2019 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

A tough position to evaluate is that of relief pitchers, as a lot of success for closers comes from success from teams. There are also a lot of bullpens by committee these days, further stifling the value of closers. That being said, only four of the pitchers that ranked in the top-10 in saves in […]

2019 Third Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the third base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

2019 Starting Pitcher - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. The sun is still rising on 2019, but RotoBaller writers JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli and myself are here with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these […]

Archie Bradley Settles With Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Archie Bradley avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to an undisclosed one-year deal. Many pegged Bradley as the favorite for saves in Arizona's bullpen heading into 2018, but that didn't happen and they preferred to use him in a setup role. The hard-throwing righty had a 3.64 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, […]

D-Backs Avoid Arbitration With David Peralta

The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided salary arbitration with outfielder David Peralta on Friday by signing him to a one-year, $7 million deal, according to a source. Peralta's fantasy value is on the rise after he posted a career year in 2018, hitting .293/.352/.516 with 30 home runs, 87 RBI and 75 runs scored in 560 at-bats. […]

Jake Lamb Settles With Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $4.825 million deal, according to a source. Lamb played in only 56 games for Arizona due to injury last season, but he hit a combined 59 home runs the previous two seasons and could bounce back as a corner […]

Steven Souza Jr. Avoids Salary Arbitration

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $4.125 million deal, according to a source. Souza managed 30 home runs and 16 stolen bases in his final season with Tampa in 2017, but he came back to Earth in 2018 by hitting a measly .220/.309/.369 with only […]

Diamondbacks Settle With Robbie Ray

The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided salary arbitration with starting pitcher Robbie Ray on Friday by signing him to a one-year, $6.05 million deal. Rumored to be on the trade block this offseason, the D-backs ultimately would like to hang onto the talented southpaw. Ray went 6-2 in 2018 with a 3.93 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 165 […]

2019 Bullpen Outlooks - National League East

Last year's Bullpen Outlook got started with the American League, so let's take the National League on first this time around. Some signings and trades have made a splash in the bullpens of the NL East, and there may still be more to come. With some top free agent closers and setup men still looking […]

2019 Catchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

Catcher is a tough position to evaluate, as many teams utilize multiple catchers and it is rare for one to play 140 or more games in a season. Wear and tear as a backstop limits offensive value for sure, but there are still a group of solid catchers that can contribute in multiple categories. Beyond […]

Is it Legit? David Peralta's Breakout

We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players […]

Shelby Miller Agrees With Rangers

The Texas Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent starting pitcher Shelby Miller on Wednesday. League sources confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan that the deal is worth $2 million with performance bonuses that could bring it up to $5 million. The 28-year-old right-hander dealt with injuries in his three seasons with the Diamondbacks and […]

2019 Shortstops - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series with the ever-so-glamorous shortstop position. Shortstop is rich at the top and while it boasts intriguing depth, this is not a position to wait on, especially if you also have a middle-infield […]

White Sox Agree With Jon Jay

The Chicago White Sox agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with free-agent outfielder Jon Jay on Monday. On a rebuilding White Sox club, Jay may be able to find a starting gig in the outfield, but he still doesn't have much of a fantasy ceiling. Jay will turn 34 in March and hit just […]

White Sox In Serious Discussions With Jon Jay

The Chicago White Sox are in serious discussions with free-agent outfielder Jon Jay, according to sources. Jay is a better real-life commodity as more of a fourth-outfield type than a fantasy one, as he hit just .268/.330/.347 with three home runs, 40 RBI, 74 runs scored and four steals in 143 games last year with […]

Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Teoscar Hernandez - Promising or Pretender?

Every new beginning signifies an end elsewhere. This was the case for Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez last season. The hard-hitting righty broke through in more ways than one in his first full year in the big leagues, finishing with a .239/.302/.468 line, and most importantly 22 home runs. The path to the plate […]

Everything You Need to Know About Brandon Nimmo

You must be a fan of cliffhangers if you’ve been following New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo. After an offseason of trade talk, fantasy owners breathed a sigh of relief when it was Wilson Ramos announced as the team's newest cash signing, rather than the potential Nimmo - J.T. Realmuto deal proposed between the Mets and […]

Top 10 Dynasty First Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

It might seem like I drew the short straw among the prospect analysts here at RotoBaller, but I actually picked this assignment! You won’t see many of these names on top 100 lists. Despite being one of the positions from which teams expect to get the most offensive production, first base gets the least amount […]

2018 Pitching Fallers - ERA

In my last piece, we took a look at some of the pitchers who made significant improvements to their ERA in 2018. Now it's time to take a look at the guys who went in the other direction, and see if it's time to panic on them. This list features two starters who were being […]

Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood Become Reds

Starting pitcher Alex Wood, catcher Kyle Farmer, and outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig are trading Dodger blue for the bright kit of the Cincinnati Reds. The trio was traded for Homer Bailey and prospects in what was essentially a salary dump for Los Angeles as they attempt to sign or trade for more superstars. […]

Daniel Descalso Joins Cubs

The Chicago Cubs agreed to an undisclosed deal with free-agent infielder Daniel Descalso on Tuesday. Descalso was a utility player for Arizona the last two years and hit .238/.353/.436 with a career-high 13 home runs and 57 RBI in 138 games last season. He spent most of his time at second base (51 games) and […]

Diamondbacks May Wait To Trade Zack Greinke

The Arizona Diamondbacks feel they'll get a better return for starting pitcher Zack Greinke in a trade if they wait until the deadline over the summer. Greinke has a lot of money left on his current deal and also carries a no-trade clause. Teams will likely be more desperate to take on Greinke and his […]

Braves Considering A.J. Pollock

The Atlanta Braves could make an offer to free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock. Atlanta already has Ender Inciarte lined up as their starter in center field, but they could opt to trade him if they ended up signing Pollock. Pollock has had trouble staying healthy in his career, but he has a very attractive power/speed combination […]

Diamondbacks Not Targeting Jackie Bradley Jr.

Sources with knowledge of the situation say that the Arizona Diamondbacks are not targeting Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. as a replacement for free-agent center fielder A.J. Pollock. Bradley is a similar player to Pollock defensively, but he doesn't have the upside with the bat that Pollock does. Either way, the Red Sox […]

2018 Baseball Winter Meetings Recap (Monday/Tuesday)

MLB Winter Meetings have started in Las Vegas, Nevada and the headlines thus far have been more about what has been rumored to happen rather than what has happened. There have been some relatively minor moves thus far (including the signing of a former stolen base leader), but most of the stories have revolved around […]

Diamondbacks Covet Jackie Bradley

Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is high atop the Arizona Diamondbacks wish list to replace free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock in center field, according to a major league source. The Red Sox are trying to shed some salary to improve their bullpen, so Bradley could be had in a trade this winter. Although he […]

Archie Bradley Expected To Close In 2019

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo appears to be leaning toward using relief pitcher Archie Bradley as the team's closer next season. The D-backs preferred to use Bradley as more of a setup man in 2018, although he did close out three games to go along with a 3.64 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 75 K's in […]

Jake Lamb To Play Some First Base In 2019

Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said that third baseman Jake Lamb will play some first base next year along with third base. 2018 was a lost season for Lamb, who required shoulder surgery. He played in just 56 games and was bad before his injury, hitting .222/.307/.348 with six home runs and 31 RBI. […]

Robbie Ray Not Available?

Teams that have checked in on Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray say that he is not available for a trade. The assumption was that Ray would be easier to deal than Zack Greinke, who has almost $100 million left over three years and a partial no-trade clause, but Ray is a dominant left with […]