MLB Says Feb. 28 Is A Real Deadline

Major League Baseball said that the Feb. 28 deadline to get a new collective bargaining deal done is a real deadline. If there's no deal in place by that date, regular season games would be canceled and player pay would be lost. "When you're offering bear traps, it's hard to attract bears," player agent Scott […]

Twins Signs Elliot Soto To Minor League Deal

The Minnesota Twins have signed infielder Elliot Soto to a minor league deal, according to a tweet from Soto's agent, Marc J. Kligman, on Monday. Soto collected a couple of hits and a walk in seven plate appearances for the Los Angeles Angels during the 2020 season. He hit .230 with a .315 on-base percentage […]

MLB Unimpressed By Union's Latest Offer Tuesday

Major League Baseball was unimpressed by the players union's offer on Tuesday but intends to make a proposal on Wednesday when the two sides meet for the third straight day. The good news is that the plan is for the two sides to meet every day through the Feb. 28 deadline for getting a deal […]

Top MLB Prospect Rankings #1-50: Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball prospects coverage continues to chug along, and today we're releasing our top 50 dynasty prospects for fantasy baseball along with some player analysis. The 2022 season is on the horizon, and while the MLB season still hangs in the balance due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minor league […]

Top 50 MLB Prospects Rankings - 2022 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Leagues

Each season, many MLB prospects and rookies are called up -- some make immediate fantasy baseball impacts. These types of impact prospects can be league winners, and also provide jolts to their MLB teams in the quests to be champions. RotoBaller's resident fantasy baseball prospects team lead Marc Hulet has released his initial 2022 prospect […]

Xander Bogaerts As Consistent As They Come

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts had another extremely productive year in 2021, finishing with a .295/.370/.493 slash line, 23 home runs, 79 RBI, five stolen bases and 90 runs scored in 144 games (603 plate appearances). A bout with COVID-19 and a wrist injury in the second half of the season slowed him down […]

MiLB Stats: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

Once you've grown accustomed to having advanced tools to help make fantasy decisions, it can feel disorientating to be without them. Prospects are increasingly becoming a focal point in both real and fantasy baseball, but the minors simply do not have all of the data available for MLB players. For example, advanced plate discipline stats, […]

Bo Bichette Having Normal Offseason

Despite Major League Baseball's lockout since early December, Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette said his ramp-up before spring training has been largely unchanged. Bichette has been getting swings in a batting cage and at a local high school field with teammates Danny Jansen, Teoscar Hernandez and Santiago Espinal. He has also worked closely with […]

Trea Turner A Priority Extension Candidate For Dodgers?

The Los Angeles Dodgers will make it a priority to sign shortstop Trea Turner to a contract extension, in the opinion of The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. Turner is under contract for the 2022 season, but after that he'll become a free agent. The 28-year-old led all position players in Wins Above Replacement (6.9) last year […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. The Consensus No. 1 Overall Fantasy Pick

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the first round of fantasy drafts in 2022. Shoulder issues limited the superstar to 130 games in his first All-Star season in 2021, but Tatis still managed to hit .282/.364/.611 with a .975 OPS, a league-leading 42 home runs, 97 […]

MLB Officially Announces Spring Training Delay

Major League Baseball announced on Friday that spring training games won't begin until at least March 5. "We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of spring training games," a statement said. "All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field […]

Points Leagues Busts: Shortstops Set to Fall Short of ADP in 2022

This article will examine a few eligible shortstops for the 2022 MLB season that are being selected earlier than their Steamer projections suggest they should in points leagues and H2H points formats. RotoBaller's fantasy baseball points analyst Antonio Losada will be offering a few picks for both potential overperformers (sleepers) and shortcomers (busts) when it […]

Jon Anderson's Shortstop Tiered Rankings and Projections

We are moving on to shortstop today in the tiered fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! Check out the rest of what I've completed so far at the links below! First Base Second Base Third Base The shortstop position has become quite deep for fantasy purposes over the last several years. In the older times, […]

No Deal Between MLB, Players After Thursday's Meeting

No new deal was struck between Major League Baseball and the Players Association after their latest meeting on Thursday, and we are now 11 days from the deadline the league set in order to start the regular season on time. The Players Association backed off its request for arbitration for all players with two-plus years […]

Statcast Exit Velocity: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP and HR/FB figures. There […]

MLB Trying To Reduce Size Of Domestic Reserve List

Major League Baseball has asked for the ability to eliminate hundreds of minor league playing jobs in their latest labor offer to the Players Association, according to sources familiar with the proposal. The current Domestic Reserve List is at 180, and the league proposed reducing the maximum number of players to as few as 150 […]

Top MLB Prospect Rankings: #51-100 - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball prospects coverage is back. The 2022 season is quickly approaching and while the MLB season still hangs in the balance due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minor league season will be unaffected (for players not on the 40-man roster). We’re continuing our 2022 prospect coverage with the comprehensive […]

ATC Projections - Overvalued and Undervalued Hitters for 2022

The industry-leading ATC Projections are live for the 2022 fantasy baseball season. That means it's time to dive into the numbers to see what the fantasy takeaway is for key players. As Ariel Cohen himself explained in a recent breakdown of risk analysis using ATC, projections aren't meant to be viewed as exact predictions. They […]

Improved Hitter K% vs. Power Production - Fantasy Baseball Risers

There are plenty of different ways for a hitter to improve at the plate. We see dozens of players every year who make huge improvements at the plate, and it's very important for fantasy managers to identify these hitters earlier than the field does. Sometimes these improvements can be driven by luck, sometimes by a […]

Players Union Unimpressed By MLB's Latest Offer

Major League Baseball and the Players Association met for less than an hour on Saturday, and there remains no deal on a new collective bargaining agreement. The players came out of the meeting unimpressed by the offer from the league, and there's very little progress made between the two sides in negotiations. The league proposed […]

Points League Values: Shortstops Set to Outperform ADP in 2022

This article will examine a few eligible shortstops for the 2022 MLB season that are being selected later than their Steamer projections suggest they should in points leagues and H2H points formats. RotoBaller's fantasy baseball points analyst Antonio Losada will be offering a few picks for both potential overperformers (sleepers) and underachievers (busts) when it […]

Ballpark Factors: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

If you have ever selected a streamable pitcher based on a home park or benched an otherwise must-start arm at Coors Field, you already know how much a stadium can impact a player's bottom line. Ballpark Factors quantify the influence each stadium has, allowing you to make the most of your fantasy team's real-life schedule. […]

Marcelo Mayer Quickly Becoming One Of MLB's Best Prospects

Boston Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer, who was taken with the fourth overall pick last year, was widely considered by scouts as both the best pure hitter and the best defender in the 2021 draft class. Mayer finished the 2021 season as MLB Pipeline's No. 9 overall prospect, and he's expected to be a top-five […]

Rob Manfred Says No Change To Spring Training

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Thursday that "the status of spring training is no change right now." Manfred also called the possibility of missing regular season games amid the league's lockout of players "a disastrous outcome." "I believe we will have an agreement in time to play our regular schedule," Manfred said. […]

Francisco Lindor: 2022 Fantasy Baseball Bust?

The New York Mets finished the 2021 campaign with a 77-85 record overall, which was a very disappointing outcome after an active offseason. The third-place finish and missing the postseason was a shock to many seeing as they entered with a strong pitching staff and had signed Francisco Lindor to a massive 10-year, $341 million […]

Dodgers Looking To Extend Dave Roberts

The Los Angeles Dodgers are planning extension talks with manager Dave Roberts. According to Andy McCullough of the Athletic, Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman indicated the two parties would negotiate an extension in the coming weeks. "It'll get done," Roberts said. "It'll get done." The 49-year-old has managed the Dodgers over […]

MLB Planning To Make New Proposal To Union

Major League Baseball is planning to make a new proposal following the owners' meetings this week, which will end on Thursday. Their proposal is expected to involve core economic issues, and hope remains that it could trigger something to get a deal done so that the regular season can begin as scheduled. MLB and the […]

Marco Luciano Has Eye-Opening Middle-Infield Power

San Francisco Giants shortstop Marco Luciano, who finished as MLB Pipeline's No. 5 overall prospect in 2021, has elite bat speed that gives him more power potential than any other middle-infield prospect in baseball. He was able to produce 19 home runs in 106 games between Low-A and High-A in his first full season in […]

Noelvi Marte Could Be Seattle's Next Elite Prospect

Seattle Mariners shortstop Noelvi Marte is following in the footsteps of Seattle outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez as an elite hitting prospect. Marte almost had a 20-20 season as a 19-year-old in 2021 while making his full-season debut, and he's projected to be a top-10 prospect on MLB Pipeline heading into the 2023 season […]

Anthony Volpe Projected To Be A Top Prospect In 2023

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, who was No. 15 on MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospect list to end 2021, is projected to be a top-10 prospect entering the 2023 season. He won MLB Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Year accolades after his first full season as a pro by hitting .294/.423/.604 with 27 home runs […]