Please Leave Carlos Santana in the Middle of the Lineup, Terry Francona

Indians manager Terry Francona admits to contemplating using Carlos Santana in the leadoff spot reports Nick Camino on Twitter, presumably to take advantage of baseball's best walk percentage over the past two seasons rather than his two straight years of .231 batting averages. Santana would make a strange leadoff hitter as his mix of power […]

Josh Tomlin Signs 2 Year Extension, Inside Job on 5th Starter Job

Cleveland.com's Zack Meisel is reporting that the newly extended Josh Tomlin is currently expected to be a part of the Tribe's rotation. Indians GM Mike Chernoff said, “he is going to play a meaningful role on this team and he'll have every opportunity to be in the starting rotation.” Tomlin and the Indians are banking […]

Cleveland's Top Prospect Bradley Zimmer to Debut in 2016?

On MLB Network's MLB Tonight, Peter Gammons predicted that Indians' prospect Bradley Zimmer will be roaming the Cleveland outfield sometime this year. Outside of injured left fielder Michael Brantley, the Tribe's outfield picture is murky for this season--let alone into the future--so Gammons might not be as far off as that apparently overambitious statement suggests. […]

Francisco Lindor Looks to Avoid Sophomore Slump After Successful Rookie Campaign

Lindor exceeded everyone's expectations last year as he slashed .313/.353/.482 over 390 at-bats as a rookie. His 12 home runs were a professional high and his OPS grew each of the four months he was in the majors. A consensus top 10 prospect coming into 2015, the Indians took their time in waiting for Lindor […]

Which Jason Kipnis is Going to Show Up in 2016?

In a year where he was an All-Star for the second time and hit a career best of .303, Kipnis disappointed fantasy owners by seeing his home run and stolen base totals continue to trend downward. After hitting 31 home runs and stealing 61 bases from 2012-2013, he has hit only 15 home runs and […]

Does Mike Napoli Have Anymore Bread in the Oven?

The Indians signed Mike Napoli to a 1 year deal as their starting first baseman after his overall disappointing 2015. His difficulties with right-handed pitchers caused him to become a liability as a full-time starter while he slashed .191/.283/.320 against them. Power is about the only useful stat Napoli cooks up for fantasy owners anymore […]

Can Corey Kluber regain his Cy Young Award winning form in 2016?

After winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2014, Corey Kluber failed to maintain an award-winning pace as he finished with an above average line of 9-16 with a 3.49 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 222 innings. This pales in comparison to his Cy Young winning line of 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 […]

Michael Brantley's Recovery Continues To Progress Well, Targeting June Return

Indians' President Chris Antonetti shared on MLB Network's High Heat with Christopher Russo that outfielder Michael Brantley continues to be on track to miss the first couple months of the regular season as he recovers from off-season surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. After having speaking with him minutes before the […]

Billy Butler Fading From Fantasy Relevance

“Country Breakfast,” better known as Billy Butler, has surely seen better days. In six of his eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Billy Butler was as reliable as it gets. He could split the gaps, he could hit for power, and he could get on base when he needed to. This all culminated in […]

Shawn Tolleson Emerges as Solid Closer Option

Shawn Tolleson was handed the reins in the ninth inning for the first time in his career last season as a result of the struggles of Neftali Feliz, and didn't disappoint, notching 35 saves in 37 opportunities. Tolleson's 2.99 ERA represents a slight rise from the 2.76 he posted in 2014, but the 28-year-old may […]

Brett Gardner Outlook for 2016

Gardner has all the tools to be a solid leadoff hitter. What he lacks is consistency when using them. He is undoubtedly one of the fastest players in baseball, yet always appears to be hesitant to take off from first, which resulted in only 20 stolen bases in 2015. Gardner hasn't stolen more than 25 […]

John Lackey's National League Renaissance

Following a subpar 2014 season that saw him get traded from the Boston Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals, 37-year-old John Lackey had a terrific 2015, although the numbers won’t immediately show you that. His record barely changed, going from 14-10 to 13-10, but his ERA was over a run lower, going from 3.82 to 2.77. […]

Noah Syndergaard Ascending the Pitcher Rankings

The young fireballer known as Thor was absolutely electric in 2015. On a rotation that featured Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard was actually able to one-up them in terms of his K/9 rate. Thor struck out 10 batters per nine innings, while deGrom and Harvey struck out 9.7 and 8.9 batters per nine […]

Gerardo Parra: Now a Full Time Player in Coors

Well, well, now it's starting to make sense! Corey Dickerson is off to Tampa Bay and Colorado did not get an outfielder in return, so Gerardo Parra now gets to step into a clear starting role with the Rockies. Parra's 2015 was a tale of two halves, as the first one, in Milwaukee, saw him […]

2016 Will Bring Continued Decline For Jay Bruce

When Jay Bruce hit 30+ home runs in three straight seasons (32 in 2011, 34 in 2012, and 30 in 2013), other teams took notice. In those three years, Jay Bruce’s average was .257; not spectacular, but also not horrendous, especially considering his RBI production. Since 2013, Bruce’s has production dropped substantially. His slash line […]

No More Coors for Corey Dickerson

Okay folks, Corey Dickerson is now a Tampa Bay Ray and there are plenty of questions surrounding the fallout. What does this mean for Dickerson? How valuable is he? Which is a nice way of putting “how much of a hit does his stock take leaving Coors”? Well, outside of copping out with a “no […]

RotoBaller NBA Radio - Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 1/28 - 1/30/16

RotoBaller is verrrrrrry excited about the launch of our Daily Fantasy Basketball radio show on our Blog Talk Radio station. You can find all of our new shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Monday and Thursday, long time RotoBaller lead writer Sam Nedimyer and podcast host Josh Hayes will be discussing […]

Delino DeShields Jr Provides Value With Legs

Delino DeShields Jr. hit just two home runs with a .261 batting average in 121 games last season, but he is worth taking a look at ahead of the 2016 campaign because of what he does well. DeShields has a chance to be an elite stolen base threat over a full slate, as he swiped […]

Starlin Castro: More Risk Than Reward at 2B

Some may worry about Castro moving to second base permanently since his natural position is shortstop. However, playing for the Cubs last year, his offensive numbers jumped after making the switch to second. Castro batted .353 and hit six home runs over the last six weeks of the season. There shouldn't be any doubt about whether […]

Anthony Rizzo Readies for Prime Years

Anthony Rizzo will be 26 years old for the majority of this season, right at the beginning of what can be considered his “prime years”, when a player posts the best numbers he’ll ever have. Although this is usually the norm, Rizzo might be an exception, as he's already been a two-time all-star. With the […]

Xander Bogaerts Looking To Add More Power In 2016

Boston is still very high on Xander Bogaerts... and with very good reason. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2015, hitting .320 and driving in 81 runs. The thing that was missing was homers - he hit all of seven, below his target of 10. The Red Sox brain trust thinks he'll get more […]

The Curious Case of Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton has been a polarizing figure in fantasy baseball in the last two seasons. In 2015, he fell one stolen base short of Dee Gordon for the league lead (58). This type of speed can be an asset to any fantasy lineup. But in order to have fantasy value, Billy Hamilton needs to steal bases. […]

Felix Hernandez Should Achieve Elite SP Status In 2016

2015 might have been a down year for Felix Hernandez, but the Seattle Mariners’ ace pitcher still delivered an 18-9 record with a 3.53 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 195 SO over 31 starts. The right-hander dropped from second to 32nd overall in ERA from 2014 to 2015--his worst season-long ERA since 2007. This past season was the […]

David Ortiz's Quest For Final Ring Could Help Draftees

David Ortiz has three rings. He really, really wants to get a fourth one before he retires after the 2016 season. He could help the Red Sox and by proxy those who draft him in leagues that use the designated hitter. Whoever drafts him might get a really big steal... he has a lot of […]

Gerrit Cole Looks To Build On 2015 Campaign

Gerrit Cole took a huge step forward in 2015, arriving as an elite starting pitcher and NL Cy Young candidate. Posting a 19-8 record to go along with a 2.60 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 202 strikeouts, Cole showed why he was the number one overall draft pick in 2011. Perhaps the largest reason for the […]

Andrew McCutchen: A 2016 First-Rounder

In 2015, Andrew McCutchen stole the fewest bases of his career and hit under .300 for the first time since 2011. But that’s about the only bad thing one can write about the man. McCutchen appeared in 157 games and hit to a tune of .292/.401/.488 last year. His 23 HR, 91 R, and 96 […]

Taj Gibson (PF, CHI) - Value Play on DraftKings 1/28

Taj Gibson (at LAL, $5,500) I love the top two choices in Cousins and Anderson, but I implore you all to give Taj a nice look look for Thursday’s slate. Nikola Mirotic had an emergency appendectomy and will miss Thursday’s game, while Joakim Noah is out for what looks like a long, long time. The […]

Will Barton (SG, DEN) - Value Play on DraftKings 1/28

Will Barton (at WAS, $5,700) Don’t look now but it appears Barton’s forgettable two-week run is over and it couldn’t have come at a better time. His price has dipped from “utterly foolish” to “mostly acceptable,” and the Nuggets will have a nice matchup with the fantasy friendly, fast paced Washington Wizards. The Wiz have […]

DeMarcus Cousins (PF, SAC) - Big Money Play on DraftKings 1/28

DeMarcus Cousins (at NO, $11,000) I’ll make this quick. If Anthony Davis does not play- and it’s looking increasingly likely that he will not- then Boogie will absolutely demolish the Pelican front court. Heck, even if The Brow does go, Cousins should feast. Chalk up his last game to fatigue after coming off a double-overtime […]

John Wall (PG, WAS) and Marcin Gortat (C, WAS) - Stack on DraftKings 1/28

John Wall (vs DEN, $9,100) Denver’s perimeter defense is bad. Like real bad. Like 28th against point guards on the season kind of bad. John Wall is not exactly the type of guard that will bring those numbers back down. Optimus Dime’s nickname has proven true as of late. The sixth-year veteran out of Kentucky […]