Josh Hader Locks Down Third Save Of 2018

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader pitched two innings, giving up one hit, one unearned run, one walk, and struck out three in the 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins. Despite Hader pitching an inning yesterday in a losing scenario, it looks like he's back to closing games for the Brewers. It seems that they […]

Jeremy Jeffress Continues To Pitch With Excellence

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress threw another scoreless inning with two strikeouts in the 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins. In 12 2/3 innings pitched for Jeffress this year, he has only given up one run way back on April 6 vs. the Chicago Cubs and has 11 strikeouts total. To add on to […]

John Brebbia Called Up Yet Again on Sunday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher John Brebbia was called up from Triple-A again on Sunday. With Adam Wainwright heading to the disabled list, Brebbia was able to be called up even though he was just sent down a few days ago. If the Cardinals go with a four-man rotation while Wainwright is out, Brebbia may […]

Kenley Jansen Sees Cutter Velocity Return

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen saw the velocity on his cutter return during his Saturday night ninth inning appearance. The Dodgers were up 4-0, so the save wasn't in play, but Jansen retired all three batters he faced, threw 10 of his 16 pitches for strikes and struck out one batter. Fantasy owners can […]

Angels DFA Luke Bard

The Los Angeles Angels have designated right-hander Luke Bard for assignment. Bard was originally a Rule 5 selection from the Minnesota Twins, but had an ugly 5.40 ERA in 11 2/3 innings with the Angels. Still, his 13/5 K/BB ratio was solid, so it wouldn't be shocking if another team gave him a chance. If […]

Bobby Poyner Activated From And Optioned To Pawtucket

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Bobby Poyner (hamstring) was activated off DL from his rehab assignment at Pawtucket and subsequently optioned back to Pawtucket on Sunday, according to the Red Sox. This is a surprising move as Poyner had been pitching well prior to the injury, with a 2.57 ERA and 24.1 K/BB. Evidently the […]

Zach Britton's Rehab Going According to Plan

After participating in fielding drills successfully yesterday, Baltimore Orioles reliever Zach Britton had a half-mound session that went well on Sunday. These are all encouraging signs for Britton as he continues his comeback from an offseason ruptured Achilles, and even though he is on the 60-day disabled list, Orioles manager Buck Showalter has indicated that […]

Digging Deeper: Week 4 AL/NL Waiver Wire Targets

Hey there RotoBallers. Apologies for the lack of article last week, but we're back in full force for Week 4. Hopefully your first month of fantasy baseball is going well, because I know I'm still waiting for my players' bats to wake up. Whether you're mulling over replacements or trying to improve an already successful […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (4/22/18): MLB DFS Lineups

Happy Sunday! We’ve got an 11-game featured slate on DraftKings today, one that excludes the west coast games. That still leaves us with Coors Field, Corey Kluber, and a lot of terrible, horrible starting pitchers. It will be tough to fit the Klubot and the Coors Field bats in our lineup today, but there is […]

The Cut List (Week 4): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to the fourth edition of the Cut List! I hope my suggestions have helped everyone sort their rosters out over the past few weeks. We’re slowly reaching that point where we can start trusting sample sizes, but we’re not quite there yet. My goal with this weekly column is simple: I want to provide […]

Streaming Wars - Waiver Wire Targets For April 23

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. It may only be April, but it's never too early to start streaming. For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis […]

Brewers Closer Role Remains Uncertain As Ever

The Milwaukee Brewers closer remains uncertain as ever, with the injury of Corey Knebel as Josh Hader, Jacob Barnes, and Matt Albers all pitched in situations where the Brewers were down on Saturday against the Miami Marlins. This may be because Barnes and Hader hadn't pitched in a couple days, however, were chosen over Jeremy […]

Yusmeiro Petit Returns From Family Leave

Oakland Athletics reliever Yusmeiro Petit was activated from family emergency leave, according to Martin Gallegos of The Mercury News. Petit was spending time in Venezuela with his mother who is battling a serious illness. It is understandable that it will be on the mind of Petit on a daily basis and thus justifiable if he […]

Tyler Thornburg To Throw Live BP In Boston Starting Friday

Boston Red Sox reliever Tyler Thornburg (shoulder) will scheduled to throw live batting practice when the Red Sox return to Boston for their upcoming home stand, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. He still has quite some time before he returns to the majors. The recovery process from thoracic outlet surgery extends back […]

Gabriel Moya Demoted To Triple-A

The Minnesota Twins demoted reliever Gabriel Moya to Triple-A Rochester following their 10-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Moya was one of the main culprits in the beatdown, allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning. The 23-year-old lefty has struggled in 2018, posting a 10.80 ERA in five innings of work […]

Phillies Demote Hoby Milner

After surrendering three runs in his last appearance on Wednesday, Hoby Milner has been demoted from the Philadelphia Phillies to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 27-year-old was beginning his second season in the majors after appearing in 37 games last year. After allowing a home run in his first appearance of the season, Milner made eight […]

Will Smith Close To Return

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Will Smith (elbow) is inching close to his return. Smith underwent Tommy John surgery last year and missed almost the full year. Once he comes back, he is likely to be eased into action and can be avoided in all leagues.

Corey Knebel Progressing Quickly In Rehab

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Corey Knebel is reportedly progressing faster than imagined and has already begun throwing off the mound. Knebel has been out since April 5 so he just passed the two-week mark in his six-week return schedule. He was reportedly also doing some agility work as well, and overall looks to be ahead […]

Daniel Norris Won't Be Demoted To Triple A

Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris made a spot start on Friday for his first start of the season, lasting 4 2/3 innings and allowing one run while striking out five. Norris was the odd man out in the Tigers' rotation this year and had pitched out of the bullpen up to this point. There was […]

How Superior Setup Men Provide Value to Closers - AL Focus

The goal of the previous column in this series was to propose that the home runs allowed by relief pitchers have a significant impact on fantasy teams, even when those pitchers do not make the roster. While a baseball truism on some levels, home runs given up late in games tend to diminish the number […]

Keone Kela Takes Loss On Friday

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Keone Kela took his first loss of the season on Friday against the Mariners. Kela pitched the top of the ninth with the game tied. He gave up two singles, a sacrifice and a steal before Jean Segura drove in two runs with a double. Segura later scored after Kela was […]

Chris Devenski (RP) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 60% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Houston Astros relief pitcher Chris Devenski has been a very strong setup man over the last few seasons, but an injury to Ken Giles makes him the top waiver wire pickup of the week. With Giles dealing with back tightness, Devenski will be […]

Kelvin Herrera Nails Down Third Save

The Kansas City Royals may have a lot of problems with their team, but closer Kelvin Herrera certainly isn't one of them. On Friday night, Herrera stranded a baserunner en route to his third save of the season. Herrera has been lights out so far this year, racking up eight strikeouts in just 5 2/3 […]

Streaming Wars - Waiver Wire Targets for April 22

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. It may only be April, but it's never too early to start streaming. For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis […]

Brad Boxberger Implodes Against Padres

Arizona Diamondbacks closer Brad Boxberger took the loss on Friday night, giving up three runs (one earned) on three hits while failing to record an out. Fatigue may have played a factor in Boxberger's performance, as he was pitching for the third straight day. It was the first time since 2015 that he has done […]

Alex Colome With A Win Friday Versus Minnesota

Tampa Bay Rays closer Alex Colome earned a win Friday versus Minnesota. He pitched a scoreless 1oth inning and the Rays would win in the bottom of the inning. Colome recorded an MLB-leading 47 saves in 2017, but his overall numbers elsewhere weren't as impressive as his 2016 campaign. His strikeout and walk rates both went […]

Shane Greene Blows Save Friday, Unavailable Saturday

Detroit Tigers closer Shane Greene appeared in both games of Friday's doubleheader with the Kansas City Royals. He pitched effectively in the first game, but blew the save in the second game as the Tigers split. As a result of his work Friday, he's unavailable out of the bullpen on Saturday. Joe Jimenez will be […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 4

Is it time to overreact yet? This is what many fantasy owners are asking themselves and our writers at RotoBaller, but it's not the question you should be asking. It may be the early portion of a long season, but clearly some trends are forming. The question is: how much longer are you going to […]

Tommy Hunter Tosses Scoreless Inning In Rehab Outing

Making his rehab outing with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils Friday night, Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Tommy Hunter took yet another significant step towards making his debut with the Phillies. The 31-year-old threw 20 pitches, tossing just one inning and striking out two. He took each of the three batters he faced to full counts, resulting […]

Hector Neris Locks Up Tight Save

After second baseman Cesar Hernandez and outfielder Odubel Herrera teamed up to give the Philadelphia Phillies a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, manager Gabe Kapler handed the ball to his closer, Hector Neris. The 28-year-old has once again started his season with struggles just like he did last year, as he carried a […]