Ryan Pressly The Leading Candidate To Close

It appears that the closer role this year is Houston Astros relief pitcher Ryan Pressly's to lose after he converted 12 of 16 save chances last year when Roberto Osuna was injured and lost for the season, according to pitching coach Brent Strom. Pressly was an All-Star setup man in 2019 and converted 11 of […]

Are We Overvaluing Innings Pitched Projections?

One of the biggest questions that the 2020 season has caused for 2021 is concerning starting pitcher inning totals. The league leader in regular-season innings last year, as you've probably heard, was Lance Lynn with 84 innings. The average total for pitchers who made 10 or more starts was just 60 innings. In years prior […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Hitter Batted Ball Distribution

Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy owners want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not always the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution and how batters make contact. The league average […]

Bubba and Bat Flip 71: 2021 Fantasy Baseball Catcher and Outfield Review - Benched with Bubba (Episode 342)

Bubba (@bdentrek) is joined by Bat Flip Crazy (@BatFlipCrazy) to continue recapping their positional previews with a catcher and outfield review. They will discuss some tough ADP debates, some offseason moves that may have changed the ADP, and more. Be sure to subscribe to the Benched With Bubba Podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and […]

Ian Desmond Opting Out Of 2021 Season

Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond posted a story on his personal Instagram account, saying: "For now, I've decided to opt out of the 2021 season." The 35-year-old went on to say that his "desire to be with my family is greater than my desire to go back and play baseball under these circumstances." He did […]

Sean Murphy Reports To A's Camp

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (lung) reported to camp with the rest of the pitchers and catchers. Murphy, who had offseason surgery to repair a collapsed lung, told manager Bob Melvin, "I feel great right now," and is expected to be back by Opening Day. Melvin told reporters last week the hope is Murphy can […]

First Base Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball first base rankings and 1B draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of three different MLB players at the first base position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to […]

Robbie Ray Eyes 200-Strikeout Campaign After Adjustments

The Toronto Blue Jays acquired starting pitcher Robbie Ray midway through the 2020 season, and he pitched significantly better as a Blue Jay than as a Diamondback. He credits Toronto's pitching coaches with helping him improve his delivery, and he spent the winter working on repeating that new delivery while also re-examining the approach he took […]

David Peterson Competing For Rotation Spot This Spring

New York Mets starting pitcher David Peterson is no longer guaranteed a spot in the Mets' rotation. Given the team's numerous offseason moves including signing Marcus Stroman to a qualifying offer, trading for Carlos Carrasco and Joey Lucchesi, and signing free-agent Taijuan Walker to a two-year deal, the Mets now have a number of SP […]

Shane Bieber Reports To Spring Training

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (illness) reported to spring training Saturday, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports. Bieber missed the first few days of camp after testing positive for COVID-19, but he has been cleared to return and will join the team for workouts Saturday. The right-hander will now begin building up ahead […]

Michael Kopech Feels Good

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech said on Saturday that he feels "relieved" and that his arm is feeling as good as it has in a long time. Kopech, 24, is a former top prospect and hasn't pitched competitively since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018 and opting out of last season. Kopech is […]

Giants, Shun Yamaguchi Agree To Terms Saturday

The San Francisco Giants agreed to terms with pitcher Shun Yamaguchi on Saturday, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The deal is likely to be a split Major League/Minor League deal. The 33-year-old made his big-league debut last season, posting a poor 8.06 ERA and 1.75 WHIP over 25 2/3 innings pitched with the Blue Jays. […]

Don't Give Up On Carter Kieboom

Washington Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom hasn't responded in his first 165 big-league plate appearances so far, hitting just .181 while losing playing time to Asdrubal Cabrera last summer before being optioned to the team's alternate training site. But Kieboom hit .303/.409/.493 in 109 Triple-A games in 2019 and has a career minor league slash […]

Ryan McMahon Could Return To 2019 Prominence

Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon took a step back in 2020 (.215/.295/.419 in 52 games) after hitting 24 home runs in 141 games in 2019, but he has the tools to return to prominence from a power perspective this season. He has a 46.2 percent hard-hit rate since 2018, including a 43 percent mark in […]

Gavin Lux A Forgotten Man Heading Into 2021

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux was MLB's No. 2 prospect heading into last season, but he wound up playing just 19 games (69 plate appearances) while slashing .175/.246/.349 with three home runs in 2020. While Lux's playing time is still unclear on a loaded Dodgers roster, you shouldn't forget that he hit .392/.478/.719 […]

Austin Riley Made Some Gains Last Season

Atlanta Braves third baseman/outfielder Austin Riley had an OPS+ of exactly 86 in each of his first two seasons in the majors, but he chased less and made more contact during the shortened 2020 season. Riley's walk rate also improved, and his strikeout rate as a rookie (36.4 percent) dropped 12.6 percentage points -- the […]

J.A. Happ Tests Positive For COVID-19

Minnesota Twins starter J.A. Happ has tested positive for COVID-19, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Happ is not experiencing any symptoms of the virus at the moment. The veteran hurler signed a one-year, $8 million deal this offseason after pitching to a 3.47 ERA in 49.1 innings for the Yankees in the shortened 2020 […]

Jo Adell Can Bounce Back From Rough 2020 Debut

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell had a really bad debut in 2020 (.161/.212/.266 in 132 plate appearances), but he isn't the first young prospect (21 years old) to struggle in their first taste of major league action. Despite his disappointing debut, Adell had a 115.5 mph maximum exit velocity last year, which was one […]

Change Of Scenery Could Be Great For Nate Lowe

Texas Rangers first baseman Nate Lowe slashed .282/.401/.497 with 20 home runs in 121 games for Triple-A Durham in the Rays organization from 2018-19, but he had just 245 plate appearances in 71 games at the major league level in 2019 and 2020 for Tampa. But the left-handed slugger with an 11.9 percent career barrel […]

Franchy Cordero Has Impressive Raw Power

Boston Red Sox outfielder Franchy Cordero has missed time with multiple injuries in his four-year big league career and has just 315 plate appearances in that time, but he has shown impressive raw power nonetheless. Nine of his 12 career home runs have gone 420 feet or more, including a 489-foot dinger in 2018 that […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Has Yet To Unlock His Potential

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman/third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be just 22 years old on Opening Day, and his 12 batted balls with at least a 115 mph exit velocity since he debuted in 2019 are five more than any other player has since the start of that season. Last year, Guerrero had a […]

Luis Robert Capable Of Breaking Out In 2021

Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert struck out in roughly one-third of his plate appearances last September, but he's extremely talented and had nine batted balls with an exit velocity of 110-plus mph in 2020. That metric put him in company with superstars like Marcell Ozuna, Corey Seager, Giancarlo Stanton and Ronald Acuna Jr. last […]

Zack Greinke Hasn't Arrived At Spring Training

Houston Astros starting pitcher Zack Greinke will have a delayed arrival to spring training for the second straight season, but manager Dusty Baker said that the right-hander will "be here on time." "He's always on time, he's just not early," Baker said. The league's mandatory arrival date is Feb. 27 this year, so Greinke should […]

Draft Strategy, Helpful Hints and More - Bases Loaded Podcast

Dave McDonald (@RunDMcD) joins the show to talk strategy for fantasy baseball leagues. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on […]

Alex Kirilloff With Great Opportunity This Spring

Minnesota Twins outfielder Alex Kirilloff has an opportunity to win the starting left field job this spring. Minnesota's 15th pick in the 2016 draft and ranked as the No. 26 prospect on MLB.com, Kirilloff made his major-league debut in the wild-card round last year against the Astros. The 24-year-old recorded a .356 BABIP in three […]

Jose Berrios Not Thinking About Contract Situation

Minnesota Twins starter Jose Berrios isn't thinking about his contract situation as the Twins enter camp ahead of spring training. Berrios said that he and his agents have spoken about his future and hopes to get something done, though there hasn't been any communication with the club yet. The 26-year-old right-hander is slated to make […]

Blue Jays Stretching Out Julian Merryweather

After seeing only modest returns from the free-agent pitching market, the Blue Jays organization is stretching out a number of pitchers in an effort to cover valuable innings. Of those arms, Julian Merryweather arguably has the highest ceiling due to his four-pitch mix which includes a fastball that can hit triple digits. Originally acquired from […]

Shortstops Set to Bust in 2021

The MLB is stockpiled with talent at the shortstop position. Some drafts are seeing six shortstops selected in the first two rounds of 12-team leagues. Heck, 12 are being taken in the top 100 picks and 20 in the top 200 picks! With so many rapidly going off the board, it's easy to feel the […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In Much Better Shape

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman/first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. spent the offseason working on his fitness, something that he has improved significantly heading into the 2021 season. While Guerrero is trying to earn back some playing time at third base, the Blue Jays expect his improved fitness to upgrade his production at the plate. His […]

Ranger Suarez Behind Schedule

Philadelphia Phillies left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez is one of five players not in camp due to visa issues, with the others being Neftali Feliz, Mauricio Llovera, Francisco Morales and Christian Bethancourt. Because of Suarez's delayed arrival, he will not be built up as a starter when he arrives to spring training. The 25-year-old Venezuelan southpaw […]