Starling Marte's Homer The Difference On Wednesday

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Wednesday thanks to a Starling Marte homer in the third inning. The two-run homer was blasted 414 feet to dead center. According to Elizabeth Bloom, "Since returning to the starting lineup on Independence Day, Marte is riding a seven-game hitting streak. He’s homered twice and reached […]

Felipe Vázquez Strikes Out Side for 20th Save Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez struck out three batters in the ninth inning Wednesday to secure his 20th save of the season. Vazquez now has 55 strikeouts in just 39 1/3 innings pitched, and a 31 percent strikeout rate. He has walked 17 hitters. The Bucs will have a four game series with the Milwaukee […]

Corey Dickerson Sitting on Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson is sitting on Wednesday for a routine day of rest. Gregory Polanco will man right field while Starling Marte shifts to center. Both are usable on Wednesday. The Pirates currently have an abundance of outfielders, making Dickerson a potential trade target. For now, expect him to return to the lineup […]

Austin Meadows Gets Day Off on Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Austin Meadows is out of the lineup on Wednesday for a routine day of rest. He'll be replaced in left field by Jordan Luplow who is batting seventh. Luplow has appeared at just three games at the major league level in 2018, earning one hit in three at bats. He isn't a […]

Chad Kuhl Shut Down For Four More Weeks

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl (forearm) will be shut down for at least four more weeks, according to head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk. It's bad news for the right-hander, as he may not be back until much later this season. He wasn't all that useful to fantasy owners, though, with his 4.55 ERA, 1.44 […]

Joe Musgrove Strikes Out Nine In Return

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove pitched five innings and struck out a career-high nine batters and only walked one Tuesday. Unfortunately, he gave up two earned runs to the Nationals on an Anthony Rendon homer, and took the loss. Musgrove is 3-4 with a 3.77 ERA, but has 45 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched. […]

Nick Kingham (SP, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Nick Kingham bounced back from a terrible July 2 outing against the Dodgers to pick up his first win in six starts thanks to a six-inning gem versus the Phillies. The rookie allowed just one run on a […]

Jordan Luplow Gets Start Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jordan Luplow will start in left field Wednesday against the Washington Nationals and Gio Gonzalez. Both Austin Meadows and Corey Dickerson are not in the starting lineup. Luplow has played one game this year and gone 1-for-3 with a run scored. He is not a streaming option, nor should he owned in […]

Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 15: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a player's batting average […]

Today's Starting Pitcher Rankings and Starts/Sits (7/11/18)

Below you will find our fantasy baseball and DFS rankings for all of today's projected starting pitchers (July 11th). Below that, you will also find our start/sit recommendations for each matchup. The concept is pretty straight forward. We round up our daily pitcher rankings, which will hopefully help you make your start/sit and DFS lineup decisions. […]

Week 15 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

Happy 7-11 day, everyone! Be sure to go get a free slurpee if the store still runs that promotion, but not before sitting down and fixing your team's starting rotation. Those in roto leagues better be on top of their innings limits and where they stand compared to opponents. Don't fret if you've only got […]

2018 Prospects: Top 30 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Leagues (Week 15)

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. It might have seemed an unlikely week for prospect promotions, but there […]

Corey Dickerson Will Bat First Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson will lead off Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. Dickerson is batting .309 this season, and has an .805 OPS. Josh Bell has been in the leadoff spot in the lineup, but will move down to the six hole. The Pirates will face Jeremy Hellickson, who is 2-1 with a 3.81 […]

Joe Musgrove Activated from DL, Starting Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (finger) has been activated from the disabled list and will start against the Nationals on Tuesday. Musgrove has been on the DL with a finger injury. Musgrove holds a 3-3 record with a 3.79 ERA and a 36/11 K/BB ratio. He's a big part of the Pirates future and […]

Josh Harrison Out of Lineup on Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison is sitting on Tuesday for rest. He'll be replaced by Max Moroff who is batting eighth. Moroff is not a recommended streamer and Harrison will be back in the team's lineup for their next game.

Francisco Cervelli Sitting on Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli is out of the lineup on Tuesday for a routine day of rest. He'll be replaced by Elias Diaz who is batting fifth. Diaz makes for an excellent streamer as he is hitting .289 with seven home runs and 23 RBI. Cervelli recently was activated from the disabled list and […]

Sean Rodriguez Close to Returning

Pittsburgh Pirates utility man Sean Rodriguez is reportedly close to returning after being sidelined since June 24 with a quad injury. Rodriguez has struggled in 2018, hitting just .145 with three home runs and 13 RBI. However, he's a favorite of manager Clint Hurdle as he has appeared in 53 games. He currently holds no […]

NL-Only Waiver Wire Team of the Week: MLB Week 15

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 […]

Felipe Vázquez Nails Down 19th Save

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez gave up two hits in the top of the ninth to the Nationals to bring the tying run to the plate. He got a groundout double play to end the game, and secure his 19th save of the season. Vasquez will be the sole representative from the Pirates at the […]

Gregory Polanco Drives In Four Runs Monday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco had four RBI on Monday against the Washington Nationals. He went 2-for-3 with a double and walk; he also stole a base. Polanco has had spurts of unbelievable play, and then he will follow it up with very inconsistent plate appearances. He should be owned in fantasy formats, but very […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (7/10/18): MLB DFS Lineups

We have a monster 15-game slate to break down today, and there are some great options across the board. There are a few high-priced pitchers on the slate you should be looking to pay up for, along with plenty of bats you want to jam into your lineups. In this article, I will be providing you […]

Jordy Mercer and Austin Meadows Off Monday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer and outfielder Austin Meadows are not in the starting lineup for Monday. Max Moroff will start at short and bat eighth. Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte, and Gregory Polanco will patrol the outfield. The Bucs will face right-hander Jefry Rodriguez, who has pitched 14 1/3 innings and has 13 strikeouts. He has […]

Joe Musgrove Likely to Start for Pirates on Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove is expected to come off the disabled list and start against the Washington Nationals. Musgrove has been on the DL with a finger injury. On the season, Musgrove has a 3-3 record with a 3.79 ERA and a 36/11 K/BB ratio. He was a focal point of the Gerrit […]

Clay Holmes Will Start for Pirates on Saturday

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Clay Holmes is expected to be recalled from the minors and start on Saturday. Pittsburgh has a doubleheader and Holmes will be called on to start one of the games. Holmes has appeared in three games with the Pirates and has pitched to a 0-1 record with a 7.11 ERA and a […]

Corey Dickerson Leading Off for First Time in 2018

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson is leading off for the first time in 2018 against the Nationals on Monday. Dickeron usually bats fifth, but a move to first should help his run scoring potential, making him a player to target in DFS on Monday. Dickerson is hitting .308 with six home runs, 34 RBI and […]

Jordy Mercer Out of Lineup on Monday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer is out of the lineup on Monday for a routine day of rest. He's replaced by Max Moroff who is batting eighth. Moroff is hitting just .196 on the season with two home runs and six RBI. He isn't a recommended streamer.

Josh Bell Sits on Monday

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell will sit on Monday and is out of the team's lineup. It's just a routine day of rest and he'll be back for his team's next game. David Freese will replace him at first and bat sixth. Freese is hitting .261 with five home runs and 23 RBI in […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (7/9/18): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

With the All-Star Break looming, we have a nice large main slate for a Monday. There are a number of strong pitching options, though most have concerns regarding either their workload or matchup. Some stacks to consider include the Dodgers (LHB heavy), Houston, and Cleveland. San Francisco left-handed batters could also make a nice contrarian […]

Statcast Hitter Risers/Fallers - xBA-BA (Week 15)

Expected stats, such as xBA, xSLG, xwOBA and others we have examined in this series have to be taken for what they are - a projection based on past data, but not the sole basis of fantasy analysis. If expected stats always jived with actual stats, we wouldn't have so many discrepancies. As of today, […]

Trading Up: Top-Tier Options to Buy at Each Position

As we approach fantasy-baseball trade deadlines, many owners find themselves needing to improve their team in one way or another. Owners buying a player or making a trade to get their team across the finish line are best off targeting reliable, high-ability players because of the relatively short window remaining in the season. You don't […]