Richard Rodriguez (RP, PIT) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

Saves are a scarce commodity in today's game, as more and more teams are relying on multiple relievers to handle ninth-inning duties. In last year's abbreviated season, just 10 pitchers reached double digits in the category. Going a little further down the list, only 18 closed out seven or more games, and that includes guys […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021 (Part 1)

Spring Training 2021 is almost here, which means it’s time to start thinking about prospects again. A strong pop-up performance from a rookie or two can have a massive impact on a fantasy manager’s season. If we look back to the truncated 2020 season, we can easily locate a healthy dose of players that had […]

Kyle Barraclough Joins Yankees Bullpen Mix

Right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough has inked a Minor League deal with the New York Yankees that includes an invite to Major League Spring Training later in February. Barraclough has not pitched in the big leagues since 2019 when he posted a 5.61 ERA across 43 appearances split between Miami and San Francisco. Having served as […]

Gio Urshela Throwing, Hitting, Fielding

New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (elbow) has been hitting, throwing, and taking ground balls as he continues to recover from offseason elbow surgery. A bone spur nagged Urshela during part of the 2020 season, and the 29-year-old underwent surgery in early December to remove the bone spur from his elbow. Urshela is expected […]

Dynasty Shortstop Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

The shortstop position is usually one of the most exciting to choose from on draft day but the options are even more enticing in dynasty. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. That includes our constantly-updated dynasty rankings. We've […]

Marcus Semien to the Blue Jays - Fantasy Impact

Toronto may have come up short in the Francisco Lindor sweepstakes earlier this offseason, but they got a new middle infielder last week with the signing of Marcus Semien to a one-year deal. Semien has played exclusively at shortstop throughout his career with Oakland, but he'll likely slide over to second base in Toronto with […]

Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals - Fantasy Impact

Well. It finally happened. The day Rockies fans had long dreaded. News broke late Friday night that Colorado had traded their franchise third baseman Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals. The five-time All-Star has been the biggest star in the Mile-High City for some time now, as he is in the top-10 career leaderboard […]

Starting Pitchers to Target Late - LIMA Plan

The LIMA (Low Investment Mound Aces) Plan is a long-standing draft strategy that was developed far before 2021 but it seems more applicable now than ever. FSWA Hall of Fame member Ron Shandler developed the strategy around the turn of the millennium due to the heavy emphasis on starting pitching in most drafts, leading him […]

Are We In or Are We Out: Part 2 - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) and Zach Braff (@BraffZ) reunite for the first time this fantasy baseball season to continue talking about the hitters you wanted us to discuss. 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 […]

Yankees Agree With Reliever Darren O'Day

The New York Yankees agreed to a deal with free-agent relief pitcher Darren O'Day on Wednesday, according to sources. O'Day is guaranteed to make $2.5 million for one season, and the contract includes a dual option, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. The Braves and Phillies were the runners-up for O'Day. The 38-year-old sidearmer was […]

Examining The Most Effective Pitches in Baseball

There is just nothing better in sports than Baseball Savant. We can derive almost any insight we want from their pitch-by-pitch dataset. One challenge I wanted to take a crack at was to see if I could find which individual pitches in baseball are most effective regardless of who throws it, just looking at pitch type […]

Yankees Talking With Brett Gardner

The New York Yankees last spoke with free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner a little more than a week ago, according to a source. Gardner intends to play in 2021, and the Yankees are clearly his top choice. The veteran outfielder was the club's longest-tenured player in 2020, appearing in his 13th season with the Yankees. The […]

Red Sox Acquire Adam Ottavino From Yankees

The Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino and right-hander Frank German from the New York Yankees on Monday, according to a source. The Red Sox will pick up all of the $11 million owed to Ottavino. The 10-year veteran has a 3.53 career ERA but posted a 5.89 mark in 18 1/3 innings […]

Digging Into K% Leaders - Ketel Marte

There are so many metrics that exist to evaluate player performance, it can sometimes be tough to know which way to go with it. There are the very basic stats we all grew up with: batting average, runs batted in, home runs, and maybe on-base percentage. We also know that they are not the most […]

Jameson Taillon to the Yankees - Fantasy Impact

After bolstering their rotation with the signing of Corey Kluber last week, the New York Yankees acquired another starter over the weekend as they shipped off four prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jameson Taillon. Here's how that deal broke down: Yankees receive: RHP Jameson Taillon Pirates receive: RHP Roansy Contreras, RHP Miguel Yajure, INF Maikol Escotto, […]

Pirates Acquire Miguel Yajure, Three Other Prospects

The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt right-hander Jameson Taillon to the New York Yankees on Sunday in exchange for pitchers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith, according to sources. Yajure was the Yankees No. 15 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, while Contreras was No. 19 and Smith was No. 21. Yajure, […]

Yankees Trade For Jameson Taillon

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was traded to the New York Yankees on Sunday, giving the Yankees some added depth in a fairly weak starting rotation. Taillon has had a fairly uneven career since debuting for the Pirates in 2016, but the 29-year-old boasts a solid 3.55 FIP for his career and has been […]

Dynasty Third Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base and second base rankings. Today, we examine a fairly deep third base position. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free […]

Top 440: Early H2H Points League Rankings

Welcome back RotoBallers. Below you will find our early 2021 fantasy baseball H2H points league rankings (top 440). As you may know, head-to-head points formats are typically underserved by fantasy baseball outlets - but this is an area that we at RotoBaller take pride in and specialize in. Throughout the preseason and regular season, we will […]

No Universal DH - 2021 Playing Time Fallers

Major League Baseball introduced the DH to the National League in 2020, but the rule change may not stick in 2021. MLB recently advised teams to assume that the universal DH will not be implemented for the 2021 season, and although that doesn’t mean that the door is closed on the rule for the year […]

George Springer to Blue Jays - Fantasy Impact

Throughout this year's offseason, we've repeatedly heard about how the Blue Jays were interested in several marquee free agents, but weeks passed with no action. Fans grew frustrated as they watched Francisco Lindor get traded to the Mets and DJ LeMahieu re-sign with the Yankees. Doubt crept into the minds of many observers - perhaps […]

2020 Schedule Outliers - AL East Starting Pitchers

One of the major changes MLB teams faced during the 2020 season was the lack of a diverse set of competition. Instead of playing around 20 other teams as they would in a normal season, teams played only nine different opponents in 2020. Additionally, two-thirds of each team’s games came against opponents within their own […]

Masahiro Unlikely To Return To Yankees

The New York Yankees and free-agent starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka remain in contact, but there's a good chance that he'll be pitching elsewhere in 2021 and beyond. There is strong interest from teams in Japan and the chance to earn a bigger deal in his native country. New York's one-year, $11 million deal with Corey […]

Top 680: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2021 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 680) for 5x5 mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Three our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus and JB Branson - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and are ready to […]

Dynasty Second Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base. Today, we continue with second base. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. […]

Stat-Based Tips To Build a Strong Fantasy Baseball Roster

As we lead up to the 2021 season, fantasy baseball enthusiasts are sure to read thousands of words about players themselves: who overperformed last year and who is primed for a breakout. All of that is good stuff, and it's very helpful in starting your journey towards winning your league, but it's only half the […]

Dynasty First Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. That includes our constantly-updated dynasty rankings. We will take an early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into next season. Today, we start with first […]

You Paid What?! Overvalued Players in Auctions

Assuming the 2021 MLB season starts on time, we are on the precipice of fantasy baseball draft season. Spring Training will get underway next month, at which point, drafts roll out in full force. We aren't there quite yet, which makes sense. Many of the biggest free agents remain unsigned; the league is unsure of […]

Masahiro Tanaka Unlikely To Return To Bronx?

With the New York Yankees signing right-hander Corey Kluber to a one-year, $11 million deal on Friday, it could shut the door on the team re-signing starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Luis Severino (elbow) is due back from Tommy John surgery in 2021 at some point, Domingo German will return from a suspension and the club […]

Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees and outfielder Aaron Judge avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $10.175 million deal. Judge won the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year in 2017, but suffered through his third injury plagued season in 2020, hitting .257 with nine home runs and 22 RBI in 101 at-bats […]