Sneaky Starters - Deceptive Pitchers Who Could Be Draft Steals

Earlier this week, I was reading Michael Ajeto's article on PitcherList about Brady Singer. In the article, Michael touted Singer's deception and mentioned a sign of that being Singer's Zone Swing Rate (Z-Swing%) minus his Chase Rate (O-Swing%). The premise of the concept was simple but one that stood out to me immediately. Z-Swing% measures... Read More

Outfield Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We've already gone around the infield with a look at first base, second base, third base, and shortstop. Let's head to the outfield now to break down the long list of outfielders that have fantasy relevance in 2021 and beyond. All of the players listed have outfield eligibility, although several will be used at shallower... Read More

2021 Catcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

The chaotic, wild, and confusing 2020 COVID season is now thankfully behind us, am I right fellow Red Sox fans? But now is the hardest part in terms of fantasy implications from the pandemic as we try to decipher how much of 2020's statistics are actually viable data for 2021 projections. Small playing time samples,... Read More

2021 All-Value Team: Pouncing on ADP Fallers

One of the most common ways to get ahead in fantasy baseball is to be on the right side of small sample-size overreactions. After the 2020 season that saw just 60 regular-season games for each team, there is sure to be a lot of this as we approach draft season for 2021. Most hitters will suffer... Read More

Mets Talking About Matt Chapman

The New York Mets have talked to the Oakland Athletics about trading for third baseman Matt Chapman, according to sources. The Mets have also been linked to Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez, with Chapman now emerging as a surprise candidate on the Mets radar. The 27-year-old has... Read More

Jed Lowrie Inks Contract With A's

The Oakland Athletics and infielder Jed Lowrie agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. If Lowrie makes the team, it will be his third stint with Oakland after playing with the A's from 2013-14 and 2016-18. Lowrie has thrived at different times with the A's including setting the franchise-record with... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Preseason Injury Updates

Injuries remain commonplace in all sports. Baseball has seen the rate of injury continue to rise over the past few years. In fantasy, if someone is not in the medical field, it is hard to gauge how long a player will be out and whether they need to be replaced in a lineup. Sometimes this... Read More

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021 (Part 2)

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... Read More

Top 750: Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings

What's up RotoBallers. Today we are bringing you our top 750 fantasy baseball dynasty rankings for the 2021 MLB season. Dynasty leagues, or keeper formats, continue to become more and more popular in the fantasy sports landscape. For those of you who are playing in dynasty formats, or are interested in long-term valuations of fantasy players,... Read More

Mike Fiers Returns To Athletics On One-Year Deal

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Mike Fiers agreed to a one-year $3.5 million contract to return to the organization he called home for the past two seasons. Fiers has been a quality starter for the A's, but fantasy managers should be less bullish on the 35-year-old righty. His K-rate has dropped four years in a row... Read More

Athletics Trade For Shortstop Elvis Andrus

The Oakland Athletics acquired shortstop Elvis Andrus from the Rangers in exchange for designated hitter Khris Davis. Catcher Jonah Heim and minor league pitcher Dane Acker will also head to Texas while Oakland is acquiring catcher Aramis Garcia and cash to offset Andrus' salary. Three weeks ago Texas announced Isiah Kiner-Falefa would take over at... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

Nick Allen A Dark-Horse Candidate For Vacant Shortstop Job

Oakland Athletics shortstop prospect Nick Allen will report to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. The No. 4 prospect in the A's system is a candidate to earn a starting role after shortstop Marcus Semien and second baseman Tommy La Stella departed Oakland. Allen has never played above High-A, so his chances of being on... Read More

Tyler Soderstrom Earns Non-Roster Invite To A's Camp

Oakland Athletics catcher Tyler Soderstrom was invited to big-league camp. The 19-year-old is unlikely to be called up to the majors this season after only getting a short look in 2020 while at the A's alternate site last season. However, the 2020 first-round pick is oozing with potential. He was named the Gatorade California Baseball... Read More

Matt Chapman Expects To Be Fully Healthy For 2021

Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman saw his 2020 campaign come to an early end after undergoing hip surgery. But Chapman revealed Wednesday that he anticipates being a full-go for the '21 year out of the gate. Having established himself as one of the game's premier defensive players almost immediately upon being granted the third-base... Read More

Josh Phegley Announces Retirement

Josh Phegley announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Wednesday. Family considerations and business opportunities factored into his decision to hang up his spikes. Phegley was drafted in the first round (38th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2009 and will retire just over a week before his 33rd birthday. He made his... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

A's Acquire Cole Irvin From Phillies

The Oakland Athletics acquired left-handed relief pitcher Cole Irvin from the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday in exchange for cash considerations. Turning 27 years old on Sunday, Irvin has 19 career major league appearances (three starts) over the last two years with Philly. He's posted a 6.75 ERA with a poor 17.2 percent strikeout rate over... Read More

A's Sign Carlos Perez To Minor League Deal

The Oakland Athletics signed free-agent catcher Carlos Perez to a minor league deal on Friday. If Perez finds his way onto the major league roster, he'll earn $650,000. The 30-year-old backstop has played four seasons in the big leagues and hasn't seen any action in the majors since 2018 with the Braves and Rangers, when... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

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.... Read More

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... Read More

A's Acquire Reliever Nik Turley

The Oakland Athletics acquired left-hander Nik Turley from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday in exchange for $60,000. Turley was 0-3 with a 4.98 ERA and one save in 25 relief appearances -- the most of any major league rookie in 2020 -- for the Pirates in 21 2/3 innings in the shortened season. The 31-year-old... Read More

Abandon the Win AND the Quality Start

The Win. One of the cornerstone categories of fantasy baseball since its creation. In recent years, baseball fans and fantasy managers alike have been debating the value of the win and whether or not it's overrated. With this debate, the quality start has become a category that more and more leagues are turning to as... Read More

Year-In-Review: Rafael Dolis and Jordan Romano

As I created my early 2021 Relief Pitcher rankings, I realized how wide open so many bullpens are right now due to free agency. One team that will surely add a late-inning arm this offseason is the Toronto Blue Jays, as Anthony Bass and Ken Giles are both now free agents. But are they in... Read More