Torey Lovullo Receives Extension

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed manager Torey Lovullo to an undisclosed extension on Tuesday. Lovullo's current deal was set to expire after the 2019 season. He was named the 2017 National League manager of the year after he led the team to a 93-69 record and playoff berth, but the D-Backs fell to 82-80 in 2018 […]

Marcell Ozuna Looking Strong

St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said outfielder Marcell Ozuna (shoulder) was "looking strong, working hard and will begin his throwing program in early February" when he visited with him in the Dominican Republic. The team is encouraged with his progress since having surgery, and Ozuna should be ready for Opening Day, […]

Franmil Reyes - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

To begin last season, San Diego Padres outfielder Franmil Reyes was coming off of a 2017 season where he had a .258/.322/.464 slash line in Double-A, hitting 25 home runs and knocking in 102 batters. In 2018, now in Triple-A, he bettered those numbers with a .324/.428/.614 slash line, hitting 16 home runs in just […]

Is Punting Steals a Viable Draft Strategy in 2019?

For readers who tune in to watch MLB games regularly, the phrase “small ball is dead” is becoming more and more the cliche. Managers do not feel the need to run as much, there is a decreasing rate of sacrifice bunts, and above all, no more hit-and-run as a primary offensive tactic. While many factors […]

Ryan Braun Working To Hit More Fly Balls

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been working with a private hitting coach in the offseason and is making changes to his swing for the first time in his career. Braun is focused on turning his hard outs into more home runs. The 35-year-old hit a disappointing .254/.313/.469 with 20 home runs, 64 RBI and […]

Ender Inciarte Expected To Be Leadoff Hitter

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said that manager Brian Snitker is leaning toward using outfielder Ender Inciarte as the leadoff man, with Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna and Nick Markakis following him. Inciarte hit .265/.325/.380 with 10 home runs, 61 RBI, 83 runs scored and career-high 28 stolen bases in 2018, but he […]

Austin Hays In Final Stages Of Rehab

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Austin Hays (ankle, shoulder), who entered last year as the team's top prospect, said he's in the final stages of his rehab and is hoping to be healthy in spring training after his season was derailed by injuries. Hays said the last step of his rehab will be base running in spring […]

Byron Buxton Bulks Up

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton added 21 pounds of muscle to his skinny frame in the offseason during an extra long winter workout schedule. He believes that the added muscle will keep him healthy in 2019. A former top prospect, Buxton has been a bust in the big leagues due to injuries and ineffectiveness, and […]

Bradley Zimmer Hopes To Be Ready By Spring Training

Cleveland Indians outfielder Bradley Zimmer (shoulder), who had surgery to fix a torn labrum in his right shoulder in July, is hoping to return for spring training. His initial recovery time was estimated at eight to 12 months. “Based on how I’m feeling now, I feel like I’ll be ready for spring training,” Zimmer said. […]

Charlie Blackmon Could Be Moved To Corner Outfield Spot

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon could be moved to a corner outfield spot in 2019 as the team toys with the idea of positional adjustments. Blackmon is open to a move that would likely mean a mix of David Dahl and Ian Desmond in center field. Blackmon hasn't played any position other than center field […]

Mark Trumbo Has Resumed Swinging

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo (knee) started swinging again recently and plans to head to Florida early to test his surgically repaired right knee. Opening Day is a real possibility for Trumbo, barring any setbacks this spring. He played in just 90 games last year and was shut down in August before having surgery, hitting […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio Invited To Camp

Toronto Blue Jays prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio have all been invited to major league spring training. Guerrero and Bichette are the team's top two prospects, while Biggio is ranked No. 9. Guerrero is baseball's consensus top prospect after hitting .381/.437/.636 with 20 home runs and 78 RBI with four minor […]

2019 Fantasy Baseball Weekend Warrior: American League East Preview Show

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2019 fantasy baseball season and gets you warmed up for the MLB preseason. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - Monday through Friday from 6-7 am ET. You can also find new weekly shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, SoundCloud and on iTunes under RotoBaller […]

Franmil Reyes - Petco Power Hitter?

Franmil Reyes hit 16 home runs in 87 games in his rookie campaign, a 30-HR pace. Historically, hitting home runs at Petco Park has been quite difficult. Since moving to the stadium in 2004, the Padres only have had six 30-HR hitters, ranking 26th in baseball in that time, and four of those were Adrian […]

Is It Legit? Ketel Marte's Breakout

We keep rolling with our preseason edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which […]

Marcell Ozuna Takes Batting Practice

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna (shoulder) took batting practice and played catch at the team's complex in the Dominican Republic on Thursday and will meet with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak on Monday. Mozeliak called it a "positive first step" for Ozuna in his recovery from shoulder surgery. Ozuna managed to hit .280 […]

A.J. Pollock to the Dodgers - Fantasy Impact

The merry-go-round that is the Dodgers' offseason continued on Thursday, as it was announced that A.J. Pollock is signing in Los Angeles on a four-year $55-million dollar contract. It always seemed likely the Dodgers could add another outfielder, but the thought was that it was more likely to be Bryce Harper who signed in Los […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Tommy Pham and Avisail Garcia

My main mantra when it comes to fantasy baseball is "value, value, value." I will often try and set myself up in the first two or three rounds in such a way that I have the flexibility to take advantage of value later in the draft. One of the best ways I have found to […]

Nick Castellanos Wants To Be Traded

Detroit Tigers outfielder Nick Castellanos, who is a year away from free agency and who is on the trading block, would prefer to be traded sooner rather than later. “He wants to win and understands the direction of the franchise right now is to procure prospects,” Castellanos’ agent, David Meter, said Tuesday night. “That being […]

Dodgers Agree With A.J. Pollock

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to an undisclosed deal with free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock on Thursday, according to sources. Pollock is a big addition for the Dodgers even if they already have a somewhat stacked outfield despite trading Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp this offseason. The 31-year-old helps bring more balance to a left-handed heavy […]

NL-Only Deep League Draft Targets

Objectively, deep-league AL or NL-only fantasy baseball is the best format to play this summer. For one, NL-only leagues were the original formats of fantasy baseball. With both an expanded and limited player pool, the unique challenges of balancing depth with team need come to the fore. While this writer might be in the minority, I […]

Nick Markakis Re-Signs With Braves

The Atlanta Braves re-signed outfielder Nick Markakis to a one-year, $6 million deal on Tuesday, according to a source. The 35-year-old will return to Atlanta after earning his first All-Star nod in 2018. He finished with a slash line of .297/.366/.440 with 14 home runs, 93 RBI, 78 runs and one stolen base in 162 […]

Nicholas Castellanos - Unfortunate Barreler of Baseballs

In 2017, Nicholas Castellanos made outs on 17 of his barrels, which led Major League Baseball. In 2018, Castellanos again made outs on 17 of his barrels, which led Major League Baseball. Even stranger, it was a continuation from the 2016 season, when Castellanos barreled up 13 outs, which ranked ninth and was also the most of […]

2019 Points League Draft Strategy - Fantasy Baseball

When discussing fantasy baseball. An often neglected-but-entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both cumulative season-long and weekly head-to-head formats. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a player’s contribution […]

Ketel Marte To Play Center Field

Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said second baseman Ketel Marte will play center field and other positions this year. It was the expected course of action with A.J. Pollock to depart in free agency and after the acquisition of infielder Wilmer Flores, who will play the keystone. The position versatility will be nice, but […]

Top 420: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers. Today we are here to start looking at points leagues and head-to-head (H2H) formats. In this column, you will find our staff's preliminary 2019 fantasy baseball points league rankings for January and the top 420 players. Over the next few days, we will also be publishing individual tiered rankings analysis columns for each […]

Jake Cave - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

Bouncing around from the Yankees to the Reds before he found a home in Minnesota, Twins outfielder Jake Cave made his MLB debut in 2018. After a 2017 season where he had a .305/.351/.542 slash line in the minors with the Yankees, Cave was sent to Triple-A with the Twins after he was acquired, posting […]

Dodgers Have Increasing Interest In A.J. Pollock

The Los Angeles Dodgers have increasing interest in signing free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock, but there is no indication that any deal is close at this time. Pollock has the ability to play center field and would help balance a lefty-heavy Dodgers lineup. The 31-year-old would be a top-of-the-order hitter for the Blue and provides fantasy […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

Rays Finalize Deal With Avisail Garcia

The Tampa Bay Rays finalized their one-year, $3.5 million deal with free-agent outfielder Avisail Garcia on Friday. He can earn an extra $2.5 million in performance incentives based on plate appearances. The 27-year-old is convinced his disappointing 2018 campaign was the result of knee and hamstring injuries that caused him to develop bad habits with […]