craig Kimbrel Trade

The Chicago White Sox acquired outfielder AJ Pollock from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday in exchange for relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel, according to a source. Pollock will be leaving the best team in baseball, but the trade to the Windy City might actually be better for his playing time, especially if Andrew Vaughn (hip) […]

Dodgers Acquire Craig Kimbrel From White Sox

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Chicago White Sox on Friday in exchange for outfielder AJ Pollock, according to a source. It's great news for Kimbrel's fantasy value, as he was set to open the season in a setup role in front of closer Liam Hendriks in Chicago. Now he'll be […]

Diamondbacks Agree To Extension With Merrill Kelly

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed with starting pitcher Merrill Kelly on a two-year contract extension through the 2024 season on Friday. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports that the deal is worth $18 million. The extension includes a team option for the 2025 season. In his third big-league season in 2021, Kelly had a career-high 4.44 ERA, […]

Charlie Montoyo Given One-Year Extension

The Toronto Blue Jays extended manager Charlie Montoyo's contract through the 2023 season, according to an industry source. Montoyo's deal also includes two team options through the 2025 season. The 56-year-old skipper is heading into his fourth season with the team after originally signing a three-year deal that included an option for the 2022 that […]

ESPN H2H Points League Primer - Strategy, Bargains and Busts for Fantasy Baseball

Please, everyone just calm down. Don't worry! I'm not gonna do...what everyone thinks I'm gonna do...and FLIP OUT, man!!! I know that this is usually the space where I go on a big rant about ESPN point league coverage and how much they're failing the people by producing content that fails to match the realities […]

Grayson Rodriguez To Start At Triple-A

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, the team's top pitching prospect, will begin his season at Triple-A Norfolk. Rodriguez made 18 starts at Double-A Bowie last year and five with High-A Aberdeen, going a combined 9-1 with a solid 2.36 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 161 strikeouts and 27 walks over 23 starts covering 103 innings. The […]

Joe Ryan To Start On Opening Day

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan will get the Opening Day nod for the team against the Seattle Mariners at home on Thursday, April 7. The 25-year-old right-hander made only five starts in his rookie season last year, going 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, a 30% strikeout rate and a 5.0% walk rate […]

Garrett Crochet Injured Thursday

Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Garrett Crochet left his Cactus League outing on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds with a trainer due to an undisclosed injury. He faced just two batters before something went wrong, and he appeared to be showing some discomfort with his arm, but the exact nature of the injury is unknown. […]

No Structural Damage For Mike Zunino

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Mike Zunino (shoulder) said that tests on his cranky shoulder showed no structural damage, and he will resume baseball activities on Friday. Zunino is "confident" that he'll be ready for Opening Day next Friday. The power-hitting backstop was diagnosed with only inflammation in his shoulder, so fantasy managers should have him […]

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 […]