Best Ball Pitcher Values for Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

The fantasy baseball season is right around the corner. While some of you have been drafting for months, others are about to get started. For either party, fantasy baseball best ball formats are an excellent way to get your feet wet and dig deeper into the player pool. Best ball can help you get an... Read More

Evan Phillips Records First Save Of 2024

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Evan Phillips recorded his first save of the 2024 campaign against the division rival San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Phillips worked a perfect 1-2-3 inning and recorded one strikeout. Phillips was perfect in five scoreless innings this spring and is coming off a strong 2023 season that saw him... Read More

Finding Homers and Strikeouts Throughout Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Throughout your fantasy baseball drafts, you will likely need to find certain categories as the draft progresses. To help you fill in those gaps, we're going to look at a dozen players who will help in home runs and strikeouts. These 12 players are all currently going after the midway point of standard 12-team drafts.... Read More

Woo-Suk Go Optioned To Triple-A Tuesday

The San Diego Padres optioned relief pitcher Woo-Suk Go to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Korean agreed to a two-year, $4.5 million contract this off-season after establishing himself as one of the best closers in the Korean Baseball Organization. However, he has not found that success with the Padres this spring, posting a... Read More

Sean Reid-Foley Tracking To Make Opening Day Roster

New York Mets relief pitcher Sean Reid-Foley (arm fatigue), who hasn't appeared in a Grapefruit League game since March 9 due to arm fatigue, threw a bullpen session Tuesday. The 28-year-old touched the mid-90s with his velocity. He expects to return to game action before the end of the week. Reid-Foley has had a strong... Read More

David Peterson Throws Fourth Bullpen Session Tuesday

New York Mets pitcher David Peterson (hip) threw his fourth bullpen session of spring training on Tuesday, tossing 15 pitches. "I feel like a real player again," the 28-year-old said. "It feels different, but it feels different in a better way." Peterson underwent surgery to fix a labrum tear in his left hip last November... Read More

Brusdar Graterol Placed On 15-Day Injured List Tuesday

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol (shoulder) will not be on the 26-man roster for the upcoming Seoul Series, as he was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with right shoulder inflammation. The 25-year-old made just one appearance this spring, tossing a scoreless inning. The severity of his injury is unknown, but losing... Read More

Dodgers Put Blake Treinen On Injured List

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-hander Blake Treinen (lung) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday due to a bruised lung. In a corresponding move, Landon Knack was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 35-year-old veteran reliever missed all of 2023 as well after having right-shoulder surgery in November of 2022. Treinen should be able... Read More

Red Sox Hoping Kenley Jansen Can Pitch Thursday

The Boston Red Sox are now hoping that closer Kenley Jansen (back) can pitch in a Grapefruit League game on Thursday. After being scratched from spring training action on both Monday and Tuesday with lower-back tightness, Jansen won't attempt to pitch in a minor-league game on Wednesday. Jansen was dealing with lat tightness earlier in... Read More

Kenley Jansen Not Pitching On Tuesday

Boston Red Sox right-hander Kenley Jansen (back) will not pitch on Tuesday and is still dealing with back tightness, according to manager Alex Cora. Jansen was scratched on Monday but was originally scheduled to pitch on Tuesday with four more spring outings in mind. He has mad just one spring outing on March 15 and... Read More

Chris Murphy Has "Damage" In His Elbow

Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Murphy's (elbow) MRI exam showed ligament "damage" in his elbow, according to manager Alex Cora. It's not good, obviously, and means the 25-year-old southpaw won't be on the team's Opening Day roster out of camp. A decision on whether he'll need surgery on his elbow will come in the next... Read More

Erik Swanson Dealing With Forearm Tightness

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Erik Swanson experienced tightness in his forearm and underwent an MRI. According to Jays manager John Schneider, there was no injury and no inflammation, so the 30-year-old will be shut down for "a day or two." The veteran had four saves and 29 holds for the Jays last season and figures... Read More

Jordan Romano Dealing With Elbow Inflammation

Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano is dealing with inflammation in his elbow. The 30-year-old had an MRI done and it showed no structural damage, so at this point it doesn't appear to be serious. The 2x All-Star will receive an anti-inflammatory injection Tuesday and will be shut down for three days, but will then... Read More

Who is the Cubs Closer in 2024? Fantasy Baseball Saves Outlook

The Chicago Cubs will enter the 2024 season with plenty of confidence that they can get back to the playoffs. They re-signed Cody Bellinger, signed left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga to a four-year, $53 million deal, traded for a top prospect in Michael Busch, and signed manager Craig Counsell. The Cubs made enough moves this offseason... Read More

Who is the Angels Closer? Fantasy Baseball Saves Outlook

The Los Angeles Angels went through changes this offseason, which included losing Shohei Ohtani. The team also hired long-time manager Ron Washington to right the ship in Los Angeles. However, Washington is dealt a tough task after losing Ohtani. The Angels are not expected to be very competitive in 2024, and FanGraphs projects just a... Read More

Who is the Pirates Closer in 2024? Fantasy Baseball Saves Outlook

The Pittsburgh Pirates were a surprise team to start the 2023 season after a hot start in April. They were 20-9 heading into May and stood atop the NL Central. However, reality quickly set in. The Pirates went just 8-18 in May and 11-15 in June to drop in the standings.  A lot of factors... Read More

Caleb Thielbar To Start Season On Injured List

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar (hamstring) will be one of several of the team's pitching staff to start the 2024 season on the injured list, per the Athletic's Aaron Gleeman. Thielbar suffered a strained left hamstring early in camp and, while he progressed to throwing live batting practice last week, it was determined that... Read More

Orion Kerkering Might Not Be Ready For Opening Day

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Orion Kerkering (illness) might not be ready for Opening Day on March 28, according to manager Rob Thomson. Kerkering hasn't pitched in the Grapefruit League since March 1 because of the flu, although he's scheduled to throw at the team's spring complex sometime this week. "He's 22 years old," Thomson said. "We're... Read More

Nick Martinez To Open The Year In The Rotation

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said that right-hander Nick Martinez (ribs) is locked into a starting rotation spot to begin the year, along with Frankie Montas, Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft. The fifth spot is down to Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson (shoulder). Martinez has been dealing with a rib issue in camp, but he... Read More

Kenley Jansen Scheduled To Make Four More Spring Appearances

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that closer Kenley Jansen (back) has just enough time to be ready for the start of the regular season on March 28, but there is no margin for any more injury setbacks. "We're running out of time," Cora said. Despite being scratched from his second Grapefruit League appearance... Read More

Griffin Jax - Fantasy Baseball Closer Draft Values and Sleepers (2024)

BALLER MOVE: Target in drafts ~pick 250 CURRENT ADP: ~440 overall ANALYSIS: With the news breaking that Minnesota's top closer Jhoan Duran will begin the season on the IL, Jax gets an immediate bump in value as he should be the first reliever in line to take over the closer's job while Duran is out.... Read More

Jhoan Duran To Begin Season On Injured List

Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran (oblique) will begin the season on the injured list due to a moderate oblique strain, according to president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. The fireballer has endured a rough spring as he sports an 11.57 ERA with four strikeouts and 10 hits allowed across five appearances and 4 2/3 innings... Read More

Chris Martin May Not Be Ready For Opening Day

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham writes that right-hander Chris Martin (groin) may not be ready for Opening Day on March 28. Closer Kenley Jansen (back) was scratched from making his second Grapefruit League appearance on Monday, but the team still believes he has a shot to be ready by Opening Day. The 37-year-old Martin threw... Read More

Yuki Matsui - Fantasy Baseball Closer Outlook (2024)

ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres reliever Yuki Matsui is a 28-year-old relief pitcher signed from Rakuten in the Japan Central League. The lefty has 236 career saves in the JPPL and is now in the rebuilt San Diego bullpen. Last season, Matsui had a career-high 39 saves with a tidy 1.57 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 72 strikeouts in... Read More

Scott Barlow - Fantasy Baseball Closer Outlook (2024)

ANALYSIS:  The right-hander posted a 4.37 ERA, and 1.40 WHIP, with a 79/34 K/BB ratio and 13 saves last season. He had pitched extremely well during the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Kansas City Royals. His first couple of appearances were marred by Coors and the Dodgers, but his final 21 games yielded this... Read More

Kenley Jansen Scratched With Lower-Back Tightness

Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen (back) has been scratched from the team's Grapefruit League game on Monday versus the Minnesota Twins due to lower-back tightness. However, he could pitch as soon as Tuesday, and the Red Sox still expect that he'll be ready for Opening Day on March 28. Jansen didn't make his spring... Read More

Auction Draft Targets Under $10: Starting Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Auction Leagues (2024)

Welcome RotoBallers to our salary cap league strategy article targeting pitchers with an average auction value (AAV) of under $10. In the salary cap draft format, fantasy baseball managers are not bound by the rules and structure of the snake draft. The ability to put your money towards the players you prefer feels liberating. The... Read More

Yahoo Undervalued and Overvalued Picks - Fantasy Baseball ADP Advantages for Drafts

Welcome RotoBallers to our Yahoo fantasy baseball article about undervalued and overvalued players to draft in Yahoo leagues, based on their ADP and ranking. Average Draft Position (ADP) is often the guiding light for fantasy baseball draft strategy. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when... Read More

JB's Bullpen Method Strategy for 2024: Making FrankenAces Out of Relief Pitchers

Four years ago, our esteemed JB Branson published an article breaking down his favorite fantasy baseball strategy that he’s deployed for over a decade. In his words, the Bullpen Method is a lifestyle that reflects the importance of balance on a fantasy team. Since then he's published this yearly Bullpen Method article, which most recently... Read More

Jose Leclerc Likely To Be Closer

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc has a strong possibility of opening the regular season as the team's closer, according to manager Bruce Bochy. The 30-year-old ended last season as the closer and appears in a good spot to keep that role. Last season, Leclerc finished with a 2.68 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, and 67 strikeouts... Read More