Jake Bauers - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

Jake Bauers exploded onto the fantasy landscape last summer only to fall off late in the season. It ultimately became a disappointing freshman campaign. And yet, Bauers was back in the news this offseason with a trade to Cleveland and a chance to demonstrate again what made him a top fantasy prospect coming into 2018. […]

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 Second Base - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. Even though we are just coming off ringing in the new year, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, and Chris Zolli have wasted to time coming up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values […]

Kevin Plawecki Avoids Arbitration

Cleveland Indians catcher Kevin Plawecki avoided salary arbitration on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year, $1.137 million deal. The Tribe acquired Plawecki from the Mets last weekend, and he's expected to be the primary catcher in 2019 alongside Roberto Perez. He was a top prospect before reaching the big leagues, but he's hit just .218/.308/.330 […]

2019 First Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first 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 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 […]

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 […]

Trevor Story Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

For the RotoBaller baseball crew, it's our favorite time of the entire year. It's time to revive our signature series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2019 baseball season. That's right, it's Ranker vs Ranker time! RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings […]

Indians Acquire Kevin Plawecki

The Cleveland Indians acquired catcher Kevin Plawecki from the New York Mets on Sunday in exchange for minor league pitcher Walker Lockett and infielder Sam Haggerty. Plawecki hit just .210 with seven home runs in 79 games in 2018 and has hit just .218 with 14 homers and 75 RBI in 237 games over four […]

Nick Pivetta - Ace In The Making

In 2018 there was a breakout pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies who took the league by storm. After garnering league-wide attention, he’s pegged by many fantasy experts as a top-tier starting pitcher for the upcoming year. I'm talking about Aaron Nola, of course. But after this season it very well could be Nick Pivetta. He […]

Danny Salazar Won't Be Ready For Start Of Season

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar (shoulder) will not be ready to break camp with the team at the end of spring training, according to manager Terry Francona. "Danny's not going to be on pace where ... we know when he comes to spring training, he's not going to be competing to make our club," […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Shane Bieber and Matt Chapman

The new year is upon us, which means that it's officially time to start preparing for your 2019 fantasy baseball drafts (if you haven't yet). This column will take a deep dive into two player profiles to attempt to predict how players will perform for their fantasy owners before they take the plunge. We'll start by […]

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 […]

Top 10 Dynasty Outfielders - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Outfield prospects are fascinating right now, as with the graduation of Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto, there are new names near the top of the rankings to learn. This does not mean a drop in talent though, as the current crop of players is easy to dream on for fantasy owners with a mix of […]

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. […]

Michael Brantley to Astros - Fantasy Impact

Outfielder Michael Brantley inked a two-year, $32 million deal with the Houston Astros, filling a gap in the outfield for the 2017 champions. Brantley had injuries that cut his 2016 and 2017 seasons short, but he came back strong in 2018 to be productive. He also had a .319 batting average and 90 doubles in […]

Andrew Miller Signs With Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals officially signed free-agent relief pitcher Andrew Miller to a two-year, $25 million deal that includes a vesting option and a full no-trade clause, according to a source. His option is worth $12 million and vests at 110 games combined in 2019 and 2020. He'll also be able to make $500,000 per […]

Cardinals Closing In On Andrew Miller

The St. Louis Cardinals are closing in on a deal for free-agent relief pitcher Andrew Miller, according to sources. Miller was on the disabled list multiple times in 2018 and never really found his footing, finishing with an un Miller-like 4.24 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, although he still struck out 45 hitters in 34 innings. […]

Please Let Brandon Belt Get Traded

A report recently came to light that the San Francisco Giants were making first baseman and owner of a genuine super-beard, Brandon Belt, available in trades. Apparently, there are teams interested in the oft-injured slugger, despite the whopping $48 million due to him over the next three years. It’s not terribly surprising that Belt is available, […]

Astros Close To Signing Michael Brantley

The Houston Astros are closing in on free-agent outfielder Michael Brantley, according to sources. Rival executives expect the deal to be for two years and around $32 million. If Houston is unable to trade Josh Reddick, a Brantley addition will make it tougher for outfield prospect Kyle Tucker to make a big impact in his […]

Indians May Decide To Keep Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer

After trading designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, first baseman Yonder Alonso and catcher Yan Gomes, the Cleveland Indians won't be as "motivated" by financial concerns to trade starting pitchers Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. It'll be tougher for teams seeking Kluber or Bauer -- most likely the Dodgers -- to pry the two stud pitchers away […]

White Sox Acquire Yonder Alonso

The Chicago White Sox acquired first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Cleveland Indians on Friday, according to a source. It's unknown what the White Sox are sending back to the Tribe. Alonso became expendable when the Indians traded for switch-hitting first baseman Carlos Santana and first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers just a day earlier. Santana should […]

Carlos Santana and Edwin Encarnacion Swapped - Fantasy Impact

For Cleveland fans, last year was an odd viewing experience, as for the first time in eight years Carlos Santana was not suiting up for the team. Well, those days are over, as Santana is returning to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario as part of a three-team deal. At the time of writing, Carlos […]

2018 Baseball Winter Meetings - Wednesday/Thursday Recap

MLB Winter Meetings are ending in Las Vegas, Nevada and the headline-grabbing moves have come from relatively unknown places. Players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, J.T. Realmuto, and Noah Syndergaard were rumored to be traded or signed, yet none of those moves materialized. What did occur over the last two days, though, were some solid […]

Yankees Meet With Andrew Miller

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has already met with the representatives for free-agent relief pitcher Andrew Miller. They are also interested in re-signing lefty reliever Zach Britton. Miller has been one of the most dominant left-handed relief pitchers in the game in recent seasons, but 2018 was not one of them. The southpaw […]

Edwin Encarnacion Being Flipped To Tampa

The Seattle Mariners will send recently acquired designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion to the Tampa Bay Rays in a separate deal, according to sources. It's unclear what the return for Seattle will be. The Mariners are firmly in a rebuild after shipping first baseman Carlos Santana, who they acquired from the Phillies earlier this month, to […]

Rays Acquire Yandy Diaz From Tribe

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired infielder Yandy Diaz from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday in exchange for first baseman Jake Bauers in a three-team deal that also included the Mariners. It's unclear how much playing time Diaz will get in his new home, but he should have a chance to carve out an everyday role […]

Indians Get Carlos Santana, Jake Bauers

The Cleveland Indians are acquiring first baseman Carlos Santana from the Mariners and first baseman Jake Bauers from the Rays on Thursday in a three-team swap. The Tribe shipped designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle and infielder Yandy Diaz to the Rays. The Tribe now has a surplus of DH/first base types, although Bauers could […]

Edwin Encarnacion Heading To Seattle

The Seattle Mariners will acquire designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and a compensatory Round B selection from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday in exchange for first baseman Carlos Santana in a three-team deal also involving the Rays. E5 can also play some first base, but he'll likely serve mostly as a DH in Seattle. He'll turn 36 […]