Why You Need Middle Relievers In 2020 - Top Draft Targets

Heading into the 2020 fantasy baseball season, much of the talk is focused on the randomness that we're likely to see unfold. With a 60-game season, it feels a bit like anything can happen. However, instead of that reality causing you to throw your hands in the air in dismay, I think it's the perfect […]

Short-Season Draft Risers and Fallers: RotoBaller Staff Picks

Recently, the RotoBaller MLB staff provided their thoughts on the best draft strategies for a shortened season. You can read that article right here. The fantasy baseball season is ready to kick up (finally) but things won't be the same as usual. Some players may be more appealing now that they've had time to work […]

2019 Breakout Starters Who’ll Continue to Improve

Breakout starters are one of the great joys of fantasy baseball. There are few things more satisfying than adding or drafting a player who emerges as one of the season’s best values. Starting pitchers are particularly prone to come out of nowhere and propel a team to a championship. However, that volatility makes it difficult […]

30 Burning Questions (and Answers) for 2020 Fantasy Baseball

Upon hearing that Major League Baseball was finally set to return to action and the fantasy season was back, a million questions popped in my head. Sadly, I forgot most of them by the next day so I'm left with just 30, coincidentally a nice even number. Actually, my initial plan was to do 60 […]

KBO Betting Picks (7/3/2020) - Moneylines, Totals, Runlines

On Thursday we saw Doosan took care of business early, scoring seven runs on Kiwoom before blowing their late-game lead. KT and LG going under was a disappointment, as the Wiz scattered 15 hits but could only muster four runs. Now we head into the weekend and begin a new set of series some interesting […]

KBO DFS Lineup Picks for 7/3/20 - DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. If you haven't signed up for the RotoBaller Premium Slack chat, it's a great space to chat during the day about the lineups. You can also follow me and the other Rotoballer writers on Twitter. In particular, @efhatch1990dfs has his personal KBO DFS Cheat Sheets which you will now […]

Jesus Luzardo Could Change Makeup Of A's Rotation

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo, baseball's No. 12 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, could change the makeup of the A's starting rotation in the 60-game season this year. Oakland's starters have a 6.9 K/9 the last two seasons, which is the lowest in baseball. Luzardo, a 22-year-old left-hander, has a 10.8 K/9 in his […]

A's Add Robert Puason, Others To Player Pool

The Oakland Athletics added six players to their player pool Wednesday, including first-round pick Robert Puason. The 17-year-old infielder will report to the team's satellite camp. Puason is highly unlikely to play in the majors this season, but it's good news for his long-term development to train with big-leaguers. Among the five other players Oakland […]

Former Top Prospect Jorge Mateo Headed To San Diego

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the San Diego Padres have acquired shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo from the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named later. Logjammed in the Bay Area, the A’s No. 7 prospect was out of options and will now test his fate in San Diego. The 25-year-old possesses game-breaking speed, swiping […]

First-Rounder Tyler Soderstrom Invited To A's Camp

Oakland Athletics catching prospect Tyler Soderstrom signed his rookie contract on Monday and will be part of the team's 60-man roster for the 2020 season. The deal is worth $3.3 million guaranteed, well above slot estimate for the 26th overall pick. Teams were concerned about being able to sign the high-school prospect, who was committed […]

Draft Season 2.0 Strategy Discussion - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland), Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) and Zach Braff (@braffz) all get in on this one as they dive into fantasy baseball draft season strategy. 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 […]

Daniel Mengden Will Be Ready For Second Spring Training

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Daniel Mengden (elbow) said he is fully recovered from elbow surgery in February and will be ready to report when camps open up July 1. Mengden had surgery before spring training to remove bone spurs from his elbow. Mengden is expected to compete for a rotation spot when camps open up […]

A.J. Puk Feeling 100 Percent

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher A.J. Puk (shoulder) said he is feeling 100 percent recovered from a shoulder injury sustained during in March during spring training. Puk said he has been throwing bullpen sessions for months and should be ready to go when the season begins. While this is good news for fantasy owners, expect the […]

Robert Puason Expected To Be On A's Taxi Squad

Oakland Athletics shortstop prospect Robert Puason is expected to be on the team's taxi squad when rosters are officially announced. The 17-year-old is the fourth-ranked prospect in the A's farm system, but he should be ranked No. 1 when pitchers Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk and catcher Sean Murphy graduate to the big league club this season. Puason […]

KBO DFS Lineup Picks For 6/27/20 - DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! There’s a good chance that your mother told you, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.“ Well, mine did too. But I prefer the words of Alice Roosevelt Longworth who changed the second part to "...then come sit next to me". Because the reality is that's […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Kenta Maeda

Generally speaking, ADP makes sense even if you don't agree with it. For example, this author believes that Kevin Cron would break out in a Pete Alonso manner if Arizona gave him everyday reps, but his path to playing time is questionable even with the recent announcement that NL clubs will have a DH this […]

Stephen Piscotty Should Be Ready For Season Opener

Oakland Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty (oblique), who was shut down from baseball activities earlier this spring, told NBC Sports Bay Area in April that he was pain-free and taking swings. Piscotty said that he was "fully confident" that he will be ready for the 2020 season opener. Fantasy owners will probably want the 29-year-old to […]

A.J. Puk, Jesus Luzardo Could Be Free Of Innings Restrictions

Oakland Athletics left-handed pitching prospects A.J. Puk (shoulder) and Jesus Luzardo, the team's No. 3 and 1 prospects at MLB Pipeline, respectively, could be free of innings restrictions in 2020 now that the season will only consist of 60 games and start in late July. Puk was shut down in March when he suffered a […]

Fantasy Value In a 50-Game Season: Starting Pitchers

Having now passed the ides of June, there is still no start date for the 2020 season and no guarantee that we'll even ever get one. MLB and the MLBPA continue to pass proposals back and forth, with each side taking their turn at rejection. This puts baseball in a situation where Commissioner Rob Manfred is […]

KBO DFS Lineup Picks For 6/23/20 - DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. If you haven't signed up for the RotoBaller Premium Slack chat, it's a great space to chat during the day about the lineups. You can also follow me and the other Rotoballer writers on Twitter. In particular, @efhatch1990dfs has his personal KBO DFS Cheat Sheets which you […]

Rich Hill (SP, MIN) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~ 170 CURRENT ADP: ~190 overall ANALYSIS: Rich Hill has been somewhat of a conversation centerpiece lately. Originally, Hill was going to miss the first half of the season, but with the delay, we could be seeing a "full season" of Hill. The left-hander has essentially never been a bad pitcher. […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Mike Minor

How will the shortened MLB season impact the fantasy game? This question is foremost on many owners' minds, and one of the most common responses has been to value workhorse pitchers who rack up decisions more highly. Owners are encouraged to draft studs like Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, but realistically you won't be able […]

KBO DFS Lineup Picks For 6/21/20 - DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! How did you do on last night's slate? I fared better on FanDuel than I did on DraftKings. I made a last minute change or two on DraftKings swapping out Ha Seong Kim for Dixon Machado and that was the difference between cashing and not. Kim just felt too expensive to me […]

Overvalued and Undervalued Shortstops in 2020

In the last few seasons, the shortstop position has improved tremendously with the emergence of All-Stars like Alex Bregman, Trea Turner, and Trevor Story. The position has four potential first-round picks, and a staggering ten picks in the top 40 according to NFBC. By comparison, second base and third base have five players each in […]

MLB Draft Review and More with Chris Welsh - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Chris Welsh (@IsItTheWelsh) and they dive into the MLB draft. 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 BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

A's Add Three Minor Leaguers

The Oakland Athletics signed three undrafted free agents for a maximum of $20,000 each. They include Wake Forest catcher/infielder Will Simoneit, Loyola Marymount catcher Cooper Uhl and Iowa right-handed pitcher Grant Judkins. The 2020 draft concluded on Thursday, June 11, but all 30 teams are allowed to sign an unlimited number of high school and […]

Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Dynasty Prospects

The Oakland Athletics will be our next stop on the farm to evaluate the best prospects on each MLB team. Once the 2020 MLB season begins, it may turn out that Minor League systems will be more important than usual. Franchises are losing money during the pandemic layoff, so many teams will be looking for […]

KBO DFS Lineup Picks for 6/16/20 - DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another KBO DFS column. It’s a brand new week of KBO DFS and while MLB struggles to find come to an agreement on their season, we still have foreign baseball to satisfy our fantasy fix. New to KBO? DraftKings and FanDuel will use the same scoring system that they do for […]

Michael Guldberg, Dane Acker Under-The-Radar Picks For A's

The Oakland Athletics selected Georgia Tech outfielder Michael Guldberg with the 98th overall pick in the third round in the 2020 MLB draft on Thursday. They went on to take Oklahoma pitcher Dane Acker in the fourth round (127th overall) and Washington pitcher Stevie Emanuels in the fifth round (157th overall). Guldberg isn't big at […]

Does James Paxton's Spin-Rate Adjustment Matter?

Players frequently enter spring training in, "the best shape of their lives," but offseason programs rarely seem to pay significant dividends. The extended offseason may have provided some players with the opportunity to make unusually significant adjustments this year, though. One example of such an adjustment is Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton, who recently announced that […]