Bo Bichette Hits Two Opposite-Field Homers

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette broke out of his spring slump in a big way on Wednesday with a 3-for-3 day that included his first two home runs. He raised his batting average to .289 (11-for-38). The home runs were both opposite-field shots that came off Deivi Garcia and Luis Cessa. After producing ISO […]

Advanced MLB DFS Strategy: Targeting Bad Bullpens

With Opening Day of the MLB season only a little over a week away, it's time to start getting your mind right and preparing for a full season of MLB DFS action. Last summer we missed out on several months of MLB games due to the COVID pandemic, but we are going to get 6 […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Dealing With Left Shoulder Discomfort

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who exited Tuesday's Cactus League game early, is dealing with left shoulder discomfort according to the team. He reached for a grounder in the hole in the bottom of the third inning and walked off the field after recording the out. "He's fine,"said one person close to the […]

KC Bubba's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021

The 2021 season is so close to starting, which means it is time for some bold predictions. It appears the season will still be a complete 162 games, with no NL DH and a standard playoff format. The bouncy ball will supposedly be replaced with a ball designed to limit power, fun times like usual from […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Barrels

We've previously looked at how exit velocity (or EV) is only one piece of the fantasy analysis puzzle. Baseball broadcasts will commonly cite Launch Angle (LA) to complement their EV figures, but it is given in terms of degrees. Am I evaluating a baseball player or trying to find the hypotenuse of an isosceles triangle? […]

2021 Fantasy Baseball Busts - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As you prepare for fantasy baseball drafts in 2021, it's crucial that you avoid the dreaded bust that could sink your team. As we did with draft sleepers yesterday, our staff came together to share their thoughts on preseason ADP values, this time on their least favorite picks. Let's find out who our experts have […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Exits With Apparent Injury

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (shoulder) exited Tuesday's game with an apparent injury. After a defensive play, Tatis came off the field with the trainer. Subsequent reports indicated the initial concern was his left shoulder. Fantasy managers and baseball fans will certainly hope the move is precautionary, but the focus will be any […]

Carlos Correa Looking Sharp Offensively

Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is enjoying a productive Spring Training with one week to play before Opening Day. Correa is slashing .300/.389/.400 through 30 at-bats and is trying to bounce back after a disappointing 2020 season. In fact, it has been an "every-other-year"-type of productivity for the 26-year-old. Since 2017, Correa's OPS has been […]

Francisco Lindor Blasts Fourth Spring Homer

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor hit his fourth home run of the spring in Grapefruit League action on Tuesday. Lindor went 3-for-4 with the HR, a double, two runs scored, and two RBI in the Mets' 5-3 win over the Marlins. After a sluggish start to spring training, Lindor is now batting .476 with […]

Miguel Rojas Drives In Two Runs On Tuesday

Miami Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas drove in two runs from the top of the order in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets. Rojas ended up 2-for-3 with a home run, a single, a run scored, and the two RBI. For the spring, Rojas is hitting .250 with a .721 OPS. He'll likely […]

Ha-Seong Kim Will Take Outfield Reps

San Diego Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim will take outfield reps in the closing days of spring training. With starting center fielder Trent Grisham (hamstring) questionable for Opening Day, the Friars are experimenting positions, potentially shifting Tommy Pham or Jurickson Profar to center. Kim played shortstop and third base across seven seasons in the KBO, but […]

Gleyber Torres Poised For Rebound Year

New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres is poised for a bounce-back season for the Bronx Bombers in 2021. Torres was out-of-shape and out of sorts at the plate during the shortened season last year, as his .724 OPS was uncharacteristically low. A dramatic decrease in barrel rate- 3.7 percent compared to 9.0 percent for his […]

Frank Ammirante's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021

Making bold predictions is one of my favorite topics to write about. There's no better feeling as a writer than when you tout an overlooked player and it hits. Hitting on your bold prediction can really help you win your fantasy leagues. To secure a championship, you need your top players to approach their ceilings and […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Shortstop

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Marcus Semien Homers In Second Straight Game

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman/shortstop Marcus Semien went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, and two RBI in Monday's win over the Tigers. Semien got off to a bit of a quiet start this spring, but he's heating up now with three extra-base hits and three RBI in his last two games. The 30-year-old […]

Freddy Galvis Plates Two Monday

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis had a nice day at the plate in Monday's 6-5 loss to the Pirates, going 2-for-3 with a single, a double, and two RBI. The 31-year-old has had a decent first spring with the O's, posting a .296/.321/.444 slash line with one home run and four RBI over 27 at-bats. […]

Corey Seager Belts Sixth Cactus League Home Run Sunday

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager continued his monstrous spring performance on Sunday. Seager went 1-for-2 with a home run, his major-league-leading sixth of the spring, in a 10-4 loss to the Giants. The 26-year-old is picking up right where he left off after last year's strong regular and postseason performance- as he is seeing […]

Franklin Barreto Shut Down Due To Injury, Out 4-6 Weeks

Los Angeles Angels infielder Franklin Barreto (elbow) will be sidelined for at least the next month due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. Barreto was expected to serve as the Halos' primary reserve infielder, with his absence likely paving the way for Luis Rengifo to snag an Opening Day roster spot. Barreto was impressing offensively […]

Mets Willing To Go To $300 Million To Sign Francisco Lindor

The New York Mets are reportedly willing to go to $300 million to lock up shortstop Francisco Lindor on a multi-year contract. Extension talks between the Mets and Lindor have taken place, but there has been no real movement by either side toward ultimately reaching a deal. Both Lindor and the Mets have stated that […]

Dansby Swanson Homers In Braves Win Sunday

Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in an 11-1 victory over the Rays on Sunday. It was his first home run of Spring Training, but even without the homers Swanson has had a solid spring as he is now slashing .333/.407/.583 in 11 games. […]

Jazz Chisholm Hits A Homer On Sunday

Miami Marlins infielder Jazz Chisholm hit a long homer in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros. Chisholm didn't start, but he replaced Isan Diaz and ended up going 2-for-2 with the home run and a single. He drove in two runs and scored one. He got off to a slow start this spring, […]

Xander Bogaerts' Spring Woes Continue Sunday

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts continued his Spring Training struggles on Sunday afternoon, as he finished 0-for-3 in a loss to the Pirates. Sunday's performance dropped Bogaerts' spring line to .188/.278/.313 with more strikeouts (4) than hits (3) in seven games. Bogaerts got off to a late start this spring as he dealt with […]

Elvis Andrus Off To A Slow Start In Cactus League Play

Oakland Athletics shortstop Elvis Andrus has gotten off to a slow start in his first Spring Training with his new team. Andrus is batting just .207 and has reached base only seven times through 30 plate appearances this Spring. Andrus is coming off a lost 2020 season as lingering back issues limited him to 32 […]

Bobby Witt Jr. To Open Year In Minors

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has been demoted to the minors, according to MLB Network's Ken Rosenthal. Witt had been making a push to crack the Opening Day roster this spring, as he has slashed .289/.325/.526 with three home runs and seven RBI in 14 games. The demotion shouldn't be too surprising however, […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 3 Lineup Trends

We are entering week four of Spring Training and week three gave us a lot to watch down the stretch. But of course, you can catch up by talking a look at week one and week two recaps. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: MiLB Stats

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 publically available for MLB players. For example, advanced plate discipline […]

MLB DFS Advice: Picking Hitters on DraftKings and FanDuel

Welcome back to our DFS strategy series. I've already gone over some tips for picking pitchers in this post, and I covered a lot of the hitting side in this piece where I talked about stacking strategy. A lot of hitting tips were already covered in that stacking piece, so give that a look after […]

Finding Hitter Clones At Cheaper ADPs

One of the most useful algorithms in the machine learning world is that of data clustering. Clustering, in this case, is defined as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups […]

Jon Anderson's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021

Today, I am honored to take my turn giving you my 10 bold predictions for the 2021 season here at RotoBaller. It's a thrill to be featured on this site, and I look forward to continuing to put out content for you all over the 2021 season and beyond. This was not an easy post […]

Kevin Newman Has Perfect Day At Plate Saturday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a stolen base in a 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. It was Newman's fifth multi-hit performance of the spring, as he has reached base safely in seven straight games and is now slashing .688/.762/.813 with two doubles, five walks and […]