Later-Round Category Targets - Stolen Bases

The stolen base is like no other category in the rotisserie game. It is correlated to no other category that is used in fantasy and is influenced by "specialists" (meaning players who only contribute in one category) way more than any other as well. Steal attempts have also been trending downward in recent MLB history, making […]

Infielders Ready to Break Out Late

Finding value is crucial on draft day and finding just one or two players in the mid to late rounds in drafts that provide better numbers than projected can give you a significant edge on the competition as you bid for fantasy glory. All too often, we look for the new shiny object in drafts […]

Hidden Gems To Watch - 2021 Infielder Prospects

When we talk about prospects, almost everybody wants to gravitate to the names at the top of the various lists; the guys like Wander Franco or Julio Rodriguez. The ones we've deemed "generational talents" or determined will "win you your league." But the issue, as we've seen with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is that predicting prospect […]

Catcher Draft Targets for All Leagues

Enough with the catcher slander! As fantasy baseball drafts heat up, all I keep reading about is how we're "forced" to draft catchers and how they can tank your roster. Catchers are people too! I could use thousands of words writing about the value of catchers and how the grind of their defensive job and […]

Eduardo Escobar (3B, ARI) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 260 CURRENT ADP: ~278 overall ANALYSIS: Eduardo Escobar was a player that was expected to regress from the big year he had in 2019. The juiced ball really assisted the power that year and it was a clear outlier. However, we saw Escobar regress a little too much in 2020. He […]

Josh Rojas (2B, ARI) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 400 CURRENT ADP: ~617 overall ANALYSIS:  Rojas has had trouble getting regular playing time with the DBacks, but that may be changing for 2021. With the injury to Kole Calhoun, that opens up some outfield playing time where Rojas has played from time to time for the DBacks, but there’s a […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 2)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Outfield, and of course, Starting Pitcher Part One. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/17) - Jorge Polanco Leaves Game

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 into our third week of spring training games and […]

Starter Prospects that Could be Impact Relievers in 2021

In many ways, Major League Baseball is getting back to normal in 2021. Most importantly for sports fans and fantasy baseball fanatics, this means that the season will be 162 games after experiencing a stunted 2020 season. However, the sudden spike back to 162 games from 60 contests creates headaches for MLB managers. Lance Lynn […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Third Base

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 […]

Madison Bumgarner Strikes Out Three, Earns Win Tuesday

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner allowed two runs on three hits while striking out three in four innings of work on Tuesday, as he earned the win against the Athletics. Bumgarner allowed only one hit through the first three innings, before he got tagged for a pair of home runs in the fourth inning. […]

Asdrubal Cabrera Doubles, Homers In Diamondbacks Win

Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Asdrubal Cabrera had his first multi-hit performance of the spring on Tuesday, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. It was a slow start to the spring for Cabrera, as he was 1-for-12 through his first five games, but he now has four hits over […]

Ketel Marte Homers, Injures Ankle Tuesday

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ketel Marte went 1-for-2 with a home run and two runs scored before exiting the game after rolling his ankle on Tuesday. Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports that Marte rolled his left ankle going into third base on a double by Asdrubal Cabrera, and that he was removed from the game as […]

Nick Ahmed's Absence Tuesday Not Related To Knee Injury

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed was removed from the lineup Tuesday due to personal issues, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Ahmed had missed time recently due to right knee soreness, and he was scheduled to make his return to the lineup Tuesday before his sudden removal. Gilbert says that manager Torey Lovullo said the […]

J.B. Bukauskas One Of Five Players Reassigned On Tuesday

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher J.B. Bukauskas was optioned to Triple-A on Tuesday afternoon, the team announced on Twitter. Bukauskas was the big name among this round of cuts, which included pitcher Corbin Martin, infielder Geraldo Perdomo and outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who were also optioned to Triple-A, while first baseman Seth Beer was reassigned to Minor League […]

Nick Ahmed Scratched From Lineup Tuesday

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed (knee) was a late scratch from the lineup on Tuesday afternoon, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Ahmed has not appeared in a game since March 6, as he has been dealing with right knee soreness. With Ahmed's continued absence, Josh Rojas has been taking advantage of the increased […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Injury Updates

Injury updates tend to change often during Spring Training. "Soreness" is a common theme as players get back into game shape. I will be giving the most recent available injury updates from the offseason. These updates will undoubtedly change as Spring Training continues. As we get closer to Opening Day, some injuries are much more […]

Christian Walker Hits Third Homer Of Spring On Monday

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI in a 6-2 victory over the Mariners on Monday. It was Walker's third home run of the spring, as he is now 5-for-20 with six RBI, two walks and six strikeouts in eight games. He has been one of the […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 1)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, and Outfield. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on early spring training action. You can […]

Caleb Smith Strikes Out Five On Sunday

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Caleb Smith racked up five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings on Sunday in a 6-3 loss to the Giants. Smith allowed only one run and one hit, but he walked four batters as he struggled with command. Of his 58 pitches thrown, 31 were for strikes while 27 were called balls. […]

Josh VanMeter Hits Second Homer Of Spring Sunday

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Josh VanMeter went 1-for-2 on Sunday, hitting his second home run of the spring in a 6-3 loss to the Giants. He accounted for all of Arizona's runs with his three-run blast to center field, as he homered for the second game in a row. VanMeter has shown himself to be […]

Top 20 Outfielders - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

If you’ve played fantasy baseball for a while, you know how hard it can be to find enough quality outfielders to field a competitive team all year long. The good news for fantasy managers is that there are some big names on the way, thanks in part to the 2020 amateur draft which had a […]

Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers

With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]

Top 10 Tips for Fantasy Baseball Snake Drafts

Before I begin, let me caveat everything I say with this: I don't consider myself to be some sort of expert master fantasy player. I've only been playing fantasy baseball for a little under a decade. But as soon as I started to immerse myself into this game we all love, my main focus was […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends

Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]

Michael Florio's Hitters to Target

Every year, one of the articles I look most forward to writing is about the players I am targeting in my drafts. It not only allows me to talk about the players I know I am high on and go into my drafts hoping to select, but it also forces me to look over my […]

J.B. Bukauskas Continues Perfect Spring On Saturday

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher J.B. Bukauskas continued his perfect spring on Saturday afternoon, earning the win as he struck out the side in an inning of work against San Diego. He started off the fifth inning with a swinging strikeout against Tommy Pham, before striking out Ha-Seong Kim and Austin Nola looking. One of the top […]

Trayce Thompson Snaps Skid, Homers Against Padres

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Trayce Thompson snapped a 1-for-18 skid on Saturday afternoon, as he went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and a stolen base. It was Thompson's third home run of the spring, as he improved his triple-slash line to .212/.257/.485 over 10 games. Thompson has struggled in limited playing time over the […]

Tim Locastro Goes 2-For-2 in Return To Lineup

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Locastro made his return to the lineup on Saturday, where he went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles in the victory over San Diego. Locastro had missed most of the last two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, but he looked solid at the plate with an infield single in the […]

Ketel Marte Homers In Diamondbacks' Win

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ketel Marte slugged his first home run of the spring on Saturday, as he finished 1-for-3 in the win over the Padres. Marte has been on fire so far, going 9-for-16 with four doubles, one home run and four RBI, while getting a hit in six of his first seven games. He […]