Kevin Newman Has Perfect Day At Plate Saturday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a stolen base in a 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. It was Newman's fifth multi-hit performance of the spring, as he has reached base safely in seven straight games and is now slashing .688/.762/.813 with two doubles, five walks and […]

David Bednar Continues Dominant Spring Friday

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar continued what has been a dominant Spring Training performance on Friday, striking out two in a perfect inning of relief against the Orioles. Bednar has yet to allow a run in seven appearances this spring, as he has allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out 13 […]

Steven Brault Day-To-Day With Tightness In Arm

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Steven Brault (arm) exited Friday's game with what has been described as latissimus muscle tightness, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mackey says he is currently listed as day-to-day with the injury. Prior to leaving, Brault had been struggling in his second straight appearance, allowing three runs — two […]

Todd Frazier Launches Third Homer Of Spring In Loss

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Todd Frazier slugged his third home run of the spring on Friday, as he finished 1-for-3 with three RBI in the loss to the Orioles. He hasn't been hitting for a high average so far, but he's shown pop as four of his five hits have gone for extra bases. It […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes Goes 2-For-4 With Two Doubles Friday

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes went 2-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI, two runs and a stolen base in an 11-9 loss to the Orioles on Friday. Hayes continues to show why he is one of the most exciting prospects in fantasy this year, as he is now slashing .433/.485/.800 with six doubles, one […]

Points League Players and the Platforms Who Hate Them

Trust. Whether in roto, point leagues, or otherwise, players should be able to trust that the rankings and values they choose to rely on will be accurate and specific to their league format. That standard seems to be a bit fuzzy when it comes to points leagues, even though point leagues should be fantasy baseball's […]

2021 Points League Rankings - Starting Pitcher

We had to take a brief hiatus but are getting back at it on the points front at RotoBaller, now just a few weeks from the start of spring training. We've already covered most of the hitters so we're moving over to pitchers. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from […]

2021 Points League Rankings - Outfield

February is finally here and that means that draft season is getting into full gear. And here at RotoBaller, we're about more than just roto leagues. We're here to cover your whole fantasy spectrum. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from last year, I have strong opinions on point leagues. […]

2021 Points League Rankings - Third Base

It's Friday and that can only mean one thing...More hot points action coming straight at you. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from last year, I have strong opinions on point leagues. TL;DR? You can't just transfer over value from roto and you can't just take players with good BB/K […]

2021 Points League Rankings - Shortstop

The ides of January are behind us and fantasy baseball draft season is officially in full swing. And considering that H2H point league players got ran over the most by a 60-game season in 2020, I'm guessing you're just as ready as I am to get things going. So it points ranks time, baby! If you've […]

2021 Points League Rankings - Second Base

With football finally behind us (the season is over, right?) we're entering the best time of the year...AKA fantasy baseball draft season. Many may be focused on roto but point players are chomping at the bit after 2020's shortened season basically torpedoed H2H point leagues. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've […]

Post-Hype Pitchers Set To Break Out

What is a post-hype sleeper? If you ask 10 fantasy analysts you'll probably get 10 different answers but it boils down to players that have fallen off the fantasy radar after garnering quite a bit of buzz in prior seasons. It's a lot like shopping in an outlet store. You've got all kinds of name-brand […]

Later-Round Category Targets - Batting Average

Of all of the fantasy sports, a baseball league using category scoring is the one most requiring manager strategy. You can draft a team full of players that overperform their draft cost but still not win your league if you don't fill up the categories correctly. If I had to give one piece of advice […]

Later-Round Category Targets - ERA

Starting pitching is a finicky thing in the fantasy world. There is certain to be lots of impactful injuries, breakouts, and busts this year within the starting pitching position. After the first handful of rounds of the draft, it gets pretty tough to find guys you can feel confident about helping your team in the […]

Hidden Gems To Watch - 2021 Outfielder Prospects

When we talk about prospects, almost everybody wants to gravitate to the names at the top of the various lists; the guys like Wander Franco or Julio Rodriguez. The ones we've deemed "generational talents" or determined will "win you your league." But the issue, as we've seen with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is that predicting prospect […]

Infielders Ready to Break Out Late

Finding value is crucial on draft day and finding just one or two players in the mid to late rounds in drafts that provide better numbers than projected can give you a significant edge on the competition as you bid for fantasy glory. All too often, we look for the new shiny object in drafts […]

Hidden Gems To Watch - 2021 Infielder Prospects

When we talk about prospects, almost everybody wants to gravitate to the names at the top of the various lists; the guys like Wander Franco or Julio Rodriguez. The ones we've deemed "generational talents" or determined will "win you your league." But the issue, as we've seen with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is that predicting prospect […]

Four Players Set to Break Out at Third Base

I previously identified breakout candidates at second base, so now it's time to move on to the hot corner. When defining a breakout, I look at it as a player that can take a step forward to a level they never reached before. This doesn't mean it has to be a "sleeper" or someone who […]

Catcher Draft Targets for All Leagues

Enough with the catcher slander! As fantasy baseball drafts heat up, all I keep reading about is how we're "forced" to draft catchers and how they can tank your roster. Catchers are people too! I could use thousands of words writing about the value of catchers and how the grind of their defensive job and […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/18) - Montgomery, Alcantara Surging

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 2)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Outfield, and of course, Starting Pitcher Part One. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on […]

Mitch Keller Allows Eight Runs Against Rays Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller continued his spring struggles on Wednesday afternoon, as he was rocked for eight runs on 10 hits and one walk over two innings against the Rays. Keller allowed five of the first six batters he faced to reach base before being replaced with one out in the first inning. […]

Colin Moran Launches First Home Run Of Spring

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Colin Moran launched his first home run of the spring on Wednesday, as he finished 2-for-3 with two RBI in the loss to the Rays. It's been a rough start to the year for Moran, who entered Wednesday with a .167/.318/.278 line across eight games this spring. Moran looked solid last […]

Bryan Reynolds Homers In Loss Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds launched his second home run in his last three games on Wednesday, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBI in the loss to the Rays. Reynolds is riding a six-game hitting streak now, as he has raised his triple-slash line to .304/.407/.609 this spring. Those numbers look much more in line with […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/17) - Jorge Polanco Leaves Game

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]

2020 Breakout Infielders Who'll Keep Improving

In a recent article, I outlined a methodology to determine which breakout 2020 seasons from hitters would be built off of into 2021. Upon further reflection, however, I’m unconvinced that that methodology the best way to spot breakouts that will continue to improve, in large part because of its reliance on evaluating the stickiness of […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Third Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Anthony Alford Returns To Lineup Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Anthony Alford (wrist) is back in the lineup on Wednesday against the Rays, where he will be playing in center field and batting sixth. Alford had exited Saturday's game early after being hit by a pitch, but he appeared to be swinging the bat well in practice over the past few days. […]

Chad Kuhl Strikes Out Four On Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl tossed three scoreless innings against the Twins, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out four. Kuhl improved to 2-1 this spring, as he has nine strikeouts in six innings of work. Last year Kuhl posted a career-high 22.3 percent strikeout rate, but his 14.2 percent walk rate […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/16) - Luis Robert Scratched Monday

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]