Matt Joyce To DH In Lieu Of Field Sunday

Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce (elbow) will serve as the designated hitter Sunday against the Cubs, according to Jon Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Joyce has been dealing with a sore right elbow, so he will need another week before he is able to play in the outfield. Additionally, he will start a throwing program Sunday to […]

First Base H2H Points Rankings - March Update

Welcome back RotoBallers. With the MLB season just a few short weeks a way, it's time to update our rankings and analysis to account for injuries, free agent signings, spring training risers/fallers and more. We kick off our updated March rankings today with the first base position. Bill Dubiel breaks down each tier and provides analysis […]

Daniel Mengden Roughed Up On Saturday

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Daniel Mengden gave up six runs in four innings against the Rangers. Mengden came on in relief on Saturday and was not effective at all. He did strike out four batters and walked one. Mengden is almost assured of a starting spot in the rotation after his performance at the end […]

Jonathan Lucroy's Contract Worth $6.5 Million

Updating a previous report on the signing, free-agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy's contract with the Oakland Athletics is for $6.5 million for one year, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. There does not seem to be any incentives at all in that deal. At 31 years old, Lucroy is hoping for a more […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season blessedly just a few weeks away, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to update our rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the third base position. There's a ton of talent at the hot corner this season, with the usual elites at […]

Eric Hosmer Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

We continue our long-running series of articles debating fantasy rankings with a player that has ignited a good amount of debate over the last few months within our rankers. RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings for mixed leagues, but that doesn't mean we agreed on everything. In this space, we'll hear […]

Khris Davis' Power Still On Display

Oakland Athletics outfielder Khris Davis hit his third home run of the spring on Friday against the Brewers. He was 1-for-3 in the game with two RBI. Davis is an example of consistency with two straight seasons of 40 home runs and three consecutive seasons of a .247 average. Take it for what he is. […]

A.J. Puk's Solid Game Adds To Opening Day Intrigue

Oakland Athletics top pitching prospect A.J. Puk had a very good spring training game Friday against the Brewers. He pitched three clean innings and struck out two but also gave away two free passes. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that when asked if Puk would be on the season-opening roster, manager Bob Melvin […]

Updated First Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers. With the MLB season just a few short weeks a way, it's time to update our rankings and analysis to account for injuries, free agent signings, spring training risers/fallers and more. We kick off our updated March rankings today with the first base position. Harris breaks down each tier and provides analysis […]

Jharel Cotton Very Efficient In Start

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jharel Cotton performed in the fashion that most hoped he would in 2017 in spring action Wednesday. Cotton pitched four innings and allowed only one run while striking out five and walking none. Cotton had high expectations heading into 2017, but he was inconsistent and walked too many people and gave […]

Sean Manaea Brings New Approach To 2018

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sean Manaea is looking to be more fierce on the mound in 2018, according to Marin Gallegos of The Mercury News. Manaea said he felt kindness to hitters, which led to an up-and-down season in 2017. “I feel like I’m a little too nice sometimes and it transitions onto the field,” […]

Turning Two - Beware the Trending Six-Man Rotation

A six-man starting rotation? "That's just not what MLB is to me," Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels said recently. As someone accustomed to being at the forefront of a pitching staff and who's logged 362 starts over 12 Major League seasons, it's only logical that Hamels would expect to keep trotting out there as much as […]

Top Catcher Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down my top impact prospects for fantasy baseball by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 catcher prospect rankings - rookies that have the best chance to make fantasy baseball impacts for the 2018 season. Catcher is a vital spot for owners in redraft leagues. […]

RotoBaller Industry Expert Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

On Thursday, February 15th, we brought together an illustrious group of industry experts to take part in the RotoBaller Friends and Family mock draft. We'll be playing this out as a best ball league. Our participants represented sites like: Creative Sports (Lawr Michaels) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) GuruElite (Ray Flowers) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) CBS (Heath […]

2018 Bullpen Outlooks - American League West

The American League West is third in our series of 2018 Early Bullpen Outlooks and will wrap up the AL side of things. The AL West has some solid bullpens with some dependable closers at the helm, but none who really inspire confidence as early or even mid-round fantasy selections. At least not yet. The Angels have some […]

Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~245 CURRENT ADP: 302 ANALYSIS: Fantasy owners are showing a lot more love to Oakland’s other Matt- Olson, natch – in drafts this spring, but don’t forget about Chapman. In his FanGraphs player capsule, Alex Chamberlain referred to Chapman as “a less-extreme Joey Gallo,” which seems an apt comparison. Chapman does not have […]

Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~170 CURRENT ADP: 228 ANALYSIS: Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien after a semi breakout year in 2017. Semien has always been seen as a strong offensive shortstop with a glove that made you scratch your head. Luckily for fantasy, the glove does not really matter, unless it eats at your playing time. Back to his […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

As we move closer to the 2018 baseball season, at RotoBaller we have released our Dynasty Rankings. We have been dissecting the tiers of each position, showing fantasy owners where to find value in their draft. We have a total of 54 relief pitchers ranked in the first six tiers. When looking at dynasty leagues, one […]

2018 Starting Pitchers - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball dynasty rankings analysis with the first base position. RotoBaller writers Kyle Richardson, Chris Zolli, Pierre Camus, and I have come up with our preseason rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. In a dynasty league, it can be tough to decide between a proven veteran or […]

Top 500: Mixed Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (February)

Spring training is officially here! To celebrate, today we are here to look at our staff's updated 2018 fantasy baseball mixed league rankings for February and the top 500 players. Our rankings are updated weekly, but enough changes have taken place recently (see humidor, Arizona) to release a new overall list. Over the next few weeks we will also be publishing individual tiered […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - AL Relief Pitchers

The early days of draft season typically result in volatile ADP data, as values adjust rapidly to a growing sample size. Eventually, players fall much closer to their intrinsic worth as fantasy owners become inundated with news, analysis and pundit commentary. So, I'm here today to serve as another voice to the copious reams of […]

2018 Shortstops - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball dynasty rankings analysis with the first base position. RotoBaller writers Kyle Richardson, Chris Zolli, Pierre Camus, and I have come up with our preseason rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. In a dynasty league, it can be tough to decide between a proven veteran or […]

A.J. Puk to Start in Place of Daniel Gossett on Sunday

Oakland A's left-hander A.J. Puk will start Sunday's spring training game in place of right-hander Daniel Gossett (back). Gossett is dealing with some back tightness and will be scratched. Gossett struggled mightily in his first taste of the majors, going 4-11 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He is not a strong fantasy option […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 9 - BABIP For Pitchers

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy owners should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what really matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. While some of this luck is unpredictable, we can and should predict some […]

2018 Second Basemen - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball dynasty rankings analysis with the second base position. Second base is a very intriguing position for dynasty leagues, as there is a changing of the guard that could come as soon as a year or two. Out will be the mainstay names of Robinson Cano, Brian Dozier, and Daniel Murphy, […]

Champ or Chump - Jarrod Dyson and J.D. Martinez

Major League GMs are making up for lost time, as the moves have been fast and furious over the past few days. The Arizona Diamondbacks completely remodeled their outfield by signing free agent Jarrod Dyson and trading for Steven Souza Jr. Dyson is discussed below, and Souza's fantasy prospects will be considered in a future […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - First Basemen

RotoBallers, it’s that time of year when we’re starting to really get into the grind of draft season. With that comes plenty of early ADP data that will either have you jumping for joy or scratching your head. With this article, we aim to bring you a few first basemen who we believe are either […]

Jose Abreu Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

We on the RotoBaller staff have come up with our consensus rankings for mixed leagues, but there's plenty of debate over individual players' proper place in the pecking order. In this space, we'll hear from rankers with the biggest differences of opinion on a well-known player and have them defend their position against each other. […]

2018 Catchers - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

As we move closer to the 2018 baseball season, we at RotoBaller have released our Dynasty Rankings. We have been dissecting the tiers of each position, showing fantasy owners where to find value in their draft. At the catcher position, we have a total of 41 players ranked across eight tiers. When looking at dynasty leagues, […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - Third Basemen

Take a quick look at the NFBC ADPs of third basemen. What do you notice? Is Manny Machado going too high? Is Joey Gallo the boom-or-bust pick of the year? Is Josh Donaldson the best early-round value pick? Third base might just be the deepest infield position in fantasy this year, so it's important to […]