Jake Arrieta Wild In Spring Start

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jake Arrieta pitched four scoreless innings in a Spring Training start against the Tigers Friday. Arrieta didn't allow a hit, but walked four and threw a wild pitch. The veteran righty didn't strike out a batter, which is a continuing trend for Arrieta. His strikeout rate has dropped five straight seasons, […]

Jorge Alfaro (C, MIA) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~180-195 CURRENT ADP: ~209 overall ANALYSIS: Miami Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro continued his development in 2019 by slashing .262/.312/.425 with 18 HR, 57 RBI, 44 R, and 22 BB. The overall numbers may not seem all that impressive, but given that he plays at a relatively weak fantasy position, he performed quite admirably as he […]

Aaron Judge Diagnosed With Stress Fracture

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (chest) was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib. Judge felt shoulder and chest discomfort early in spring training and had been sidelined from game action since the start of the spring. After undergoing a litany of tests over the past few days, Judge was finally diagnosed with […]

Domingo Leyba Receives 80-Game Suspension

Arizona Diamondbacks infield prospect Domingo Leyba received an 80-game suspension on Friday after testing positive for Boldenone, which is in violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Leyba is ranked as the team's No. 30 prospect and has the skills to become a solid utility player for the Snakes at the major league level, but […]

Stephen Vogt Fine For Friday

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Stephen Vogt (elbow) left the Cactus League game early on Thursday after he was hit by a pitch on his right elbow, but he iced the elbow and said he should be fine for Friday. Vogt, 35, should be Carson Kelly's primary backup behind the plate in Arizona in 2020. The left-handed […]

Mike Leake Throws Simulated Game

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Mike Leake (wrist) threw a 68-pitch simulated game over four innings on Thursday. Leake is still sporting a cast for his left wrist fracture, and he'll need to start catching baseballs to see how much impact his wrist can handle. The right-hander struck out five in his simulated game, but it […]

Corey Seager (SS, LAD) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~120-130 CURRENT ADP: ~149 overall ANALYSIS: Corey Seager has entered his full, post-hype faze. Seager used to be the belle of the ball as the young SS primed to take off. He lost most of 2018 due to injury, and his 2019 suffered because of it. With few remaining believers, Seager's ADP is […]

Robbie Ray Has New Delivery

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray has a new over-the-top motion in his delivery out of the windup this year that he's hoping will help him create better timing and a more direct finish to the plate. Ray threw 14 first-pitch strikes to the 15 batters he faced in his Cactus League outing on Thursday, […]

Jason Castro (C, LAA) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~320-335 CURRENT ADP: ~376 overall ANALYSIS: Jason Castro's 2019 was lost in the shuffle because his teammate, Mitch Garver also broke out over more at-bats. However, Castro is worth mentioning, especially at a shallow position. He slashed .232/.332/.435 with 13 HR, 30 RBI, and 39 R in only 237 at-bats. Castro only […]

Christian Yelich Will Make Cactus League Debut Friday

Milwaukee Brewers superstar outfielder Christian Yelich (knee) will make his Cactus League debut Friday against the Giants. He will bat third in the order and slot in as the designated hitter after fracturing his right kneecap late last season. His spring debut comes on the same day that his massive contract extension becomes official. Yelich’s […]

Josh Naylor Expected To Play Friday

San Diego Padres outfielder Josh Naylor (neck) took part in the team's full workout on Thursday and is expected to be in the Cactus League lineup on Friday night, barring a setback. Naylor has been fighting through a minor neck strain, but he should be fine for the start of the regular season. The 22-year-old […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Unlikely To Return Until Next Week

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (flu) was back with the team on Thursday, but he's unlikely to return to Cactus League action until next week. Tatis has missed time this week with the illness, but he has plenty of time to recover before Opening Day. The shortstop phenom missed time with injuries last […]

Roberto Perez Ready To Take Next Step

Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez (ankle) is coming into the 2020 season feeling healthy and energized. Perez had offseason surgery to remove bone spurs in his right ankle and hopes to improve on last year's breakout season. “So far by hitting and catching, my movement is a lot better, my range of motion is much […]

Kolten Wong Shaping Up to Hit First

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong seems set to be the team's leadoff hitter. While there hasn't been an official announcement by the team just yet, Wong has hit at the top of the order in six of his seven Grapefruit League starts, and manager Mike Shildt said batting first is, "a good spot […]

Ender Inciarte Scratched Due To Dehydration

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte was scratched from Friday's lineup due to dehydration. The 29-year-old will be ready to return to game action over the weekend. Inciarte had a difficult 2019 season, slashing .246/.343/.397 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 199 at-bats. With so many talented outfielders already on the roster, one has […]

Blake Snell Has Successful Bullpen Friday

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (elbow) said he felt great during his 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday, and he mixed in all of his pitches, including his slider. Snell will see how his body responds on Saturday, but he thinks he could pitch in a Grapefruit League game on Monday against the Blue […]

Garrett Hampson (2B/OF, COL) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~160s CURRENT ADP: ~175 overall ANALYSIS: Garrett Hampson had a disappointing 2019 campaign hitting just .247-8-27-40-15 in 299 at-bats, but the 25-year old seemed to figure things out late in the season. In September, Hampson hit .318 with five home runs and nine steals in just 88 at-bats. With elite speed […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - Injuries, Risers, Position Battles (3/6/20)

Welcome to the first edition of our Spring Training Notebook, where we'll dive into a few of the bigger stories around Major League Baseball's Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. As we head through the thick of Spring Training 2020, players are starting to separate themselves in the eyes of their organizations with hopes of making the […]

Francisco Mejia (C, SD) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~205-220 CURRENT ADP: ~232 overall ANALYSIS: Recently touted top prospect Francisco Mejia had an up and down season for the San Diego Padres in 2019. He slashed .265/.316/.438 with eight HR, 22 RBI, and 27 R over 226 at-bats in 2019. This stat line does not paint the whole picture for Mejia as he picked […]

Teoscar Hernandez Day-To-Day With Groin Soreness

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez is experiencing some soreness in his groin, but manager Charlie Montoyo doesn't believe it to be anything serious. Consider the 27-year-old day-to-day as he'll likely sit out the next few Grapefruit League games. Hernandez will see starts in the outfield for the Jays this season, but his defensive woes […]

Outfield and Catcher ADP Debates: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET and Saturday nights from 9-11 PM […]

Third Basemen Set to Breakout in 2020

The purpose of this article, as the title suggests, is to identify third basemen who have shown the potential to have a breakout season heading into 2020. These will be players that were likely on waivers at some point in your league during 2019 and may or may not have been added down the stretch. […]

Late-Round Values and Fliers for Stolen Bases (Premium Content)

There is so much more of a fantasy baseball focus on stolen bases over the past few seasons. Specialists in the category such as Billy Hamilton and Mallex Smith have become highly sought after, only to burn owners because they didn’t do much in other categories. More to the point, there is much speculation whether […]

Using Expected Draft Values to Find Over and Undervalued Speed Hitters

A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would 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 four "speed" players as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

WPC+ Videocast: TGFBI Expert League Analysis

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut review their draft boards and ADP for The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) expert league. They share their strategies, discuss which picks were most surprising, and explain how this information can help you in your home league draft! Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As the 2020 MLB season approaches, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to reveal their favorite preseason sleepers. We recently asked some of our fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely heard some of these […]

Closer Committees: When Sharing Isn't Caring

The concept of a closer-by-committee is, according to some theories, the best way to run a bullpen for most "real life" baseball teams. The concept of a closer-by-committee is, according to all fantasy baseball players, a real life hassle. A well-defined closer is ideal for fantasy teams in standard leagues because it guarantees that one […]

Late-Round Third 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 […]

Nothing Structurally Wrong For A.J. Puk

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher A.J. Puk (shoulder) has nothing structurally wrong with his shoulder, according to manager Bob Melvin. Melvin said Puk would likely take a few more days for strengthening before playing catch again, and he has no timetable for him to begin throwing. The good news here is it sounds like the top […]