Ball Street: Roto Never Sleeps - MLB Recap Featuring Butler, Utley, Fiers, Machado, Betts, Travis and More

With week 3 coming to a close, let's recap some players whose stocks might be rising or falling. Now that we're almost through April, we're developing a decent sample size so we can start to see who might be for real and who we should cut. Stats current as of 9am, 4/24/2015     MLB... Read More

Real Deal or Impostor: Will Graveman, Bauer, and Cruz Sustain Their Performances?

With 2 weeks officially in the books, we can finally begin to consider 2015 performances, at least to a certain extent. The small sample size waters remain treacherous, but approximately 10% of a player's season should not be completely ignored either. Three players that are now looked at far differently than they were in the... Read More

Week 3 Buy and Sell Hitters for Fantasy Baseball

It's Week 3 and the stars are just beginning to align in the cosmos of the MLB. Injuries are rampant, waiver wires are scarce and Nelson Cruz home runs are abundant. Fantasy owners everywhere are vigorously trying to gain an edge quickly and enjoy early season success. But remember; baseball is a marathon, not a... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch: Hot Hitters to Trade For

This week’s edition of the RotoBaller Stock Watch takes a look at five hitters, whom some fantasy owners shied away from this offseason for a variety of reasons, but have so far impressed through the early part of the season. All five are owned in virtually every league, but with their stock on the rise,... Read More

Week 3 Start/Sit: MLB Starting Pitcher (SP) Matchups

What’s up RotoBallers. Hopefully the start of the MLB and fantasy baseball season is treating you well, and your teams are off to a roaring start. Either way, we are here to help as always. Below are all of the starting pitching matchups for Week 3. For every week of the fantasy baseball season, we look to... Read More

Top Five Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Week Three

Quality over quantity. Every fantasy owner knows this. But when looking at the starting pitcher free agent waiver wire for the coming week, ideally you would like to have a guy that is going to be on the mound more than once. Most teams are going to have a couple of starters pitching twice in... Read More

Holds Leagues: Waiver Wire Pickups For Week Three

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men. The more likely an MLB team is to win, the more likely these pitchers will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league. Based on... Read More

Mark Canha (1B/OF, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in AL-Only Leagues ANALYSIS: The Athletics were set on platooning Mark Canha with fellow first baseman Ike Davis, with the former only starting against left-handed pitchers. However, Canha is off to a hot start and has found some extra playing time in the outfield, as well. He has at least one hit in... Read More

Marcus Semien (2B/3B/SS, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 18% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Marcus Semien, 24, shortstop, is hoping that there’s no place like home. Not only is the Oakland Athletics giving him a chance to play the position he’s played since tee-ball, but he’s getting the chance to do it in his hometown. In two seasons... Read More

Five Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 2

The first week of the season is in the books. There likely hasn't been too much roster upheaval in your league unless you play with some Chicken Little owners. Remember, folks: It's a long season. Resist the urge to mash the panic button. But by all means, tinker on the margins. That's what we're here to... Read More

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week Two

Just Starting Out The wait is over; the 2015 fantasy baseball season has officially begun. How did Week One go? Not exactly confident in the catcher you drafted? Looking for a reliable backup? RotoBaller has got you covered with analysis on three catchers who may be free agents in your league who you can target off the... Read More

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Week 2

The first week of baseball has come and gone. Hopefully you haven’t blown up your team already, but if you have you’re going to love this article! In all seriousness, the beginning of the fantasy season is a key time frame for wise owners, as now is the time to strike on those free agent gems.... Read More

Billy Butler (1B/DH, OAK) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Target for 12+ Team Leagues / FAAB Bid: $5-8 OWNED IN: 56% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Billy Butler already has a strong ownership level at this point but there’s room for growth. Yes, his numbers have tailed off across the board since his monster 2012 campaign (.313/72/29/107), but there’s still value to be found off... Read More

Brett Lawrie (3B/2B, OAK) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLE MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: ESPN: 30.1% owned, Yahoo: 99% owned, Fleaflicker: 26% owned ANALYSIS: Sorry Yahoo owners, Brett Lawrie is an ESPN only play it seems. To be perfect honest, I don’t understand how Lawrie’s ownership numbers can be as low as they are, considering the upside he offers. Health has obviously been the... Read More

Stephen Vogt (1B/OF/C, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / All Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN: ESPN: 5.6% owned, Yahoo: 41% owned, Fleaflicker: 21% owned ANALYSIS: The difference in Stephen Vogt’s ownership numbers between ESPN, Yahoo and Fleaflicker leagues is likely due to the fact that he’s already catcher eligible in the latter two. Assuming continued health and playing time, he’ll... Read More

Marcus Semien (2B/3B/SS, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10+ team leagues OWNED IN: 17% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Semien was a trendy sleeper last season after posting a .284/.401/.489 line with 19 HR and 24 SB across two levels in 2013. He began the year as the White Sox starting second baseman, but struggled and was demoted in May.... Read More

Drew Pomeranz (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in AL Only Leagues. OWNED IN: 2.6% of ESPN leagues; 30% of yahoo leagues; 28% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Drew Pomeranz found a new home last season in the spacious Oakland Coliseum and his success soared as a result. Pomeranz has the pedigree of a major league ace. He was drafted 5th overall in the 2010... Read More

MLB Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Watch for 4/6/15

Most fantasy owners focus all their attention on the big time stars of the league. Lesser known relief pitchers are often overlooked by casual fantasy players, except when they're blowing a big save perhaps. That's why twice a week throughout the entire 2015 MLB Season RotoBaller will bring you the latest fantasy info, breaking news and advice... Read More

Jesse Hahn (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Draft Target in Later Rounds / Waiver Wire Pickup in All Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: Projections for Jesse Hahn are all over the place, and some fantasy leagues are leaving him undrafted altogether. Hahn was traded from the Padres to the Athletics this off-season; normally leaving the friendly confines of San Diego is... Read More

Top 10 Redraft Pitching Prospects for 2015: Eye on the Minors

The Magical Top 10 Today we bring you the ten pitching prospects most likely to make a fantasy impact this season. Previously we covered 50-41, 41-30, 30-21, and 20-11. Keep in mind that there are plenty of stud future MLBers in the lower levels of the minors that won’t crack even the top 50 –... Read More

Mark Canha (1B/OF, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues / Draft Target Late OWNED IN: 0% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: A Rule 5 selection this offseason, Mark Canha will platoon with Ike Davis at first base in Oakland. While it’s not ideal, being on the short-side of the platoon where he will get fewer at-bats, it gives fantasy owners,... Read More

Kendall Graveman (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / Draft Target Late OWNED IN: 8% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Sometimes you just get a good vibe about a pitcher. If you’ve paid attention to the sound bytes coming out of A’s camp, they are extremely high on Graveman, who they acquired from Toronto in the controversial Josh Donaldson trade... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Spring Stock Watch: Deep League Waiver Adds

Deep leagues don’t get enough attention. I hear you. It’s also true that your definition of a deep league might be a shallow league to someone else. It's considerably more difficult to write about deeper formats, which is why most fantasy writers stay away. With all of the roster moves taking place around the league,... Read More

Jesse Hahn (SP, OAK) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~240 Overall ANALYSIS: It’s not often that minor league statistics can be used to predict the performance of a future major leaguer, but when it comes to Jesse Hahn, it’s safe to say the writing has been on the wall all along. Hahn has just 73.1 innings of major league experience, but in... Read More

Scott Kazmir (SP, OAK) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft Target in Mid-to-Late Rounds ANALYSIS: With a current ADP of around 195 Scott Kazmir finds himself on our list of ADP draft sleepers for starting pitchers, and is in a position to return a healthy return on his draft day investment. Kazmir had practically fallen off the face of the baseball earth before joining on... Read More

Top Five Second Base Sleepers for 2015: Hitters Who Will Outperform Their ADP

  Five Undervalued Second Basemen for 2015 You've got the strongest pitching staff in your league. Your outfield is stacked. You make sure to pick up a catcher early, pick up a hard-hitting first baseman, and - oh no - all of the decent second basemen are gone. It's common knowledge that one must focus... Read More

5 AL Players Whose New Teams Will Impact Their Performance

Who Will Be Helped or Hurt by a Change of Scenery? J.A. Happ, Seattle Mariners Let’s be honest: Happ did not post Cy Young-caliber numbers in his most recent campaign. A 4.22 ERA and lackluster 7.6 K/9 IP made Happ one of many problems for the Blue Jays in 2014. That’s exactly why a transition... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Spring Stock Watch: Semien, Norris, Betts, Davis

  Welcome to the Stock Watch First of all, welcome to the RotoBaller fantasy baseball “Stock Watch”. This will be a recurring weekly column which attempts to gauge the value of certain hitters and pitchers who are trending in the right and wrong direction. The goal is to help you make more informed decisions with... Read More

Evaluating the A's Outfield After Josh Reddick's Injury: Fantasy Analysis

On March 7th it was announced that A's Outfielder Josh Reddick will miss 4 to 6 weeks with a strained oblique. Reddick was poised to be a main run producer for a lineup already missing 3 of last years opening day starters: Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss, and Josh Donaldson. With these stars out of the... Read More

Save Prospecting: Top Five Non-Closing AL Relief Pitchers

Last week I looked at the top five non-closer NL relief pitcher options. Today we take a look at the top AL relief pitchers currently not occupying closer roles.   Top Five Non-Closing AL Relievers Wade Davis - RHP, Kansas City Royals If we are talking about American League bullpens, you have to start the... Read More