David Freese In, Francisco Cervelli Out Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman David Freese is returning to the lineup on Thursday for the start of a series against the Chicago Cubs. Outfielder Starling Marte will also return after a day off. Catcher Francisco Cervelli will sit, while Elias Diaz gets the start behind the plate. Colin Moran and Adam Frazier are sitting as well, with […]

Kevin Newman Promoted, Jordy Mercer To Disabled List

Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Kevin Newman has been promoted to the majors on Thursday. Newman's promotion is among a flurry of roster moves the Pirates have made, which included Jordy Mercer (calf) being placed on the 10-day disabled list. They also recalled outfielder Jordan Luplow, optioned catcher Jacob Stallings, and designated right-hander Casey Sadler for […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (8/16/18): MLB DFS Lineups

We've got nine games across four slates today, with the featured slate starting at 7:05 eastern. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/16/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (8/16/18): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

We have a split slate of games with only two in the early window and then a seven-game main slate. Options are a bit thin across the board, so it could be a time to take a shot in some tournaments, where it's easy to be different. In this article, I will be providing you […]

Week 20 Start/Sit Matchups - Starting Pitchers

You know what it is--it's my updated starts/sits column for Week 20! Your friendly neighborhood @Roto_Dubs is back again this year with his weekly starting pitcher matchups. This is our fifth year now writing this weekly column, helping fantasy baseball managers pick the best pitchers weekly. Below are the projected starting pitching matchups for Week 20, and […]

Starling Marte Scratched from Wednesday's Lineup

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Starling Marte was a late scratch from the lineup on Wednesday afternoon with an illness. Adam Frazier is starting in center field and batting second in his absence. Frazier has a .285 average across 186 at-bats this season with four home runs and 16 RBI. He has a decent matchup against Minnesota […]

Chad Kuhl Could Start Throwing Program On Next Homestand

The Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping to have starting pitcher Chad Kuhl (forearm) start a throwing program during their upcoming homestand, and the goal is to have him pitch "meaningful innings in September for the big league club," according to head trainer Todd Tomczyk. Kuhl has been out since June 26, so he'll need to be […]

Jordy Mercer Being Evaluated

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer (calf) is not in the lineup on Wednesday and is being evaluated for left calf discomfort, according to head trainer Todd Tomcyzk. It doesn't sound like a serious injury, but you need to remove him from your starting lineups on Wednesday. Adeiny Hechavarria is at shortstop and is hitting ninth […]

Derek Holland (SP, SF) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 17% of leagues ANALYSIS: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Derek Holland continues to turn back the clock to his All-Star days with the Rangers. The end result did not look good, but Holland had notched a quality start before his bullpen shattered it into itty-bitty pieces during his […]

Week 20 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

Who's ready to take advantage of leagues whose owners are slipping on baseball in lieu of prepping for the fantasy football season? I know I am! Don't be that owner who puts in a considerable amount of work between March and July, only to let your season slip away due to the buzz of football. […]

2018 Prospects: Top 30 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Leagues (Week 20)

Hello everyone, and welcome to my weekly Top-30 Fantasy Rankings for Impact Rookies! In this series, I will be going over the top prospects in baseball and discussing which ones figure to have an impact for the rest of this fantasy baseball season. Ronald Acuna cannot be stopped when leading off a ball game. He […]

Rays Acquire Shane Baz From Pirates

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired pitching prospect Shane Baz from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday as the player to be named later in the Chris Archer deal. Baz was the No. 12 overall pick of the Pirates in last year's draft, and he has gone 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 54 strikeouts […]

NL-Only Waiver Wire Team of the Week: MLB Week 20

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 […]

David Freese (1B/3B, PIT) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 5% of leagues ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates infielder David Freese has been an underestimated player this year. Ok, may he is not big-time power hitter, but he is just another guy who can hit the ball. However, it is worth pointing out that he does have a […]

The Cut List (Week 20): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 20 of the Cut List. This week I’m taking a look at Starlin Castro, Jon Lester, Jed Lowrie, and Eric Thames. I explain why each player should be dropped in most standard shallow leagues. Last week’s cut candidates (Cesar Hernandez, Matt Kemp, Asdrubal Cabrera, Tim Anderson) went a combined 16-for-66 with seven […]

Dynasty Rebuild Strategy Part 3 - Targeting Discounted Players With Upside

This is a continuation of our Dynasty Rebuild Series - check out Part 1: Rebuilding Off The Waiver Wire and Part 2: Rebuilding Using Veterans To Your Advantage. As we've discussed, improving your team can be done in a variety of ways. You could collect assets to flip for profit, trade for players that have fallen from […]

Week 20 Waiver Wire - First Base (1B) and Third Base (3B)

Rosters are ever-changing and player values continue to rise and fall, depending on the flavor of the moment. Consider making a couple of moves to keep your team competitive. If you're in jeopardy of missing the playoffs, take a risk to get a player that could make the difference. The corner infield spots generally offer […]

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers: August 13th-August 19th

It’s crunch time for fantasy baseball leagues and the head-to-head playoffs are less than month away from starting. As you make your final four-week push, the streaming options are becoming more scarce and each addition is becoming more crucial. This week, I dove deep into the free agency pool and discovered some youthful talent. Hopefully, […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (8/10/18): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

We've got a big 14-game slate on deck for this evening and it looks pretty interesting as there is just one five-digit priced pitcher and a handful of others from that "good/great but not elite" tier. The Nationals and Cubs are the matinee and the other 28 teams will be playing under the lights in […]

Jose Leclerc (RP, TEX) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc appears to be making the most of a change to the closer's role. With both Keone Kela and Jake Diekman shipped off to contenders at the non-waiver trade deadline. Leclerc has seen his fantasy value sky rocket. […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (8/10/18): MLB DFS Lineups

We have a 14-game slate on Friday (WSH/CHC matchup starts at 2:20pm EST and is not included in the main slate on DraftKings). There are seven games with an over/under of at least nine total runs. The matchup between the Dodgers and Rockies, at Coors Field, leads the way with 10.5 total runs projected. As […]

Holds Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds for Week 20

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men to target off the waiver wire in Week 20. One-inning middle relievers are the constant sources for holds and specialists can manage to secure a hold even with one out. However, while specialists can get many […]

Week 20 Waiver Wire: H2H Category Streamers

I like to consider myself a pioneer of the streaming approach. I won a league about seven years ago by completely ignoring saves and just stacking up the starts each week. While streaming is undoubtedly more directly associated with pitching, there's plenty of value in streaming for offense as well. Maybe you have a stacked […]

Clay Holmes To Start Friday

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Clay Holmes will be called up to start against the Giants on Friday. In his two starts for the Bucs this year, Holmes has given up four earned runs on nine hits in 8 1/3 innings for a 4.32 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 8.6 K/9. All four of those runs came […]

Corey Dickerson is Not Starting on Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson (rest) is out of the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Adam Frazier will draw the start in left field and bat first against lefty Andrew Suarez. Frazier could be a cheap DFS option on Thursday. He's in a favorable part of the batting order against […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (8/9/18): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

We have a six-game slate giving us plenty of options to pick from, so ownership should be spread out. There are a few big name arms on the bump tonight, so you will be looking to have exposure to them in your lineups. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (8/9/18): MLB DFS Lineups

Even with only nine games being played today, we've still got five different slates on DraftKings and tons of different contests to join. The featured slate starts at 7pm eastern and covers six games. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/9/18. The lineup picks […]

Getting Into Contention - Preparing For the Stretch Run

While some teams are in full rebuild mode, other teams are consolidating and improving for the big push at the end of the season. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of a fire sale and acquire some useful players. Use your assets to contend now by managing your draft picks and minor league […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 19: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 19 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. As the season has blown by into August and the MLB trade deadline has passed, the window of opportunity to snag a surging slugger or […]

Champ or Chump: Francisco Cervelli and J.A. Happ

We've reached a point of the year where choosing players for this column becomes more difficult. There's still plenty of season left, so it's too early to shift gears to 2019. Yet fantasy trade deadlines are rapidly approaching, making it impossible to acquire any player not currently on your roster or on a waiver wire […]