Rangers Announce Jon Gray As Opening Day Starter

Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward announced on Tuesday that starting pitcher Jon Gray will be the team's Opening Day starter on April 8 at the Toronto Blue Jays. Gray gets a tough first assignment with the Rangers after signing a four-year, $56 million deal this offseason. The 30-year-old right-hander has always had fantasy upside given […]

LaMonte Wade Jr. Has Bone Bruise In Knee

San Francisco Giants first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. (knee) was diagnosed with inflammation and bone bruising in his left knee after undergoing an MRI exam on Monday. Wade will rest for 10 days before being re-evaluated, which will rule him out for Opening Day. The 28-year-old was injured in the Cactus League game on Monday […]

Corbin Burnes Named Opening Day Starter

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes will start on Opening Day on April 7 against the Chicago Cubs on the road, according to manager Craig Counsell. Burnes won the National League Cy Young in 2021 by going 11-5 with a league-leading 2.43 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, a 35.6% strikeout rate and a career-low 5.2% walk rate […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes To Miss Time With Ankle Injury

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (ankle) suffered a minor right ankle sprain several days ago in batting practice and won't play for a "brief period of time." Hayes will continue all baseball activities besides running. It doesn't sound like an overly serious injury, so the 25-year-old should be ready to play on Opening Day […]

Mike Clevinger Making Spring Debut Tuesday

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger (elbow) is making his Cactus League debut on Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants. It will be Clevinger's first game action since he aggravated a right elbow injury in the 2020 postseason that eventually required Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss all of last year. As […]

Trevor Story To Make Spring Debut Wednesday

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that second baseman Trevor Story will make his Grapefruit League debut on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves and also play Friday and Saturday. Story will be ready for Opening Day despite signing late and leaving the team last weekend to be with his wife for the birth of […]

Chris Sale Plans To Throw Next Week

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (rib) said he's feeling much better and plans to start throwing early next week. He'll have an MRI exam on Thursday. However, there's still no timetable for his return, although he's in good spirits and much improved. The 32-year-old left-hander is nursing a stress fracture on the right […]

Late-Round Third Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the late rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

Second Base Draft Busts for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

When it comes to successful fantasy baseball drafts, identifying risk is as important as identifying value. We focus so much on "sleepers" and "breakouts" but often forget to really think about the players we should be avoiding. If the goal for a good draft is to build a complete team but also to hit on […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Third Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

We push on with our Expected Draft Values series, which utilizes historical data and projections to help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at a trio of third basemen and compare their projected statline via my […]

Breakout Infielders That Will Keep Improving in 2022 (Jonathan India, Bo Bichette, Ty France)

Breakouts are perhaps the most fun part of playing 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 shuffle. Breakouts come in all shapes in sizes. They can be guys that come out of nowhere or […]

White Sox Acquire Adam Haseley From Phillies

The Chicago White Sox are acquiring outfielder Adam Haseley from the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday. There is no word yet on the return for the Phillies. Haseley, the eighth overall pick in 2017, was competing with Mickey Moniak in Philadelphia for the left-handed side of a center field platoon alongside Matt Vierling to open the […]

Justin Verlander Probably Won't Start On Opening Day

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said that starting pitcher Justin Verlander (elbow) will "probably not" be the team's Opening Day starter this year. Baker hinted that the decision is between Verlander and Framber Valdez, and Valdez is on schedule to pitch on April 7 on the road against the Los Angeles Angels. Verlander missed the […]

Michael Taylor Back In Cactus League Lineup

Kansas City Royals outfielder Michael Taylor (hip) is back in the team's Cactus League lineup on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners, starting in center field and batting seventh. Taylor left the game early on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians with left hip tightness, but the injury obviously wasn't very serious at all. The 31-year-old signed […]

Kevin Kiermaier Thinks He'll Be Ready For Opening Day

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier (groin) is feeling better and will take some swings on Tuesday. He believes that he'll still be ready for Opening Day. Along with left groin soreness, Kiermaier has also dealt with neck and upper-back stiffness in camp. The 31-year-old oft-injured outfielder still has time to get ready, but he'll […]

Shane McClanahan To Start On Opening Day

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that starting pitcher Shane McClanahan will start on Opening Day on April 8 against the Baltimore Orioles. McClanahan earns the first start of the season with ace Tyler Glasnow recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old left-hander was a former first-round pick and had a very impressive rookie […]

Will Harris Having Lingering Shoulder Issues

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Will Harris (shoulder), who has made just one spring training appearance back on March 19, said on Monday that he's having lingering issues following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome last summer. That doesn't sound good, and we can bet that the 37-year-old right-hander will open the season on the injured list. […]

Tommy La Stella To Make Spring Debut Tuesday

San Francisco Giants infielder Tommy La Stella (Achilles) will make his spring training debut on Tuesday as the designated hitter in the Cactus League game against the San Diego Padres. La Stella had surgery on his Achilles last fall and has been rehabbing ever since, but he's made good progress this spring and is ready […]

Daily MLB Injury Roundup for March 29th, 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 March 29th, 2022. Only players on teams that are scheduled to play today will appear below […]

Bobby Dalbec (1B, BOS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~200 pick CURRENT ADP: ~221 overall ANALYSIS: Bobby Dalbec will get every opportunity to be the Boston Red Sox starting first baseman in 2022 after his strong finish last season. Dalbec might be just holding the spot warm for elite prospect Triston Casas, who hit .284 with 13 homers in 77 Double-A […]

Spring Training Over/Under-Reactions: The Operating Room Ep. 80

Kev Mahserejian (@RotoSurgeon) is joined by FanGraphs' Paul Sporer (@Sporer) to discuss Spring Training over/under-reactions for 2022 fantasy baseball. 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 also find new weekly […]

Dinelson Lamet (P, SDP) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~320 pick CURRENT ADP: ~350 overall ANALYSIS: Dinelson Lamet is a wildcard for the San Diego Padres and fantasy managers. He was one of the best pitchers in the league in 2020 when he dominated batters to the tune of 2.09 ERA with a 2.48 FIP. Lamet produced a 12.13 K/9 […]

Nick Madrigal (2B, CHC) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~285 pick CURRENT ADP: ~309 overall ANALYSIS: The Chicago Cubs are in the process of rebuilding, and they acquired a big part of their plans with the acquisition of rookie second baseman Nick Madrigal from the Chicago White Sox last summer. Preceding that trade, Madrigal injured his hamstring and required surgery […]

Joe Ryan (SP, MIN) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~190 pick CURRENT ADP: ~217 overall ANALYSIS: Starting pitcher Joe Ryan made his Major League debut in September for the Twins after coming up as a pre-2020 top-100 prospect for the Rays according to Baseball America. His first four starts were solid but he ended on a sour note, allowing six runs to […]

Cal Quantrill (SP, CLE) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~240 pick CURRENT ADP: ~264 overall ANALYSIS: Quantrill is a former first-round pick of the Padres back in 2016 at age 21. He moved quickly through low-A ball but stalled out in Triple-A and didn't have the type of minor league success that you'd expect from a top prospect. In 2019, […]

Jose Ramirez, Guardians Discussing Contract Extension

The Cleveland Guardians and third baseman Jose Ramirez's representatives have been talking on and off for the last couple of weeks about a potential contract extension that would keep the three-time All-Star in town for the bulk of his career. He signed with the team as a 17-year-old and has said he'd like to finish […]

David Bednar, Chris Stratton To Split Closing Duties

The Pittsburgh Pirates plan to continue splitting the closing duties between relief pitchers David Bednar and Chris Stratton, which is what they did last year when they traded away then-closer Richard Rodriguez to the Atlanta Braves. Bednar was 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and three saves in 60 2/3 innings last year, averaging […]

Evan Longoria To Have Surgery Tuesday

The San Francisco Giants said that third baseman Evan Longoria (finger) will have surgery on Tuesday to fix a ligament in his right index finger. Longoria's prognosis will be determined after his surgery, but the expectation is that his finger will be immobilized for at least 10 days. The 36-year-old will not be ready for […]

Orioles Option DL Hall, Kyle Bradish

The Baltimore Orioles made multiple roster moves on Monday to cut down the team's big league roster. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz and pitchers Kyle Bradish and Alexander Wells were sent to Triple-A. Meanwhile, pitcher DL Hall, the team's No. 5 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline, was sent to Double-A. Hall, Bradish and Diaz all had impressive […]