Pirates Ink Michael Saunders To Minors Deal

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free-agent outfielder Michael Saunders to a minor league deal Wednesday. Saunders was an All-Star in Toronto in 2016, but he fell off big time last year, hitting just .237/.312/.429 with 14 home runs and 38 RBI in 333 at-bats. Add Saunders to the list of players competing for playing time in […]

2018 Catchers - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

As we move closer to the 2018 baseball season, we at RotoBaller have released our Dynasty Rankings. We have been dissecting the tiers of each position, showing fantasy owners where to find value in their draft. At the catcher position, we have a total of 41 players ranked across eight tiers. When looking at dynasty leagues, […]

Daniel Nava Held Out Of Workouts

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Daniel Nava (back) was held out of Tuesday's workouts due to lower back discomfort. Nava also dealt with back problems last year, so the team will play it cautious early in camp. The veteran outfielder hit well with the Phillies last year (.301/.393/.421), but he was fortunate with a .357 BABIP. He […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - Third Basemen

Take a quick look at the NFBC ADPs of third basemen. What do you notice? Is Manny Machado going too high? Is Joey Gallo the boom-or-bust pick of the year? Is Josh Donaldson the best early-round value pick? Third base might just be the deepest infield position in fantasy this year, so it's important to […]

Jameson Taillon (SP, PIT) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~155 CURRENT ADP: 192 ANALYSIS: Last year was a roller coaster for Jameson Taillon on and off the field. On top of an up-and-down season on the mound (4.44 ERA), the Pirates right-hander missed over a month due to testicular cancer surgery. When healthy, the former top prospect went 8-7 with 125 strikeouts and […]

Joe Musgrove Dealing With Shoulder Discomfort

Newly-acquired Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (shoulder) has been dealing with shoulder discomfort. One of the main pieces back in the Gerrit Cole deal, Musgrove said that he is not concerned, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Musgrove missed some time in 2017 with a shoulder injury and this is not a good […]

Nick Mariano's 2018 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

Three Up, Three Down – 2018 First Base Prospects

Power. Nothing else defines the first base position more than pure, raw power. If you have it, you better display it in abundance or there will be concerns. If you are smaller in stature, there will be concerns. If your talent is just hit tool, there will be concerns. If your defense is lacking, there […]

Is Ronald Acuna Being Overdrafted?

With the recent glut of top prospect reports emerging from Keith Law to Baseball America, opinions on the future stars of baseball are myriad and loud. We all look longingly at the next generation and dreams of pennants dance in our heads. Of course, each pundit brings their own flavor to the conversation, and each […]

Gregory Polanco (OF, PIT) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~95 CURRENT ADP: 158 ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco was supposed to see his breakout year in 2017, but he wound up being one of the bigger busts of the fantasy season. The Pirates right fielder battled a left hamstring strain all year, making three trips to the disabled list and appearing in only […]

Nick Mariano's 2018 Late-Round MLB Fliers (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Howdy, RotoBallers! I hope you're ready to take chances, make mistakes and get messy. We’re here to dig a little deeper into the draft room and look for players that would be wise to take a flier on in the late rounds. It can […]

Pirates Have Outfield Opening This Year

The Pittsburgh Pirates have an outfield spot open heading into the 2018 season with Andrew McCutchen traded to the Giants. It seems likely that they will choose between Adam Frazier, Sean Rodriguez and Jordan Luplow to fill in next to outfielders Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco. Prospect Austin Meadows, 22, is on the brink of […]

Tampa Bay Rays - Top MLB Prospects for 2018 Dynasty Leagues

When people think top farm systems in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays do not often come up. Or at least, not as much as they should. For a team that has consistently developed players well and drafted well, the Rays have not received as much love as they deserve. That might be starting to change. […]

Top 600: Dynasty League Fantasy Baseball Rankings

What's up RotoBallers. Today we are bringing you our top 600 fantasy baseball dynasty rankings for the 2018 MLB season. Dynasty leagues, or keeper formats, are becoming more and more popular in the fantasy sports landscape. For those of you who are playing in dynasty formats, or are interested in long-term valuations of fantasy players, this is […]

Nick Mariano's 2018 Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. It's everyone's favorite pre-draft word to throw around and likely threatens to take the top spot on some Google Analytics the closer we get to that premier fantasy baseball draft season. Yup, we're talking about sleepers. But let's just get this out of the way: […]

Gregory Polanco Trained Hard In Offseason

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco took his offseason training very seriously after having the worst season of his career in 2017, in which he played in only 108 games due to shoulder, groin and hamstring injuries that caused him to land on the disabled list three separate times. Polanco trained in the Dominican Republic after […]

Using xwOBA for Predictive Purposes in Pitchers

When it comes to predictive metrics, MLB's statcast has afforded the baseball community a wealth of data since its league-wide installation in 2015. One of the more intriguing metrics is expected wOBA, or xwOBA. This statistic gives us the expected wOBA for a player based on the hit probability of batted balls, calculated using exit […]

2018 First Basemen - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball dynasty rankings analysis with the first base position. RotoBaller writers Kyle Richardson, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our pre-season rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. In a dynasty league, it can be tough to decide between a proven veteran or a high-upside […]

Pirates Sign Daniel Nava

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free-agent outfielder Daniel Nava on Tuesday, according to a source. The expectation is that he could become part of a left field platoon situation. Nava landed on the disabled list three times in 2017 for the Phillies and has played in just 134 games in the past two seasons. When he […]

NL Rookies Ready to Leap into Starting Lineups in 2018

Drafting rookies is always a tricky proposition. There are usually several first-year players who make a huge impact on fantasy teams, but they aren't always the ones we expect. Last year's NL rookie class featured studs like Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins, as well as solid producers such as Josh Bell and Ian Happ. On […]

January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 10-15

Spring training is getting closer and the RotoBaller MLB team opened up our first bags of peanuts and cracker jacks with a 12-team mock draft last week. For consideration, this 23-round mock draft was a traditional 5x5 league consisting of nine pitcher spots and the rest starting offensive slots (including two catchers). The lack of […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

It's time to round out our early points league rankings with a look at the bullpen. Relief pitcher values will fluctuate greatly throughout the season, so choosing wisely on draft day can save you a lot of grief. Here are the first round of RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball points league rankings for relief pitcher in the month […]

Joe Musgrove (SP, PIT) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~350 CURRENT ADP: 411 ANALYSIS: Joe Musgrove's 4.77 ERA in 109 1/3 IP wasn't great, but the underlying 4.03 xFIP suggests that he deserved better. He was particularly enticing over 31 1/3 IP as a reliever last year, during which he compiled a 51.9% GB% and 25.8% K% (44.9% and 21.2%, respectively, for the […]

Colin Moran (3B, PIT) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~400 CURRENT ADP: 557 ANALYSIS: Colin Moran spent most of last season at Triple-A, where he slashed .308/.373/.543 with 18 HR in 338 PAs. His plate discipline marks were excellent (9.2% BB%, 16.3% K%), suggesting that he has an approach that will work well at the major league level if given an opportunity. His .323 […]

Felipe Rivero (RP, PIT) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~80 CURRENT ADP: 88 ANALYSIS: Felipe Rivero combined a sparkling 1.67 ERA with a 29.3% K% in 2017, making him among the most valuable relievers in the fantasy game. He did it with a fastball velocity spike (98.5 mph vs. 95.8 mph in 2016) that helped his entire arsenal play up. Rivero threw his fastball for […]

Mets Still Trying To Acquire Josh Harrison

If you’re sick of hearing rumors about the New York Mets trying to acquire a second baseman this offseason, you’re not alone. Those rumors aren’t going away anytime soon, as it’s been reported that although the Mets are still trying to acquire infielder Josh Harrison from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the free agency route is more likely. […]

January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Rounds 5-9

The 2018 MLB season is approaching ever faster and draft season is already here! RotoBaller recently gathered 12 of our baseball writers to conduct a 23-round mock draft in order to evaluate current ADP values. We will break down those draft results in detail throughout the week. This article will take a look at rounds 5-9 […]

Champ or Chump - Felipe Rivero and Colin Moran

The Milwaukee Brewers bought all of the available outfielders, so let's continue to discuss the Gerrit Cole deal. This column previously concluded that Cole may disappoint owners in Houston, while Joe Musgrove has considerable upside. Both of the articles linked above noted that Pittsburgh's infield defense is superior to Houston's, thanks in part to the […]

2018 Outfield - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

I have the honor of tackling the ever-so-deep class of outfielders for you, the esteemed points-league owner. We realize that many sites tailor their analysis toward the standard rotisserie league, but we love everyone equally. That said, we have to recognize that standard 5x5 categories are also much easier to create white-label rankings that anyone […]

2018 Third Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

If you play in a head-t0-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense […]