Engel's Insider Angles: Front Office Views On Dylan Moore, Musgrove, Ohtani And More

The Fantasy Sports Writers Association award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller.com! Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts and media members provide their unfiltered insights on key players and […]

2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to once again reveal their favorite preseason draft sleepers. We recently asked some of our top fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely […]

Cole Irvin Making Bid For Rotation Spot

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Cole Irvin dazzled in his last spring outing striking out 10 Dodgers in six shutout innings. The 27-year-old lefty carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning as he makes a bid for the fifth rotation spot vacated by Mike Fiers (back) who will start the season on the injured list. A's […]

Matt Bush, Ian Kennedy Make 26-Man Roster

Texas Rangers pitchers Matt Bush and Ian Kennedy have been informed that they've made the opening day roster "provided no unforeseen circumstance" occurs. Texas has been inundated with injuries to the bullpen and has lost a long list of relievers including Jose Leclerc, Jonathan Hernandez, Brett Martin, and Joely Rodriguez. Bush, who hasn't pitched in […]

Anthony Bender Fires Another Scoreless Inning

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Anthony Bender tossed another scoreless inning in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bender did allow two hits, but only needed 16 pitches to get through his inning of work. The 26-year-old fireballer has not allowed a run all spring and has 10 strikeouts through 8 1/3 innings […]

Adam Plutko Traded To Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles acquired pitcher Adam Plutko from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations on Saturday, according to Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. Coming off a down year in 2020 where he posted a 4.88 ERA and 12.9 percent strikeout rate in 27 2/3 innings, Plutko has looked slightly better this spring with a 26.8 percent […]

Bryan Abreu Makes Astros' Opening Day Roster

Houston Astros relief pitcher Bryan Abreu was informed on Saturday that he had made the Opening Day roster, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Abreu — one of the top prospects in Houston's system — had looked fairly solid before a rough appearance on Saturday, allowing four runs — three earned — on six hits […]

Matt Barnes Tests Positive For COVID-19

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Matt Barnes (COVID-19) tested positive on Saturday for COVID-19, Tom Caron of NESN reports. Caron adds that the scheduled starter for Saturday's Grapefruit League game — Matt Andriese — has been scratched due to possible exposure. Barnes was Boston's closer last season, recording nine saves in 24 appearances while posting […]

Jamie Steed's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021

Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. With that in mind, I do think that each of these predictions has a legitimate chance of occurring […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pitcher Statcast

Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is evidence […]

Deep Prospects to Stash in Dynasty

Chasing prospects is like playing the lottery. You're going to lose more times than you'll win, but if you win big it'll make up for all your losses. In dynasty leagues, managers are always going to try to be three steps ahead when it comes to identifying the next hot prospect. In this article, we're […]

Eric Samulski's Bold Predictions for 2021

It's bold prediction time! Everybody's favorite time of year. Last year I put out my bold prediction article, and it was a doozy. Obviously, publishing it before the shutdown which delayed the MLB season impacted some of the claims, but, actually, no, I'll just blame everything on that. Anyways, I'm back again to plant my […]

Anthony Bass Finishes Friday's Win

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Anthony Bass pitched a perfect ninth inning in a 9-0 win over the Houston Astros in Grapefruit League play. Bass struck out two and got a fly out in his inning of work. He's lowered his spring ERA to 2.16 and despite no official announcement from manager Don Mattingly just yet, […]

Brandon Kintzler Makes Phillies Opening Day Roster

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Brandon Kintzler was told he made the Phillies Opening Day roster, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Kintzler has pitched to a sub-three ERA in two straight seasons and will provide depth at the back end of the bullpen in his first season in Philly. The 36-year-old has closing experience with the […]

Brad Boxberger Released By Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers released relief pitcher Brad Boxberger on Friday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. The 32-year-old was unable to secure a spot on the big-league roster to open the season, though Milwaukee apparently hopes to re-sign him on another minor-league deal. Boxberger had a 3.00 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 18:8 K: BB over 18 […]

Bryan Shaw Makes Opening Day Roster

Cleveland Indians right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw, who signed a minor league deal with the team this offseason, was told earlier this week that he will make the Opening Day roster. He'll receive a one-year deal worth $1 million with a chance to earn $1.3 million in performance bonuses based on pitching appearances. Shaw was a […]

Garrett Whitlock Makes Opening Day Roster

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced on Friday morning that reliever Garrett Whitlock will make the team's Opening Day roster. Whitlock, who was acquired from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft this offseason, has been the team's feel-good story of the spring. He has allowed just one run in nine innings, striking out […]

Paolo Espino, Luis Avilan Could Open Games

Washington Nationals pitchers Paolo Espino and Luis Avilan could be used as openers this season. Manager Davey Martinez is worried about putting too many innings on pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who only threw five innings in 2020, and potential fifth starter Joe Ross, who threw zero. It doesn't sound like Strasburg or Ross would be used […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Spin Rate

Spin rate has become one of the most recognizable Statcast metrics, with supporters of a given pitcher highlighting his spin rates to make their case. It has also become controversial as of late due to allegations of pitchers using foreign substances to increase their spin. Unfortunately, the baseball world has done a lousy job conveying […]

Nick Neidert Tosses Four Strong Innings On Thursday

Miami Marlins pitcher Nick Neidert pitched well on Thursday in a Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. Neidert was scheduled to pitch four innings in relief and did just that, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five. Neidert seems like he'll end up in second place in the […]

Nicklaus Gaut: Bold, Bolder, Boldest Predictions

Ahh, the time-honored tradition of making bold predictions is upon us. We hem and we haw; we make outrageous claims like Adalberto Mondesi invented the question mark, and bicker about the proper definition of "bold". In the NotBurtatorium (totally a real word), however, we worry not about this or that definition. Our goals are simple […]

Richard Rodriguez Allows Run In Third Straight Appearance

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Richard Rodriguez allowed a run in his third straight appearance on Thursday, finishing with one run allowed on two hits while striking out one in 1 1/3 innings against the Orioles. After Thursday's appearance, Rodriguez has now allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk with two strikeouts in his […]

Stefan Crichton Allows First Runs Of Spring

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Stefan Crichton allowed his first runs of the spring on Thursday, surrendering three runs — two earned — on two hits while striking out one in one inning of work against the Orioles. Crichton had looked solid this spring prior to Thursday's outing, having allowed just four hits and one walk […]

Nick Anderson To Miss First Half Of Season

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Nick Anderson (elbow) will be out for at least the first half of the season with a partially torn ligament in his elbow, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The news comes after a rough outing from Anderson on Wednesday, in which his velocity was down by […]

Randy Dobnak Makes Opening Day Roster

Minnesota Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak has made the Opening Day roster, per manager Rocco Baldelli. The news isn't surprising, given how good Dobnak has looked this spring. He was sharp once again in Thursday's outing against the Red Sox, pitching five innings while allowing one hit and one run with five strikeouts. The 26-year-old has […]

Lewis Thorpe Optioned To Alternate Site

Minnesota Twins pitcher Lewis Thorpe has been sent down to the team's alternate site. This was expected after the Twins were granted a fourth minor league option on Thorpe, who has enjoyed a strong spring, pitching 7.2 innings while allowing four hits, two runs, and a pair of walks compared to eight strikeouts. While he'll […]

RotoBaller Friends & Family Industry Mock Draft Recap

The 2021 RotoBaller Friends & Family Mock Draft is the continuation of an annual tradition where we gather some of the biggest names from the fantasy baseball world and put together a mock draft just as spring training has commenced. Thanks to RT Sports for once again hosting and providing a custom draft site where […]

Kolby Allard, Joe Palumbo Optioned To Minors

Texas Rangers pitchers Kolby Allard and Joe Palumbo were optioned to the alternate training site on Wednesday. Both players entered the spring with solid opportunities to win opening day roles with the club. Allard was actually leading the club in innings pitched this spring with 11.2. He had a 3.86 ERA with a K-BB of […]

Taylor Hearn, Wes Benjamin, John King Make Rangers Roster

Texas Rangers pitchers Taylor Hearn, Wes Benjamin, and John King have successfully made the club's opening day roster. Roles for the three pitchers were not announced but all three have started games in recent seasons. Hearn appeared in 14 games out of the bullpen for the Rangers in 2020 with a 3.63 ERA. Benjamin, a […]

Dane Dunning Makes Rangers Roster

Texas Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning has made the club's opening day roster. The 26-year-old rookie's role is yet to be announced but it's expected that he'll work as a tandem starter for the club. So far this spring, he's allowed just two runs in 8.1 innings (2.16 ERA) with a K-BB of 5-3. Acquired from […]