Steven Matz Perfect Over Three Innings

New York Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz retired all nine Washington Nationals batters he faced on Saturday in Grapefruit League action. Matz struck out three in his three perfect innings of work. Despite the excellent outing, the competition for the Mets fifth rotation spot between Matz and Michael Wacha remains muddled. Both Matz and Wacha […]

Nine NL Rookies Ready to Leap Into Starting Lineups

Every year, there are those rookies who we expect to make a splash right away; think Kris Bryant, Ronald Acuna, Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge -- those guys. Once we make it through all the service time manipulation shenanigans, there are always youngsters ready to snatch roster spots immediately, and 2020 is no exception. Earlier this week […]

Joining the Launch Angle Revolution: Potential Power Risers

Launch angle has become perhaps the trendiest stat in all of fantasy baseball. If you turn on any podcast, you hear analysts mentioning that "if a player could only increase his launch angle, he could be a stud" (cough - Yandy Diaz - cough). Often, I think this analysis is oversimplified. Launch angle is obviously […]

Mallex Smith Unimpressive Once Again

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mallex Smith went 0-for-3 during the Cactus League loss to Oakland on Saturday. Batting just .190 this spring, the 2019 AL stolen base king continues to struggle. With four hits and eight strikeouts in 21 at-bats, his performance has undoubtedly been unsettling for those in dynasty leagues or for those who have […]

Kyle Seager Goes Hitless In Loss

Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager went 0-for-3 during the loss to Oakland on Saturday. Despite his weak outing in this one, the veteran has played well during Spring Training thus far by racking up six hits (two doubles) on 17 at-bats to go along with a .353 batting average. Nonetheless, Seager has been the […]

Tim Lopes Solid Once Again

Seattle Mariners infielder Tim Lopes picked up two hits during the loss to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. He also added a run. The 25-year-old has been solid this spring, racking up 10 hits (five doubles) on 20 at-bats to go along with seven RBI, while striking out only three times. With Shed Long struggling […]

Shed Long Continues Miserable Spring

Seattle Mariners second baseman Shed Long went 0-for-3 during the loss to the Athletics on Saturday. Long hasn't impressed during Cactus League play thus far and is currently batting only .167 to go along with seven strikeouts (24 at-bats). With the solid play of Tim Lopes, who is sporting an impressive .500 average, fantasy managers […]

Oscar Mercado's MRI Confirms Mild Sprain

Cleveland Indians outfielder Oscar Mercado's (wrist) MRI results confirmed a mild sprain. Mercado sustained the injury while making a diving catch during Thursday's Cactus League game against the Giants. He's being listed as day-to-day and is still hoping to be ready for Opening Day. Mercado started 77 games for Cleveland last year and hit .269 […]

Keston Hiura Hits Third Homer Of Spring

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura hit his third home run of the spring in Friday's game against the Giants. He has gone 6-for-16 (.375) over seven games thus far. He has only struck out four times, which is a very promising sign, albeit a small sample size. Cutting strikeouts will be a key for Hiura moving […]

Carlos Carrasco Dealing With Elbow Inflammation

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (elbow) will have his next start bumped back a few days because the right-hander is dealing with mild elbow inflammation. Manager Terry Francona doesn't seem too concerned about it, however. “Every spring after his first outing, he gets mild elbow inflammation,” Francona said. “I would call it more maintenance than anything.” […]

Jesus Luzardo Strikes Out Eight

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo dazzled in a Spring Training start against the Mariners on Saturday. The left-hander allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings pitched, but struck out eight in the dominant effort. There was already plenty of hype around Luzardo, and his 97 MPH fastball; this start will kick that hype into […]

Gary Sanchez Misses Batting Practice With Sore Back

New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (back) was held out of batting practice on Saturday as he deals with a sore back. The Yankees are optimistic about Sanchez’s injury and don’t expect him to miss any time, but the catcher’s health bears monitoring as the season approaches. Sanchez has played in more than 120 games just once […]

Luke Voit (1B, NYY) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~170 CURRENT ADP: ~193 overall ANALYSIS: Voit was never going to sustain his .322/.398/.671 small-sample slash line from 2018, but he remained productive when healthy in 2019. Prior to suffering a sports hernia in late July, he hit 19 homers in 94 games with a .278/.392/.493 line. After returning, he hit […]

Aroldis Chapman Makes Spring Debut

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman made his spring debut on Friday, tossing a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Chapman had been scheduled to pitch on Wednesday but unexpectedly had his debut pushed back with little explanation from the Yankees. Fortunately, the adjustment does not appear to have been related to Chapman’s health, as the […]

Giancarlo Stanton Resumes Running

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton (calf) has started running on a treadmill for the first time since straining his calf earlier this spring. Stanton is still on track to miss Opening Day, but the Yankees are encouraged by his progress so far and hope for the outfielder to be back in the lineup in […]

ADP Reflections: American League Starting Pitchers

The draft season is in full swing. The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) is wrapping up on the NFBC site, and more and more draft data is filtering through to the masses. We’re now at the point where draft data is shaping draft strategies as people look for value against ADP. There are lots of […]

Late-Round First Basemen - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

Predicting the Top-10 Finishers in ERA for 2020

Earned Run Average (ERA) is one of the most important stats when it comes to pitching. The best pitchers in the league have the lowest ERA, because, quite simply, if a pitcher doesn’t let up runs, they are inherently more valuable. Determining the top ERA leaders for the upcoming season can be extremely useful, because […]

2020 Shortstop Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

As the season draws near, we realize suddenly that it's draft season. There is a large portion of fantasy baseball busy with mock drafts, rankings, sleepers, and more mock drafts. The Dynasty community, on the other hand, is looking to continue their dominance, rebuild, or in a worst-case scenario, stick their hands up in frustration. […]

Peter Alonso Still Looking For First Spring Homer

New York Mets first baseman Peter Alonso went 0-for-4 on Friday against the Astros in Grapefruit League play. He is homerless in 31 at-bats over 10 games and is batting just .194 so far this spring. Alonso broke out in 2019, with a line of .260-53-120-103-1. Despite this slow start to his spring, Alonso projects […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As you prepare for fantasy baseball drafts in 2020, it's crucial that you avoid the dreaded bust who could sink your team. As we did with sleepers, our staff came together to share their thoughts on preseason ADP values, this time on their least favorite picks. While you've likely heard some of these names already […]

Shane Bieber To Start On Opening Day

The Cleveland Indians officially named starting pitcher Shane Bieber as the starter for Opening Day on March 26 against the Tigers. Bieber struck out seven with no walks in a dominating four-inning performance against the A's on Friday and has allowed just two hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings in the Cactus League. […]

Mitch Haniger's Rehab Moving Slowly

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger's (back) rehab process continues to move along slowly, as he's limited to walking for about another week before he can move to the next phase of his rehab. Haniger had microdiscectomy three weeks ago for a herniated disc, and he also had surgery in February to fix a torn adductor […]

Tom Murphy, Austin Nola To Share Time Behind Plate

Seattle Mariners catcher Tom Murphy should see more of the playing time behind the plate this year, but manager Scott Servais said that backup Austin Nola will also see plenty of time. Nola mostly played first base in 2019, but he'll strictly work at catcher in 2020. "Everybody says, 'Oh, Murphy is the starting catcher.’ […]

Yusei Kikuchi In A Better Place This Year

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, who struggled in his rookie season in 2019, tossed three scoreless innings in his spring start on Thursday and had five strikeouts. Kikuchi got his fastball up to 96 mph in the outing. "Compared to last year, I’m already in such a better spot," Kikuchi said through interpreter Kevin […]

Mitch Moreland To DH Saturday

Boston Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland (hamstring) is expected to serve as the designated hitter in the Grapefruit League game on Saturday. Moreland should be just fine for Opening Day. The left-handed hitter should start most days at first base against right-handers, and he can give fantasy owners some pop in deep mixed and […]

Griffin Canning Shut Down For A Month

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning (elbow) will be shut down for around a month as he recovers from soreness in his right elbow. Canning will receive an injection of biological substances in an effort to heal his elbow inflammation. As a result, he'll open the regular season on the injured list. Patrick Sandoval […]

Max Kepler Records First RBI Of Spring

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the fifth inning of a 5-3 victory over the Rays. Kepler had a career year last season for Minnesota, belting 36 home runs along with 98 runs scored and 90 RBI. The 27-year-old has placed in the top-10 in Fly-Ball percentage for the […]

Eugenio Suarez Taking Swings

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez (shoulder) took some swings in the batting cage on Friday. The Reds have not yet set a date for when he will be available to play in Cactus League games but they are still hopeful that the star third baseman will be ready for Opening Day. Suarez had offseason […]

Matt Olson Homers In Spring Start

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer in a Spring Training game vs the Reds Friday. Olson also walked and scored in the game. Olson hit 36 homers last season, but there is room for more when looking at his batted ball data. The big first baseman made hard contact […]