Paul Blackburn Wants To Use Changeup More

Oakland Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn, who is entering a season with a secure rotation spot in 2023 for the first time in his career, is utilizing that luxury by treating spring games as a testing ground for a more versatile repertoire of pitches. He wants to increase the usage of his changeup against right-handers after... Read More

Nick Allen Not Guaranteed To Start At Shortstop

Oakland Athletics infielder Nick Allen isn't a lock to open the 2023 season as the team's starting shortstop, according to general manager David Forst. Allen is probably still the favorite for the 6 to open the regular season, but Aledmys Diaz could also be pushing him for playing time at the position. The 24-year-old Allen... Read More

Dany Jimenez Struggling With Velocity In Camp

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Dany Jimenez has been struggling with his velocity so far in spring training. The 29-year-old Dominican right-hander got up to the low-90s on the radar gun in his most recent Cactus League outing, but before that he topped out in the upper-80s with his fastball. It's something to keep an eye... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings - 2023 Points Leagues: Bobby Witt Jr., Matt Chapman, Jordan Walker, Ke'Bryan Hayes

RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats. In this article, you will find our updated fantasy baseball third base rankings for points leagues as of March 7. In this... Read More

Three Picks At Each Position - Expensive, Value and Cheap Players for Fantasy Baseball

If I had the time and approval, I could come here every single day and give you hard-hitting data analysis. We could learn all kinds of stuff and do all kinds of speculating and projecting, getting very into the granular data. I do that from time to time on here, but I'm not so egg-headed... Read More

Ken Waldichuk Off To Slow Start This Spring

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Ken Waldichuk didn't fare much better in his second outing this spring than he did in his first. One of the top left-handed pitching prospects in the game, Waldichuk allowed three hits, two runs, one walk and one strikeout in 1 2/3 innings on Sunday versus the San Diego Padres. The... Read More

Exploring Stuff Metrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

In the days of Statcast, we have new metrics hitting the line every year. There are so many different things we can do with the publically available data that comes out of the Statcast system. One thing a lot of people have done is begin to isolate pitcher performance only by the movement details of the... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings - 2023 Points Leagues: Adley Rutschman, Tyler Stephenson, Keibert Ruiz, Logan O'Hoppe

RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats. In this article, you will find our updated fantasy baseball catcher rankings for points leagues as of March 5th. In this article... Read More

Second Base Dynasty Rankings For Fantasy Baseball

Second base was once a position for speed and a little batting average, but that has changed over the years, and it’s now a full-fledged fantasy production machine. It may not boast the power that third base or first base does, and the names may not be as sexy as the shortstop position, but it... Read More

Ramon Laureano Back In Spring Lineup Friday

Oakland Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano (groin) is back in the Cactus League lineup on Friday against the Kansas City Royals, starting in right field and batting third. Laureano missed two spring contests this week with groin tightness, but it obviously wasn't a very serious situation. Injuries have been an issue for the 28-year-old in the... Read More

James Kaprielian Throws On Thursday

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher James Kaprielian (shoulder) threw a two-inning simulated game on Thursday. This is the second time that Kaprielian has faced live hitters this spring. He threw 30 pitches in this one and mentioned he is hopeful to be ready in time for Opening Day. The 29-year-old is coming off surgery to repair... Read More

Catcher Dynasty Rankings For Fantasy Baseball

The catcher position has long been one of minimal value in fantasy baseball. There are usually just a couple of players worth a top pick each year. But for dynasty purposes, catchers are starting to collect some intriguing targets.   A list of 21 of the best catchers in baseball follows though some of them... Read More

Shintaro Fujinami Makes Spring Debut Tuesday

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Shintaro Fujinami looked impressive in his start in Tuesday's 11-5 loss to the Angels. Fujinami pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three and showcasing a darting split-finger fastball and 98-MPH four-seam fastball. However, he did walk three, which was one of his issues when pitching in Japan. While the 28-year-old presents... Read More

Ramon Laureano Scratched With Groin Tightness

Oakland Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano (groin) was scratched from Tuesday's Cactus League lineup with left groin tightness, according to the team. It doesn't sound as though Laureano's injury is very serious, but we'll keep a close eye on him this week. The 28-year-old will remain an outfield regular for the A's in 2023, giving him... Read More

Outfield Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

Spring Training is flying and we're off to the races with another year of the FSWA-award-nominated Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. It's time to... Read More

Third Base Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

Baseball is coming, so it is time for another year of the FSWA-award-nominated Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. Today, we'll look at third basemen... Read More

First Base Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

After years of mostly just top-tier production, first base is making a comeback in fantasy output. There are some intriguing names in re-draft leagues, but we will look at dynasty fantasy baseball rankings here. Most leagues are starting to decide who will be part of their future; some will be looking to draft some of... Read More

James Kaprielian To Face Live Hitters On Sunday

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher James Kaprielian (shoulder) is scheduled to face live hitters on Sunday. The right-hander is set to throw a 20-pitch live batting practice session as he works his way back from offseason surgery. Manager Mark Kotsay mentioned Kaprielian will throw at least one more batting practice session before getting into spring training... Read More

Second Base Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

And we're back to the Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We started with first base and now head to second base as we make... Read More

First Base Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

Baseball is coming, so it is time for another year of the FSWA-award-nominated Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and... Read More

MLB Pitcher Prospect Graduates - Sophomore Fantasy Baseball Outlooks (AL West)

In the third installment of a 6-part series focused on pitchers who exhausted rookie eligibility during the 2022 MLB season, I review how the pitching fundamentals of select American League West pitchers have evolved and use that information to forecast their MLB futures. Fundamentals will be quantified using my Fielding- and Ballpark-Independent Outcomes (FaBIO) pitcher... Read More

First Basemen to Target or Avoid at ADP - Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis

When I was growing up and really getting into baseball in the 1990s and 2000s, the first base position was chalked full of big-time sluggers that would be counted on to produce gaudy offensive numbers season after season -- especially in the HR and RBI departments. Let's look at 2006 for example. Why? Well, it... Read More

Analyzing Pitcher Fly Ball Data for Fantasy Baseball 2023

Pitchers don't have much of a say about what happens after a pitch they throw is put into play. There is a ton of randomness that occurs after a hitter makes contact with a ball, and that makes a lot of pitching statistics hard to trust. Getting ahead of this gives us an advantage. We... Read More

Analyzing the MLB Rookies - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Prospects

One great way to win your fantasy league is to get your hands on the MLB rookie of the year. Julio Rodriguez and Michael Harris II were two of the biggest keys to success last year, as they went on to return first-round value after being very cheap to acquire on your fantasy team. There... Read More

Hitter Busts at Every Position - Comparing ATC Projections vs. ADP for Fantasy Baseball

With the big football game officially behind us, the official "official" start of fantasy baseball season has nearly dawned. It's easy to start obsessing over finding this year's biggest hidden jewels, dreaming at night that your fantasy groundhog will see its shadow and bring you six more weeks of sleepers. But don't forget about their... Read More

Indefensible: Bad MLB Defenders Who Could Lose Playing Time And Fantasy Baseball Value In 2023

The Super Bowl is over and it's time for everybody to turn their attention over to the joys of fantasy baseball. At this point in the preseason, fantasy baseball managers should be working through their projections, whether it's making their own or going through the projections given by their favorite system, like the ATC projections... Read More

Shintaro Fujinami Impresses At A's Camp

Oakland Athletics right-hander Shintaro Fujinami was impressive in his first side session at spring training on Thursday. The 28-year-old Japanese sensation drew rave reviews and threw all six of his pitches -- four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, splitter and curveball -- during a bullpen session of around 40 pitches. "The big splitter was nasty,"... Read More

Top 25 First-Year Player Rankings (FYPD) - Dynasty Prospects for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

When fantasy baseball players begin their first-year player drafts this year, they will have 2022 MLB draftees, foreign imports from Asia, and January 15 signees to sift through. There can be a lot of static in those stats, especially when you are dealing with minor-league players and some fantasy baseball prospects who haven't even played... Read More

Marlins Acquire A.J. Puk From The A's

The Miami Marlins acquired left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk from the Oakland Athletics on Saturday in exchange for outfielder JJ Bleday. With the move to Miami, Puk will likely be ticketed for a relief role, at least to begin the 2023 season, given the stacked nature of the Marlins' current starting rotation. It's a bit of... Read More

A.J. Puk To Compete For Rotation Spot

Oakland Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk will get a chance to compete for a starting rotation spot in 2023, according to general manager David Forst. The 27-year-old southpaw was a starter as a prospect in the minor leagues, but he's made 84 appearances for the A's in three seasons, with all of them coming in relief.... Read More