Patrick Corbin To Start On Opening Day

The Washington Nationals announced on Friday that left-hander Patrick Corbin will take the hill on Opening Day on Thursday, March 30, to face the division-rival Atlanta Braves. Corbin will get the nod despite going 6-19 with a career-worst 6.31 ERA (4.83 FIP), 1.69 WHIP and career-low 18 percent strikeout rate in 152 2/3 innings pitched […]

Phillies Name Aaron Nola The Opening Day Starter

The Philadelphia Phillies named right-hander Aaron Nola as their Opening Day starter for next Thursday against the Texas Rangers. It will be Nola's sixth straight Opening Day nod. It speaks to how good the 29-year-old has been as the team's ace. He'll be facing off against ex-division-rival ace Jacob deGrom as well. Nola finished fourth […]

Jacob deGrom To Start Opening Day For Rangers

Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom will be the team's scheduled starter for Opening Day next Thursday, March 30, against the Philadelphia Phillies. deGrom was behind early in spring training due to left side tightness, but it wasn't too serious and he'll be able to make the Opening Day start after all in his first season […]

Cardinals Give Miles Mikolas A Two-Year Extension

The St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract extension with starting pitcher Miles Mikolas on Friday, according to sources. In addition to the new extension, Mikolas has been named the team's Opening Day starter for next Thursday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with Adam Wainwright (groin) set to open the season […]

Clarke Schmidt (SP, NYY) - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 350 CURRENT ADP: ~380 overall ANALYSIS: Two months ago, Schmidt was on nobody's radar because he was several steps away from getting a job in the Major League rotation. Since then, Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon have hit the IL, opening up two spots in the Yankees rotation. The team's lack of depth […]

CJ Abrams (SS, WAS) - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 220 CURRENT ADP: ~235 overall ANALYSIS: One of the significant returns for the Washington Nationals in the trade for Juan Soto, shortstop CJ Abrams is primed for a big year at the plate. The former top-10 prospect made his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 2022 before joining Washington at the […]

Leody Taveras Could Avoid Injured List

Texas Rangers outfielder Leody Taveras (oblique) could avoid starting the 2023 regular season on the injured list, even if he's not ready to play by Opening Day next Thursday, March 30. Taveras is recovering from a left oblique strain and while he's been able to swing from the left side of the plate, the 24-year-old […]

Adam Frazier Starting In Outfield Friday

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier is making the start in right field and is batting eighth on Friday in the team's Grapefruit League game against right-hander Yoendrys Gomez and the New York Yankees. Frazier will have to find some playing time in the outfield in 2023 with the Orioles in order to stay fresh, […]

Matthew Boyd (SP, DET) - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 375 CURRENT ADP: ~395 overall ANALYSIS: It's been a turbulent couple of years for Boyd. He threw just 78.2 innings in 2021 and 13.1 last year all due to injury. He appears to be healthy again and has a job in the Tigers rotation, and he's looked really great this […]

Bobby Witt Jr. Returns To Cactus League Lineup

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is back in the team's Cactus League lineup on Friday against the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Tristan Beck after playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Witt is back in his normal leadoff spot while starting at shortstop. The 22-year-old saw limited action in the […]

Rhys Hoskins To Get A Second Opinion

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that first baseman Rhys Hoskins (knee) will get a second opinion on his injured left knee, but it's clear there's a tear in his ACL. The Phillies still expect him to miss the entire 2023 season after his knee gave out on him in a Grapefruit […]

Nick Senzel Plays Third Base Thursday

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Senzel (toe) got the start at third base in the team's 17-6 Cactus League loss to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. Senzel went 0-for-1 in the contest after playing only three innings at the hot corner. The 27-year-old will open the 2023 regular season on the injured list, and the Reds […]

Gus Varland Has Been Sharp Of Late

Milwaukee Brewers pitching prospect Gus Varland tossed a scoreless inning with three strikeouts in Thursday's Cactus League game against the San Diego Padres, and he's now struck out nine hitters and walked none in his last three spring outings for the Brewers. Overall in his 6 1/3 innings in Cactus League action this year, he's […]

Jarred Kelenic Has A Hit In His Return

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic (quadriceps) made his return to the team's Cactus League lineup and played left field on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds and went 1-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and a strikeout in the 17-6 blowout win. Kelenic will be ready for Opening Day next Thursday and has […]

Darick Hall (UT, PHI) - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 370 CURRENT ADP: ~490 overall ANALYSIS: In 142 plate appearances in the Majors last year, Hall hit nine homers and pulled off an elite 11.3% Brl/PA (17.4% Brl%). Sure, the strikeout rate was high (31%) and the walk rate was infinitesimal (3.5%), but you can deal with that when you're […]

Shane McClanahan To Start Opening Day

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash confirmed on Friday that starting pitcher Shane McClanahan will start on Opening Day next Thursday, March 30, against the Detroit Tigers. It's the obvious choice, as McClanahan was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in 2022 in just his second MLB season. He went 12-8 with […]

Reid Detmers (SP, LAA) - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 190 CURRENT ADP: ~205 overall ANALYSIS: We saw flashes of greatness from Detmers last season. He threw a no-hitter early on in the year and had a fantastic run of eight starts in the middle of the year (33% K%, 10% BB%, .212 AVG allowed). He remodeled his slider in […]

Darick Hall To See Bulk Of Starts At First Base

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Darick Hall is expected to see most of his playing time coming at first base, according to Phillies president Dave Dombrowski. This comes a day after Rhys Hoskins (knee) tore his ACL on a non-contact play. It's uncertain if Hall is going to play against both righty and lefty pitchers. This […]

Max Kepler Returns To Action

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler (hip) played in a minor league game on Thursday. The left-handed slugger has been sidelined since exiting early during last Sunday's Grapefruit contest. He's dealing with mild hip tightness, but it doesn't sound like it's going to be a long term issue. The expectation is that he'll play in another […]

Ramon Urias Returning On Friday

Baltimore Orioles infielder Ramon Urias (thumb) is back in the lineup for Friday's contest. The 28-year-old was scratched ahead of Thursday's game due to a right thumb contusion. He took a grounder off his thumb, but the team was calling the injury day-to-day. It appears they were right with Urias returning on Friday. Fantasy managers […]

Bryce Johnson Likely To Make Opening Day Roster

San Francisco Giants outfielder Bryce Johnson has a great shot at making the Opening Day roster, according to Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. The 27-year-old has looked excellent this spring and earned a spot on this team. He's hitting .361 with a league-leading 11 steals in 12 games this spring. Johnson only played […]

Closers and Saves Report for Fantasy Baseball - Spring Training Updates (March 24th)

Hot take: The World Baseball Classic was a lot of fun. That really shouldn't be a hot take, but apparently, it is. But now that the World Baseball Classic is done until 2026 and we're back to regular Grapefruit and Cactus League games, Opening Day rosters are starting to take shape. We're a week away […]

Anthony Volpe Could Still Win Starting Gig

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is still in the running for the starting shortstop spot on the Opening Day roster. The 21-year-old is reportedly getting support from the higher-level people in the Yankees organization. He entered camp as a longshot to win the spot, but has looked excellent this spring. He's hitting .279 with […]

Kyle Gibson Named Opening Day Starter

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Gibson has been named the Opening Day starter. The 35-year-old signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the team over the offseason. He's by far the most experienced pitcher on the staff, so it makes sense that they'd give him the Opening Day nod. He struggled last season in 31 […]

Nick Gordon (2B/OF, MIN) - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 300 CURRENT ADP: ~320 overall ANALYSIS: The Twins have been active this offseason, which has thrown Gordon's playing time into question at times. He's currently still holding on to the DH job, according to Roster Resource, and that assumes that Alex Kirilloff is healthy and Joey Gallo is able to keep a job as […]

Lars Nootbaar Will Get Chance At Leadoff

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is expected to get a chance to bat leadoff, according to manager Oliver Marmol. The skipper mentioned that Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman and Nootbar would all get a chance in the leadoff spot. A move to the leadoff spot would likely slightly boost the fantasy value of Nootbar. He'd likely […]

Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - Prime Age Infielders for Each Position

The prime age for baseball seems like it’s gotten younger and younger over the last decade or so. The general thought was that a player’s prime was close to their 30s. However, a few studies have shown that players can start to decline as early as 28. According to these studies, the prime age now […]

Top 750: Updated Roto Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Jordan Walker, Oneil Cruz, Corbin Carroll, Vinnie Pasquantino, Anthony Volpe

Draft season is upon us, and we'll be releasing updated rankings constantly! In this article below, you'll find our MLB team's updated 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues as of March 23. This is an exciting time of year for MLB and fantasy baseball fans, as the MLB season is […]

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

Oh. My. Goodness. After railing and railing about ESPN H2H point leagues over the past few years, the worldwide leader has finally brought change! Perhaps realizing that far more players play head-to-head leagues, ESPN has started leaning into doing better...Well, maybe. Last season, that change came in the form of improved rankings that more accurately […]

Late-Round Outfielders - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2023 fantasy baseball season! Late-round picks in fantasy baseball can often be the difference between a mediocre team and a championship contender. While it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of selecting big-name players early in the draft, finding those hidden gems in the later rounds is equally essential. […]