Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups - After The Draft

Draft season is over which means it's already time to shift your attention to the waiver wire! We'll break down the top options at every position throughout the 2021 fantasy baseball season but before the first pitch, here is an all-encompassing waiver wire piece to cover all the top options widely available. For our purposes, […]

MLB Betting Picks for Saturday 4/3 - Moneylines, Totals, and Runlines

If you're expecting Steve Janik's picks today, then I'm afraid you're in for a disappointment. Steve will be continuing to do the weekdays and I'll be deputizing for the Saturday slates. As well as covering baseball at RotoBaller, I also do the EPL soccer betting pieces so have experience of both aspects and will hopefully […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the April 2nd edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Friday Focus: (Looking For) The Heart of Opening Night

It's good to have baseball back. To call the past 12 months challenging would be a masterpiece of understatement. The pandemic has taken so much away from the world, from the trivial to the unfathomably important. There is, at last, light at the end of that particular tunnel. We are not there yet. Even the […]

Duane Underwood Jr. Strikes Out The Side On Opening Day

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. kicked off his 2021 season with a bang Thursday, striking out three in one perfect inning of relief in a 5-3 Opening Day victory over the Cubs. Underwood — who was acquired from the Cubs during Spring Training — showed no mercy against his former teammates, needing 18 […]

Setting an Optimal Week 1 Fantasy Baseball Lineup

Fantasy baseball is back in its rightful form! I know for some of you fantasy baseball never actually ends, but we actually have games upcoming and lineups to set. Not only that, but for the first time in two years we will be able to set our lineups in April, the way fantasy baseball is […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (4/2/21): MLB DFS Lineups

Happy Friday, RotoBallers! I am incredibly excited to be a part of this talented DFS crew put together at RotoBaller. I'll bring you the DraftKings DFS picks on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays throughout the season. Baseball has officially returned, and it was a wildly entertaining Opening Day. Now, we kick off this first weekend of […]

Richard Rodriguez Earns Save Against Cubs

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Richard Rodriguez allowed just one walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save of the year in a 5-3 Opening Day win. The Pirates have had quite a few good relief performances this spring, but despite a few rough outings, Rodriguez has kept the closer […]

Sam Howard Strikes Out Side, Earns Win Against Cubs

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Sam Howard struck out the side in a perfect inning of relief on Thursday, earning the win in a 5-3 Opening Day victory over the Cubs. This is Howard's second season with Pittsburgh, having posted a 3.86 ERA and 30 percent strikeout rate in 22 appearances in 2020. In SV/HLD leagues, […]

Adam Frazier Reaches Base Four Times On Opening Day

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier reached base safely four times on Opening Day, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, two RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in the win over the Cubs. Frazier managed to do a little bit of everything at the plate, as he continued to build off his […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes Homers In Opening Day Win

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman hit his first home run of the season on Thursday afternoon, as he finished 1-for-5 with two RBI and a walk in the 5-3 Opening Day win against the Cubs. Hayes crushed a two-run homer to left field in his first plate appearance of the day to give Pittsburgh an early […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (4/1/21): MLB DFS Lineups

WE ARE BACK!!!!! Opening Day is here, and we have a nice nine-game slate on tap. There are many aces on the mound with it being Opening Day but do not worry as there are still some great places to attack with bats. Pricing is rather soft of a DK slate. You can get the […]

Anthony Alford Starting In Center For Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Anthony Alford will be the Opening Day starter in center field and will be batting eighth. Alford put up solid numbers this spring, slashing .250/.325/.472 with two home runs and two steals in 14 games. He has shown 10-homer, 20-steal potential in the minors, but he has not yet had an extended […]

Tyler Anderson, Mitch Keller To Start Against Cubs This Weekend

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitchers Tyler Anderson and Mitch Keller will be the Game 2 and Game 3 starters in the opening series against the Chicago Cubs, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Anderson had mixed results this spring, with an 18:2 K:BB ratio on one hand, while allowing 10 runs on 22 hits […]

Tony Wolters Signs One-Year Deal With Cubs

Free agent catcher Tony Wolters has signed a one-year, major-league deal with the Chicago Cubs, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The team designated relief pitcher James Norwood for assignment in a corresponding move. Wolters was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates just one day ago so it didn't take long for him to find […]

Chris Stratton A Sleeper Option For Holds, Saves

Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Chris Stratton doesn't have a defined role entering 2021 but he's a favorite to pitch high-leverage innings for the club. Richard Rodriguez is expected to see a healthy number of the save opportunities but Stratton has been a reliable arm for the Pirates. He threw 30 innings for the club in 2020 […]

2021 Outfielder Rankings (Part Two) - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

The outfielder position is deep enough that it warrants another look. Read about the first few tiers right here before diving into part two ahead. When you're done, read our rankings breakdowns at Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base and Shortstop. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have been updating 2021 Mixed […]

Hot Prospects To Watch: End of Spring Training

It's almost here! It's almost here! Opening Day is on Thursday!! As we all get excited for Opening Day, we're also updating our personal rankings based on Spring Training performances as we cram in the last of our drafts. And of all the spring performances to analyze, it's the prospects that will have the biggest […]

Later-Round Starting Pitchers - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, everyone wants to draft some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have playing time concerns. […]

Updated Top 250 Dynasty Prospects Rankings

In just a few short days, the 2021 Major League Baseball season will get underway. Fans of Minor League Baseball will have to wait a little longer with clubs operating their alternate training sites for at least the first month of the 2021 season. As we saw in 2020, prospects can develop and thrive at […]

Dynasty Catcher Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Catchers are still a necessary evil in the fantasy realm. For that reason, we will finish our analysis of the dynasty positional rankings with those that wield the tools of ignorance. We've already reviewed the rest of the positions around the diamond. Check out analysis on my dynasty rankings with a look at first base, […]

Phillip Evans Makes Pirates' Opening Day Roster

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Phillip Evans will be on the Opening Day roster, according to The Athletic's Rob Biertempful. Evans has gotten on base at a high clip this spring, batting .371 with a .452 on-base percentage in 14 games as he comes off a 2020 campaign in which he slashed .359/.444/.487 in 11 games. […]

Chad Kuhl Named Opening Day Starter For Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl will take the mound on Opening Day against the Cubs, according to Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kuhl has looked solid on the mound this spring, going 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 11 strikeouts in eight innings of work. Last season, Kuhl posted a career-high 22.3 percent […]

Advanced MLB DFS Strategy: Targeting Pitchers Due For Regression

Spring is in the air and MLB regular season is only a few weeks away! Hopefully, you're using our RotoBaller rankings and preseason content to crush your season-long drafts and build some winners in your season-long leagues. If you haven't already read it, check out Jon Anderson's article about stacking hitters for GPPs and some great […]

Deeper Shortstop Draft Sleepers

This year could be the most fantasy friendliest for the shortstop position with six having an ADP of 25th or lower (according to current NFBC draft data) and nine with an ADP of 42nd or lower. You may be forgiven for thinking that you don't need to look deep into drafts for a shortstop. While […]

Updated Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021

Opening day is just around the corner. So what better way to celebrate the occasion than to refresh the Top 50 prospects list for 2021 redraft leagues. If you're a habitual prospect watcher then you could have a leg up on your fantasy competition in 2021. Managers around baseball will heavily rely on rookies like […]

NL-Only Starting Pitchers: Late-Round Draft Fliers

This year more than ever, starting pitchers are a sought-after position in fantasy drafts. Understandably, with uncertainty about innings limits in 2021, fantasy managers are keen to bolster their rotations with the defacto top-tier starting pitchers available. As important as it is for your top starting pitchers to perform at an elite level, success in […]

Eric Samulski's Bold Predictions for 2021

It's bold prediction time! Everybody's favorite time of year. Last year I put out my bold prediction article, and it was a doozy. Obviously, publishing it before the shutdown which delayed the MLB season impacted some of the claims, but, actually, no, I'll just blame everything on that. Anyways, I'm back again to plant my […]

Todd Frazier Opts Out, Becomes Free Agent

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Todd Frazier exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and will become a free agent, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Friday. Heyman adds that the Pirates had informed Frazier he was not going to make the team out of Spring Training, which led to Frazier opting out. Frazier had looked good […]

Advanced MLB DFS Strategy: Sneaky Stacks Against Reverse-Splits Pitchers

With Opening Day of the MLB season right around the corner, it's time to start getting your mind right and preparing for a full season of MLB DFS action. Last summer we missed out on several months of MLB games due to the COVID pandemic, but we are going to get 6 months worth of […]