Kyle Higashioka Clubs Three Home Runs

New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka went 3-for-4 with a trio of home runs against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Wednesday was only the second time in Higashioka’s major league career that he hit multiple home runs (his last was a two-homer game in August of last year), and the three home runs brought him […]

Gerrit Cole Picks Up Second Consecutive Win

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole tossed seven innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Cole has now allowed only one run over his last 14 innings with 17 strikeouts, and he’s looked every bit as dominant as he did last season lately. Fantasy managers should expect Cole […]

Jose Iglesias Leaves Game With Ankle Injury

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Jose Iglesias (ankle) was removed from Wednesday’s game after being hit in the ankle by a 90 mph pitch. Iglesias has been red-hot this season with a .917 OPS after picking up two hits on Wednesday, but the 30-year-old may be forced to miss the rest of the season depending on the […]

Jorge Alfaro Takes Ball Off Of Facemask

Miami Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro was hit in the facemask by a foul ball during Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox. It’s not clear yet if Alfaro will miss any time, but the 27-year-old missed seven days with a concussion last season and may require a stint on the injured list following his potential injury […]

Mike Clevinger To Start On Saturday

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger will take the mound against the Mariners on Saturday, with Chris Paddack pitching on Friday and Dinelson Lamet pitching on Sunday. The Mariners represent a fairly favorable matchup for Clevinger, given his strong slider, as Seattle owns the league’s fourth-worst xwOBA against sliders this season with a .254 […]

Jake Odorizzi Leaves Start With Blister

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi (finger) left his start in the fourth inning on Wednesday with a blister. Pitchers have missed a median of 15 days with blisters since the beginning of the 2010 season, but timelines have varied substantially over that timeframe. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on Odorizzi’s status over the […]

Andrew Chafin Throws Simulated Game

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Andrew Chafin (finger) threw just over 20 pitches in a sim game on Wednesday, and the team is optimistic about the 30-year-old’s progress. Chafin could reasonably return as soon as this weekend and should help a Chicago bullpen that owns a middling 4.47 ERA for the season. With a solid 3.46 […]

Franklin Barreto May Require Surgery

Los Angeles Angels second baseman Franklin Barreto (shoulder) still has pain in his shoulder and may require surgery. Barreto was placed on the injured list one week ago after an awkward slide injured his shoulder, and the 24-year-old’s timeline is muddy at this point. Barreto had struggled in 21 games this season with a .107 […]

Matt Magill Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Matt Magill (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the 2020 MLB season as a result. Magill came into the season as a closer option in a crowded (but not very good) Seattle bullpen, and he tossed nine scoreless innings mixed with a pair of […]

Eduardo Escobar Primed For Poor Game On Wednesday

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eduardo Escobar is unlikely to hit well against Dylan Bundy and the Angels on Wednesday as he tends to struggle against changeups (.599 OPS against this season) and sliders (.676 OPS against this season) -- Bundy’s two preferred secondary offerings. Escobar has struggled all season with a .606 OPS coming into […]

Jacob deGrom Leaves Start With Hamstring Injury

New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (hamstring) left his start on Wednesday after only two innings with a right hamstring spasm. The severity of deGrom’s injury is unclear, but the Mets have only 11 games left to play this season with little incentive to rush deGrom back. It’s likely that deGrom misses the rest […]

Ljay Newsome Faces Likely 70-75-Pitch Limit Wednesday

Seattle Mariners right-handed pitcher Ljay Newsome has thrown just 1 ⅓ frames since Aug. 27. With that in mind, manager Scott Servais is eyeing around 70-75 pitches or 4-5 innings for Newsome during his start against the Giants on Wednesday. That cap likely zaps any DFS or season-long intrigue that fantasy managers may have had […]

Adam Wainwright Tosses A Complete Game On Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright tossed a (seven inning) complete game in Game 1 of Wednesday's double header against the Milwaukee Brewers. Wainwright allowed just two runs on four hits and one walk, striking out nine. The win improved his record to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.87. Wainwright was looked at […]

Cesar Hernandez Rejoins Roster Wednesday, Not In Lineup

Cleveland Indians second baseman Cesar Hernandez was activated off of the paternity list prior to Wednesday’s contest versus the Cubs, but will not re-enter the starting lineup yet. Yu Chang will hold down the keystone against southpaw Jon Lester, with Hernandez presumably available off of the bench. Hernandez enters play Wednesday leading the American League […]

Mike Clevinger Sees Improvement Upon Joining Padres

San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Mike Clevinger entered the 2020 campaign as a dark-horse candidate for the American League Cy Young Award. He won’t achieve that honor, but through his first three starts with San Diego, he looks as if he could be in consideration for the award come 2021 over in the National League. […]

Casey Mize Aims To Earn First Win Thursday

Detroit Tigers top prospect Casey Mize has shown flashes of what made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 throughout the first five starts of his Major League career. On Thursday, he faces Cleveland, a favorable matchup with the club having posted a collective .686 OPS through its first 48 games. While Mize will […]

Patrick Sandoval Rejoins Active Roster As Reliever

Los Angeles Angels left-handed pitcher Patrick Sandoval was recalled to the big league club prior to Wednesday’s contest against Arizona, with manager Joe Maddon stating that Sandoval would be used primarily out of relief. All five of Sandoval’s appearances this season have come as a starter, having compiled a 6.75 ERA with six home runs […]

Alex Bregman Sees Power Numbers Dip In 2020

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman has tagged just four home runs in his first 30 games during the 2020 campaign. His 34.4% Hard Hit rate is a significant drop-off from his production over the last two years, while he has delivered a barrel rate of just 4.3%. Fortunately for Bregman, he’ll play his next […]

James Paxton Shifts To 45-Day Injured List

New York Yankees left-handed pitcher James Paxton (elbow) was moved to the club’s 45-day injured list prior to Wednesday’s contest against Toronto. Paxton had sustained a setback on the comeback trail, necessitating an additional shutdown. His transfer to the extended IL all but ends his regular season fantasy outlook, as the best-case scenario now likely […]

The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings

We're already on the back nine of September, barreling towards the end of fantasy baseball, which means the Week 9 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks are here for a weekly dive into how the top 101 RPs stand for the home stretch. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. […]

Top 50 Prospects for Fantasy Baseball Redraft: Week 9 Rankings

It’s been a crazy ride this summer. The shortened 2020 fantasy season is winding down with less than two weeks remaining before the Major League Baseball playoffs begin. This will be our last update of the Top 50 redraft prospects for the year. It was a challenging season, to say the least, with no minor […]

Week 9 MLB Closers & Bullpen Usage Report

Monitoring bullpens in 2020 will be a vital task each and every day. Because of this, we'll be publishing a weekly article at RotoBaller that tracks which bullpens are being taxed and which pitchers within that bullpen are being heavily used. The idea of this column is to help you gain an inside track into which […]

Wade Miley Has Outside Chance To Return Over Weekend

Cincinnati Reds left-handed pitcher Wade Miley (shoulder) is in consideration to start this weekend against the White Sox as the club attempts to figure out it’s starting rotation. Miley has been beset by numerous injuries in 2020, which have limited him to just four starts. In his time on the mound, he has not been […]

Deeper Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9

It feels like the baseball season has just started, but we are reaching the conclusion. Alas, that is life in a 60-game season. For fantasy purposes that means it's either playoff time or the final couple of weeks to try and make up ground in Roto leagues. Either way, the waiver wire may not be […]

Hot Prospects To Watch: Late-Season Arms and Bats

Perhaps there's nothing more tantalizing in fantasy baseball than drafting an up-and-coming prospect or rushing to the waiver wire to bid on a Triple-A call-up. With no minor leagues this year, our favorite prospects are now playing on taxi squads, making it difficult for us to fantasize about since we can't get eyes on their […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the September 16th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Steven Matz In Consideration For Start Saturday

New York Mets left-handed pitcher Steven Matz will not work out of the bullpen Wednesday against Philadelphia, primarily due to the fact that he could rejoin the club’s starting rotation this weekend versus Atlanta. Matz has made just one relief appearance since being removed from the starting staff due to the 9.00 ERA that he […]

Lance McCullers Jr. Takes Mound Wednesday In Return

Houston Astros right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (neck) was officially activated off of the injured list Wednesday, paving the way for him to start versus Texas. McCullers has not returned to the form that he had established pre-Tommy John surgery, having compiled a 5.79 ERA through his first eight starts in 2020. He’ll have a […]

Ken Giles Lands Back On Injured List With Flexor Strain

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Ken Giles (elbow) had a long road to returning in 2020, but he made two appearances before landing back on the injured list Wednesday. Having opened the year in the club’s closer role, Giles has been supplanted by breakout performances from Rafael Dolis, Anthony Bass and Jordan Romano at the back […]

Mitch Garver Sustains Setback In Rehab Effort

Minnesota Twins catcher Mitch Garver (intercostal) has been working his way back to the active roster at the club’s alternate site, but he sustained a setback Tuesday when he took a foul tip off of his protective cup. The move is expected to delay Garver’s return further, not leaving much time prior to the conclusion […]