Luis Garcia Playing Middle Infield, Learning From Teammates

Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia has been playing both shortstop and second base this spring training, with fellow middle infielders Starlin Castro and Trea Turner guiding him along. Garcia entered 2020 as a top-100 prospect and got in 40 games of MLB action replacing an injured Castro, hitting .276/.302/.366 while mostly playing second base. Garcia, […]

Jean Segura Off To A Slow Start In Spring Training

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Jean Segura is batting just .083 through 13 plate appearances this spring. Segura is expected to man the keystone this season after the team brought back shortstop Didi Gregorius. Segura slashed just .266/.347/.422 last season with seven homers and two stolen bases. Steals once made Segura a viable fantasy option, as […]

Kevin Newman Remains Out Of Lineup Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman (hamstring) is not in the lineup for Thursday's spring game against the Orioles. Newman exited Sunday's game early with hamstring tightness and has yet to appear since then. Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Wednesday that Newman is no longer feeling the tightness and that Pirates director of sports […]

Dusty Baker Considering Carlos Correa, Myles Straw At Leadoff

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said that his leading candidates for the team's leadoff hitter this year are shortstop Carlos Correa and outfielder Myles Straw. Baker has a tall task in filling the void left by longtime Astros leadoff hitter George Springer, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason. Correa has spent most […]

Top 10 Shortstops - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

The shortstop position is a bountiful one for fantasy players. In a 12-team league, most fantasy managers should have the opportunity to be happy with their starter at the position thanks to the depth and variety of skills available. In 2019, 16 shortstops that had at least 350 plate appearances produced a 100 wRC+ or […]

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s Return To Lineup Is Imminent

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (illness) completed a full workout Wednesday and should return to game action Thursday or Friday. The 22-year-old star had battled a non-COVID bug earlier this week but appears close to full strength. After posting a 150 wRC+ across his first 629 big league plate appearances with 39 homers […]

Mariners Could Use Mitch Haniger, Dylan Moore To Lead Off

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger and second baseman Dylan Moore are both candidates to be used in the top spot in the lineup, in addition to expected everyday leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford. Haniger, who is leading off in Wednesday's spring training game, was already expected to be in the top third of the order, but […]

Ha-seong Kim Struggling With Contact

San Diego Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim has struggled to start spring training, recording just two hits with four strikeouts in 14 plate appearances. The 25-year-old joined the majors this offseason after seven excellent years in the KBO, culminating with a .306/.397/.523 line last season with 30 homers, 23 steals and 220 runs-plus-RBI in 138 contests. […]

Jake Cronenworth Starting Hot In Spring

San Diego Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth is off to a .364/.417/.455 this spring across 12 plate appearances. The 27-year-old enjoyed a sensational rookie campaign, posting a .831 OPS while popping four homers, swiping three bags and tallying 46 runs-plus-RBI in 192 plate appearances. With the offseason addition of Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim, Cronenworth's playing […]

Xander Bogaerts Expected To Be Ready For Opening Day

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (shoulder) said on a WEEI radio show that he expects to be ready for Opening Day, claiming that he feels "pretty close to 100 percent." Bogaerts has not played so far this spring due to a shoulder injury, but he is expected to take batting practice on Wednesday and be […]

Trevor Story Homers Tuesday

Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story went 1-for-3 with a solo shot in Tuesday's 11-4 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The home run was Story's second of the spring and he is now 2-for-7 with two home runs and four RBI across his first three spring games. Story had a solid 2020 campaign in which he […]

Willi Castro Launches Third Spring Home Run

Detroit Tigers shortstop Willi Castro continued his stellar spring training against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Castro went 1-for-2 in the game, hitting a three-run home run off Luis Cessa in the fourth inning. He now has three home runs this spring and is slashing .429/.467/1.214. He hit third in the lineup this game […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Battles Flu-Like Symptoms, Faces Absences

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (illness) was held out of Tuesday's lineup and figures to miss at least one more day as he battles flu-like symptoms. It sounds as if San Diego is just being cautious with their star, as manager Jayce Tingler said, "If we were in-season, 100 percent he would be […]

Andrelton Simmons To See Game Action Soon

Minnesota Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons could see game action by the end of the week. Manager Rocco Baldelli said the goal is to get Simmons into the game on Friday against the Braves, though it's not set in stone yet. The veteran shortstop was delayed to camp due to visa issues, a process that was […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/9) - Meadows Returning To Form

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]

Tommy Edman Goes 1-for-2 Monday

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman went 1-for-2 with a run scored in Monday's 7-7 tie with the Miami Marlins. Edman is now 4-for-13 with three runs scored and one stolen base in spring action. Edman struggled a bit in 2020 as he slashed .250/.317/.368 with five home runs and two stolen bases. This was […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Shortstops Using Expected Draft Values

Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021 […]

Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap

The 2021 Tout Wars season kicked off this week with the 15-team Draft and Hold starting on Monday and then the NEW 12-team Mixed draft on Tuesday. The Draft and Hold is a slow draft, while the 12 team Mixed was live and rocking. I was fortunate enough to take part in the 12-team draft.  […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/8) - Darvish Deals, Gallo Still Mashing

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]

Value Based Drafting Primer: WPC+

Learn how to take the next step in fantasy baseball draft strategy by creating custom values for your player rankings. Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut explain how with examples from their TGFBI (The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational) drafts. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch […]

Bobby Witt Jr. Blasts 484-Foot Home Run

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a monster of a home run in Monday's spring training game against the Oakland Athletics. It was a fourth inning two-run home run off Yusmeiro Petit that was measured at 484 feet. The 20-year-old Witt, who is the Royals' top prospect, is having a great spring. This […]

J.P. Crawford Looking For More Power in 2021

Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford showed off a vastly improvement glove in 2020, but this year he's looking to shore up his power game as well. Last year, Crawford's strikeout rate dropped to 16.8 percent, six percent lower than the previous year, but the contact he made didn't often go for extra bases. In fact, […]

Nick Ahmed Scratched From Lineup with Sore Knee

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed was taken out of the lineup Monday due to right knee soreness according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Gilbert reports that it is not believed to be serious and the team does not have plans to run tests at the moment, as they consider Ahmed day-to-day. With Ahmed out, Josh […]

Jose Iglesias (SS, LAA) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 375 CURRENT ADP: ~403 overall ANALYSIS: Orioles hitting coach Don Long compared Iglesias to Hanser Alberto just before the start of the 2020 MLB season, suggesting that improved plate discipline rather than a swing change would help Iglesias be a more productive hitter. Four months later, Iglesias finished the 2020 season with […]

Dansby Swanson (SS, ATL) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 80 CURRENT ADP: ~103 overall ANALYSIS: Swanson remains an oft-overlooked late bloomer thanks to such a top-heavy shortstop class. We're not crowning him as a Tier One or Two kind of guy, but he's capable of delivering power, speed, and counting stats alongside an average that won't burn. The 27-year-old […]

Tim Anderson Goes 1-for-3 Sunday

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson went 1-for-3 in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. It has been a rough start to the spring for the White Sox leadoff hitter as he is now just 3-for-14 with zero extra-base hits through his first five games. Anderson had a solid 2020 campaign as he slashed […]

Francisco Lindor Extension Talks To Heat Up

Extension talks are expected to heat up this week between New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and the team, according to Jon Heyman. They have set Opening Day as a soft deadline to get a deal done. Lindor had originally expressed that extension talks would not transpire during the regular season, so it makes sense […]

Kevin Newman Exits Game Sunday with Hamstring Tightness

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman exited Sunday's game against the Orioles with left hamstring tightness according to MLB.com's Jake Crouse. Crouse reports that manager Derek Shelton described the move as precautionary and that Newman is expected to return as early as Tuesday. Newman was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI before being replaced in […]

Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups

Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and […]

Are We Overlooking Ha Seong Kim?

Earlier this year I, like most of us, was quarantined in my home with limited ability to go outside and no sports on television. I had already binged Tiger King, so I was looking for a new obsession; then ESPN started broadcasting KBO games. Hungry for sports, I started recording the games and writing DFS […]