Trent Grisham Goes Deep Sunday

San Diego Padres outfielder Trent Grisham went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals. The Padres leadoff hitter is off to a solid start this spring as he is now 3-for-9 with a home run, five runs scored, and a stolen base. He had a breakout 2020 […]

Yu Darvish Throws Two Shutout Innings

San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish blanked the Kansas City Royals for two innings on Sunday. The veteran hurler was acquired during the offseason from the Chicago Cubs and was making his first start with his new club. He struck out the first two batters he faced in Whit Merrifield and Andrew Benintendi. Darvish appeared […]

Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups

Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and […]

Are We Overlooking Ha Seong Kim?

Earlier this year I, like most of us, was quarantined in my home with limited ability to go outside and no sports on television. I had already binged Tiger King, so I was looking for a new obsession; then ESPN started broadcasting KBO games. Hungry for sports, I started recording the games and writing DFS […]

Jon Anderson's Outfield Tiered Rankings and Projections

I continue to press forward on my own personal rankings series. Today we tackle the beast that is the outfield. Check out the rest of the series at the links below if you haven't already! First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Starting at the top, here's that juicy tier one full of first-round talent.Be […]

Top 10 Second Basemen - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

Finding a quality second baseman in fantasy baseball is no easy task. In 2019, 16 second basemen posted a 100 wRC+ or better. However, only six managed at least a 120 wRC+ (one of whom got caught for illegal substances). The numbers were fairly similar in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The position has seen some […]

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot% Risers

While the 2020 season may not have given us much of a sample to evaluate outcomes (home runs, doubles, flyouts, etc.), the core events of exit velocity and launch angle stabilize more quickly and can be stickier than combination statistics like ISO or BB%. Two of our FSWA Writer-of-the-Year Finalists, Eric Samulski and Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Finding Over/Undervalued First Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021 […]

2021 Relief Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

We continue to move past the chaos of 2020 and onto a new baseball season full of promise. For fantasy baseball managers, draft season is already upon us. RotoBaller's rankers, Pierre Camus, Big Pick Nick Mariano, Ariel Cohen and I have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings as we now move on to evaluate the […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Late-Round Fliers List (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. 2021 might […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 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 […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Sleeper has started to lose its meaning in fantasy sports, becoming an SEO must for articles despite no real consensus on what it means. So let's get my definition out of the way first. Sleepers are not necessarily meant to be names that no one […]

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! Best Ball leagues are for you for those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues. Best Ball leagues have increased in popularity in recent years, and that is in large part of the early […]

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Avoids (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! For those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues, Best Ball formats are a great way to get a head start on the competition. By jumping in best ball leagues, fantasy players can get […]

2021 Dynasty Leagues: Top Trade Targets (Premium Content)

While redraft owners prepare for draft day, dynasty owners are scouring the trade market. The weeks preceding spring training are optimal to take a chance on young players who have yet to peak or may have question marks surrounding them. Not all buy-low scenarios will pan out as expected, but when playing the long game, […]

Starting Pitcher Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's a good time to take stock of the dynasty landscape. We've examined hitters at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and outfield. Now it's time to dive into the player pool for starting pitchers. Starters are increasingly difficult to project long-term with the steadily-increasing limitations being placed on […]

2021 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Trade Away (Premium Content)

The wide range of projections for the 2021 Major League season leaves dynasty managers with more questions than ever. How do you value prospects who didn't get the benefit of a minor league season? How much stock do you put into 2020 stats? Is this the time to be aggressive in the trade market or […]

Mackenzie Gore Struggles With Control in Spring Debut

The San Diego Padres' top pitching prospect, MacKenzie Gore, struggled with his control on Thursday against the Texas Rangers. He walked three batters in two innings of work but also held the Rangers lineup hitless and he struck out two batters. Most of his trouble came in the first inning and he fought back in […]

Nick Mariano's Auction Draft Strategies and Tips (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. We applaud you and your league for playing in the more entertaining format that is auction-based fantasy baseball. This is not a 101-level "how-to" guide, you'll need to know how to click "Bid" and whatnot. But I want to help you go from the […]

Yu Darvish Set For Spring Debut On Sunday

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish will make his first start of spring training on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. The Padres will get their first look at one of their big offseason pitching acquisitions against another team this weekend. Darvish was the runner-up to Trevor Bauer for the National League Cy Young […]

Joe Musgrove Debuting For Friars Friday

San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove is staged to start Friday against the San Francisco Giants in his spring debut. Acquired in the offseason from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 28-year-old posted a career best campaign in a shortened 2020 season. Across eight starts, Musgrove registered a 3.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and fantastic 33 percent strikeout […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - First Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Lineup Takeaways - An Early Look at Spring Training Trends

As many of you know, tracking lineups is what I am all in on this 2021 season and with it comes an influx of data and information right away. Going forward, a weekly article will occur - especially as we get into more tangible information and data. However, I wanted to get ahead of the […]

Roster Construction Strategies from the End

Drafting a great roster is the vital base for a successful fantasy baseball season. All draft spots are not created equal. There are pros and cons for all of them. You'll find that everyone has their own preference on the best spot to start the draft. The purpose of this article series is to get […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. In Midseason Form

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., fresh off signing a record-breaking contract extension last month, hit a 441-foot grand slam in the second inning of the team's spring training game against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. The Padres received the nickname "Slam Diego" after becoming the first team in baseball history to hit a grand […]

Austin Nola Played Through Fractured Foot In 2020

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola quietly played through a fractured foot after he was acquired via trade last season. Brought in midseason to bolster the lineup, Nola immediately fouled a ball off his foot, which possibly explains the modest .705 OPS he registered with the Friars. He had posted a .903 OPS with the […]

Anderson Espinoza Progressing After Elbow Surgeries

San Diego Padres pitcher Anderson Espinoza (elbow) threw a simulated game last week, continuing his road to recovery. The 22-year-old former top prospect hasn't pitched since 2016 after he needed two Tommy John surgeries. Espinoza should be healthy following his 2019 procedure and forecasts as a bullpen weapon for the Friars if he shines in the […]

Tucupita Marcano Showing Knack At The Plate

San Diego Padres infield prospect Tucupita Marcano has turned heads in spring training, demonstrating impressive plate awareness. Off to an early 3-for-4 start, Marcano has built off his strong 2020 summer camp and is included with regarded outfield prospects CJ Abrams and Robert Hassell III as youngsters with high offensive potential. Marcano, the team's No. 6 prospect, […]

Trent Grisham Still Focused On Defense After Gold Glove

After winning a Gold Glove in 2020, San Diego Padres outfielder Trent Grisham remains motivated to improve defensively. After tying for the lead with six outs above average among outfielders, Grisham continues to nitpick his deficiencies. Offensively, the 24-year-old was a revelation last season, slashing .251/.352/.456 in 252 plate appearances, swiping 10 bases and popping […]

Dinelson Lamet Throwing Simulated Game Tuesday

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dinelson Lamet (elbow) is facing hitters in a simulated-game setting in spring camp on Tuesday. Lamet needed a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow last October and missed the team's playoff run. But the hard-throwing right-hander was healthy in the offseason and has been throwing some sliders already this […]