Chris Paddack Wows In Spring Debut

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Chris Paddack fanned four batters in two innings in his spring training debut Tuesday. Paddack cruised through the start, allowing a hit, walk and unearned run. After missing all of 2017 to Tommy John surgery, the 23-year-old amassed a 2.10 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 35 percent strikeout rate across 90 […]

Matt Wieters Signs With the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals signed catcher Matt Wieters to a minor league contract. Likely due to his injury history resulting in durability issues, Wieters was unable to find a guaranteed major league deal in a tough free agent market. Cardinals entrenched starter Yadier Molina is still recovering from offseason surgery, so Wieters could see some […]

After Hours With RotoBaller Radio: Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Preview

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2019 fantasy baseball season and gets you warmed up for the MLB preseason. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - Monday through Friday from 6-7 am ET. You can also find new weekly shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, SoundCloud and on iTunes under RotoBaller […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. It's everyone's favorite pre-draft word to throw around and likely threatens to take the top spot on some Google Analytics the closer we get to that premier fantasy baseball draft season. Yup, we're talking about sleepers. But let's just get this out of the way: […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Late-Round Fliers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Howdy, RotoBallers! I hope you're ready to take chances, make mistakes and get messy. We’re here to dig a little deeper into the draft room and look for players that would be wise to take a flier on in the late rounds. It can […]

Nick Mariano's Auction Draft Strategies and Tips (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Congratulations to you and your leaguemates for electing to play in the vastly superior format that is auction-based fantasy baseball. We can draw many parallels here, but playing/reading your fellow owners and managing your own money well lends itself best to poker. We're here […]

Josh Hayes' 2019 Best Ball Avoids (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The wait is over! Best Ball leagues are great for any fantasy baseball manager who wants to start preparing for the 2019 today, and is looking for an indication on which players are ADP risers and fallers this season. As important as it is […]

Early-Round Fantasy Baseball Draft Q&A with The King

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Industry legend Scott Engel has joined RotoBaller as a featured contributor, building on 20-plus years in the fantasy industry. “The King” is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s (FSWA) Hall of Fame and a two-time FSWA award winner.  When you are making […]

Nolan Arenado Signing Massive Eight-Year Extension With Rockies

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is finalizing an eight-year, $260 million contract extension that includes an opt-out clause after three years and a full no-trade clause. The contract replaces the one-year, $26 million deal that he was awarded in arbitration this season. The agreement will give Arenado the highest annual salary of any position […]

Marcus Stroman Allows Two Solo Homers In Spring Debut

Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout over two innings of work during his Grapefruit League debut on Monday against the New York Yankees. Both runs Stroman allowed were solo home runs courtesy of Troy Tulowitzki and Kyle Higashioka. The 27-year-old pitched without discomfort […]

Jose Castillo Experiencing Forearm Tightness

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Jose Castillo (forearm) was shut down Monday due to left forearm tightness. This could be an ominous sign for the Padres top left-handed bullpen arm at the onset of spring training. The 23-year-old Castillo turned heads in 2018 with a 3.29 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and spectacular 35 percent strikeout rate […]

Top 10 First Base Prospects - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Rankings

We're back with another list of 2019 impact prospects. Today the focus is on first base. While it is never fully stocked with quality depth, this might be the weakest the position has ever been heading into the season. With such a shallow group of options, it is important to know who will be called […]

ADP Cost Analysis - Kyle Freeland vs Jose Quintana

Every year there is one pitcher who, despite all underlying peripherals, puts up monster numbers and leaves fantasy owners wondering how to value them come next year. In 2018, that pitcher was Kyle Freeland, who not only put up inexplicable numbers, but did so in Colorado. Freeland's success despite a contact-heavy pitching style makes him […]

Later-Round Shortstops - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]

Aaron Hicks Signs Extension With Yankees

The New York Yankees quietly locked up their starting center fielder on Monday, agreeing to a seven-year, $70 million contract extension with Aaron Hicks. The contract includes a club option for the 2026 season, replacing his current one-year deal. Hicks, 29, was acquired from the Minnesota Twins prior to the 2016 season and has been […]

Engel's Angles - Walking on the Moon with Eduardo Rodriguez

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Industry legend Scott Engel has joined RotoBaller as a featured contributor, building on 20-plus years in the fantasy industry. “The King” is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s (FSWA) Hall of Fame and a two-time FSWA award winner.  For the past three […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 9 - Pitcher BABIP

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy owners should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what really matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. While some of this luck is unpredictable, we can and should predict some […]

ADP Cost Analysis - Robbie Ray vs Andrew Heaney

When drafting a pitcher, the vast majority of owners put an emphasis on upside, selecting a player based on his best-case scenario. That’s what makes Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray so intriguing, and why he has a 120 ADP. After lighting up the league in 2017, people are still holding out hope that the best is yet […]

Wilmer Flores Gets Off To Nice Start In Desert

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Wilmer Flores finished off a perfect day at the plate in Cactus League spring action against the Cleveland Indians, going 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Flores has plenty of competition at second base, even if Ketel Marte moves to center field for a majority of his […]

Robbie Ray So-So In His Initial Spring Outing

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray allowed just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings in his Cactus League spring debut against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Ray saw a decline in velocity and effectiveness last season, and he struggled to go very deep into games. He missed a good […]

Rangers Trying To Tweak Nomar Mazara's Swing

The Texas Rangers are working with outfielder Nomar Mazara, trying to tweak his swing, manager Chris Woodward confirmed over the weekend. The organization wants him to improve upon his groundball rate of 55.1 percent, which was the sixth-highest in Major League Baseball in 2018. The management is preaching hand/stride separation, and also trying to focus […]

Taylor Hearn Challenging For Spot In Texas Rotation

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Taylor Hearn, acquired in the trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer for relief pitcher Keone Kala, is challenging for a starting job in spring camp. He will make his Cactus League debut against the Cleveland Indians on Monday. Hearn features a mid-90s mph fastball with a slider and a changeup, […]

Madison Bumgarner Tagged For Six Runs In Spring Debut

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was tagged for six earned runs and five hits with no walks and one strikeout in his Cactus League spring debut against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. He actually got off to a good start in the first innings, but didn't return a single batter he faced in […]

Joe Panik Kicks Off His Spring With Strong Performance

San Francisco Giants 2B Joe Panik went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a pair of singles in his Cactus League spring debut against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. He made changes to his stance during the offseason, including a load shift during the winter at the suggestion of hitting coach Alonzo Powell and […]

Brandon Crawford Being Brought Along Slowly In Camp

San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is being brought along slowly during the early part of camp, and it doesn't sound like he'll be playing defense in Cactus League spring games for a while. He was the designated hitter in Sunday's spring game against the Chicago Cubs. The team is working to preserve his arm […]

Pablo Sandoval Nursing A Side Muscle Injury

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (side) tweaked a side muscle on Saturday and he is expected to be held out of Cactus League spring action for a couple of days. However, no further tests are planned at this time. Perhaps the Panda was overdoing it, as he is trying super hard during camp […]

ADP Debate - Jon Gray vs Kevin Gausman

When your fantasy baseball draft begins to shift into the picks in the 200s, you might be looking to grab your SP 4/5 at this stage. A good return on investment at this point in the draft can substantially boost your odds of taking home the championship in your league. It’s that point in the […]

ADP Cost Analysis - Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Joey Lucchesi

Going into this season as with last, there is little separation between starting pitchers in the middle tiers. Some fantasy analysts have taken to referring to this bunching of talent outside of the elite as "The Glob." One's mileage may vary from the next in terms of which arms are included in this group, but […]

Stolen Base Risers - 2018 Season Review

Previously, we took a look at which MLB players saw the biggest decrease in their stolen base totals during the 2018 season. While stolen bases were down overall in 2018, that doesn't mean it resulted in lower totals for everyone. In fact, there were several players who saw significant jumps in steals last season. As […]

Later-Round First Basemen - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]