Kyle Zimmer Out To Establish Himself For KC In 2016

Zimmer has been very impressive in the minor leagues since his pro debut in 2012. Blessed with electric strikeout stuff (thank you mid-to-high 90s fastball and sweet looping curveball), he’s always done better than a strikeout per inning in every pro year. Zimmer’s momentum has been slowed by various arm/side issues along the way, with […]

Kris Medlen's 2016 Prospects: What To Expect?

Kris Medlen has put together some decent stretches in his career, but he has also undergone two Tommy John surgeries and been forced to cut seasons short. Being able to have a constant routine is important, having a set role can lead to increased productivity and an easier mindset. Having the interruptions that Medlen has […]

Danny Duffy: Back-end AL Only Rotation Option For 2016

Danny Duffy’s K-rate was about the only thing that was sustainable about his gorgeous 2014 campaign. His SIERA (4.31) was nearly two full runs higher than his ERA (2.53). His 2015 was much more in line with his underlying peripherals, as his SIERA was an awful 4.63, he had a 4.43 FIP, and his ERA […]

The Royals Hope Bubba Starling Can Blossom In 2016

Starling has been a touted prospect for a few years now, as he has yet to really kick it into a major-league ready gear in his four years in the system. He’s a big guy, standing at 6’4” and 210 lbs, and is a really strong outfielder, but he’s struggled putting together a healthy swing. […]

Raul Mondesi: Much More Than That Young Guy Who Played In The World Series

Mondesi was put on the public grid by virtue of getting his first major-league AB in the World Series, and naturally there’s a reason for that. Mondesi will turn 21 in July, so he’s still quite the youngin’ out there, but his speed is very real. It makes for an asset that Kansas City values […]

Omar Infante: Middling Middle Infield Option In 2016

Infante is the “black hole” of the Royals lineup. In 455 plate appearances he could only muster two homers, two steals, and a .220 batting average. Even Omar Infante probably isn’t bad enough to post consecutive seasons of back-to-back sub-.240 BABIP seasons (it was .238 last year, yuck). He’ll be 34 years old this year […]

Jordan Guerrero: Another Promising Pitching Prospect For The White Sox

Guerrero has excellent strikeout stuff, posting K/9’s that hover around a batter per inning and a raw K% around 25%. That is a fantastic starting block for a very young pitcher to start developing with amongst a professional organization and coaching. He throws strikes while keeping the ball down, as we all know what happens […]

Spencer Adams Is A Strong White Sox Prospect Worth Knowing

Adams will turn 20 at the outset of this season, yet he already has shown great promise with a four pitch repertoire (fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup) that scouts mark as 50+ or higher potential pitches. If he can continue to fill out physically as he nears his peak years (he’s 6’3”, 171 lbs.), he […]

Tim Anderson: White Sox Shortstop Of The Near-Future

Everyone likes to see a shortstop prospect who can hit, and he has profiled so far as the middle infielder with plus speed and a good swing. Not the most powerful swing necessarily, though he has potential to tap into more down the road as he fills out. He is very athletic and doesn’t really […]

Nate Jones Could Be A Great Setup Man In 2016

Jones is entrenched in the setup role for the White Sox despite having barely pitched in the past two years. Normally we shy away from risky pitchers, but Jones shouldn’t cost you a thing on draft day and if he stays healthy the returns could be fantastic. In his 19 innings pitched last year he […]

Carson Fulmer Should Be Prospectors' Radars Entering 2016

Fulmer is 22 this year, and even though he’s had only one year in the system, he showed a strong arm in A+ ball while striking out over a batter per inning and posting a 2.05 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in the 22 innings he pitched. His fastball and curveball both have scouts feeling good […]

Tyler Saladino Is A Decent AL Only Shortstop For 2016

Well, as of now Tyler Saladino is still penciled in to be the starting shortstop for the White Sox in 2016. Ian Desmond is still out there with water cooler chatter around baseball painting Chicago as a likely destination, but that draft pick looms large and so for now it’s Saladino’s spot to field. Gordon […]

Dioner Navarro: Deep League Catcher Consideration In 2016

Navarro enters his age-32 season with a freshly pressed White Sox jersey. He’s been kicking around the past several years, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a serviceable option. Navarro won’t blow anyone away, but he’s actually a quietly good hitter who should see his numbers improve with the proper platooning situation. That’s what is […]

Alex Avila Looks To Be Serviceable Platoon Bat In 2016

Alex Avila was in line to get the bulk of the starts for the White Sox in 2016 for a little bit, but it wasn’t long before they also brought in Dioner Navarro to form a platoon. Avila is your typical lefty swinger who has performed much better against right-handed pitching, whereas Navarro hits lefties […]

Jake McGee Poised To Be Colorado's Closer In 2016

McGee now brings his lively lefty electricity a mile above sea level for a 2016 campaign in Colorado. His fastball is his bread and butter (throwing a two or four seamer 90.5% of the time last year), though it is worth noting that his average velocity had sat above 96 MPH in ’13 and ’14 […]

Jason Motte: Reliable Rockies Setup Man For 2016?

Motte isn’t going to re-discover his pre-Tommy John form, but he did show improved control in his second year removed from TJ surgery. His K/9 used to sit around 9.00, and now it appears to have settled around 6.00. He can’t toy with hitters anymore, but he posted the best walk rate and lowest pull […]

Adam Ottavino Could Still Be Useful Late In 2016

Ottavino was just getting started on what looked to be a promising 2015 campaign when his UCL crapped out after 10.1 innings. Pending setbacks, the hope here is that he will return around midseason. Having high expectations for a pitcher in his first stretch back from TJ surgery is usually an awful idea, so I […]

Chad Bettis: Deep League NL Pitcher For Your Consideration In 2016

Chad Bettis won’t ever be the stud of your pitching staff, but in deeper or NL-only leagues he could prove to be a solid back-end guy. In 2015 he finally managed to bring his modest strikeout stuff from the minors to the major leagues. His K/9 was 7.67 after barely scraping 6-even in years past […]

Do We Still Care About Eddie Butler In 2016?

His minor league track record has been quite impressive, but it hasn’t translated to major league success in any tangible way. He’ll have just turned 25 when the season starts so it isn’t like he’s some old coot who can’t grow, but he really needs to wrangle in those walks and tweak some pitches that […]

Kyle Freeland Looks To Continue His Growth In 2016

Freeland has some fantastic raw talent, but he has suffered some durability setbacks along the way thus far and might be headed for bullpen duties as a result. What we know about Freeland is that he has a plus fastball, slider, and changeup, but that he has some issues putting it all together with command […]

Ryan McMahon Looks To Grow Into Colorado's Next Big Infielder

McMahon has been shooting through each level of the minors with a healthy power bat. His profile appears to be very clear as a prototypical powerful corner infielder who strikes out a lot, but also walks enough to compensate a bit. His OPS figures haven’t dipped below .860 for a season, though his BABIPs have […]

Raimel Tapia Looks To Start Strong In Double A for Colorado

Tapia is an intriguing young name who has been in the Rockies system since he was 17 (he just turned 22). He has extremely impressive contact skills, hitting for great averages pretty much every step of the way and flashing plus speed. The power hasn’t manifested yet, though it could be in the pipeline as […]

David Dahl: Top Rockies Prospect Heading into 2016

Dahl is one of the, if not the best, Rockies prospect right now. An outfielder that has some nice speed, he saw his 2015 cut into after his spleen had to be removed. I doubt that happens again. Dahl’s current bat seems to be a fantastic line drive/gap type hitter, but he isn’t down on […]

RotoBaller Radio is On @ 9PM – 2016 Fantasy Baseball First Base Tiered Rankings (1B)

RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph (@RealTalkRaph) will be talking all things fantasy baseball tonight at 9:oo PM EST with co-host and MLB expert Anthony Aniano (@AAnianoFantasy), Tuesday February 16th, to prepare for fantasy baseball draft season and discuss the top MLB news and player updates. They will be answering all of your first base rankings questions live on the air, so […]

Tony Watson Looks to Continue Dominance

Pirates relief pitcher Tony Watson will once again serve as the set-up man for Mark Melancon in 2016. The southpaw has excelled in the role, leading the league with 75 holds over the past two seasons. Pat Neshek finished a distant second during that time with 53 holds. To further illustrate Watson’s dominance, the hurler […]

Gleyber Torres Still Years Away

At 19 years old and hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, Gleyber Torres is the Chicago Cubs’ lone top 50 prospect on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects of 2016 list. In his first full season of minor league baseball last year, he slashed .287/.346/.376, picking up 140 hits and 64 RBI. While the numbers are solid, especially […]

Concussion-Free, Joe Mauer Could Bounce Back in 2016

Joe Mauer had, by far, the worst season of his 12-year career in 2015, not just from a fantasy standpoint, but in real life, as well. The permanent move to first base has negated the defensive skills he showed behind the plate for so long, and his career batting average and on-base percentage dipped significantly. […]

Steve Pearce Will Play Home Games in his Favorite Stadium

Steve Pearce signed on with the Tampa Bay Rays in late January, and is expected to play in a platoon of sorts in the designated hitter slot with the potential to see some at-bats at first base and in the outfield. After a breakout 2014 campaign, Pearce disappointed fantasy owners with a .218/.289/.422 slash line […]

In Kevin Kiermaier's Case, Defense Paves Way for Offense

Kevin Kiermaier made history in 2015, finishing with the fourth most defensive wins above replacement in baseball history and the second most since 1920. He is undoubtedly one of the best defensive players in the game, and that helps him from a fantasy standpoint more than most people would think. Kiermaier brings mild offensive production, […]

Desmond Jennings in Jeopardy of Losing Playing Time

Fantasy owners were infatuated with Desmond Jennings' 20 home run/30 stolen base potential just a few years ago, but he has struggled to reach his ceiling. After a 2014 season plagued by mediocrity -- 10 HR, 15 SB, .244/.319/.378 slash line -- he missed most of the 2015 season with a knee injury. Jennings was […]