
Whit Merrifield Seeing The Ball Well This Spring
Kansas City Royals outfielder Whit Merrifield continues to see the ball well in Cactus League action. Merrifield collected another two hits in Monday's game to raise his spring average to .529, along with four doubles, four runs scored, and an RBI. The 32-year-old has been locked in at the plate and seems poised to deliver […]

Ryan Braun Still Heavily Leaning Towards Retirement
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun visited Brewers camp Monday but is still "strongly leaning" toward retiring, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Braun's visibility at the camp may have led some to believe he is considering playing at some point this year, and he did not close the door on that happening, saying, […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/16) - Luis Robert Scratched Monday
Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Injury Updates
Injury updates tend to change often during Spring Training. "Soreness" is a common theme as players get back into game shape. I will be giving the most recent available injury updates from the offseason. These updates will undoubtedly change as Spring Training continues. As we get closer to Opening Day, some injuries are much more […]

Michael Chavis Homers Again
Boston Red Sox utilityman Michael Chavis hit his fourth home run of the spring on Monday, continuing to make a strong impression as he fights for a roster spot. Chavis is coming off a down 2020 in which he dealt with injuries and posted just a 69 OPS+. Chavis has been very vocal about his […]

Later-Round First Basemen - Targets and Avoids
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, everyone wants to draft some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have playing time concerns. […]

Taylor Trammell The Early Favorite For Left Field Job
Seattle Mariners outfielder Taylor Trammell continued his impressive play on Monday. Acquired from the San Diego Padres late in the 2020 season for catcher Austin Nola, the athletic rookie led off Monday's game and got on base twice in three plate appearances with a double and a walk. Trammell is now 7-for-24 (.292) with four […]

Franmil Reyes Collects Two Hits Monday
Cleveland Indians outfielder and designated hitter Franmil Reyes went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Monday's 7-3 win against the Oakland Athletics. Reyes is now 5-for-17 with a home run and two RBI across seven spring games. Reyes will be a monster source of power for fantasy players in 2021 after he crushed 37 bombs […]

Dylan Carlson Slugs First Extra-Base Hit
St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect Dylan Carlson slugged a triple on Monday. An early favorite to be one of the top rookies in 2021, he's off to a slow start this spring. Carlson is just 5-for-24 (.208) with eight strikeouts and the triple was his first extra-base hit. He also struggled in his first taste […]

Shogo Akiyama Will Open The Season On Injured List
The Cincinnati Reds announced on Monday that outfielder Shogo Akiyama (hamstring) will open the regular season on the injured list. Akiyama felt something while running the bases during Saturday's Cactus League game against the Oakland A's. Through his translator, Akiyama said, "I heard something before I landed on the base, and after I landed on […]

Heliot Ramos Avoids First Spring Cuts Monday
San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, one of the team's top prospects, was notably not optioned to Triple-A Sacramento Monday, per NBC Sport's Alex Pavlovic. The team unsurprisingly cut most of their top prospects in this first round, including Joey Bart, Marco Luciano, Hunter Bishop, and Patrick Bailey. However, the 21-year-old, who has nine hits […]

Kyle Tucker Gets Fourth Hit Of Spring On Monday
Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker went 1-for-3 against the Marlins on Monday afternoon, picking up his fourth hit of the spring in the loss. After posting back-to-back seasons with an average over .265 and a slugging percentage over .510, Tucker is currently the highest drafted Astro in fantasy with an ADP at 32. However, Tucker […]

Anthony Alford Swings A Bat Monday
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Anthony Alford (wrist) was swinging a bat for the second day in a row on Monday after being hit by a pitch on Saturday, reports Rob Biertempful of The Athletic. Alford exited Saturday's game after being hit on the right wrist, with the team later calling it right wrist discomfort. According to Biertempful, […]

Gregory Polanco Triples In Return To Lineup Monday
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco went 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk in a 12-3 loss to the Orioles Monday. Polanco had left the team to be present for the birth of his child, and he slotted in as designated hitter against Baltimore. After an injury-plagued 2019 campaign and testing positive for COVID-19 in […]

Christian Yelich Not Injured After Being Scratched From Lineup
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich was given a rest day on Monday. Yelich originally appeared in the team's lineup for their game against the Padres, though the team was managing his workload- and it wasn't injury-related. The 2018 National League MVP had a down year in the shortened 2020 season, posting his lowest OPS since […]

Luis Robert Dealing With Abdominal Strain
Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert (abdomen) is dealing with a strained abdomen, and it's why he was scratched from Monday's lineup. The team says it's just a precautionary measure, so it appears that Robert will be fine. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on, as it could be the kind of injury that isn't […]

Odubel Herrera Swats Another Homer On Sunday
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera went 2-for-3 with a home run in a Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. Don't look now, but Herrera is batting .300 this spring with two homers and a stolen base. With Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn both failing to make noise in the center field position battle, Herrera is […]

Aaron Hicks (OF, NYY) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 230 CURRENT ADP: ~259 overall ANALYSIS: Hicks is one of my favorite outfielders this year. I mean, the guy is currently projected to hit third for the Yankees, sandwiched between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, yet he is going outside the first 15 rounds on average. And, that is even with his ADP climbing […]

Yordan Alvarez (DH, HOU) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 60 CURRENT ADP: ~79 overall ANALYSIS: Alvarez only appeared in two games in all of 2020 before having his season cut short due to knee surgery. A lot went wrong for the Houston Astros in 2020, but Alvarez missing basically the entire season was at the top of the list. […]

Austin Meadows (OF, TB) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 75 CURRENT ADP: ~91 overall ANALYSIS: This is a hitter that I have been targeting and ended up walking away from both Tout Wars Draft and Hold and The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) with him in the sixth round of each. Meadows is the perfect player to give a […]

Marcell Ozuna (OF, ATL) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 31 CURRENT ADP: ~46 overall ANALYSIS: Ozuna was a player that I simply thought was very unlucky in 2019. I wrote about it for RotoBaller last season, but even in an unlucky year, he posted 29 homers, 80 runs, 89 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Then last year in 60 […]

Vidal Brujan Has Two Hits, Increases Versatility
Tampa Bay Rays prospect Vidal Brujan had two hits — including a double — on Sunday. The young player is now 4-for-13 (.308) with a BB-K of 2-5 this spring. Also of note, Brujan played right field for the first time. It was the fourth different position for the speedy 23-year-old who has also seen […]

Ryan Mountcastle Hits Two Doubles
Baltimore Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle is off to a slow start this spring but he slugged two extra-base hits on Sunday. Expected to see playing time in left field and at first base, the rookie is just 4-for-22 this spring but has three hits in his past three games — all of which have been […]

Jarred Kelenic Takes Batting Practice
Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic (knee) continued his rapid recovery from a Grade 2 adductor strain on Sunday. Kelenic took on-field batting practice for the first time since the injury nine days ago and was reportedly pain-free. After finishing his session with an opposite-field home run off of batting-practice pitcher Ichiro Suzuki, Kelenic stated that […]

Brent Rooker Collects Three Hits On Sunday
Minnesota Twins outfielder Brent Rooker had a great day at the plate on Sunday in a 5-5 tie with the Red Sox. Rooker went 3-for-3, continuing an impressive spring that has seen him collect six hits- one of them a long-ball- and two RBI. The 26-year-old made his debut last season and was impressive in […]

Nick Castellanos Doubles, Triples In Spring Loss
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and two runs in a 10-4 Cactus League loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Castellanos is having a solid spring, hitting .278 with a homer, four runs, and three RBI in 18 at-bats. The veteran outfielder dealt with a finger issue […]

Tyler O'Neill Continues To Rake On Sunday
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O'Neill continued his hot spring in Sunday's game, going 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. He raised his batting average to .476 and his OPS to 1.357. O'Neill should start the season as the everyday left fielder for the Cardinals, and could have some power and run producing […]

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 […]

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, […]

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- […]