2019 Bullpen Outlooks - National League Central

Now that the National League East and all their moves have been covered, it's time to look at the NL Central and discuss the lack of movement in that division. Several teams in the NL Central could benefit from strengthening their relief corps, yet only one team has made any noise in free agency or […]

NL Rookies to Target in 2019 Mixed Redraft Leagues

As the New Year has finally come, and fantasy football is over, at last, fantasy baseball draft season is right around the corner. With that comes mock drafts, draft previews, ADP analysis, and of course, player recommendations. This article will help owners get ready by looking to the National League All-Star team of rookies to […]

2019 Outfielders - Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Outfield is a unique position in the fantasy world. The best of the best reside in the outfield, with our consensus top two picks and nine of the top 25 overall players making this list. On the other hand, it is by far the deepest and easiest to gain late-round value if you choose to […]

2019 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

A tough position to evaluate is that of relief pitchers, as a lot of success for closers comes from success from teams. There are also a lot of bullpens by committee these days, further stifling the value of closers. That being said, only four of the pitchers that ranked in the top-10 in saves in […]

2019 Third Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the third base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

2019 Starting Pitcher - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. The sun is still rising on 2019, but RotoBaller writers JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli and myself are here with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these […]

Corey Dickerson Settles With Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $8.5 million deal, according to a source. Dickerson was a pleasant surprise in his first year in Pittsburgh, batting .300/.330/.474 with an .804 OPS, 13 home runs, 55 RBI, 65 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 135 games. It […]

2019 Catchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

Catcher is a tough position to evaluate, as many teams utilize multiple catchers and it is rare for one to play 140 or more games in a season. Wear and tear as a backstop limits offensive value for sure, but there are still a group of solid catchers that can contribute in multiple categories. Beyond […]

2019 Second Base - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. Even though we are just coming off ringing in the new year, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, and Chris Zolli have wasted to time coming up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values […]

2019 First Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

Gregory Polanco Making Progress In Rehab

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder), who had surgery to fix a dislocated left shoulder, hit off a tee for the first time on Monday and said he felt great. Polanco has yet to be cleared to throw, but he thinks he will be on the field before June. The left-handed hitter has never hit […]

Joe Musgrove On Track For Spring Training

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, who had abdominal surgery in October, said he's not 100 percent recovered but is on track to be ready for spring training next month. "My core feels good. I feel strong. ... I threw off the slope today and it felt pretty good," Musgrove said. Musgrove was 6-9 with […]

Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood Become Reds

Starting pitcher Alex Wood, catcher Kyle Farmer, and outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig are trading Dodger blue for the bright kit of the Cincinnati Reds. The trio was traded for Homer Bailey and prospects in what was essentially a salary dump for Los Angeles as they attempt to sign or trade for more superstars. […]

Please Let Brandon Belt Get Traded

A report recently came to light that the San Francisco Giants were making first baseman and owner of a genuine super-beard, Brandon Belt, available in trades. Apparently, there are teams interested in the oft-injured slugger, despite the whopping $48 million due to him over the next three years. It’s not terribly surprising that Belt is available, […]

Dodgers Discussing Francisco Cervelli

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been in touch with the Pittsburgh Pirates about trading for catcher Francisco Cervelli and view free-agent Nick Hundley as a fallback option. Cervelli had a career-high 12 home runs while hitting .259/.378/.431 with 57 RBI for the Bucs in 2018. However, he played in just 104 games and has been […]

Jordy Mercer Joining Tigers

The Detroit Tigers have agreed to an undisclosed deal with free-agent shortstop Jordy Mercer. Detroit will replace the glove-first Jose Iglesias with another defensive-minded player in Mercer, who turned 32 in August. He hit just .251/.315/.381 with six home runs and 39 RBI in 394 at-bats for the Pirates this year and has virtually no […]

2018 Baseball Winter Meetings Recap (Monday/Tuesday)

MLB Winter Meetings have started in Las Vegas, Nevada and the headlines thus far have been more about what has been rumored to happen rather than what has happened. There have been some relatively minor moves thus far (including the signing of a former stolen base leader), but most of the stories have revolved around […]

Pirates Agree With Jordan Lyles

The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a deal with free-agent starting pitcher Jordan Lyles on Tuesday. Lyles was decent with the Padres and Brewers last year, sporting a 4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 8.6 K/9, but he only made eight starts (all with Padres) before being used in relief by Milwaukee. He should be guaranteed a […]

White Sox Acquire Ivan Nova

The Chicago White Sox are acquiring starting pitcher Ivan Nova from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, according to sources. It's unclear what the White Sox are sending to Pittsburgh. Nova will bring a veteran presence to a young and rebuilding Chicago team. The right-hander will turn 32 next month and went 9-9 with a 4.19 […]

Gregory Polanco To Resume Throwing In January

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder) will resume throwing in January, according to general manager Neal Huntington. At that point, the team will have a better idea of a timetable for his return. Polanco had surgery to fix a dislocated left shoulder and injured labrum in September and is expected to miss the start of […]

Adam Frazier Projected To Start At 2B

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said the team feels good about infielder Adam Frazier being the regular second baseman heading into next season. Frazier was a utility player for the Bucs in 2018 and also saw time in the outfield, hitting .277/.342/.456 with a career-high 10 home runs and 35 RBI in 113 games. […]

Astros Considering Josh Harrison

The Houston Astros have considered free-agent infielder Josh Harrison, who would serve as a replacement for Marwin Gonzalez at a much lower cost if they can't re-sign Gonzalez. Harrison would fill the utility role that Gonzalez handled in Houston. The 31-year-old Harrison had a bad year in 2018, hitting .250/.293/.363 with eight home runs and […]

Buy Low(er) - Dynasty Baseball Players Due For A Rebound

Dynasty teams are great to own and develop; they are my favorite teams to manage actually. In real life and fantasy, there are managers who find happiness by having a finished organization that can run itself with very little decision-making on their part. There are other people who find pleasure building an organization up and […]

Pirates Have Discussed Trading Francisco Cervelli

The Pittsburgh Pirates have discussed trading catcher Francisco Cervelli, according to league sources. Even with a decent amount of catching available in the offseason, Cervelli will be attractive to teams because of his high on-base percentage and makeup behind the dish. He hit .259/.378/.431 with a career-high 12 home runs and 57 RBI in 104 […]

Chris Archer Undergoes Surgery

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chris Archer (hernia) underwent surgery on Tuesday to fix a bilateral hernia. The recovery time for this procedure is six weeks, so he's expected to be on schedule for the start of spring training in 2019. Archer was mostly a disappointment in 2018 between the Rays and Pirates, going 6-8 with […]

Pirates Sign Lonnie Chisenhall

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free-agent outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall to a one-year, $2.75 million deal on Monday, according to a source. Chisenhall played just 29 games in 2018 and 82 games in 2017 for the Tribe due to injuries, but he's been solid for fantasy owners when healthy. He hit .321/.394/.452 with a homer and nine […]

2018 Pitching Leaders: Hard Hit Rate

What's up all you fellow sad Fantasy Baseball fans? Now that the 2018 MLB season is behind us, and we were blessed to witness the greatest baseball team to ever play on a diamond (yes I am a Sox, fight me), we are left to reflect on an incredible season with some incredible players. For […]

Passing the Buc - Former Pirates Prospects to Watch

The offseason hot stove is well underway, and major deals are already happening. Now, take “major” with a grain of salt, because if this is the best that baseball fans get, it will be a long winter. And yet, under the hood, the first few moves have fantasy implications that can affect early drafts, or […]

Tommy Pham: Fantasy Baseball Year-in-Review

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Tommy Pham was a hot name in fantasy circles coming into the 2018 season. A late bloomer, Pham had an .824 OPS in his first stretch of playing time in 2015 (173 plate appearances) before taking a bit of a step back in 2016 and breaking out in 2017. Pham slashed […]