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. […]

Zac Gallen To Make Spring Debut On Saturday

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen is scheduled to make his spring debut on Saturday. He was originally slated to pitch on Friday, but the team has opted to push him back a day and start Seth Frankoff on Friday instead. Gallen is coming off a strong 2020 with Arizona. He made 12 starts and […]

Madison Bumgarner Nearly Perfect in Spring Debut

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner dominated the Angels on Thursday afternoon, allowing only one hit while striking out six in two innings to earn the win. Of the six strikeouts, four were swinging strikeouts as he threw 20 of 33 pitches for strikes. Another positive sign from this outing was his increased velocity, as […]

Kole Calhoun Optimistic for Quick Recovery from Knee Surgery

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun is optimistic that he will be able to return to the team from knee surgery shortly after Opening Day reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Calhoun underwent surgery on his right knee on Wednesday morning to repair a torn meniscus, which Gilbert writes has an average recovery time of four to six […]

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. […]

Ketel Marte Goes 2-for-3 in Diamondbacks' Win Thursday

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ketel Marte went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in a 9-2 victory over the Angels on Thursday. It was Marte's first multi-hit performance of the spring as he is now 4-for-7 at the plate through his first three games. Marte's numbers took a slight hit last year […]

Heath Fillmyer Added On Minor League Deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent right-hander Heath Fillmyer on Wednesday, according to sources. The 26-year-old last pitched for the Kansas City Royals in 2019 and will give the Snakes some pitching depth as they enter the 2021 regular season. Fillmyer allowed 20 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings over […]

Tim Locastro Tests Positive For COVID-19

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Locastro tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday night and will be out for 10 days unless there has been a false positive, according to manager Torey Lovullo. Locastro is feeling good and currently has no symptoms. The 28-year-old is expected to have a decent-sized role for the team this year, either […]

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 […]

Christian Walker Homers in Diamondbacks Win Wednesday

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker had a big day at the plate on Wednesday, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI against the Indians. Walker followed up his breakout 2019 campaign with another solid effort at the plate last year where he finished with a .271/.333/.459 triple-slash line along with seven home […]

Top 10 First Basemen - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

If you’re hunting for an impact bat for your fantasy baseball team, first base is often a good place to find a strong offensive contributor. In 2019, the last full season, 25 out of 37 first basemen with a minimum of 350 plate appearances had a 100 wRC+ or better. Of those, 13 players topped […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - First 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 […]

Kole Calhoun To Undergo Knee Surgery Wednesday

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun (knee) will undergo surgery on his right knee on Wednesday morning, according to The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro. Piecoro reports that Calhoun will be undergoing a "right knee medial meniscectomy" and there is currently no information on a timetable for Calhoun's return. Calhoun posted career-highs with a .526 slugging percentage and […]

Caleb Smith Struggles In Spring Debut Tuesday

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Caleb Smith struggled on Tuesday afternoon, allowing six runs over two innings in a 7-2 loss to the Padres. Most of the damage occurred in a five-run second inning as he finished the day allowing six earned runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout. Smith had a poor […]

Merrill Kelly Strikes Out Five Over Two Innings on Monday

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly looked sharp on the mound Monday despite taking the loss against the Brewers. Kelly's only mistake of the day was a two-run homer in the first inning, as he finished with a line of five strikeouts, one hit, one walk and two runs allowed over two innings of work. Last […]

Outfield Preview: Part 2 - Bases Loaded Podcast

We are diving into the rest of the outfield pool but not like you might expect. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

NL Outfielders - Draft Avoids for 2021

MLB players have reported for Spring Training and plenty of big offseason moves have taken place; it's beginning to feel a lot like baseball season! Big-league players are not the only ones getting ready for the start of the season at this time, though. Fantasy players are now putting the work in to prepare for […]

Top 10 Catchers - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

Catchers perform a mostly thankless job as one of the hardest-working players on the baseball diamond day in and day out. The catcher is also one of the least sought-after players in a fantasy baseball draft although there have been catchers who, in their prime, were worthy of a significant investment such as Mike Piazza, […]

Jon Anderson's Shortstop Tiered Rankings and Projections

I am on to shortstop in my position-by-position tiered rankings. Check out the rest of the series at the links below: First Base Second Base Third Base This is quite a different position than what we've seen so far with first and second base. There are four studs at the position, and lots and lots […]

Does Pitch Arsenal Really Matter?

In my research over the last couple of months, I have been paying close attention to the pitch mix of each pitcher I study. This means I want to know how many different pitches they can throw and how they distribute those different offerings. It seemed logical to me that pitchers with more pitches in […]

Jon Anderson's Third Base Tiered Rankings and Projections

Welcome back to my own personal rankings series! Today we're covering third base, but you can check out the rest of the series at the links below: First Base Second Base Shortstop Third base may be the deepest position in terms of total statistical production that will come out of it, but that does not […]

Is J.T. Realmuto Worth the Draft Cost?

Every year, there seems to be one catcher who stands above all others when it comes to fantasy value and consequently draft price. In 2017, it was Gary Sanchez. In 2018, Salvador Perez. After the 2019 and 2020 seasons, J.T. Realmuto has clearly emerged as the top backstop in fantasy. Catcher is one of the […]

Jon Anderson's Second Base Tiered Rankings and Projections

Happy drafting season everybody! We are back with another tiered ranking look, this time at second base. You can read about first base here. The way I went about this was to use current projections for each player and then average out each player's percentile rank in each of the five standard rotisserie categories (R, […]

2021 Third Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

We continue to move past the chaos of 2020 and onto a new baseball season full of promise. For fantasy baseball managers, draft season is already upon us. RotoBaller's rankers, Pierre Camus, Big Pick Nick Mariano, and I have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings as we now move on to evaluate the hot corner. […]

Digging Into BB% Leaders - Cavan Biggio

When looking at a player’s stats, what we really want to know is how skilled he is, not necessarily just how a particular year happened to pan out. An output stat like walks can give us some meaningful information, but there is a lot more going on that might help us better understand how and […]

Diamondbacks Finalize Deal With Asdrubal Cabrera

The Arizona Diamondbacks confirmed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with infielder Asdrubal Cabrera on Monday. The 35-year-old was in spring camp on Monday when the team went through their first full-squad workout. Cabrera made $925,926 in prorated pay from a $2.5 million salary last season in 52 games for the Washington Nationals during the shortened […]

Tyler Clippard Agrees With Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed free-agent relief pitcher Tyler Clippard to a one-year, $2.25 million deal on Monday night, according to multiple reports. The deal includes $1.75 million this year and a $3.5 million mutual option for the 2022 season with a $500,000 buyout. The 36-year-old right-hander is a two-time All-Star and has made 777 appearances […]

Tyler Clippard Nearing Deal With Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks are closing in on completing a one-year deal with free-agent reliever Tyler Clippard, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Clippard is the second reliever with closing experience the Diamondbacks have signed in February after bringing in Joakim Soria earlier this month. Clippard has not been as effective on the mound in […]

2021 Shortstop Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

Once upon a time, shortstop was one of the toughest positions to fill in fantasy baseball, just a small notch above catcher. 10 years ago, we were prioritizing Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez near the top of drafts just because they filled that elusive shortstop spot. Sure, they were fantastic hitters – when healthy – […]

Top 250 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Part 3)

Welcome back RotoBallers to Part 3 of my dynasty prospects list, breaking down the 1-50 ranked prospects. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2 from a few days ago, looking at the 51-150 and 151-250 ranked prospects. RotoBaller's Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects list is back and refreshed for the 2021 season. Baseball has […]