Jeurys Familia Strong Again in Bullpen Thursday

New York Mets reliever Jeurys Familia continued his strong start to the season out of the bullpen on Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Familia pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out three batters and walking only one. Through four appearances in 2019, Familia has yet to allow a run and has only surrendered one hit […]

Ian Kennedy (SP/RP, KC) - Waiver Wire Pickups Week 2

BALLER MOVE: Add in AL-only and 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of Leagues ANALYSIS: After back-to-back disappointing seasons as a starter, it appears that Ian Kennedy may have found his new niche in Kansas City. He debuted this season in the eighth inning, preserving the team’s two-run advantage by throwing a clean frame. In […]

Anthony Swarzak (RP, SEA) - Waiver Wire Pickups Week 2

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Saves are more about opportunity than any other factor and Mariners relievers Anthony Swarzak just jumped up that list with Hunter Strickland out for a few months and the lack of great options in the Seattle bullpen. The first Mariner to get a […]

Blake Parker (RP, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups Week 2

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of Leagues ANALYSIS: When the Minnesota Twins acquired Blake Parker this offseason, it wasn’t evident where the club planned to use his arm. The spring training hype for the Twins closer situation seemed to revolve around Trevor May winning the job, but now that we […]

Seth Lugo Hit Again As Woes Continue

The New York Mets bullpen has not been effective thus far in 2019, with the exception of closer Edwin Diaz. Seth Lugo, one of the better pitchers the bullpen featured last year, is at the forefront of these early woes. The 28-year-old was tagged for two runs on two hits Thursday afternoon, only managing to […]

Luke Gregerson To Begin a Rehab Assignment

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Luke Gregerson (shoulder) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Palm Beach. He's been stricken with shoulder injuries since last season, but he and the team are hoping this time he'll be back throwing for good. He should be able to work his way into a setup role […]

Tim Anderson Back From Paternity Leave

The Chicago White Sox activated shortstop Tim Anderson from the paternity list on Thursday. They also optioned reliever Dylan Covey to Triple-A Charlotte and activated pitcher Ian Hamilton (shoulder) from the injured list and sent him to Charlotte. Anderson has four hits in his first 12 at-bats (.333) of the season and will be set […]

Kenley Jansen Traveling To Colorado This Weekend

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is traveling to Denver, Colorado, this weekend for the first time since he suffered an irregular heartbeat in his last trip there on Aug. 9 of last year. He missed 11 games after that and was held from a trip to Colorado in early September due to the high […]

A.J. Minter Activated, Bryse Wilson Sent Down

The Atlanta Braves activated relief pitcher A.J. Minter (shoulder) from the injured list on Thursday and optioned starting pitcher Bryse Wilson to Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. Minter filled in nicely for Arodys Vizcaino in the ninth-inning role in the second half last season and recorded 15 saves. There's a good chance he'll be […]

Red Sox Bullpen Shuts Down Oakland Late

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Matt Barnes pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn the 6-3 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday. Barnes came into a tied game at three with two outs in the seventh. He also worked the entire eighth, striking out two and allowing just one hit in the appearance. Ryan Brasier earned […]

Top Prospect News For Week 1

Baseball is back! Opening Day of the 2019 MLB slate came and went last week, but now we have the start of the minor league season to look forward to this week. Fantasy owners, especially those in dynasty/keeper leagues, are always looking for the next young stud prospect that might be a difference-maker at the […]

Digging Up Fantasy Value in Baltimore

In every season there are teams who initially appear so bad that we give up all hope of fantasy value. In 2019 one of those teams was the Baltimore Orioles, who had a very different lineup to last year. 2018 saw the Orioles move on from Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop, and Adam Jones followed […]

AL-Only Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 1

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Dakota Hudson Picks Up a Save on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Dakota Hudson picked up his first save on Wednesday, recording the last two outs of the Cardinals extra-inning win. He walked a batter but retired the other two he faced, wrapping up the 10th inning. Hudson could see significant late-game innings this season, but he's not at the top of […]

Jose Leclerc Continues To Toss Up Donuts

Texas Rangers closer Jose Leclerc finished Wednesday's 4-0 victory against the Houston Astros in a non-save situation. He worked a tidy nine-pitch perfect frame while recording a strikeout, and he has yielded just one hit and one walk with two punchouts over 4 1/3 scoreless innings. When the Rangers win, they're going to be close games, […]

Steve Cishek Picks Up The Loss

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Steve Cishek blew a two-run lead versus the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday to pick up the loss. Cishek just didn’t have command Wednesday and walked all three batters that he faced without recording an out. Randy Rosario replaced Cishek and allowed a bases-clearing double to Johan Camargo and all the runs […]

After Hours With RotoBaller Radio: Free Agent Frenzy

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2019 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - Monday through Friday from 6-7 am ET. You can also find new weekly shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, SoundCloud and on iTunes […]

Chad Green Allows Home Run, Takes Loss

Wednesday afternoon saw another weak effort by the New York Yankees offense in the Bronx. The unit only managed to score one run, leaving little room for error for the pitching staff. Reliever Chad Green, one of the vaunted arms out of the bullpen, gave up a solo home run in the eighth. It would […]

Blake Parker Earns Save In Second Straight Game

Minnesota Twins reliever Blake Parker picked up his second save on Wednesday, pitching a scoreless one-third of an inning to preserve a 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals. This goes down as Parker's second consecutive day with a save for his team. Fantasy owners should take note, as the Twins opened the season with […]

Trevor Rosenthal Yet to Retire Batter

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal walked both batters he faced in the eighth inning of Washington's 9-8 win against the Philadelphia Phillies and has yet to record an out through seven batters faced this season. Both runners came around to score on Andrew McCutchen's three-run double off of Kyle Barraclough, who is not doing […]

Brandon Morrow To Face Live Hitters Soon

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Brandon Morrow (elbow) is progressing and will throw one more bullpen session before he faces live hitters. He'll also need to eventually go on a minor league rehab assignment before rejoining the Cubs. Morrow missed all of the second half of the season in 2018 due to right arm issues, but […]

White Sox-Mariners Postponed Thursday

The game between the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners will be postponed on Thursday due to inclement weather. White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez will match up against Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi for the team's home opener on Friday now. Lopez gave up four earned runs and six hits while striking out just two in […]

Jeremy Jeffress To Start Rehab Assignment Friday

Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he saw "all good signs" from relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress' (shoulder) outing in extended spring training on Tuesday. The reliever will pitch on Friday with Triple-A San Antonio. Jeffress had a fine 1.29 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 10.4 K/9 and 15 saves in 73 outings for the Brew Crew last […]

Indians Give Terry Francona Two-Year Extension

The Cleveland Indians signed manager Terry Francona to a two-year contract extension through the 2022 season on Wednesday. His current deal was set to expire after the 2020 season. The soon-to-be 60-year-old has led the Tribe to three straight American League Central titles and the World Series in 2016. The club has made the playoffs […]

Blake Parker Earns A Save On Tuesday

Minnesota Twins reliever Blake Parker earned his first save of the season in closing out a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Parker pitched a scoreless 10th inning, walking one and striking out one in the process. The Minnesota closer situation has been murky this season, with Parker, Trevor May, and Taylor […]

NL-Only Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 1

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Anthony Swarzak Picks Up Save For Mariners

Fresh off the injured list, the Seattle Mariners wasted no time in giving relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak a high-leverage situation to work out of on Tuesday. He came into the game relieving Marco Gonzales with one out and runners on the corners in a 2-1 game. He then proceeded to strike out Albert Pujols before inducing […]

Justin Wilson Escapes With Save

The New York Mets nearly blew a four-run lead Tuesday night at Marlins Park, but managed to escape. With Edwin Diaz unavailable after appearing in a non-save situation Monday night, Justin Wilson was tasked with preserving the lead. By the time the former Chicago Cub entered, the lead was already in peril. He escaped a […]

Shawn Armstrong Could Return Next Homestand

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong (oblique) will make a few minor league rehab outings and could return from the injured list on the team's next homestand. With closer Hunter Strickland (lat) out two months, Seattle's save's picture is wide open and includes arms like Chasen Bradford, Roenis Elias, Matthew Festa, Cory Gearrin, Nick Rumbelow […]

Aroldis Chapman Stumbles, Takes Loss

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was faced with a non-save situation Tuesday night in the Bronx. The Cuban native entered in the ninth inning of a tied game and ominously allowed a leadoff walk before a double quickly put the Detroit Tigers ahead. He would allow a second run before escaping, getting tagged with […]