MLB Sophomores: Who Will Improve, Who Will Stumble?

We all expect excellent rookie seasons from the most hyped prospects in baseball. But the reality is that some players just don’t hit their strides for a year or two. Other prospects start off strong but then fade away. If we look back at 2015, Corey Seager, Miguel Sano, Carlos Correa, and Kris Bryant had […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021

I've been in the bold predictions game since 2015 and in that time I've had my share of successes. Befitting a premise that demands spicy takes, though, I've also wildly missed the mark a bunch of times (whither goest thou, Byung-Ho Park and Delino DeShields?) The format's been around long enough that you almost certainly know the […]

Jake Fraley Collects Two Hits

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jake Fraley went 2-for-3 with a double on Sunday against the Brewers. He also added a stolen base. Fraley came into camp expecting to be the opening day starter in left field for the Mariners, but his cold start combined with Taylor Trammell's production could leave him on the outside looking in. […]

Jeff McNeil Scores Twice In Win Over Nationals

New York Mets infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Nationals. McNeil has had a bit of a rough spring, as he's batting just .103 so far with one walk against seven strikeouts. Still, there isn't much to worry about with the 28-year-old, as […]

Shohei Ohtani Shows Off Two-Way Ability Sunday

Los Angeles Angels outfielder/pitcher Shohei Ohtani flashed his two-way upside in Sunday's loss to the Padres. Ohtani pitched four innings, allowing two runs while walking a pair with five strikeouts- showing off a fastball that was clocked at 101.9 MPH at its peak speed. At the plate, the 26-year-old went 2-for-2 with a walk. He […]

Nick Castellanos Enjoying Strong Spring

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos is playing great baseball this spring. Castellanos is batting .414 with two home runs, six RBI, and five runs scored in 11 games. He seems poised for a rebound season after a disappointing 2020 that saw him bat just .225 with a career-worst strikeout rate- 28.5 percent- though he did […]

Teoscar Hernandez Belts First Home Run Of Spring

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez went 1-for-3 with a home run and two strikeouts in Sunday's loss to the Yankees. Hernandez was a strikeout victim to Gerrit Cole twice before clubbing an Asher Wojciechowski slider into right for an opposite-field home run, his first long-ball of the spring. The 28-year-old broke out in 50 […]

Hitting Coach Believes Eloy Jimenez Can Take It To Next Level

Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez could take it to the next level, according to hitting coach Frank Menechino. Jimenez has had a fine two seasons in Chicago, compiling 95 runs, 45 home runs, 120 RBI, and a .276 batting average in 177 career games. However, Menechino believes that the 24-year-old slugger could one day […]

Luis Arraez Could Bat Leadoff At Times

Minnesota Twins infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez could bat leadoff at times in 2021. Outfielder Max Kepler has been the primary leadoff hitter for Minnesota over the last two seasons, though Arraez has assumed that role when both have been in the lineup this spring. Manager Rocco Baldelli said that both could hit in that spot in […]

Starling Marte Goes Hitless In Marlins' Win Sunday

Miami Marlins outfielder Starling Marte went 0-for-2 with a flyout to center and a groundout to third in the Marlins' 4-2 victory over the Astros on Sunday. Despite going 0-for-4 in his last two games, Marte has looked solid this spring with a .290/.371/.484 slash line with two doubles, two triples and three steals in […]

Roman Quinn Swipes Third Bag Of Spring Training

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn stole a base and scored a run in Grapefruit League action against the Tigers on Sunday. Quinn is competing with Scott Kingery, Odubel Herrera, and Mickey Moniak for the starting job in center field. Quinn has always had elite speed making him a tantalizing roto-league target in deeper leagues. The […]

Juan Soto Goes 0-For-3 In Nationals' Loss Sunday

Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the Nationals' 6-2 loss to the Mets on Sunday afternoon. It has been a lackluster spring for Soto, who is 6-for-26 with no extra-base hits, three walks and three strikeouts in 10 games so far. Despite the spring struggles, Soto is still clearly a […]

Adam Engel Will Not Be Ready For Opening Day

Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Engel (hamstring) is expected to start the season on the injured list, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times. Manager Tony La Russa said that Engel will be out "at least a couple of weeks" with a strained right hamstring that he suffered on Saturday while making a […]

Andrew McCutchen Continues Strong Spring

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a run scored in a Spring Training game against the Tigers. McCutchen is now slashing a cool .310/.394/.517 through 33 Grapefruit League plate appearances. 'Cutch isn't the player he once was, but at 34-years-old he's still a fine fantasy option as the leadoff hitter for a good […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 3 Lineup Trends

We are entering week four of Spring Training and week three gave us a lot to watch down the stretch. But of course, you can catch up by talking a look at week one and week two recaps. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: MiLB Stats

Once you've grown accustomed to having advanced tools to help make fantasy decisions, it can feel disorientating to be without them. Prospects are increasingly becoming a focal point in both real and fantasy baseball, but the minors simply do not have all of the data publically available for MLB players. For example, advanced plate discipline […]

MLB DFS Advice: Picking Hitters on DraftKings and FanDuel

Welcome back to our DFS strategy series. I've already gone over some tips for picking pitchers in this post, and I covered a lot of the hitting side in this piece where I talked about stacking strategy. A lot of hitting tips were already covered in that stacking piece, so give that a look after […]

Mitch Haniger Locking Down Leadoff Spot

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger is now firmly establishing himself as the club's leadoff hitter. After batting second in the lineup behind J.P. Crawford in early spring matchups, Haniger seems to have taken over the role from Crawford, batting leadoff in each of his last seven games. Haniger batted first for a 45-game period in […]

Clint Frazier In The Lineup Sunday

New York Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier (undisclosed) is back in the lineup for Sunday's action against the Blue Jays. Frazier was apparently feeling "sluggish" on Saturday, though he's back and good to go for the remainder of the spring. The 26-year-old has seven hits and two homers in 10 Grapefruit League games for the Yankees. […]

Dominic Smith Back In Mets Lineup Sunday

New York Mets first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith (wrist) is back in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals. Smith had been dealing with wrist soreness, though it was never believed to be a serious issue given that he was able to take batting practice on Friday. The 25-year-old broke out in a big way […]

Victor Robles Back In Lineup Sunday

Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles (back) has returned to the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets. Robles had a bit of a scare on Friday night when he experienced some back tightness after awkwardly fielding a ball, though it appears to have just been a minor bump in the road for the 23-year-old. Robles […]

Dylan Carlson Homers, Reaches Base Three Times

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson went 2-for-2 with a walk and his first home run of the spring against the Houston Astros on Saturday. The young prospect had a rough start to the year but is now hitting .258 (8-for-31) with two extra-base hits and a BB-K of 4-9. His main issue is that […]

Dollar-Day Targets - Salary Cap League Values

Players who go for just $1 in salary cap leagues are guys who lack outside confidence. Not a lot of managers trust that they will be useful on a roster. In standard leagues, many of these players will go entirely undrafted and float around the waiver wire until they produce enough to be picked up […]

Finding Hitter Clones At Cheaper ADPs

One of the most useful algorithms in the machine learning world is that of data clustering. Clustering, in this case, is defined as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups […]

Chris Owings Has Contract Purchased By Rockies

Colorado Rockies outfielder Chris Owings has had his contract purchased by the team, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Owings and first baseman C.J. Cron, who also signed a minor-league deal in the offseason, were both added to the major league roster on Saturday. The injury to second baseman Brendan Rodgers should open up some […]

Randy Arozarena Has Two Hits In Loss Saturday

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in a 2-1 loss to the Twins on Saturday. After making a big splash with his postseason heroics last year, Arozarena has scuffled through Spring Training with a .269/.296/.308 slash line, one double and eight strikeouts to one walk across 10 games. […]

Jarred Kelenic Looks Dynamic Friday

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic made his first start since returning from a Grade 2 adductor strain on Saturday against the White Sox, and looked no worse for wear. Playing in center field, Kelenic went 2-for-3 with a double while scoring one run and driving in another. He also showed off his arm in the […]

Kyle Lewis Hits First Spring Homer

Seattle Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis is heating up. The reigning American League Rookie of the Year followed up his two doubles on Thursday with two more extra base hits on Saturday against Lance Lynn and the White Sox, including his first home run of the year . He also walked once while scoring two runs […]

Jon Anderson's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021

Today, I am honored to take my turn giving you my 10 bold predictions for the 2021 season here at RotoBaller. It's a thrill to be featured on this site, and I look forward to continuing to put out content for you all over the 2021 season and beyond. This was not an easy post […]

Late-Round Fliers for RBI Production

RBI production is a valuable stat in all fantasy baseball formats, but it is not always an easy stat to predict. Locating solid RBI production late in drafts becomes even more difficult. Ideally, you want players who will hit in the middle of lineups, which are expected to score plenty of runs. Now, this may […]