A.J. Puk A Favorite To Begin Year In The Rotation

With Miami Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett (shoulder) now likely to open the year on the injured list due to a shoulder issue, it would appear that left-hander A.J. Puk is now the heavy favorite to open the regular season as the team's No. 3 starter. The 28-year-old southpaw has been transitioning from a relief role […]

Caleb Thielbar Throws Another Bullpen Session Monday

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar (hamstring) threw his second bullpen session of March on Monday at close to full effort. The 37-year-old sustained a left hamstring strain during his conditioning exercises in late February. Thielbar performed well for the Twins last season, going 3-1 with 14 holds and a 3.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and […]

Matt Brash To Resume Throwing Tuesday

Seattle Mariners right-hander Matt Brash (elbow), who has been dealing with elbow inflammation in camp, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday. All eyes will be on his throwing session with a trainer. If his throwing session doesn't go well, Brash will almost certainly begin the year on the injured list after appearing in an […]

Tommy Kahnle Might Not Be Ready For Opening Day

New York Yankees right-hander Tommy Kahnle (shoulder) is behind in his buildup this spring as a result of the right-shoulder inflammation that ended his season early last fall, according to manager Aaron Boone. As a result, Kahnle might not be ready for Opening Day on March 28. He's throwing bullpen sessions, but he won't pitch […]

Kyle Crick Out Of Walking Boot

New York Mets reliever Kyle Crick (calf) is out of his walking boot and is making progress toward throwing. Crick suffered a calf strain in camp two weeks before the opening of spring training, but he thinks he should be game-ready in another three to four weeks. His goal remains breaking camp on a roster […]

David Bednar Hopes To Be Back Soon

The Pittsburgh Pirates and closer David Bednar (lat) are playing it safe in spring training and he's currently not throwing, but the good news is he doesn't seem too worried about the severity of his injury. "Hopefully will be back soon," Bednar said. Manager Derek Shelton said on Sunday that Bednar is dealing with right-lat […]

Ryan Helsley Remains A Strong Bullpen Option

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley has tossed two scoreless outings over his first two Grapefruit League appearances this spring. He has also recorded three strikeouts. Helsley is coming off of another strong season as the Cardinals closer and remains the top option for saves in St. Louis. Entering 2024, the fireballer remains one of […]

Statcast Pitch Tracking: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

When you're evaluating a pitcher by Pitch Info on FanGraphs, sometimes you see pitches that don't seem to accomplish anything. If Pitch X is seldom a strike, rarely chased outside of the zone, and not generating whiffs or a favorable batted line against, why doesn't the pitcher scrap it entirely? Some pitchers could improve by […]

Dauri Moreta Exits Early On Sunday

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Dauri Moreta (elbow) was unable to finish his outing against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. The right-hander saw a significant drop in velocity before a visit from the training staff. The 27-year-old was pulled out of the contest due to right elbow discomfort. Moreta was a key piece to the Pirates […]

David Bednar Dealing With Lat Injury, Shut Down From Throwing

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar (lat) is dealing with right lat tightness. Bednar felt tightness in his lat during a throwing program. The Pirates are playing it safe with Bednar, and he is currently shut down from throwing. "Hopefully, he will be back soon," said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. Pittsburgh will continue to monitor the injury […]

Alexis Diaz Strikes Out The Side In Spring Debut

Cincinnati Reds closer Alexis Diaz made his spring debut on Thursday in a 5-4 Cactus League win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2023 All-Star struck out the side on nine pitches, generating six swing-and-misses, and the final to go down swinging was none other than perennial MVP candidate Mookie Betts. It looks like Diaz […]

Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects Rankings (February 2024 Update)

We're back, RotoBallers, for the February 2024 update of our MLB team's dynasty fantasy baseball prospects rankings for the 2024 season. We're now into 2024 with an eye on the upcoming year, and moves by MLB teams have begun to shape how we look at prospects. This list adds a half-dozen 2024 international signees who […]

Five Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers: Mid-To-Late Round Value Picks (NL Central)

The NL Central doesn't have the same kind of fantasy baseball stars as other divisions. As a matter of fact, the first player selected from the NL Central isn't until Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is taken in the early fourth round. After that, Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger, Freddy Peralta, and Nico Hoerner […]

3 NL-Only Draft Sleepers: Fantasy Baseball Mid-Round Picks (2024)

Welcome back RotoBallers to our NL-Only fantasy baseball draft values article about players to target in the middle rounds of AL-Only league drafts in 2024. You can see our AL-Only draft values article as well. Playing in an Only league can be tricky in fantasy baseball. With half of the players in baseball eliminated from […]

Closers and Saves Bullpen Report for Fantasy Baseball - AL Edition

We are so back. Spring training is underway, people are already overreacting to meaningless games, and somehow several top-tier free agents are still unemployed. It's always a fun time in the baseball world as hope springs eternal for most teams (some try their best to be realistic, but even then you can see the slightest […]

Ian Gibaut Could Miss Opening Day

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Ian Gibaut (forearm) appears to be in danger of missing Opening Day. Reds' manager David Bell recently mentioned that Gibaut has yet to resume throwing after being shut down last week. The 30-year-old is still recovering from a forearm issue and is considered "close" for Opening Day. The right-hander was a […]

Mason Miller Electric On Friday

Oakland A's pitcher Mason Miller was electric in his lone inning of work in Friday's Cactus League game versus the Kansas City Royals. The 25-year-old struck out the side on 16 pitches, reaching 101 mph on nine of his fastballs and even reached 103 mph on another. Miller showed power stuff in his 10-outing debut […]

David Bednar Still The Closer For Pirates

Despite the offseason addition of left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman and his seven All-Star selections, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander David Bednar remains the team's primary closer heading into the 2024 season. Bednar, who has been an All-Star each of the last two years himself, received a call from manager Derek Shelton after Chapman's signing, reassuring him of […]

Raisel Iglesias Makes Spring Debut Friday

Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias made his Grapefruit League debut on Friday in a game against the Baltimore Orioles. He entered in the fourth frame and had a scoreless inning of work, with his only blemish being a two-out double to infield prospect Jackson Holliday. In his first full season with the Braves in 2023, […]

Jose Soriano To Be Stretched Out As A Starter

Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jose Soriano will be stretched out as a starter this spring and will start Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He still has a chance to end up in the bullpen but new Angels skipper Ron Washington wanted to give the 25-year-old a crack at the rotation. Soriano made his big-league […]

Gregory Santos Progressing Well In Throwing Program

Seattle Mariners pitcher Gregory Santos (lat) is progressing well early in his throwing program, according to M's general manager Justin Hollander. Santos was cleared to begin a throwing program on Tuesday and the early reports are positive at this time. The 24-year-old was acquired from the Chicago White Sox on Feb. 3 for two minor […]

Yuki Matsui Resumes Playing Catch

San Diego Padres left-hander Yuki Matsui (back) has resumed playing catch in camp on Friday. The 28-year-old reliever was shut down from throwing last weekend due to inflammation in his back, but it wasn't a serious concern and he's already back to throwing. It remains unclear when he'll be able to get into another Cactus […]

Matt Brash Could Resume Throwing Next Week

An MRI exam on Seattle Mariners right-hander Matt Brash (elbow) confirmed that he's dealing with medial right-elbow inflammation, and he could resume throwing in camp next week, according to general manager Justin Hollander. It's great news after a recent report earlier this week suggested that Brash could be dealing with a serious arm injury. The […]

Tanner Rainey Not Worried About Velocity

Washington Nationals right-hander Tanner Rainey, who returned late last year from Tommy John surgery, had a perfect inning in his Grapefruit League outing on Thursday and threw only nine pitches (six strikes). His fastball topped out at 92 mph, though, which was a bit alarming since he averaged 97 mph on his fastball before his […]

Kyle Finnegan Evolving With New Sweeper

Washington Nationals reliever Kyle Finnegan tried out a new sweeper for the first time in a Grapefruit League game on Wednesday. "Finnegan's always been toying around with trying to get a third pitch," manager Davey Martinez said. "Cause everything he throws is hard. So, he wanted to create some kind of deception, more or less." […]

Andres Munoz Strikes Out Two In Spring Debut

Seattle Mariners closer Andres Munoz made his spring debut on Thursday in a 6-5 Cactus League loss to the Chicago White Sox. The righty pitched one inning, needing just eight pitches to get through it. He got Peyton Burdick to pop out on the first pitch he saw and struck out both Brett Phillips and […]

How To Use MLB Prospect Rankings Lists to Win Fantasy Baseball Leagues

There are many excellent sources to get prospect information for MLB fantasy leagues. Some, like Baseball America, have been putting together prospect lists for 30+ years. Others are fairly new to the game but have excellent writers and evaluators to offer plenty of insight. What does all of that mean for your fantasy league, though? […]

Jimmy Lambert, Joe Barlow Dealing With Shoulder Soreness

Chicago White Sox relief pitchers Jimmy Lambert and Joe Barlow are both dealing with shoulder soreness in camp. Lambert will be sideline for 10 to 14 days, while Barlow could be out even longer. Lambert has not pitched since making his Cactus League debut on Feb. 25 and is going to be out for some […]

Andrew Wantz Moving Into Starting Role

Los Angeles Angels right-hander Andrew Wantz has moved into a starting role, at least for now, according to skipper Ron Washington. Washington said the reason for it is the team's need for depth in the starting rotation. Wantz hasn't been a starter since the 2019 season in the minor leagues, but he'll remain stretched out […]

Robert Stephenson Unsure If He'll Be Ready By Opening Day

Los Angeles Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson (shoulder) said he's confident he'll be pitching in spring training games, but he's not sure it will be enough games for him to be active on Opening Day in late March. Stephenson is working his way back from right-shoulder soreness in camp and was able to play catch on […]