Jed Lowrie Getting Back In Action

Oakland Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie (knee) missed the first week of spring action while working his way back from left knee surgery in the offseason, but he played in his second Cactus League game on Thursday and impressed manager Bob Melvin by making solid contact. The 36-year-old is trying to make the squad on a... Read More

Jesus Luzardo Unveils New Pitch Thursday

Oakland Athletics left-hander Jesus Luzardo unveiled a new pitch he calls the Turkey Sub on Thursday, a funky 65 mph looping breaking ball to complement his mid-90s fastball. The 23-year-old hasn't thrown the pitch in a major league game, but he's been working to incorporate it into his arsenal this spring. He held the Rangers... Read More

Jesus Luzardo Dominant In Spring Debut

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw four shutout innings with five strikeouts in his Cactus League debut Thursday. Luzardo walked two, but didn't allow a hit while needing just 49 pitches to breeze through four frames. Hold on to your hats, Luzardo will soar up draft boards after this outing. The 23-year-old has a... Read More

Mike Fiers Battles Back Ailment Early In Camp

Oakland Athletics right-handed pitcher Mike Fiers (back) has not yet appeared in a Cactus League game, which manager Bob Melvin confirmed Wednesday has been due to a lingering back ailment. Fiers has been pitching in sim games, but Melvin did state that Fiers would be behind the rest of the team's projected starting staff as... Read More

Frankie Montas Feels Good After Simulated Game

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Frankie Montas (illness) said he feels good after throwing two innings in a simulated game. Montas was late to camp after battling COVID-19. As long as there are no setbacks, Montas should appear in Spring Training games soon and is on track to be in the rotation for Opening Day, according... Read More

Chris Bassitt Working On New Slider Grip

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Bassitt is working on a new slider to try and build on his career year in 2020. In the shortened campaign, Bassitt went 5-2 with 55 strikeouts, a 2.29 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 63 innings. According to Statcast, Bassitt only threw 25 sliders last year, but he has... Read More

Top 10 Shortstops - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

The shortstop position is a bountiful one for fantasy players. In a 12-team league, most fantasy managers should have the opportunity to be happy with their starter at the position thanks to the depth and variety of skills available. In 2019, 16 shortstops that had at least 350 plate appearances produced a 100 wRC+ or... Read More

Matt Chapman Leading Off On Wednesday

Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman will lead off and handle DH duties in Wednesday's Spring Training game against the Brewers. Chapman has been hitting well thus far in spring including blasting a homer to dead-center in Tuesday's contest. The A's have an opening at the top of their order after Marcus Semien left in... Read More

A.J. Puk Will Throw A Simulated Game On Tuesday

Oakland Athletics pitcher A.J. Puk will throw a simulated game on Tuesday, according to manager Bob Melvin. He will pitch two innings at the team complex and will throw another simulated game on Saturday if all goes well. "Hopefully he's into a regular game," following the simulated work, Melvin added. The former top-prospect hasn't pitched... Read More

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/9) - Meadows Returning To Form

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games... Read More

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways: Recapping Week 1 - Bases Loaded Podcast

It is never too early to dive into lineups, news and notes from Spring Training. Join us as we dive right into the action! 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... Read More

JB's Bullpen Method Redux - Building FrankenAces

Last year, I finally published an article breaking down my favorite fantasy baseball strategy I have been using for years. It's really less of a strategy and more a state of mind. No, the Bullpen Method is a lifestyle. I always speak about the importance of balance on a fantasy team. For your pitching staff, I... Read More

Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap

The 2021 Tout Wars season kicked off this week with the 15-team Draft and Hold starting on Monday and then the NEW 12-team Mixed draft on Tuesday. The Draft and Hold is a slow draft, while the 12 team Mixed was live and rocking. I was fortunate enough to take part in the 12-team draft. ... Read More

Trevor Rosenthal Battles Groin Strain During Camp

Oakland Athletics right-handed pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (groin) has yet to appear in a Cactus League game during 2021 and it was announced Monday that it's been due to a groin strain. Manager Bob Melvin noted that the team will ease Rosenthal back into the mix, but the hope is that the ailment is minor. Rosenthal... Read More

Ramon Laureano Has Big Day Sunday

Oakland Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run, a walk, and four RBI in Sunday's 9-4 win against the Cleveland Indians. Laureano is now 3-for-8 in his first four spring games. He batted fifth in this one and showed his capabilities for run production, but is also a candidate to leadoff... Read More

Relievers Set to Break Out in 2021

As the calendar flips to February and more leagues start drafting, it's time to dive into everybody's favorite topic: breakouts. For now, we'll ignore the increasingly common facial breakouts from pandemic-related stress and focus on relief. Relief pitching, that is. When looking for draft targets at relief pitcher, almost everybody just turns their eyes to... Read More

Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups

Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and... Read More

Third Base Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball third base rankings and 3B draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of five different MLB players at the third base position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to... Read More

Jon Anderson's Outfield Tiered Rankings and Projections

I continue to press forward on my own personal rankings series. Today we tackle the beast that is the outfield. Check out the rest of the series at the links below if you haven't already! First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Starting at the top, here's that juicy tier one full of first-round talent.Be... Read More

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot% Risers

While the 2020 season may not have given us much of a sample to evaluate outcomes (home runs, doubles, flyouts, etc.), the core events of exit velocity and launch angle stabilize more quickly and can be stickier than combination statistics like ISO or BB%. Two of our FSWA Writer-of-the-Year Finalists, Eric Samulski and Nicklaus Gaut,... Read More

2021 Relief Pitcher 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, Ariel Cohen and I have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings as we now move on to evaluate the... Read More

Matt Olson Homers In Cactus League Action Friday

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson went 1-for-2 with a home run and a strikeout in a Spring Training game against the Angels on Friday. It was a typical game for the lefty slugger who mashed 14 homers last year, but also batted .195 thanks to an uncharacteristic amount of strikeouts. Olson's K-rate spiked to... Read More

Nick Mariano's 2021 Late-Round Fliers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Howdy, RotoBallers! I hope you're ready to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. We’re here to dig a little deeper into the draft room and look for players that would be wise to take a flier on in the late rounds. 2021 might... Read More

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! Best Ball leagues are for you for those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues. Best Ball leagues have increased in popularity in recent years, and that is in large part of the early... Read More

Starting Pitcher Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's a good time to take stock of the dynasty landscape. We've examined hitters at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and outfield. Now it's time to dive into the player pool for starting pitchers. Starters are increasingly difficult to project long-term with the steadily-increasing limitations being placed on... Read More

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... Read More

Lineup Takeaways - An Early Look at Spring Training Trends

As many of you know, tracking lineups is what I am all in on this 2021 season and with it comes an influx of data and information right away. Going forward, a weekly article will occur - especially as we get into more tangible information and data. However, I wanted to get ahead of the... Read More

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/2): Glasnow Struggles, Taillon and Chapman 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.... Read More

Matt Chapman Returns To Lineup As DH

Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman (shoulder) was the team's designated hitter in a spring training game versus the Reds on Monday. Chapman went 1-for-3, which included roping a double to the gap, before being lifted from the game. Chapman had offseason shoulder surgery and the A's are slowly working him back into shape, with... Read More

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,... Read More