Kendall Graveman Officially Named Opening Day Starter

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Kendall Graveman has been named the team's Opening Day starting pitcher, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com. Graveman is having a poor spring (7.53 ERA with 16 strikeouts) following an equally bad 2017 season with a 4.19 ERA over 105 innings. Leave him on the waiver wire and potentially stream him […]

Second-Year Hitters Set To Breakout In 2018

We were blessed with two huge fantasy baseball stars emerging from the rookie class in 2017. Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger burst onto the scene and owned the AL and NL, respectively, Rookie of the Year honors. Now, it’s time to examine the 2017 rookies and determine who will learn from their inaugural campaign and […]

Top Shortstop Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 shortstops - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. As expected, shortstop is far and away the deepest list of infield prospects. This tends to be the trend every season given that it is typically […]

Trevor Cahill Deal with Athletics Finalized

According to Jon Heyman of MLB.com, free-agent starting pitcher Trevor Cahill's deal with the Oakland Athletics worth $1.5 million was finalized on Monday. Cahill will likely work in long relief, in addition to serving as a starter when someone is needed to fill up innings. Cahill had a 4.93 ERA with 87 strikeouts over 84 […]

A.J. Puk Sent To Minors

Oakland Athletics pitching prospect A.J. Puk was one of the roster cuts made on Sunday, as reported by Jane Lee of MLB.com. Puk was having a productive spring with a 3.38 ERA over 10 innings with seven strikeouts but six walks. The intent is for Puk to get more refinement and consistent playing time in […]

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - Shortstop

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I dislike the term "sleeper." Maybe you share my qualms with terminology, maybe not; we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Obviously, finding the most valuable players leads to winning leagues, but there are few better feelings than snagging the […]

Trevor Cahill On Verge Of Signing With Athletics

The Oakland Athletics have a one-year deal in place for free-agent starting pitcher Trevor Cahill to return to Oakland, pending a physical, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com. Cahill is likely being brought on board because of the thin starting rotation. However, he has not been successful as a starter in quite a few years. […]

Deeper Shortstop Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

After catcher, shortstop is generally considered the weakest offensive position in fantasy baseball. While an influx of young talent has bolstered the top end of the position, it can still be hard to find appealing options after the studs are gone. In deeper leagues, especially AL or NL-only leagues, getting value out of late round […]

Sean Manaea Has Trouble Going Five Innings

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sean Manaea performed well in his start against the Mariners on Saturday. According to Melissa Lockard of The Athletic, the Athletics had hoped Manaea would go five innings Saturday. He managed to throw 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run while striking out three batters. Manaea got in trouble with walks, which […]

Jharel Cotton Will Have Tommy John Surgery

Updating a previous reports, Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jharel Cotton (elbow) sought a second opinion on his strained UCL and flexor tendon, and the result is that he will have Tommy John surgery, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com. Cotton will miss all of the 2018 season, as the normal recovery time from this procedure […]

Daniel Mengden Is First Athletics Starter To Go Five Innings

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Daniel Mengden provided the longest outing of the team's spring, going 5 2/3 innings against the Indians on Friday. Mengden struck out four, allowing two runs on two hits. Mengden has surely locked down a spot in the rotation. "It’s not really up to me, I can only control what I […]

Deeper AL Outfield Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to continue our discussion everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers.” Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the outfield position for American League teams. The outfield is always complicated by having so many options that you feel like there's always another guy […]

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - Third Base

Sleeper, draft value, bargain, flier, lotto ticket...whatever your preferred nomenclature, we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Obviously, finding the most valuable players leads to winning leagues, but it's also just incredibly satisfying to snag a guy anyone else could've had for a song before he blows up. As […]

Jharel Cotton Getting Second Opinion

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jharel Cotton (elbow) is getting a second opinion in Dallas on Friday, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Cotton says he remains optimistic he will get good news, as he feels his elbow has full strength. Cotton was removed from his start on Monday and an MRI revealed on […]

Paul Blackburn Makes Case For Rotation Spot

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn pitched four scoreless innings of two-hit ball on Thursday against the Mariners. He also struck out six and walked one in the outing. Blackburn is making manager Bob Melvin have a tough decision tough for filling out the starting rotation. The rotation options are not filled with excellent choices […]

Deeper Second Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to discuss everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers”. Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the second base position. The keystone position is an exciting one these days, and while many folks are scurrying to score Ian Happ, Jonathan Villar or Ian […]

A.J. Puk Starts Strong, Pulled in Third

Oakland Athletics pitching prospect A.J. Puk had a rough night against the Mariners on Thursday. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, striking out one batter, but he allowed four earned runs and three walks. The first two innings went well, but Puk was just overworked in the third inning, throwing nearly 40 pitches. Puk is in […]

Jharel Cotton Diagnosed With Strained UCL And Flexor

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jharel Cotton (elbow) has a strained UCL and a strained flexor muscle, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Cotton will be getting a second opinion. This is terrible news, as Cotton was fighting to rebound from a subpar 2017 season. Thus far in spring training, Cotton had a […]

Updated Relief Pitcher Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

One final time before regular season baseball returns and our lives are, at last, complete, RotoBaller's staff writers are updating their 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Today, we'll be taking a look at one of the shallower positions - relief pitcher. As usual, there are a few elite options at the top, and it gets much […]

Deeper Third Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

Hooray! Another sleeper article! The RotoBaller team recently updated our third base rankings and commented on the depth of third base this year. Today, we'll go deeper, and deeper into the well. Waaaayy, way down. No argument, there's plenty to like about the upper crop of third basemen. If you're in standard-sized leagues, you should […]

ADP Busts - 2017 Infield Breakouts to Avoid in 2018

Earlier this week, I took a look at four outfielders whose disappointing 2017 performances made them potential draft bargains for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Today, we’re taking the opposite tack. Overpaying for last year’s breakout is one of the easiest – and costliest – mistakes a fantasy owner can make, and we’ve all fallen […]

Top Second Base Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 second basemen - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Second base is not a particularly strong position for prospects. It suffers from the same issue as first base: it is used as the position […]

Third Base H2H Points Rankings - March Update

We are getting closer and closer to the first pitch of the 2018 MLB season. Spring training is in full swing which means we are right in the thick of draft season. If you have a draft coming up soon, make sure to use our rankings for all league types. Regardless of the platform or […]

Updated Shortstop Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season only a few weeks away, the esteemed RotoBaller staff has updated their rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the glorious shortstop position. There's a bevy of talented bats ready to be penciled in at the "6" this season, but the sure things draw […]

Undervalued: 2017 Outfield Busts to Target

Nobody likes having their heart broken, especially if money is involved. So when a player we reach for in our drafts doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s not always easy to trust him again in the future. You may not have been burned by the specific players we’re going to cover today, but if you […]

Post Hype First Basemen Set to Breakout in 2018

A true breakout isn’t hard to predict. Luckily for us, the breakout formula is rather simple: opportunity + talent + efficiency = breakout. The first basemen listed below are players who I think will have top-100 draft stock in 2019 drafts, or, at the very least, will be drafted higher next year because they check […]

Updated Catcher Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

One final time before regular season baseball returns and our lives are, at last, complete, RotoBaller's staff writers are updating their 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Today, we'll be taking a look at the shallowest position - catcher. As usual, after the few elite options are off the board, it's probably best to leave filling this […]

Matt Olson (1B/OF, OAK) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~95 CURRENT ADP:  123 ANALYSIS: Prior to Matt Olson’s 2017 debut, Fangraphs slapped a 40 hit tool and a 45 game power tool (with 50 potential) on Olson. He proceeded to make them and just about every other prospect ranking site look absolutely silly. In only 216 PA, Olson triple-slashed .259/.352/.651 with 24 HR! […]

Kendall Graveman's Spring Is Not Ace-Like

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Kendall Graveman is regarded as the best pitcher in the staff. However, he is not having a spring resembling a front-of-the-rotation starter. In six innings, Graveman has allowed eight runs and struck out five. There are other pitchers in the Oakland rotation that are worth taking in fantasy drafts. Graveman should not […]

Stephen Piscotty Struggling in Spring

Oakland Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty is batting .190 with one home run this spring. He was acquired this offseason in a trade from the Cardinals. The Athletics are hoping Piscotty can improve upon his .235 batting average in 2017. Piscotty surely wants to wipe the slate clean once the season starts. Piscotty is still a […]