J.P. Crawford Called Up

The Philadelphia Phillies called up shortstop J.P. Crawford from the minors on Tuesday. With Maikel Franco (hand) injured, Crawford could split time with Scott Kingery at shortstop. However, Crawford probably won't be of much use to fantasy owners, even in deeper leagues. He's batting just .194/.312/.333 with two home runs and eight RBI in 93 […]

Bartolo Colon To Start Wednesday

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Bartolo Colon will start Wednesday against the Angels. Big Sexy will be making his first start since coming off the disabled list over the weekend. If that wasn't enough reason to avoid him, the 45-year-old hurler is 7-11 on the year with a 5.45 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and terrible 5.0 K/9 […]

Maikel Franco To Undergo MRI

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (hand) is expected to undergo an MRI exam in the next day or two, as his hand is still sore and swollen. Franco won't play on Tuesday and could be out for a while, depending on the MRI results. Asdrubal Cabrera will continue to play third base with Scott […]

Pirates Call Up Kevin Kramer

The Pittsburgh Pirates called up infield prospect Kevin Kramer, among others, from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. Kramer, the team's No. 7 prospect, is really the only notable name among the handful of players added to the roster Tuesday. He hit .311/.365/.492 with 15 home runs, 59 RBI and 13 steals in 129 games with Indy […]

Rafael Devers Activated Off Of Disabled List

Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers was activated off of the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday afternoon. Devers had missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain. A trendy breakout pick coming into the season, the 21-year-old has heartily disappointed those fantasy owners who spent a draft pick on him. Devers has a […]

Josh Hader Blows Lead On Monday

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo to lose the lead in the eighth inning on Monday against the Cubs. Hader is known for pitching one to two innings at a time, but this time the Brewers tried to get three out of him and it backfired. Hader's ERA […]

Martin Prado's Season Is Over

The Miami Marlins placed third baseman Martin Prado (abdomen) on the 60-day disabled list on Tuesday, ending his season. The 34-year-old hit .244 with one homer and 18 RBI in just 54 games for the Fish this year. His days of being fantasy relevant are over. Miguel Rojas is likely to play the hot corner […]

Zach Davies Looks Strong In Return

Milwaukee starting pitcher Zach Davies finally returned from the disabled list and threw five innings and allowed only one run against the Cubs, while striking out seven batters. Davies looked good, but he more than likely won't be fantasy relevant this season. With the Brewers addition of Gio Gonzalez, there may not be a rotation […]

Padres Calling Up Francisco Mejia

The San Diego Padres are calling up catching prospect Francisco Mejia on Tuesday, according to a source. Mejia, the team's No. 3 prospect, was acquired from the Indians in July in the deal that involved relief pitcher Brad Hand. Mejia has hit well with Triple-A El Paso, batting .328 with seven home runs and 23 […]

Abiatal Avelino Being Called Up

The San Francisco Giants will call up infield prospect Abiatal Avelino from the minors on Tuesday. Avelino was acquired from the Yankees in the Andrew McCutchen deal. The 23-year-old hit .283/.329/.438 with 15 home runs, 67 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 126 games between Double-A Trenton, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Triple-A Sacramento (Giants) this year. […]

Ryan Howard Announces Retirement

Free-agent first baseman Ryan Howard announced his retirement from baseball on Tuesday. Howard wraps up his playing career having hit .258/.343/.515 with 382 home runs and 1,194 RBI in 1,572 career games with the Phillies in 13 years. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2005, the MVP in 2006 and played in three […]

Reds Recall Gabby Guerrero

The Cincinnati Reds recalled outfielder Gabby Guerrero from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. The team also brought up pitchers Tyler Mahle and Keury Mella and catcher Tim Federowicz. Guerrero is the most exciting of the group as the cousin of Blue Jays star prospect Vlad Guerrero Jr. Gabby Guerrero was hitting .293/.328/.474 with 19 home runs, […]

Hunter Harvey Still Shut Down

Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey (elbow) will remain shut down for another week before he resumes a throwing program. He underwent an MRI exam on Aug. 22 that didn't show any structural damage. With the tendinitis in his elbow subsiding, he'll be allowed to throw on flat ground. Harvey just hasn't been able to […]

Roberto Osuna's Case Could Be Resolved This Month

Houston Astros closer Roberto Osuna's assault case in Toronto won't be resolved on Wednesday, but his attorney, Domenic Basile, is hoping the case can be resolved later this month. The Astros are scheduled to be in Toronto on Sept. 24-26, and Basile is hoping the matter can be resolved before then. Osuna's charges could be […]

Daniel Norris On Track To Start Friday

Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris (calf), who dealt with calf cramps in his last start, is on track to make another start on Friday against the Cardinals, according to manager Ron Gardenhire. Norris came off the disabled list and surprisingly held the Yankees to just two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, striking out a […]

Tigers Sticking With Shane Greene As Closer

Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said he is sticking with relief pitcher Shane Greene as the closer after he allowed two home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Monday to blow the save against the White Sox. Greene has allowed six runs in his last five outings. "He threw one time in […]

Miles Mikolas Pushed To Wednesday

The St. Louis Cardinals have altered their rotation this week, moving starting pitcher John Gant to Tuesday and Miles Mikolas back to Wednesday against the Nationals. Mikolas has been the much better pitcher of the two, going 13-4 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 167 innings over 27 starts. Both pitchers […]

Josh Donaldson Hits Grand Slam In Minor League Game

Cleveland Indians third baseman Josh Donaldson (calf) hit a grand slam on Monday with Triple-A Columbus. The Indians are planning to build Donaldson's workload so that he is ready to come off the disabled list on Sept. 11, according to manager Terry Francona. Donaldson played six innings at third base and will return to Cleveland […]

Jose Abreu To Begin Baseball Activities In Five Days

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (abdomen) is expected to resume baseball activities in around five days. Abreu has been out since Aug. 20 and doesn't have much time left to return and help your fantasy team. The Cuban is hitting a respectable .272 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI on a rebuilding […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/4/18): MLB DFS Lineups

We have a monster 15-game slate to break down today, and there are some great options across the board. There are a few high-priced pitchers on the slate you should be looking to pay up for, along with plenty of bats you want to jam into your lineups. In this article, I will be providing you […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (9/4/18): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

After a Labor Day that was split up into two two slates, we have a massive Tuesday slate. There are 15 games, giving us plenty of options to choose from. It makes lineup construction a bit easier, as we have multiple different techniques we can utilize. In this article, I will be providing you with […]

NL-Only Waiver Wire Team of the Week: MLB Week 23

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Statcast Pitcher Risers/Fallers - Strike% (Week 23)

Welcome back to Rotoballer’s series using Statcast to extrapolate, dig into, and commiserate over data to examine pitching performances. The weekly series will be dynamic as we fine-tune our findings and enlighten ourselves on the information and tools at our disposal. After a month-long personal hiatus by yours truly, our column is back in action […]

Are You For Real? Surprising SP Starts (Week 23)

Welcome to our surprising starts series. Every week we’ll be going over a few surprising starting pitcher performances around the majors to determine whether these starts were smoke and mirrors or something more. This week we saw a pair of veteran lefties put up some good starts against NL central opponents. We also saw a […]

Jeffrey Springs Performs Well Monday

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jeffrey Springs performed well in his debut in the "opener" role on Monday. Springs was making his first ever start in the majors, and his first at any level this season. The young left-handed pitcher had three strikeouts and gave up two hits in his two scoreless innings Monday. His success […]

Cole Hamels Strong Monday Versus Milwaukee

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cole Hamels continued his amazing run of outings with the Cubs Monday versus the Brewers. He would last six innings and allowed two runs. The two runs allowed is actually the most Hamels has allowed in seven starts with Chicago. His ERA since joining the team is now 1.00. Hamels had […]

Anthony Rizzo With Homer Monday Versus Milwaukee

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo looked to be a hero Monday versus the Brewers for a short time. Rizzo caught up to a pitch by elite reliever Josh Hader and hit it into the stands to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. It was the first homer Hader had allowed […]

Tyler Chatwood Activated Monday

The Chicago Cubs activated pitcher Tyler Chatwood (hip) on Monday. They also activated Brian Duensing (shoulder) to add to their bullpen. Chatwood has struggled mightily with his control which led to an unsustainable amount of walks while he was in the starting lineup. Manager Joe Maddon suggested that they will try to get him some […]

Ji-Man Choi Homers Monday Versus Toronto

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi showed off his biggest asset for fantasy Monday versus the Blue Jays. He would blast a 451-feet homer to finish off the scoring in the game. It was only his sixth HR of the season but if he kept up his pace over what is often considered a […]

Tommy Pham Opens Scoring Monday Versus Toronto

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Tommy Pham struck the first blow of the game Monday versus the Blue Jays. His first-inning single drove in the first run of the game and the Rays were never caught. Pham would score later in the game off of a wild pitch. His batting average could use work but he […]