Hunter Strickland (CP/SEA) - Week 17 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 18% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS:  Strickland will make a short rehab stint in Rainier, expecting to join the big league club after just one three-game series. He won’t have any issue regaining the closer role, as the Mariners haven’t found much success there. Roenis Elias has... Read More

Red Sox Showing Interest in Zach Britton

The Boston Red Sox are in an arms race with the New York Yankees in an effort to improve their bullpen. Recently, both teams have been linked to Baltimore Orioles reliever Zach Britton. Britton has returned to the lineup recently after missing a big portion of the season with an Achilles injury. He has recorded a... Read More

Brad Hand a Possible Trade Option for Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are interested in upgrading their bullpen and San Diego Padres closer Brad Hand is reportedly a target for the team. The hard-throwing lefty has fantastic numbers on the season with 21 saves, a 2.43 ERA, and a 0.97 WHIP through 37 innings. He is also signed through 2020, with a team... Read More

Jeurys Familia Activated off of Disabled List

New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia (shoulder soreness) was activated off of the 10-day disabled list on Sunday. Familia should slide right back into his role as closer as he did not require a rehab stint. He has had a fairly good season so far with a 2.48 ERA and 14 saves through 28 appearances.... Read More

Craig Kimbrel Picks Up 21st Save of the Season

Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel picked up his 21st save of the season on Monday night in a 2-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. After giving up a leadoff walk to Craig Gentry to start off the bottom of the 12th inning, Kimbrel struck out the next three batters he faced. He remains one... Read More

Craig Kimbrel Rebounds, Pitches Perfect Ninth Inning

Craig Kimbrel exacted some revenge on Thursday night after being roughed up by the New York Yankees on Wednesday. The flame-throwing righty only needed 13 pitches to retire the top of the Yankees order which helped the Red Sox salvage the last game of the series. It was Kimbrel's tenth save of the season and... Read More

Santiago Casilla Removed from Closer Role, Giants Move to Closer-by-Committee

Prior to Friday's tilt against the Diamondbacks, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy confirmed that Santiago Casilla will no longer be the designated closer for the team. Instead, San Francisco will be moving to a closer-by-committee configuration. The new setup was immediately to the test on Friday night, with the Giants and D-Backs tied entering the ninth inning.... Read More

Santiago Casilla, Giants Bullpen Combine for Ninth Inning Disaster on Wednesday Night

While Joe Nathan was technically charged with the blown save, Santiago Casilla and Josh Osich hold equal shares in Wednesday night's implosion against the Rockies. Entering the ninth with a two-run lead, Casilla immediately surrendered a solo home run to Nolan Arenado. After striking out David Dahl, he allowed Tom Murphy to reach first base... Read More

Santiago Casilla Blows Fifth Save of Season, May Be Relieved of Closer Role

Santiago Casilla had quite an adventure on the mound against the Padres on Saturday night, ultimately blowing his fifth save of the 2016 season. Immediately after Buster Posey gave the Giants a 6-5 lead with a solo shot in the top of the 10th inning, Santiago came out of the bullpen to submit a nightmare inning:... Read More

Santiago Casilla Picks Up 21st Save, ERA Continues to Drop

Santiago Casilla slammed the door on the Diamondbacks on Saturday, picking up his 21st save of the 2016 season. As usual, it wasn't entirely drama-free, as Casilla allowed a one-out double to Phil Gosselin. After a roller coaster start to the 2016 season, Casilla has settled down quite nicely, surrendering runs in just one of... Read More

Santiago Casilla Pitches Clean Ninth Inning Against Milwaukee, Job Remains Secure

After a few lackluster performances in early June, the Giants have been using closer Santiago Casilla as part of matchup-based late-inning committee, allowing both Derek Law and Hunter Strickland to pick up a save in the past week. On Tuesday night against the Brewers, Casilla had the ninth inning all to himself, and rose to the occasion:... Read More

Santiago Casilla Slams the Door on Sunday Night, but Giants Closer Situation Remains an Enigma

Santiago Casilla recorded two outs against the Dodgers on Sunday evening to register his 13th save of the season. While skipper Bruce Bochy has been mum on the Giants late-game relief, his recent use of veteran closer Casilla doesn't exactly exude confidence. Casilla has turned in scoreless outings in just three of his six games during the... Read More

Santiago Casilla Allows Winning Run in Non-Save Situation; Closing Role May Come into Jeopardy

On Tuesday night, Giants closer Santiago Casilla allowed the winning runs to score in the tenth inning of a tie game against the Boston Red Sox.  Summoned in the ninth inning to face the bottom half of the Boston lineup, Casilla sandwiched a groundout between two strikeouts. When Bruce Bochy brought him back out for... Read More

Santiago Casilla Blows Fourth Save; Job Secure for Now

Giants closer Santiago Casilla blew his fourth save of the season on Wednesday against the Braves. After striking out Freddie Freeman to begin the ninth inning, Casilla plunked Adonis Garcia and surrendered a single to Nick Markakis. He then uncorked a wild pitch to allow Garcia to cross the plate as the tying run, pushing... Read More

Santiago Casilla Shaky on Sunday Afternoon, but Good Enough for Ninth Save

Giants closer Santiago Casilla picked up his ninth save of 2016 in Sunday afternoon's 2-1 San Francisco victory over Arizona. As if Casilla needed any more adventure lately - blowing a save on Thursday evening, then flying off the handle after getting pulled during Friday's messy outing - he made sure to close out the... Read More

Santiago Casilla Bounces Back to Record Eighth Save, Continue to Roster with Confidence

Giants closer Santiago Casilla struck out each of the two batters he faced to close out a 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. The veteran reliever has sure had an interesting week. On Wednesday night, he blew his second save of the season, surrendering a solo home run to Michael Saunders that sent the... Read More

EPL Saturday Predictions & Previews

What a week in the EPL. Jamie Vardy breaks the consecutive match goal scoring record, while Arsenal drop points and suffer more injuries. How Arsene Wenger must now regret not adding to his squad in the summer transfer window. It may come back to haunt him, especially if Liverpool continue the scintillating form they have... Read More

MLS Cup Conference Finals

The 2015 Major League Soccer (MLS) season draws closer to crowning its winner as the conference semifinals are now in the books, leaving us with the final four contenders – two from each conference. The conference finals will be played in the same format as the semifinals with two games deciding the conference winner, and... Read More

La Liga - The Season So Far

La Liga heads into the International break after seven rounds of matches and, although it is too early to come to any definitive conclusions, there is enough evidence so far to get a glimpse into how the Spanish season is evolving. Here is a concise recap of the more significant events from the first seven... Read More

English Premier League Predictions - Saturday 3rd October 2015

The latest rounds of EPL fixtures await and beware the dreaded Champions League hangover. Crystal Palace v West Bromwich Albion A terrible loss for West Brom against Everton, who in the space of 30 minutes went from a projected 7th in the league to 15th, will motivate the Baggies and they will be keen to put... Read More

MLB Podcast on RotoBaller Radio: Injury Updates & Spring Training Standouts

MLB Injury Updates & Spring Training Standouts RotoBaller is very excited about the launch of our very own radio station. You can now find our new shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Wednesday night at 9:30 PM EST, RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and co-host Anthony Aniano of DraftSmashers Radio... Read More

Yusmeiro Petit (SP/RP, SF) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target in Late Rounds if Given A Rotation Spot ANALYSIS: As a spot starter and long reliever, Yusmeiro Petit logged 117 innings with a 3.69 ERA in 2014, setting an MLB record for consecutive batters retired in the process. As a result, his name has rightly been tossed around in sleeper conversations. Petit's... Read More

Edward Mujica (RP, BOS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues (if you need saves) ANALYSIS: With the Red Sox out of contention, Koji Uehara was shut down for the remainder of the season. Edward Mujica has stepped into the closer's role, making him the latest edition to our waiver wire sleepers list for saves. Tonight he nailed down his 4th save... Read More

Drew Storen (RP, WAS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues Owned in 6% of Fleaflicker, 38% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: Rafael Soriano has been yanked from the closer's role in Washington, and Drew Storen has been pitching admirably as his replacement. Racking up three saves over the last 7 days, Storen is now making his way onto our waiver wire sleepers list... Read More

Mike Fiers (SP / RP, MIL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues Owned in 71% of Yahoo, 29% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Not to say that Mike Fiers is really a sleeper anymore, seeing as he is owned in almost three out of every four leagues, but he is still under owned, given how he has pitched since returning to Milwaukee's rotation in early August.... Read More

Eric O'Flaherty (RP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: With the recent news that stud closer Sean Doolittle hit the DL, Eric O'Flaherty has stepped in as the Oakland closer and has made his way onto our waiver wire sleepers list for saves. Let's be honest here - there is no replacing Doolittle. He has been absolutely filthy this year. But... Read More

Hector Rondon (RP, CHC) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Mixed Leagues ANALYSIS: With 16 saves in 20 opportunities, Hector Rondon has emerged as a legitimate major league closer. The 26-year-old righty has  a 3.30 ERA over 46.1 innings pitched, striking out 49 in the process. He draws a remarkable 49.6% ground ball percentage and as a result, has only given... Read More

Jake McGee (RP, TB) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Jake McGee is the new Sean Doolittle, and by that I mean he's the new "most dominant closer who also doesn't walk anyone, ever, for real".  Don't believe me?  Consider this: since taking over the closer role for the Rays on June 27th, McGee has pitched 17 innings, during which... Read More

Jake Petricka (RP, CWS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: With the recent news that Zach Putnam has been placed on the DL earlier today, some more clarity has has been shed onto the White Sox bullpen situation. Jake Petricka should now have the opportunity to handle the closer duties all to himself, at least in the short term, making him... Read More

Neftali Feliz (RP, TEX) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately ANALYSIS: The closer carousel continues as Joakim Soria has been shipped to the Tigers to either close or setup for incumbent Joe Nathan, opening a spot at the backend of the Texas Rangers bullpen. Enter Neftali Feliz, who should walk right into that open spot and run with it all the way to the... Read More