Five Fantasy Baseball Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 18

Ready to recharge? The All-Star break has passed and the playoff push is underway. Here are five sleeper outfielders who are primed for a strong second half, including AL-Only and NL-Only formats.   Denard Span  - (OF, WSH) - 39% Owned BALLER MOVE: Add in All Formats After a slow start to the season, Denard […]

Trending Up & Trending Down: Week 17 Report

  Fantasy Baseball Trends For Week 17 I'd like to begin this week's report by doing somewhat of a follow up to my article from two weeks ago. I really still like Hughes's K/BB ratios, but it's hard to ignore his current results. I've dropped him until he shows signs of improvement, and recommend you […]

Buy and Sell These Starting Pitching of The First Half

  Don't Be Afraid To Go All In! The All Star Break is behind us and I think most baseball fans will agree that this season will go down in baseball lore as the year of the torn UCL. Tommy John surgery has ended the seasons of several fantasy superstars and there could be more […]

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

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / All AL-Only & 2-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Billy Beane's swiss army knife Stephen Vogt has been quietly tearing the cover off the ball the past few weeks, making him the most recent addition to our waiver wire sleepers list. We'll get into the stats shortly, but here's the most important thing to […]

Getting A Grip: Waiver Wire Pickups for Holds (Week 15)

While the holds statistic is even harder to predict than saves for closers, the players we highlight today feature some sleeper setup men and some looking to reclaim glory they once had. The more likely an MLB team is to win, the more likely these following relief pitchers will be eligible to earn the holds that could […]

Derek Norris (C, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ANALYSIS: The catcher position is one that is relatively thin when it comes to offensive production. In many cases, Derek Norris is probably an upgrade over your current catcher. He's slashing .302/.405/.509 in 59 games so far this season with 8 HR and 35 RBI, a more-than-respectable state line […]

Buy and Sell: Starting Pitchers for Week 12

Are you still looking to make a trade for that missing piece of your fantasy baseball starting pitching lineup? Or maybe you’re flush with starting pitching, and are hoping to get real value for the pitcher on your roster who is obviously performing way over his head and due for a slump. Have no fear, because […]

Sean Doolittle (RP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately ANALYSIS: Sean Doolittle is a relief pitcher that for the past few years I expected to take the closer role in Oakland and run away with it. He has the filthy stuff it takes to be the dominant late inning reliever he has shown flashes of, but sometimes seemed to throw a stinker in […]

Drew Pomeranz (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Drew Pomeranz was a very highly regarded prospect going into the 2012 season, some had him on their list of fantasy baseball sleepers, but he let down in 2012 and 2013 in Colorado. So with that in mind I wrote Pomeranz off for 2013, as did most owners. But he […]

John Jaso (C, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Look at John Jaso's stats and you understand why the Oakland A's have a rampaging offense.  He has a .276-.369-.457 triple slash line, as a backup catcher and part time DH.  What other backup catcher in the MLB has stats even close to 4 HR, 12 RBI, 16 Runs with […]

Sean Doolittle (RP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Jim Johnson has lost his closers job in Oakland, maybe even permanently, and Sean Doolittle looks like the waiver wire pickup. Currently only owned in 31% of Yahoo leagues, he can be considered another one in the list of recent sleepers for leagues that count saves. Even though he's a lefty, […]

MLB Power Rankings: The Top and Bottom

The MLB season is really heating up and some teams have emerged as legit title contenders. The top part of NL West has really taken off with two teams getting involved in the latest power rankings.  Other teams are not looking as good, and find themselves towards the bottom of the barrel. These MLB rankings […]

Relief Pitcher Updates: The Closer Carousel Continues

As we head into the first week of May in the 2014 baseball season, we are seeing changes happening in the late-inning roles across baseball.  Whether due to injuries or failure, we here at Rotoballer will keep you up to date so that you can plan accordingly and adjust your rosters if need be.   Looking […]

Jesse Chavez (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Jesse Chavez has become a starting pitcher revelation for both the Oakland As and fantasy baseball owners, as one of those relatively unknown sleepers to emerge off the waiver wire.  Injuries to both Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin left the door open for Chavez, who has done nothing but impress […]

Waiver Wired: Jesse Chavez Could Make a Big Splash

Quick!!! Name the starting pitcher with a 0-0 record over three starts with an 22-to-2 K vs. BB ratio,  a 1.35 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP who is owned in 36% of Yahoo! leagues and 71% of CBS leagues?  Give up? I present to you: Oakland Athletics 30 year old journeyman: Jesse Chavez (SP) If […]

Luke Gregerson (RP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues ANALYSIS: The Athletics announced yesterday that Jim Johnson has been removed from the closers role, as his early season struggles have caused concern.  At this point Oakland is saying they will use a closer by committee to replace him, but we are here chasing saves so let's take a look at the […]

Dan Straily (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues.   ANALYSIS:  The part of Dan Straily’s game that keeps me coming back to him is his strikeout potential, which has been demonstrated time and again in AAA.  Over his minor league career, Straily has thrown 551.1 innings with a whopping 591 strikeouts. Impressed yet?  Over partial seasons in […]

Oakland Athletics Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

The Oakland Athletics have won the AL West two years in a row, and the biggest part of their success during this time has been pitching. Ironically, fantasy owners searching for pitching studs this year should not look towards the A's rotation, though they have a few solid late-round value picks that could solidify the […]

Cactus League Analysis 2014: AL Teams I’ll Be Watching in Spring Training

As the calendar turns to February and the NFL season is put to rest, it is time to focus on the upcoming season and begin preparations in earnest for another rotisserie fantasy baseball season. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Arizona next week for the Dodgers and D-Backs, a week earlier this year because […]

MLB Closers & Saves: AL West - 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Today let’s take a look at the possible closers in the American League West.  As of right now I do not see any sleepers or dark horse sleepers in these pens.  This can change over the course of the season and it will most likely happen but for now it’s just a waiting game.  Stay […]

AL West Preview and Rankings: Who Rises, Who Falls

The MLB offseason is winding down, which means it’s time to evaluate which teams made the right moves and which ones got caught sleeping. Although there are still some big names out there that could help some teams whose rosters are lacking, let’s take a look at which AL West teams will improve upon their […]

Oakland Athletics Lineup Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

After winning back-to-back AL West Championships, you would think on the Oakland A’s there would be at least one fantasy superstar in the lineup. However, this group is not centered on one bat, but on numerous pieces that when put together equal more than the sum of its parts. While this is a noble approach […]

Oakland Athletics Hot Stove: MLB News & Fantasy Baseball Analysis

If there is one thing that ‘Moneyball’ taught us about the Oakland A’s, it’s that they do not need to be big spenders in order to put a winning team on the field. The defending American League West Champions for the past two seasons did not have many needs to address with their young, sabermetrics […]