Jared Jones Debuts New Pitch In Spring Game

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones debuted his new two-seam fastball, which is a "sinker or whatever you want to call it," during a Grapefruit League game on Tuesday. In two scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves, Jones threw the new pitch five times, with it generating a called strike and four swings -- two fouls […]

Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Value Picks for Best Ball Drafts (2025)

Welcome back to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball value picks and sleepers for 2025 best ball leagues. For those who are not familiar, fantasy baseball best ball formats are a fun and easy way to play fantasy baseball, as the commitment is minimal. After drafting your teams, no other team maintenance is required -- no […]

Biggest K-BB% Fallers - Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Warning Signals for 2025

If you ask a dozen experts which statistic they believe is the biggest indicator of a pitcher's success, you will likely get close to a dozen different answers. However, I also think most of them would agree that a pitcher's strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%) accurately reflects their overall performance. In the complex world of baseball statistics, […]

Pirates Non-Committal On David Bednar As The Closer

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton wouldn't commit to right-handed reliever David Bednar when asked if he is the team's closer in 2025. "I don't think we're ready to say that, but I think we feel very good with the fact that we have a guy who was a two-time All-Star closer," Shelton said. The skipper […]

SS Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings: February Updates Include Elly De La Cruz, Bo Bichette

Welcome back RotoBallers, as we continue our dynasty fantasy baseball position rankings article series. Below, you can find our MLB team's updated dynasty fantasy baseball shortstop rankings and analysis. Shortstop has Bobby Witt Jr. as the No. 1 overall player for dynasty leagues and other very exciting top fantasy options such as Elly De La […]

Bubba Chandler Displays His Potential In Spring Debut

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher prospect Bubba Chandler made his spring debut on Sunday and faced four batters. While he allowed one hit and walked a batter, his stuff appeared to be as advertised. The 22-year-old featured his four-seamer and slider, striking out one hitter as well, and the fastball clocked in as high as 99.1 […]

Paul Skenes Throws Live Batting Practice On Monday

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Grapefruit League game on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies was rained out, but right-hander Paul Skenes still threw a 45-pitch live batting practice session at LECOM Park, according to the team. The 22-year-old will have to wait to make his spring training debut in a game, but it has nothing to do […]

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings - Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Prospects (February 2025 Updates)

Do you smell that? That sweet smell in the air is the smell of baseball being back in our lives and spring training games underway. It's a glorious time of year, isn't it? That was a rhetorical question because, of course, the answer is a resounding yes. I'm always making updates to my fantasy baseball […]

What Is Pitch Info? Sabermetrics Glossary for Fantasy Baseball (2025)

Welcome RotoBallers to our overview of Pitch Info. This article is a deeper dive into Pitch Info and is part of our ongoing series "Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball." In this article, we'll look at where to find information on individual pitches in a hurler's repertoire. Potential applications include evaluating velocity spikes and pitch mix […]

Breakout Outfielders for Fantasy Baseball Drafts: American League Edition (2025)

The term "breakout" could mean a number of things depending on the audience. For fantasy baseball purposes, this term means a player who has an outstanding season that exceeds expectations. Today, I'll be discussing five American League outfielders that I'm expecting to break out offensively this season and provide a nice return on investment at […]

Carmen Mlodzinski Building Up To Starter's Workload

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski has been building up his workload to be a starter during spring training. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette noted that there were discussions at the end of last season about Mlodzinski building up to a starter's workload for the next season. Last season, Mlodzinski made four starts […]

Saves+Holds Fantasy Baseball Rankings (SV+HLD) for Relief Pitchers (2025)

Welcome to our Top 750 Saves+Holds fantasy baseball rankings for the 2025 season -- in addition to the relief pitchers, these rankings include the top 750 players for all positions to help assess where relievers fit in. Saves+Holds (or SV+HLD, or SOLDS) are fantasy baseball league formats that count Saves+Holds as one category, rather than […]

Bubba Chandler Could Break Camp With Big-League Club

MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo gives Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitching prospect Chandler Jones a 45 percent chance to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training. Chandler, who is ranked as the 15th overall prospect by MLB Pipeline in 2025, could give Pittsburgh a dominant triumvirate of right-handed prospects in addition to reigning National League […]

1B Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings: February Updates Include Spencer Steer, Pete Alonso, more

We ae are back with our February updates, and our MLB team's dynasty fantasy baseball first base rankings. Whether you're looking to draft a first baseman for now or in the future, we break it down with our top 30 first basemen. The 1B rankings below are specifically designed for dynasty leagues. Whether you're building […]

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Targets - Closers and Relief Pitchers To Draft In 2025

Fantasy baseball drafts are in full swing right now, and the debate over when to draft closers rages on. In early mocks and early drafts I have been in, I have been trying to anchor my relief corps with one of the top options on the board through the first four or five rounds, and […]

Jared Jones Adding Two-Seam Fastball

After breaking into the big leagues last year, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones is adding a two-seam fastball heading into his sophomore season, according to manager Derek Shelton. Jones' four-seamer averages 17.1 inches of vertical break, but his two-seamer would move in the opposite direction. The 23-year-old has been experimenting with the new pitch in […]

Andrew Heaney Signs One-Year Deal With Pittsburgh

Left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates worth $5 million. Heaney spent the 2024 campaign with the Texas Rangers. The southpaw logged 160 innings and held a 4.28 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He tallied 159 punchouts. He also showed solid command as he allowed walks at a 5.9 percent […]

Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Breakouts To Avoid - 2025 Regression Candidates

An important aspect of fantasy baseball is knowing when to buy a breakout. Fantasy managers typically get excited when a player showcases a strong season for the first time and may target them the next season, but should they? The pool of serviceable starting pitchers was wider last season, but fantasy managers still cannot afford […]

2025 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: Eric Cross' Top 25 Prospects for Redraft Leagues

Those of you who have followed my work here at RotoBaller will remember that I have been posting a weekly article series on the top 25 fantasy baseball prospects to stash and monitor in redraft leagues for each of the last two seasons. It's always a fun article to put together throughout the season, and […]

Hunter Stratton Expected To Start Running Progression

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Hunter Stratton (knee) is expected to begin a running progression soon. The 28-year-old has already begun throwing off the mound. Stratton is still recovering from the ruptured patella tendon in his left knee he suffered last August. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status in the coming weeks. If he […]

Adam Frazier Faces Live Pitching On Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier (thumb) was seen taking live batting practice off right-hander Mitch Keller on Wednesday. Frazier appears to be a full-go in spring training after signing a one-year, $1.525 million deal to return to the Pirates last month. The 33-year-old veteran was drafted by Pittsburgh in the sixth round back in […]

Dauri Moreta Making Good Progress

Pittsburgh Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that right-handed reliever Dauri Moreta (elbow) is in the "side" portion of his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Moreta is making good progress but still is unlikely to pitch in any Grapefruit League games in spring training. Meanwhile, fellow pitchers Sean Sullivan and Yerry Rodriguez […]

Johan Oviedo Moves To Live Batting Practice

Pittsburgh Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) is in the "live BP" phase of his recovery from Tommy John surgery. As far as Tomczyk has seen, Oviedo hasn't had any restrictions so far at spring training as far as what pitches he can and can't throw during […]

Spencer Horwitz Has Sutures Removed, Starts One-Handed Swinging

Pittsburgh Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that first baseman Spencer Horwitz (wrist) had his sutures removed from his surgically-repaired wrist earlier this week and has started left-handed swinging with one hand only, fielding ground balls and doing conditioning work. Horwitz is still on track to return in six to eight weeks. […]

Fantasy Baseball Post-Hype Sleepers: Infield Breakout Candidates for 2025

Every year, it happens -- some of the hottest prospect names get their shot at the big time, and while some live up to the hype, others fall flat for one reason or another. These guys enter the league with so much fanfare because of the talent they've displayed to the world already, but sometimes, […]

Nick Yorke Could Shift To First Base

Pittsburgh Pirates second base prospect Nick Yorke could shift to first base to replace the injured Spencer Horwitz (hand). During the start of camp, Yorke has primarily seen work at second base, which is where he has spent most of his brief stint in the majors. However, in the minor leagues, Yorke saw time at […]

David Bednar Will Open The Season As Closer

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar is slated to be the team's primary closer to open the 2025 season. Despite having the worst season of his career in 2024, the Pirates still have faith in him, given his previous results. During the 2023 campaign, Bednar posted a strong 2.00 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP across […]

Bryan Reynolds Expected To Play Right Field; No Plans To Play First Base

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds will work as the team's right fielder in 2025, according to manager Derek Shelton. There was talk of the veteran possibly making a move to first base due to Spencer Horwitz's (thumb) injury, but he's apparently put those rumors to rest. He's not the only one making a move, as […]

Top 10 Starting Pitcher Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (2025)

We've reached the end of my positional fantasy baseball prospect rankings for 2025. After covering every offensive position so far, we close out this series with my Top-10 pitching prospect rankings for fantasy baseball entering 2025. In general, the starting pitcher position is as strong as I've seen it in several years, and it should […]

Kyle Nicolas Faces Live Hitters On Tuesday

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas (knee) faced live hitters on Tuesday and is expected to be a full-go during spring training. Nicolas ended the 2024 campaign on the injured list with a knee injury. However, seeing him face live hitters early in camp is a great sign of his status. Last season, the 25-year-old […]