Insider Report: Prime Fantasy Baseball Draft Targets From an MLB Veteran

Welcome back to our annual Fantasy Baseball Insider series on RotoBaller.com, where we take you inside Major League Baseball clubhouses, press boxes and front offices for exclusive insights that provide a completely unique edge on the competition. We give you an all-access pass to information and takes that simply won’t be found anywhere else, along […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings and Relief Pitcher Rankings

Welcome back RotoBallers to more fantasy baseball rankings! With Spring Training rolling and the fantasy baseball draft season in full swing, it's time to look at closers and relief pitchers and see who may or may not be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick this season. RotoBaller's lead MLB rankers - JB Branson, Pierre […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues Draft Rankings - Aaron Nola, Luis Castillo, Jack Flaherty, Justin Verlander and More

And the hits keep on coming! As we deal with a variety of fantasy baseball news and injuries, below you'll find our updated 2022 fantasy baseball points league rankings. These fantasy baseball rankings are meant to reflect recent injuries and player news, and are geared towards points leagues and head-to-head (H2H) points league scoring formats. […]

Later-Round Batting Average Targets for Fantasy Baseball - Luis Arraez, Alex Verdugo, Brendan Rodgers and More

Fantasy baseball is a beautiful game. There are so many ways to build a competitive roster given all of the different ways for a player to contribute. There are various different ways for players to contribute to your fantasy season in category leagues. This post series will take you through each of the five standard […]

Diamondbacks Agree To Extension With Merrill Kelly

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed with starting pitcher Merrill Kelly on a two-year contract extension through the 2024 season on Friday. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports that the deal is worth $18 million. The extension includes a team option for the 2025 season. In his third big-league season in 2021, Kelly had a career-high 4.44 ERA, […]

Launch Angle Analysis: Power Breakouts for 2022 Fantasy Baseball - Ketel Marte, Austin Hays, Jazz Chisholm Jr.

There are three essential components that go into hitting a home run. Putting a ball in play Hitting said ball at a certain angle range Hitting said ball above a certain velocity When forecasting how many homers a certain player will hit, these sabermetrics (strikeout rate, walk rate, launch angle distributions, and launch velocity distributions) […]

Adventures in Positional Scarcity - Catchers Edition for Fantasy Baseball Drafts

This question of how to handle the catcher position has taken on a new level of tough in 2022, at least in the opinion of this analyst. Catchers have always underperformed offensively relative to the rest of the positions, mainly because the first bullet point on their job description is not to hit the ball […]

Luke Weaver Exits With Thumb Blister

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Luke Weaver (thumb) was removed in the fourth inning of his Spring Training start on Thursday. He developed a blister on the knuckle of his right thumb. According to Diamondbacks beat writer Nick Piecoro, Weaver wasn't very concerned about the blister. The 28-year-old had a solid outing before he was removed […]

Eric Samulski's Top 100 Starting Pitchers

I decided to publish a top-100 starting pitching rankings list! I have no idea why, though. These fantasy baseball rankings lists are often the most scrutinized and criticized of anything anybody publishes, so I'm not sure why I decided to open myself up to this. However, I've also been researching pitching all offseason and constantly […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers to some more preseason fantasy baseball rankings! RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats. Our MLB rankers, -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Zac Gallen Pitches Well In Spring Debut

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (shoulder) had a promising outing in his Spring Training debut on Wednesday. He pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed one hit, no walks and no runs while striking out two. He utilized each of his pitches and his velocity was solid on each. He was hitting 94-95 mph on […]

Nick Ahmed Shut Down For 10 Days

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed (shoulder) said he's received a pair of cortisone shots in his shoulder and will not be able to hit or throw for the next 10 days. With Opening Day eight days away, Ahmed will not be ready for the start of the regular season. With the 32-year-old sidelined with right […]

Pitchers Under $10: Salary Cap League Draft Targets for Fantasy Baseball - Luis Severino, Ian Anderson, Camilo Doval, and more

We've already identified hitters under $10 to target in salary cap league drafts. For this exercise, we're targeting pitchers under $10. That rules out roughly the top-150 players in drafts. From this vantage point, some managers may look for high-risk, high-reward plays to strike big with a small investment. There are plenty of safer guys […]

Spring Training Skill Searching: Pitch Velocity Gainers - Mitch Keller, Joe Ryan, Madison Bumgarner and more

Not much trustworthy data comes out of Spring Training. Players are just getting back into the swing of things, and the data samples are inherently small. This means we have to tread very lightly when looking at spring data. The data points we can take a bit more seriously are the skill-based metrics. Numbers that […]

JB's Bullpen Method for 2022 - Building FrankenAces with Relief Pitchers

Two years ago, I finally published an article breaking down my favorite fantasy baseball strategy I have been using for years. It's really less of a strategy and more a state of mind. No, the Bullpen Method is a lifestyle. I always speak about the importance of balance on a fantasy team. For your pitching staff, […]

Zac Gallen To Make Spring Debut Wednesday

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (shoulder) will make his Cactus League debut against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. Gallen has been dealing with right shoulder bursitis in the offseason, and he was behind the other pitchers in camp as a result. The 26-year-old right-hander has been throwing off a mound for weeks, though, so […]

Spring Training Skill Searching: Max Exit Velocity Standouts - Brendan Rodgers, Sam Hilliard, Christian Walker, Miguel Andujar

For most advanced baseball statistics, you need plenty of data to be available before you can start interpreting them. There is so much randomness and variance in baseball, that you really cannot glean any insights from a handful of games. This doesn't turn out to be true when we're looking at maximum exit velocity. This […]

Late-Round Third Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the late rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

Second Base Draft Busts for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

When it comes to successful fantasy baseball drafts, identifying risk is as important as identifying value. We focus so much on "sleepers" and "breakouts" but often forget to really think about the players we should be avoiding. If the goal for a good draft is to build a complete team but also to hit on […]

Dinelson Lamet (P, SDP) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~320 pick CURRENT ADP: ~350 overall ANALYSIS: Dinelson Lamet is a wildcard for the San Diego Padres and fantasy managers. He was one of the best pitchers in the league in 2020 when he dominated batters to the tune of 2.09 ERA with a 2.48 FIP. Lamet produced a 12.13 K/9 […]

Nick Ahmed Battling Shoulder Discomfort

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed (shoulder) is dealing with discomfort in his right shoulder, the same shoulder that caused him to miss the final two weeks of last season. He has had a platelet-rich plasma injection and a cortisone shot and will have an MRI exam to see where things stand. Ahmed may need to […]

Diamondbacks Acquire Sergio Alcantara

The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired infielder Sergio Alcantara from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment last week and could get more chances in Arizona. Nick Ahmed (shoulder) is currently sidelined, so Alcantara could begin the season as the starting shortstop. The 25-year-old hit .205/.303/.327 with five homers last […]

Ketel Marte Gets Long-Term Extension

Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ketel Marte has agreed to a five-year extension with the organization. His deal includes $51 million in additional guaranteed money and is worth $76 million in total. This new deal covers three additional free agent years. The Diamondbacks have locked up their cornerstone switch-hitting infielder for the next half-decade. The 28-year-old is […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

With Spring Training upon us, and the fantasy baseball draft season in full swing, it's time to look at the shortstop position and see who may or may not be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick this season. RotoBaller's lead MLB rankers - JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings for Roto Leagues - Ronald Acuna, Randal Grichuk, Luis Castillo, Dylan Floro, Shane Baz and More

Welcome back RotoBallers! Spring Training is upon us, and fantasy baseball drafts are about to get busy. Below are our updated 2022 fantasy baseball draft rankings and tiers for roto leagues. We will be updating these rankings constantly, and releasing updates every few days along with relevant injury updates to be aware of. Five of […]

Jon Anderson's 2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide

Baseball is happening in 2022, and it is happening in full force. With the excellent news of the lockout ending, we are ready to dive full steam ahead into the fantasy baseball draft season! I have had my head deep in baseball data since before Christmas, so I wanted to come out with a miniature […]

Zac Gallen Unlikely To Be Ready For Opening Day

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen (shoulder) is "unlikely to be ready to take the ball in the second game of the season," writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Hindered by a shoulder injury, Gallen threw a two-inning simulated game on Friday and should take the mound in a spring training contest soon. However, Arizona […]

Diamondbacks, Ketel Marte Discussing Extension

The Arizona Diamondbacks and outfielder Ketel Marte have been engaged in extension talks, according to FanSided's Robert Murray. He has one year (plus two club options) remaining on his contract, but it appears there is mutual interest towards striking a long-term deal. It's an important development out of Arizona considering Marte's name has been floated […]

Mid-Round Catchers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place – and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

RotoBaller Staff Mock Draft Analysis: 12-Team Roto League Draft

Fantasy prep is never complete without mock drafts. So in doing our best to prepare for the 2022 season, my fellow RotoBaller writers and I got together for a 12-team 5X5 Roto mock draft. The only difference is that we used Quality Starts instead of Wins. I’ll be breaking down our draft round-by-round and highlighting […]