DraftKings MLB DFS Cheat Sheet for Spring Training (Premium Content)

  MLB DFS Premium Cheatsheet All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Spring Training games are underway and we couldn't be more excited! We'll be putting out Premium MLB DFS Cheat Sheets for DraftKings throughout Spring Training, and our MLB DFS Lineup Optimizer is live for DraftKings as well. Hope you […]

Bobby Witt Jr. May Be Accelerating Development

Kansas City Royals shortstop prospect Bobby Witt Jr. continued his strong spring with a 2-for-3 showing against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. The second-overall selection in the 2019 draft hit his first homer of the spring in the third inning against big-league reliever Tyler Rogers. Just 20 years old, Witt has yet to officially […]

Javier Baez Avoided Serious Injury After Being Hit By Pitch

Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez (forearm) avoided serious injury after being hit by a pitch in the third inning of Friday's Cactus League loss to the Indians. Baez winced in pain and didn't come out to play defense in the top of the fourth, though the Cubs said that it's a soft-tissue injury. The 28-year-old […]

Luis Urias Exits With Hamstring Tightness

Milwaukee Brewers infielder Luis Urias (hamstring) was removed from Friday's spring game against the Rockies as a precaution due to left hamstring discomfort. The 23-year-old appeared to tweak his hamstring running out a groundout during the third inning, and the Brewers aren't taking any chances by leaving him in the game. Urias received the start […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pull%

We have previously determined that fantasy managers generally prefer batters to hit the ball into the air to have a chance at a home run. Yet, all fly balls are not equal for this purpose. A player can maximize his power production by pulling the ball in the air. One way to illustrate this is […]

Gleyber Torres Homers On Friday

New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres clubbed his first home run of the spring on Friday with a 369-foot shot against the Tigers. A relatively poor launch angle profile (33.3% sweet-spot rate, 41.7% ground-ball rate) fueled a down year from Torres in 2020 highlighted by a disappointing .334 xwOBAcon, but at least some of Torres's […]

Josh Rojas Homers Twice in Diamondbacks' Win

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Josh Rojas clobbered two home run on Friday night in the Diamondbacks' 5-3 win over the Reds. Rojas ended the game 2-for-4 at the plate, driving in all five of Arizona's runs in the game. He has heated up over the last two games as he now has three homers and six […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

Sam Haggerty Steals Another Base

Seattle Mariners utility man Sam Haggerty swiped his second base of the spring on Friday. Capable of playing both the infield and outfield, Haggerty looks likely to make the big league team out of camp as the main backup to J.P. Crawford, among others. With the Mariners organization looking to maximize their baserunning abilities this […]

Andrelton Simmons Arrives At Twins Camp

Minnesota Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons has arrived at camp after having issues obtaining his visa. Simmons isn't the only player who had such an issue, though the Curacao native seemed to have more trouble than most in getting the appointment for his issued visa. Manager Rocco Baldelli said that Simmons was able to put in […]

Adalberto Mondesi To Make Spring Debut Friday

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (foot) will make his spring debut on Friday against the Dodgers. Mondesi has been eased into action as he continues to deal with a sore foot after being hit by a pitch. The 25-year-old was able to take batting practice and run the bases on Wednesday, so it was […]

Oneil Cruz Could See Playing Time in the Outfield

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz could start to see more playing time in the outfield writes The Athletic's Rob Biertempful. On Wednesday Cruz started at shortstop but played the final two innings in center field, and then on Thursday he got the start out in center field. The Pirates have not officially indicated their plans […]

Corey Seager Keeping Focus On Winning Ahead Of Free Agency

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said his focus is on this season and would rather not talk about his upcoming free agency after the season. Seager said all he wants to do is help the Dodgers win back-to-back World Series titles and, "Let the chips fall where they may," after the season. Los Angeles […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/5) - Buehler Building Up For Big Season

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We've finally made it to (real?) baseball games. […]

Bo Bichette Has Tough Day In Loss To Tigers

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette had a tough day in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers. Bichette went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and made a throwing error in the field. The 22-year-old shortstop has played three games so far in the spring and is 0-for-7 with three walks, though he still has plenty of […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/4) - Realmuto Nearing Return

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We've finally made it to (real?) baseball games. […]

Danny Santana Reaches Deal With Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox signed free-agent super-utility man Danny Santana to a one-year deal with a base salary of $1.75 million on Thursday. He'll receive $1 million in incentives and a $100,000 bonus if he starts in Triple-A to allow him extra time to get ready for the season. The deal also includes an opt-out […]

Scott Kingery Homers In Spring Training Game Thursday

Philadelphia Phillies infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery hit a solo home run to lead off Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. Kingery is trying to earn a starting job after batting just .159 in 36 games last season. Kingery had severe symptoms during a battle with COVID-19 last July and also missed time with a shoulder […]

Joe Maddon Would Like David Fletcher To Steal More Bases

Los Angeles Angels second baseman David Fletcher is one of manager Joe Maddon's favorite players because he's a throwback and gritty player who makes elite contact, gets on base by any means necessary and is a top defender at the keystone. But Maddon would like if it Fletcher became "more of a base-stealing threat" in […]

Jack Reinheimer Clubs Two-Run Homer

Seattle Mariners utility man Jack Reinheimer knocked a two-run shot over the left center field fence in the ninth inning of Wednesday's Cactus League matchup against the Cubs to tie the score at eight. In camp as a non-roster invitee, Reinheimer is off to a good start in spring training, but he faces an uphill […]

Trea Turner Goes 1-For-2 Wednesday

Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner went 1-for-2 with a double in Wednesday's loss to the Miami Marlins. Turner has now recorded a hit in his first three spring training games to begin 2021. What is most interesting is that the Nationals appear to be following through with their plan of hitting him in the middle […]

Domingo Leyba Has Big Day At The Plate Wednesday

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Domingo Leyba showed off some pop at the plate on Wednesday, as he went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two runs scored in the win over Cleveland. Leyba missed all of 2020 due to an 80-game suspension after testing positive for boldenone, and is in camp now as a […]

Lineup Takeaways - An Early Look at Spring Training Trends

As many of you know, tracking lineups is what I am all in on this 2021 season and with it comes an influx of data and information right away. Going forward, a weekly article will occur - especially as we get into more tangible information and data. However, I wanted to get ahead of the […]

Wander Franco Tags First Spring Home Run

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball entering the 2021 season, hit a towering home run in Grapefruit League play on Wednesday just two days after turning 20 years old. The switch-hitting prospect had gone hitless in his first five spring at-bats before going deep off Pirates right-hander Miguel […]

Aaron Boone Taking A Leave Of Absence

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is taking a medical leave of absence from the team to receive a pacemaker in his heart. The Yankees are optimistic that Boone can return to the team within the next few days so his absence shouldn't have much of an impact on the team's lineups during the regular […]

Adalberto Mondesi Takes Batting Practice Wednesday Morning

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (foot) has yet to make his spring training debut. He's been sidelined with a foot injury that was sustained when he was hit by a pitch before camp started. However, on Wednesday morning, he took part in batting practice and also ran the bases and did some fielding drills. […]

Twins Showing Interest In Danny Santana

Free-agent infielder/outfielder Danny Santana is drawing interest from the Minnesota Twins. It's unclear what kind of deal Santana would be seeking, though the Twins are reportedly only interested in minor league deals at this point, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic. The 30-year-old struggled with an elbow injury in the shortened 2020 season but is […]

Cubs Sign Eric Sogard To Minor League Deal

Free-agent utility man Eric Sogard has signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Sogard was linked to a few teams, including the Twins, but he'll sign on with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee after the Brewers declined his $4.5 million option for 2021. The 34-year-old had a down year last season after […]

Andres Gimenez With Another Big Day

Cleveland Indians shortstop Andres Gimenez had another solid day at the plate Tuesday as he went 2-for-2 with a two-run shot in the fifth inning off Mariners reliever Erik Swanson. This makes Gimenez 4-for-4 in his first two Spring Training games with the Tribe. The Indians have high expectations for the newcomer as he slashed .263/.333/.398 […]

Triple-A Season Delayed At Least A Month

Major League Baseball will bring back alternate training sites similar to those used in 2020, a long-awaited move that will delay the start of the Triple-A minor league season by at least a month. Games will be pushed back to around the same time as Double-A and Single-A are expected to start in the first […]