Francisco Cervelli Remains Out Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli (chest) remains out of the starting lineup on Thursday after suffering an upper chest contusion on Tuesday. Elias Diaz will do the catching and is hitting seventh against Rockies starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela. It's unclear if Cervelli will need a trip to the injured list, but he also sat out […]

Jung Ho Kang Hitting Without Restrictions

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang (oblique), who has been on the injured list since May 13 with a left side strain, is hitting in the cages with no restrictions while also throwing and fielding grounders. He'll hit on the field in the coming days, with the final step being a rehab assignment. Expect […]

Bryan Reynolds Sitting Out Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds is not in the starting lineup on Thursday. Melky Cabrera is starting in left field and is hitting fifth against Rockies starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela. The Milk Man has hit very well this year (.336/.373/.463), but his counting stats leave a lot to be desired with only three home runs, […]

Top 30 Impact Prospects for Redraft Leagues (Week 8)

The top prospect exodus continued last week with Keston Hiura, Austin Riley and Brendan Rodgers all receiving the call to The Show. Riley immediately made his presence known to the Braves with a number of strong performances. Touki Toussaint also continued his up-and-down relationship with the Braves. Even with all the promotions this season already, […]

MLB DFS Top Tournament Stacks and Avoids for May 23rd, 2019 (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. We will be releasing our Premium MLB DFS picks every single day of the week for the entire MLB and fantasy baseball season and postseason, a few hours before games begin that day.   Top Avoids of the Day for 5/23/19  Lucas Giolito vs Houston […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (5/23/19): MLB DFS Lineups

This Thursday slate is absolutely bizarre. There are 10 games in total, but four of them start between 12 and 1 pm, and there is only one game after 7 pm. That means a strange split of the slates on DraftKings. There is a six-game slate beginning at 12:10 pm, with a two-game slate beginning […]

Gregory Polanco Back In Lineup

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (finger) is back in the starting lineup on Wednesday after being scratched from the lineup on Tuesday due to a jammed finger he suffered on Sunday. Polanco is in right field and is hitting third on Wednesday against Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray. Gray has a penchant for allowing home […]

Digging Deeper: NL-Only Waiver Wire Report for Week 8

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Power Hitting Risers & Fallers for Week 8 - Buy or Sell?

Welcome to this week's Power Hitting Risers & Fallers. All stats are full season through Monday, May 20th (unless otherwise noted). It's that time of year when in-season trends become apparent and full-season numbers may not tell the best story. (They may be most accurate, but they may not tell the best story.) Fortunately, the […]

Francisco Cervelli Has Upper Chest Contusion

Updating a previous report, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli (chest) left the game early on Tuesday as a precaution with an upper chest contusion. Consider Cervelli day-to-day for now. The struggling backstop was benched in the four-game series against the Padres last weekend. He had a single in his two plate appearances on Tuesday and […]

Francisco Cervelli Exits Early Tuesday

The Pittsburgh Pirates lifted catcher Francisco Cervelli (neck) early in Tuesday's game versus the Rockies after he took a pitch in his neck area. He had sat in the last four games, giving way to Elias Diaz behind the dish, but the team hadn't announced anything wrong with him health-wise prior to this evening, as […]

Gregory Polanco Scratched With Finger Discomfort

Updating a previous report, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (finger) was scratched from the lineup on Tuesday with "finger discomfort" that he suffered after jamming a finger in his left hand on Sunday. Make sure to remove Polanco from your daily lineups on Tuesday and consider him day-to-day moving forward. The left-handed hitter got a […]

Rehab Updates On Lonnie Chisenhall, Corey Dickerson

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall (calf, finger) is away from his minor league rehab assignment for non-injury reasons, according to manager Clint Hurdle. Outfielder Corey Dickerson (shoulder) is scheduled to throw to the bases on Tuesday. Chisenhall hasn't played since May 15, so it's obviously a concern as he tries to work his way back […]

Gregory Polanco is Out on Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (rest) is out of the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Polanco was in the lineup, but he was scratched for an unknown reason. Melky Cabrera will play right field and bat fifth versus righty German Marquez. Cabrera doesn't have much upside for DFS contests. Hopefully there […]

Top MLB Betting Picks for Today's Slate (5/21/19)

Welcome back RotoBallers! On Tuesday, May 21st, we see a huge 15 game MLB slate. The day starts with a 6:10 PM game between the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians, and ends with a 10:10 PM game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. In this article, we will dive into the numbers and […]

HR/FB% Studs and Duds for Week 8

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers advanced stats and StatCast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. The next stat we will use is one that is not entirely predictive on its surface […]

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 8

As we make our way through the month of May, catching situations are becoming clearer and some players' numbers are starting to normalize with a larger sample size. We now have nearly two month's worth of games to better evaluate some early season cold streaks as well as some scorching-hot starts to the season. If […]

MLB DFS Prop Picks for 5/21/19 - Monkey Knife Fight

At this point in the Major League Baseball season there are some legitimate surprises, players whose production is above and beyond what might have been expected coming into the year. Maybe it won’t last, but in the here and now of playing props, those hot starts have to be taken into account. Consider a couple […]

Josh Bell Named National League Player of The Week

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell was named National League Player of The Week for his performance from May 13-19. In seven games, he went 11-for-27 (.407 average), with an on-base percentage of .484 and a slugging percentage of .889. He slugged four home runs and drove in 10 during a week that the Pirates […]

2B and SS Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

In the blink of an eye we find ourselves well into the latter-half of May, and as always, we are still trying to find answers and long-term truths. While it wasn't necessarily a week of attention-grabbing headlines, you may have noticed that I have continuously remarked about the surprising starts for the season, so let's […]

Elias Diaz Collects Three Hits Sunday

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz went 3-for-4 in Sunday's 6-4 victory over the Padres. Diaz started his fourth straight game behind the plate, adding three singles in the close victory. The three-hit performance raised his average to .245, and the young catcher has raised his average by 86 points with two consecutive three-hit games. Francisco […]

Colin Moran Powers Pirates To Win

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Colin Moran went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Sunday's 6-4 over the Padres. Moran hit a three-run home run as part of the Pirates' four-run first inning. It was Moran's first multi-hit game since May 10th and first extra-base hit since May 12th. With Jung Ho Kang […]

Joe Musgrove Earns Third Win on Sunday

Pittsburgh Pirates starter Joe Musgrove (3-4) got the win on Sunday, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and one walk over 6 1/3 innings in a 6-4 victory over the Padres. Musgrove was cruising through six innings, allowing just one hit before losing steam in the seventh and allowing three runs on three […]

Starling Marte Riding The Pine Sunday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Starling Marte is sitting on Sunday against Padres starter Cal Quantrill. It's a routine day of rest for the 30-year-old who's hitting .314 over his last seven games and .252 on the season. Marte remains a candidate to have a 20/20 season as he's sitting at four homers and seven steals so […]

Elias Diaz Starting Fourth-Straight Game At Catcher

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz is behind the plate once again for the fourth-straight game on Sunday versus Padres starter Cal Quantrill. There's no word if regular starter Francisco Cervelli is injured or perhaps he just needs a mental break after hitting just .179 through 32 games. Diaz hasn't exactly been tearing it up either […]

Nick Mariano's Waiver Picks - Get 'Em While They're Hot (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. We're playing the back nine of May and leaving that "25% complete" sign for the fantasy baseball season in the dust. This time of year has been particularly exciting, as mega prospects are being called up left and right. Many are widely owned and […]

MLB DFS Top Value Plays for Saturday May 18th, 2019 (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Below you will find our Premium DFS value plays for May 18th, 2019. These picks will target low-priced players in the main slate. These are daily outlier value plays or lesser thought of guys. They normally lay outside of the main pool of players that […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (5/18/19): MLB DFS Lineups

Saturday brings us a full day of baseball, with 15 games covering close to 12 full hours. Those games split into two slates for DFS purposes, with two games missing from the slate altogether. There is a six game slate which kicks off at 4.05 pm, before a seven game slate at 7.15 pm. Both […]

Rest of Season Starting Pitcher Rankings (May Update)

The calendar's turned to May and we're heading out to the mound for a Rest-of-Season update of our mixed rankings analysis. RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Bill Dubiel and Scott Engel want you to crush the competition and know that rankings can't end on draft day. Check out our fantasy baseball rankings dashboard for the […]

Rest of Season Catcher Rankings - May Update

We wrap up our midseason rankings update for mixed leagues with the catcher position. RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Bill Dubiel and Scott Engel recently updated their rest-of-season ranks and we're here to break it all down. Unfortunately, catcher is still an utter cesspool when it comes to fantasy production, so don't convince yourself […]