Pirates and Reds Game On Saturday Postponed

Saturday's scheduled game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds has been postponed in the wake of one player on the Reds testing positive for COVID-19. It remains questionable whether Sunday's contest between the two teams will also be postponed. Owners in leagues with daily lineups should be sure to sit any Reds and Pirates […]

Joakim Soria Earns Relief Win Friday

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Joakim Soria earned a win in relief at the Giants on Friday after pitching a scoreless bottom of the ninth. Soria had been lights out to start the season and Friday was actually one of his worse appearances as he allowed a hit and a walk while failing to record a […]

Liam Hendriks Strikes Out The Side For Sixth Save

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Liam Hendriks made quick work of the Giants Friday night to pick up his sixth save of the season. Hendriks struck out the side on just 13 pitches to protect a one-run lead, with the tying run at second base the whole time due to MLB's new extra innings rule. Hendriks […]

Hector Neris Blows Save, Picks Up Win

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Hector Neris blew his second save of the season on Friday, but picked up the win when the home team walked-off in the bottom of the ninth. Neris wasn't hit hard as he allowed two infield singles and a walk to go along with two strikeouts. Despite being just 2-for-4 in […]

Cincinnati Reds Player Tests Positive For COVID-19

News broke in the early hours of this morning that a member of the Cincinnati Reds had tested positive for COVID-19. While there hasn't been a formal announcement on the status of the team's games against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday and Sunday yet, it's safe to expect the two teams won't be playing the […]

Kirby Yates Leaves Friday's Game, Getting MRI On Elbow

San Diego Padres closer Kirby Yates (elbow) left Friday's game in the eighth inning after just six pitches as he was experiencing elbow soreness. Yates had been held out of action for the past week due to soreness in his back. He is currently scheduled for an MRI on his elbow and early indications make […]

Craig Kimbrel Throws Scoreless Frame

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel threw a scoreless inning on Friday versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Kimbrel did allow a walk, but he also recorded two strikeouts and his pitches looked the best they have all season. Manager David Ross has been using Rowan Wick has the closer, but has not formally removed Kimbrel from […]

Rowan Wick Not Officially Tabbed Cubs’ Closer

Manager David Ross made it clear prior to Friday’s contest against Milwaukee: right-hander Rowan Wick is not his only ninth-inning option. Wick’s three saves lead the Cubs at this point, but Ross was succinct, saying, “I haven’t named anybody” to the closer’s gig. The most likely option to supplant Wick would be Craig Kimbrel, although […]

Yusei Kikuchi Scratched Friday, Nestor Cortes To Start

Seattle Mariners left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi has been scratched from his start Friday against the Astros shortly before first pitch due to neck spasms, paving the way for left-hander Nestor Cortes to earn the start. Kikuchi was roughed up by Houston the first time that the two faced off this season, yielding five runs across […]

Ken Giles Plays Catch Friday, No Timeline For Return Made

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Ken Giles got two bits of positive news Friday as manager Charlie Montoyo deemed his MRI “good,” in addition to Giles himself saying he was also “good.” What’s also good for owners hoping to have Giles back soon is that he played catch Friday, presumably one of the last steps […]

Alex Young Tabbed For First Start Of 2020 On Saturday

Arizona Diamondbacks left-handed pitcher Alex Young will enter the starting rotation for Saturday’s contest against San Diego. All seven of Young’s appearances this season have come out of relief, having yielded five runs in 9 ⅔ frames with 10 strikeouts to his credit. Young will be filling the spot of Madison Bumgarner, who is on […]

Christian Colon DFA’d, Tyler Thornburg Called Up

The Cincinnati Reds have designated infielder Christian Colon for assignment, using his roster spot to bring up right-handed pitcher Tyler Thornburg to join a rocky bullpen. Colon’s path to playing time was about to be severely hampered when Mike Moustakas (quad), who is set to be activated off the injured list Sunday, returns. The Reds’ bullpen […]

Cal Quantrill Set To Start Saturday Against Arizona

San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Cal Quantrill will enter the starting rotation for Saturday’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks, making his first start of 2020. Quantrill has experience with the starting staff, having made 18 starts last season to the tune of a 5.69 ERA. His numbers out of relief -- where he has spent […]

Cardinals To Return To Play On Saturday

The St. Louis Cardinals will return to the field on Saturday for a double header against the Chicago White Sox. The Cardinals have not played since July 29 and have played just five games this season. Assuming no more positive COVID-19 tests, the Cardinals will be playing a lot of games in not a lot […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 4 Waiver Wire

For a season chock full of bullpen changes and injuries already, this week was a slight cool down period. In other words, this would still probably have been a bigger bullpen news week during a normal season, but for this particular season, it seemed like a much-welcomed downswing. There were still depth chart changes, there were still […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the August 14th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Top 50 Prospects for Fantasy Baseball Redraft: Week 4 Rankings

We're now a little over a sixth of the way through the 2020 MLB season and it's already shaping up to be an interesting year for freshmen players. While the two best rookies have been hitters, we've also seen impressive depth on the mound. Many of the top bats have underperformed or been stuck at […]

Rowan Wick Picks Up Third Save

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Rowan Wick picked up his third save of the season on Thursday versus the Brewers. Wick gave up his first run of the season, but was able to secure the victory for the Cubs. With Craig Kimbrel in a funk, it appears that Wick is the preferred option for saves. Wick […]

Edwin Diaz Racking Up K’s Despite Losing Closer’s Role

New York Mets right-handed pitcher Edwin Diaz had a short leash as the team’s closer to begin 2020, but that hasn’t affected his ability to rack up strikeouts in bunches. Through his first 8 ⅓ frames, he has compiled 17 strikeouts, not having yielded a run since July 30. While the Mets have utilized him […]

Kenley Jansen Reclaiming Elite Form To Begin 2020

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen appears to have found his level, returning to the elite fantasy option that he has been for most of the past decade. Yielding a staggering 5.9% Hard Hit%, Jansen has also not allowed a barrel yet this season, with the opposition delivering an average exit velocity of 82 MPH. […]

Austin Gomber Lands On COVID-19 IL, Has Not Tested Positive

St. Louis Cardinals left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber is the latest member of the organization to hit the COVID-19 injured list, even as he has not tested positive. Gomber has tossed 3 ⅓ scoreless innings out of relief thus far in 2020, and figured to become a prominent piece for the pitching staff upon the team […]

Red Sox Will Deploy Bullpen For Entirety Of Friday’s Game

The Boston Red Sox pitching staff is in shambles, resulting in manager Ron Roenicke utilizing a bullpen day for Friday’s series opener against the New York Yankees. As a club, the Red Sox have posted a 5.60 ERA this year, the second-worst mark in the American League. Aside from Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez, no […]

Edinson Volquez Lands On 45-Day IL With Oblique Strain

Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Edinson Volquez has been bitten by the injury bug again, landing on the 45-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Volquez has vultured two wins out of relief thus far in 2020, but it appears that his season is likely done after just seven appearances. Having battled back from […]

Sean Doolittle Placed On IL, Seth Romero Set For Debut

Washington Nationals left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle will hit the injured list due to fatigue in his right knee with lefty prospect Seth Romero taking his roster spot ahead of Thursday’s contest against the Mets. Doolittle had opened 2020 in the closer’s role before losing that gig as he scuffled with five runs and three homers […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the August 13th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Week 4 MLB Closers & Bullpen Usage Report

Monitoring bullpens in 2020 will be a vital task each and every day. Because of this, we'll be publishing a weekly article at RotoBaller that tracks which bullpens are being taxed and which pitchers within that bullpen are being heavily used. The idea of this column is to help you gain an inside track into which […]

Tony Gonsolin Strikes Out Eight In Stellar Performance

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin sprinkled three hits across 4 2/3 scoreless innings during Wednesday's 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres. He struck out eight batters while issuing a single walk. Gonsolin has not surrendered a run through 8 2/3 innings so far in 2020. It is unclear whether or not a full-time […]

Dellin Betances Strikes Out The Side In Mets Win

New York Mets relief pitcher Dellin Betances pitched a scoreless seventh inning striking out the side in the Mets 11-6 win over the Nationals on Wednesday. It was his third scoreless appearance in a row after being tagged for four earned runs in 1/3 inning of work against the Braves back on July 31. Notwithstanding […]

Cole Sulser Rebounds, Earns Save Wednesday

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Cole Sulser rebounded after a blown save Tuesday and locked down his fourth save of the season in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Phillies. Sulser pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning through the heart of the Phillies' lineup with two strikeouts. He has now converted four of six save opportunities with a […]

Jose Urquidy's Role Remains Unclear

Houston Astros pitcher Jose Urquidy (undisclosed) was scheduled to throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday afternoon. According to team manager Dusty Baker, Urquidy's timeline to return from injury depends on the role he is going to serve with the team. The assumption is that he will return as a starter given the current lack […]