Across 116 1/3 innings (20 starts) in 2026, Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft has recorded a 9-4 record with a 3.95 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 130 strikeouts. While Ashcraft's overall line is strong, he's run into a rough patch of late. Across his last two starts, the 26-year-old has allowed four home runs and […]

It's hard to believe, but we're already approaching the end of July, and the first two-thirds of the Major League season is in the books. This is the time of the season when some people let their foot off the gas pedal. Don't do that. There's still plenty of season to be played and plenty […]

Friday MLB slates are simply the best, hands down. Typically, we have the first game of a weekend series and all 30 teams in action. I'm usually jonesing for some good strikeout matchups after Thursdays, which are almost always some of the weakest slates of the week, and yesterday was no exception as we had... […]

Happy Friday, RotoBallers! After a lousy five-gamer that barely even warranted play, every team is once again in action for their weekend series, and the DFS sites will have 10-gamers that start at 7:05 EST. If that's not enough, there's even a small four-game slate at 6:40 that we can throw some GPPs in. Be... […]

Welcome back to another weekend edition of our MLB waiver wire rankings. The MLB trade deadline is a week away, and as trade rumors swirl around for the upcoming week, we could see some big names traded up until then. At RotoBaller HQ, for leagues that allow daily moves, we have updated our weekend fantasy […]

The All-Star break is over, the trade deadline approaches, and the sprint to the finish line commences this weekend. This column brings you my updated fantasy baseball closer rankings for Week 18 of 2026 to give you tiered closer rankings and relievers to add across all league types. We're gathered here to chat about bullpens, […]

Welcome back to my Fantasy Baseball Breakout Hitters article for Week 18 of the 2026 MLB regular season. The goal of this article is to highlight players who could be breaking out, diving into current active hitting streaks, along with recent leaders in batting average, isolated power (ISO), stolen bases, and more. In this week's […]

Welcome, RotoBallers, to another round of fantasy baseball Bold Predictions. With the second half of the campaign in full swing, let's take a look ahead at the coming months and predict which players will surprise us. While these predictions are bold, they are not without reason. Below, we will use some advanced analytics to explain why these […]

The MLB Trade Deadline is quickly approaching. On Monday, August 3 at 6:00 PM EST, the trade market will shut down as we approach the final stretch of the 2026 campaign. With the deadline just around the corner, let's take a look at the latest news, rumors, and transactions that are relevant to fantasy baseball. […]

We've officially hit the point in the baseball season where it feels like I may have written about every notable starting pitcher. So I welcome back Peter Lambert for a part two (part one was way back in April), and offer my thoughts on a few pitchers that I have been wanting to write about […]

With the All-Star break in the rearview mirror, we're officially entering the stretch run of the MLB season and the fantasy baseball season as well. We only have nine weeks left in the season, so that means around 5-6 weeks before the playoffs for those of you in head-to-head formats. Every move we make becomes […]

Howdy, RotoBallers, and welcome to our updated Cut List Rankings for fantasy baseball for the halfway point of Week 17 of the 2026 MLB season. The All-Star break is far behind us, and our eyes are set on preparing our fantasy team for the stretch run. In this week's edition, we will spotlight many injured […]

Welcome, RotoBallers, to another edition of our Bargain Basement Hitters for Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season. We're in the thick of the stretch run now, so it's time to boost our teams with some impactful pickups. As always, we will look at five hitters who are improving and are widely available across all […]

Welcome back to our weekly starting pitcher rankings for Week 17, where we rank the top starting pitchers for fantasy baseball. This FSWA-award-winning Best Baseball Series is updated weekly with the "Top 101 Starting Pitchers." Nick Mariano's Weekly Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks look to assist you in reaching the top spot as well. This week will […]

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies, and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. Relief pitchers are becoming increasingly important […]

Stashing prospects ahead of their MLB promotion can not only save you some of your FAAB budget, but also provide you with a potential lottery ticket. In this piece, we will look at two of the hottest bats at the Triple-A level and a budding ace who has put themselves firmly on the stash radar […]

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds put together one of the worst seasons of his career last year. It wasn't an awful year, but Reynolds is expected to play at an All-Star level, which is something he didn't do last season. Now, Reynolds is back and has rebounded nicely at the plate. Through 103 games, Reynolds […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates designated right-handed reliever Dennis Santana for assignment on Thursday to make room for right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio, who was acquired in a minor trade from the San Diego Padres in exchange for international signing bonus pool considerations, according to MLB.com's Alex Stumpf. Santana was an option for saves in the Pirates' bullpen […]

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jacob Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Yankees, his second long ball since joining the club. Gonzalez is 5-for-17 with five RBI and three runs during that stretch. His full major-league line now sits at .252 with four homers, 22 RBI, and 14 runs across 103 at-bats. […]

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Jake Mangum (foot) collected two hits, stole his 19th base, and knocked in an insurance run during Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Yankees. He also fouled a ball off his right foot. Mangum finished the opener but was scratched from the second game of the doubleheader so Pittsburgh could examine the […]

Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Gregory Soto picked up his 13th save of the season on Wednesday, throwing a scoreless 10th inning with a strikeout in his team's 5-3 extra-inning win over the New York Yankees. Soto had a rough month in June, allowing 11 earned runs across 7 1/3 innings. However, the 31-year-old has bounced back […]

Targeting emerging relievers before they take over the ninth inning cannot only save you ample FAAB budget, but potentially provide you with near double-digit saves. Below, we will look at six relief pitchers who have seen their fantasy value increase over the past week of MLB action and determine if they are worthy waiver wire […]

Welcome back to the "Are You For Real?" series as we dive into Week 17 of the 2026 fantasy baseball season. For those who are new to this weekly series, we take a look at starting pitchers who have had surprisingly strong starts over the past couple of weeks and put them under the microscope […]

Over the opening months of the 2026 season, managers have seen many prospects make a massive impact for fantasy, such as Parker Messick, Payton Tolle, Henry Bolte and Carson Benge. Below, we will look at two emerging pitching prospects at the Triple-A level and a top stash for power upside. Should fantasy managers stash these […]

Hello again, RotoBallers. It is time for a new mid-week edition of Must-Add Waiver Wire Pickups to close Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season on a strong note. Hopefully this group will give you some help in the week ahead, also. The batters in this week’s group will cover you no matter what position […]

The 2026 MLB season continues to fly by as the trade deadline is just over a week away, and we are already a week into the second half of the season. At RotoBaller HQ, we return with more waiver wire advice with our mid-week fantasy baseball waiver rankings for Week 17—July 20 through July 26 […]

Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Sammy Stafura logged yet another multi-hit performance on Tuesday, his 10th multi-hit effort in his last 15 games at High-A, while adding a pair of steals. After an uneven start to the season, which included two stints on the injured list, Stafura is now making up for it. Since June 25, […]

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman prospect Murf Gray was recently promoted to Double-A, his second promotion of the season already, and he's collected a hit in three of the first four games for Altoona, including his second home run at that level on Tuesday, which was a grand slam. Not only that, the Pirates' third-ranked prospect […]

The All-Star break has come and gone, but the second half of the season is where many fantasy championships are won and lost. During the first half of the season, we saw several players break out, including Jordan Walker, Ben Rice, and Parker Messick. These guys are now known commodities. However, in this piece, we […]

The All-Star break is behind us, and most teams have now completed at least two-thirds of their schedule. As far as hitters go, we've seen some huge performances from both James Wood and Yordan Alvarez as they vie for the top overall ranking on the season. Jordan Walker's dream season continues as he won the […]