Jordan Hicks Faces Just One Batter On Sunday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks made his first appearance in two years in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets. He threw 22 pitches, 18 for strikes, while averaging over 100 mph on his fastball. Despite all of that? He faced just one batter, issuing a 22-pitch walk to Luis Guillorme. […]

Elieser Hernandez Pitches Well On Saturday

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Elieser Hernandez pitched well in Saturday's Grapefruit League game. He tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six without allowing a walk. Hernandez bounced back well from his previous start, in which he allowed three runs in under three innings. Hernandez hasn't been able to make it […]

Lorenzo Cain Should See Game Action This Weekend

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain, who's been dealing with a nagging quadriceps injury, should be ready to play in Cactus League games this coming weekend, according to manager Craig Counsell. Cain's quad issue has been described as "very minor" in the past but it's kept him out all month. If he's able to get some […]

Maikel Franco Nearing A Deal With The Orioles

Free agent third baseman Maikel Franco is "moving close" to a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Heyman later added that both sides are working on it but nothing is official as of now. Franco has been also been linked to the Braves and the Mets but the Orioles […]

Chris Martin Will Make Debut In Next Two Days

Atlanta Braves reliever Chris Martin will make his Grapefruit League debut within the next two days, according to manager Brian Snitker. The Braves skipper noted that Martin is healthy and that everything is fine with him. He's just been pitching in simulated games as opposed to live ones. The 34-year-old righty was excellent for the […]

Jay Groome Makes Spring Debut In Relief

Former Boston Red Sox first-round pick Jay Groome made his spring debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless inning in relief against the Braves. Groome was the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he has struggled with injuries throughout his minor league career, throwing just eight innings since 2017. Still just 22, the door […]

Byron Buxton Belts First Home Run Of Spring

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's tie with the Red Sox. Buxton's third-inning home run off of Nathan Eovaldi was an absolute rocket- 111.4 MPH off the bat with a distance of 390 feet. The 27-year-old has had a bit of a slow start to his spring, […]

Carson Fulmer Claimed By Reds

The Cincinnati Reds claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off of waivers after the Pittsburgh Pirates released him last week. Fulmer, a former first-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, posted a 4.35 ERA and 11 strikeouts, and five walks in 10 1/3 innings of work in 2020. He will look to catch on in the […]

Xander Bogaerts Continues To Feel Good After Weekend Debut

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (shoulder) reiterated the claim that he will be ready for Opening Day, saying he felt good after his spring training debut on Friday and Saturday. Serving as the designated hitter in both games, Bogaerts went 0-2 on Friday but hit an RBI double against star rookie Ian Anderson on Saturday. […]

Kenta Maeda Named Opening Day Starter

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda has been named the team's Opening Day starter. The news isn't too surprising, as Maeda has been masterful this spring, with his latest gem coming on Sunday against the Red Sox- he twirled four shutout innings while striking out five batters and walking just one. The veteran starter seemed […]

Sonny Gray Shut Down With Back Spasms

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Sonny Gray (back spasms) will be shut down for the next three-to-four days. He was scratched from his Sunday start against the San Diego Padres with what the team initially called a "mid-back injury." Gray doesn't seem too concerned with the back issue as he told reporters that he expects to have […]

Eloy Jimenez Trying To Be More Of A Complete Player

Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez wants to be regarded as more of a two-way player. Jimenez has things covered at the plate, as he's coming off hitting .296 with a .891 OPS and 14 homers in the shortened 2020 season. Still, the 24-year-old has certainly had his fair share of mistakes in the outfield- […]

Jeter Downs Leaves Game With Injury

Boston Red Sox middle infielder Jeter Downs left Sunday's game with what is being described as a left side injury. Downs, the Red Sox's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, incurred the injury while diving for a ball at shortstop. He will undergo more tests in the coming days, but this could be a huge blow […]

Austin Nola Has Fractured Finger

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola (finger) has a fractured finger on his left hand. Nolas suffered the injury while catching a foul tip during Saturday's game. While he was initially able to stay in the game, the pain intensified, and he was diagnosed with a fracture after being looked at by the team doctors. […]

Opening Day Start Likely For Lucas Giolito

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito hasn't been named the team's Opening Day starter, though it's all but official. Manager Tony La Russa hasn't settled on a name yet, though Giolito is lined up on his current schedule to take the mound for Chicago's opening game of the season on April 1. He's certainly […]

Sonny Gray Out With A Back Injury

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray (back) will be shut down as he deals with a back issue. Gray won't throw for three-to-four days- and this will likely set him back a week. The 31-year-old said that he keeps getting spasms in his back, which are the likely culprit for his start getting scratched last […]

Stephen Strasburg Leaves With Minor Calf Injury

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg left his Sunday spring start with a calf injury, but said he would have continued had it been a regular season game. If the doctors aren't worried, then you shouldn't be either. This does point up Strasburg's floor, however, as someone who has only made 30 or more starts […]

Alek Manoah Strikes Out Seven Batters

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah struck out seven New York Yankees hitters over three hitless, shutout innings on Sunday. The top prospect's fastball was sitting between 94-96 mph and he generated strikeouts on all three offerings: heater, changeup, and slider. Of note, Manoah's other spring appearance also came against the Yankees when he […]

Top 20 Outfielders - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

If you’ve played fantasy baseball for a while, you know how hard it can be to find enough quality outfielders to field a competitive team all year long. The good news for fantasy managers is that there are some big names on the way, thanks in part to the 2020 amateur draft which had a […]

Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers

With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]

Top 10 Tips for Fantasy Baseball Snake Drafts

Before I begin, let me caveat everything I say with this: I don't consider myself to be some sort of expert master fantasy player. I've only been playing fantasy baseball for a little under a decade. But as soon as I started to immerse myself into this game we all love, my main focus was […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends

Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]

Catcher Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball catcher rankings and catcher draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of five different MLB players at the catcher  position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to also tune […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Third Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Last year 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 third basemen and our site projections for them. Stay tuned over the next couple […]

Top 25 Starting Pitchers - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

Pitching is an important element of any successful Major League Baseball team — real or fantasy. Coming off a truncated season in 2020 and facing another unique season ahead, pitching prospects will be more important than ever in 2021. MLB managers will be faced with a full 2021 season and, after throwing reduced innings last […]

NFBC Methodical Madness with Jason Kufs - Draft Champions Podcast

In today's episode, Zack (@zackroto) brings on Jason Kufs (@kufss) as a guest to his Draft Champions podcast (@draftchampagne). They discuss his secret sauce to winning NFBC Cutlines and Draft Champions Leagues. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, and Saturdays from […]

Tyler Johnson Tallies Two Points On Saturday

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson scored his sixth goal of the season and added his eighth assist in a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Johnson is actually having a pretty decent season with the amount of ice time he is receiving. He averages just under 14:00 minutes a night centering Tampa Bay's third […]

Jarrett Culver Unlikely To Play Sunday

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jarrett Culver (toe) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Culver isn't bringing much to the table right now, so the Wolves don't have much of an incentive to rush him out on the court. Jaylen Nowell has been filling in nicely and is coming off a […]

Jordan McLaughlin Won't Suit Up Versus Blazers

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. He'll miss both games of the back-to-back set while sitting out due to the NBA's health and safety protocols. Ricky Rubio and Jaylen Nowell will be asked to pick up the slack here. At first glance, Rubio should […]

Nick Jensen Adds Two Points In Capitals Win

Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen produced a goal and a helper on Saturday. The Capitals won 5-4 over Philadelphia. Jensen has skated in 24 Capitals contests this year, recording two goals and eight assists. He is averaging just over 17:00 minutes of ice time per game while adding 29 shots on goal. He is paired […]