2018 Bullpen Outlooks - National League West

The National League West wraps up our 2018 Bullpen Outlooks series. Check out all of the American League divisions here: AL East, AL Central, AL West, and the rest of the National League here: NL East, NL Central. Stick with Rotoballer all season long for weekly Closer Reports including recaps of the week that passed, outlooks for […]

Best Ball Sleepers and Late Round Targets for Fantasy Baseball

Best ball leagues are one of the latest variations of fantasy baseball that are quickly growing in popularity. Draft day is the only day of the year where owners will have control over their roster. There is no waiver wire and there are no trades. Owners won't even set daily lineups, as they will instead […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season blessedly just a few weeks away, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to update our rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the third base position. There's a ton of talent at the hot corner this season, with the usual elites at […]

Points League Primer - Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy

When discussing fantasy baseball, an often neglected but entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both season-long cumulative and weekly head-to-head leagues. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a […]

Top First Base Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 first basemen - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. First base is always a challenging position to find rookie stars. It’s not every year a Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins reach the majors. Most […]

Trevor Bauer Is Struggling His Way Through Spring

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer is having a hard time getting outs so far this spring in Cactus League play. In 8 1/3 innings spread across three games, Bauer has an 8.64 ERA. He's allowed 11 hits, nine runs and three walks while striking out 10. It's nice to see the strikeouts, but Bauer […]

Yonder Alonso Looking Good in His New Uniform

Cleveland Indians first baseman Yonder Alonso is looking good in his new uniform, starting off Cactus League play by playing well. He's slashing .375/.500/.938 with two home runs so far. He's walked four times and struck out just three times. Alonso was signed to replace Carlos Santana, who joined the Philadelphia Phillies as a free […]

Edwin Encarnacion Off to a Slow Start So Far in Spring Training

Cleveland Indians designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion is off to a slow start in Cactus League play this spring. He's slashing just .167/.211/.333 with one home run and two RBI. He has struck out eight times in just 18 at-bats. Encarnacion was somewhat disappointing last season when compared to previous years, and while the spring sample […]

Jason Kipnis Is Putting On a Show This Spring

Cleveland Indians second baseman/outfielder Jason Kipnis has gotten off to an excellent start in Cactus League play this spring. Kipnis is slashing .450/.450/1.350 with six home runs, 12 RBI, and only three strikeouts. After what was mostly a lost 2017 due to injuries and prolonged slumps, Kipnis is looking to come out of the gates […]

Francisco Lindor Off to an OK Start This Spring

Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor is off to a decent start in Cactus League play. He's slashing .238/.360/.476 with one home run and five RBI. He's struck out twice and walked three times. Lindor looks set for another excellent season and should be one of the first few shortstops taken in most formats. While he […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - NL Starting Pitchers

With the inherent injury risk to pitchers and innings management becoming more prevalent in baseball, nailing starting pitchers becomes even more important on draft day. After the big four of Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, and Corey Kluber are off the board, seemingly every pitcher has some sort flaw or concern going into 2018. […]

Updated First Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers. With the MLB season just a few short weeks a way, it's time to update our rankings and analysis to account for injuries, free agent signings, spring training risers/fallers and more. We kick off our updated March rankings today with the first base position. Harris breaks down each tier and provides analysis […]

Michael Brantley to Face Live Pitching

Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley (ankle) was scheduled to face live pitching during Wednesday's team workout. Brantley is recovering from surgery on his ankle to stabilize ligaments that forced him to miss most of last season. He comes with tons of upside, but is a big injury risk as well. Owners who snag him later […]

Turning Two - Beware the Trending Six-Man Rotation

A six-man starting rotation? "That's just not what MLB is to me," Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels said recently. As someone accustomed to being at the forefront of a pitching staff and who's logged 362 starts over 12 Major League seasons, it's only logical that Hamels would expect to keep trotting out there as much as […]

Best-Ball Draft Strategy Overview for Fantasy Baseball

It's finally March, which can only mean two things: Spring Training and fantasy drafts. All the effort spent on rankings and draft prep finally come to fruition. Once your draft is completed, you then get to spend every day of the rest of the season analyzing player performances, scouring waiver wires and setting the best […]

Points Leagues Starting Pitchers - Overvalued and Undervalued

As we’ve discussed before, points leagues are a bit of a different animal from the more popular head-to-head and rotisserie formats. One of the most obvious differences between them is how pitchers are valued. In a points league, the top pitchers routinely outearn the top hitters. Most analysis will tell you to favor bats in […]

Francisco Mejia Suffers a Right Foot Contusion

Cleveland Indians catcher Francisco Mejia suffered a right foot contusion and was forced to leave Tuesday's game. He was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, but he was able to walk off the field on his own power. He'll probably need a day or two off for swelling to go down, but it […]

Top Catcher Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down my top impact prospects for fantasy baseball by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 catcher prospect rankings - rookies that have the best chance to make fantasy baseball impacts for the 2018 season. Catcher is a vital spot for owners in redraft leagues. […]

Brandon Guyer Progresses in His Rehab

Cleveland Indians outfielder Brandon Guyer (wrist) has moved on to front-toss hitting in his rehab. Guyer re-injured his surgically repaired left wrist during a fielding drill early in Spring Training. Guyer will be part of an outfield platoon, playing mostly when the team is facing left-handed pitching. While he's making progress, it remains unclear if […]

Michael Brantley Progresses to Agility Work

Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley (ankle) has moved on to agility work in his recovery from ankle surgery. Brantley underwent surgery to stabilize the ligaments in his right ankle in October and has been working his way back all spring. Brantley has been hitting, throwing and running and reportedly hasn't hit any snags in his […]

Julian Merryweather Looking at Possible Tommy John Surgery

Cleveland Indians pitching prospect Julian Merryweather has been diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. While this diagnosis doesn't immediately lead to Tommy John surgery, it's certainly the gateway. He's been shut down from throwing and will get a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday. Merryweather is 26 and […]

ADP Rankings Debate - Andrew Benintendi vs. Marcell Ozuna

RotoBallers Andrew Le and Sean Scampton recently did their best Celebrity Deathmatch impression by debating between Andrew Benintendi (Andrew) and Marcell Ozuna (Sean). Interestingly, Benintendi and Ozuna face an odd occurrence where one player has the ADP advantage while the other is being ranked higher overall and at their position. As always, arguments about players […]

Jason Kipnis (2B/OF, CLE) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~185 CURRENT ADP: 259 ANALYSIS: Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis had a forgettable 2017, batting just .232/.291/.414 with 12 home runs and 35 RBI in 90 games. Kipnis' 2017 was riddled with injuries, limiting him to the fewest games played in a season in his career by a significant margin. He also bounced […]

Danny Salazar to Start the Season on the Disabled List

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar will start the season on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Salazar "is not going to be ready" for the regular season. Salazar has been dealing with inflammation in his right (throwing) rotator cuff since the beginning of camp. He's been able […]

Mike Clevinger Named to the Starting Rotation

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona named right-handed pitcher Mike Clevinger as a member of the starting rotation. Clevinger was excellent in 2017, but was still on the outside looking in for the Tribe's rotation heading into Spring Training. With the news that Danny Salazar will be starting the season on the disabled list with a […]

2017 Breakouts Due for Regression - Starting Pitchers

The 2017 season saw a number of starting pitchers emerge and become studs for both their real and fantasy teams. Aaron Nola and James Paxton finally matched their prospect hype. Alex Wood finally stayed (mostly) healthy and earned his first All-Star appearance. Trevor Bauer finally seemed to put his inconsistency behind him with a dominant second […]

2018 Bullpen Outlooks - National League East

The National League East kicks off the first of our National League bullpen outlooks. Check out all of the American League divisions here: AL East, AL Central, AL West. The NL East doesn't feature any of the big name closers that casual baseball fans would recognize, but there are some solid relief arms on each team […]

Michael Brantley Progresses to Defensive Drills

Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley (ankle) is going to test his lateral movement by participating in some defensive drills on Friday. It's the only thing he hasn't done yet in his rehab from an ankle injury. He's been hitting, throwing, and running, but has not participated in full defensive drills yet. Brantley has nice upside […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - NL Relief Pitchers

Early-season drafts do not always tend to be reflective of a player's actual value. Average draft position does not tend to stabilize until closer to Opening Day but that does not stop people like myself (and presumably you as well if you're reading this) from drafting well before then. The ADP of relief pitchers is […]

Michael Brantley (OF, CLE) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~195 CURRENT ADP: 255 ANALYSIS: Michael Brantley has had a full offseason to safely come back down to the baseball diamond after dealing with injuries over the past two years. He will be welcomed back with a spot in the middle of the order on a team that produced the third-best wRC+ […]