Joey Lucchesi Facing Giants In First 2019 Start

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi takes the mound on Friday against the San Francisco Giants. Lucchesi went 8-9 as a rookie last year with a 4.08 ERA and 4.31 FIP, but also a 3.45 xFIP and 26.5% strikeout rate. Lucchesi had a solid spring and is an intriguing play in daily fantasy tonight […]

Opening Day Observations

When are we going to finally get around to making MLB Opening Day a national holiday? I can tell you the only thing that kept me from calling in sick was the fact that technology allows me to stream live games in HD on my cell phone while I sit at my desk waiting until […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (3/29/19): MLB DFS Lineups

After a full day of baseball, we have an eight-game slate to start our weekend and a solid amount of options at each position. For player stats, we'll be looking at last season until we have a solid sample size this season for pitchers and hitters. In this article, I will be providing you with […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (3/29/19): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

After an exciting Opening Day we're back for another day of DFS! We've got one slate on FanDuel that starts at 7:07pm eastern and covers all eight games. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/29/19. The lineup picks will range from some of the […]

MLB DFS Prop Picks for 3/29/19 - Monkey Knife Fight

With Opening Day done, baseball is still in full swing on Monkey Knife Fight. There’s an eight-game schedule on Friday and this is a good opportunity to cover point categories that can be used in some MKF baseball props. There are standard overs and unders for one or two categories, but there are also overs […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Tallies Two Knocks In Debut

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-3 in his major league debut Thursday against the San Francisco Giants. Tatis made history as the second-youngest player to record a hit in his first at-bat on Opening Day in the past 110 years, squeezing a grounder into left field. He also laid down a bunt […]

Eric Lauer Breezes Past Giants

San Diego Padres starter Eric Lauer cruised for six innings in Thursday’s victory against the San Francisco Giants. After receiving the surprise nod for Opening Day, the 23-year-old fired a gem, allowing zero runs, four hits and a walk while striking out three. Lauer was in control all game as he outdueled Giants starter Madison […]

Wil Myers Powers Padres Offense

San Diego Padres outfielder Wil Myers went 2-for-2 with a home run and walk on Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants. Myers accounted for the entirety of the Friars offense, adding an RBI single to his solo long ball. Expected to be a permanent fixture in the outfield this season after shuffling around positions […]

Franmil Reyes Batting Cleanup, Hunter Renfroe Not In Lineup

San Diego Padres right fielder Franmil Reyes is playing right field and batting fourth, while Hunter Renfroe is not in the starting lineup for Opening Day. Reyes and Renfroe were competing for the right field spot in spring training. How much playing time each gets will have a big effect on their fantasy value and […]

Nick Margevicius To Make Debut Saturday

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nick Margevicius will make his major league debut on Saturday when he gets the start against the Giants at home. The 22-year-old southpaw hasn't pitched above Single-A and is likely just making a spot start early in the season for the Friars. It speaks to how weak San Diego's starting […]

Bryan Mitchell Cut By Padres

The San Diego Padres designated starter Bryan Mitchell for assignment in their final round of transactions before Opening Day. The Friars acquired Mitchell last season via trade but he quickly fell out of favor with a horrendous 5.42 ERA and major control issues. Given an opportunity to regain a starting job this spring, Mitchell was […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Slots Sixth In Major League Debut

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. will bat sixth on Opening Day in his major league debut. The Padres surprised the league earlier this week by adding Tatis to the major league roster to begin the season. He'll face San Francisco Giants left-handed ace Madison Bumgarner. The 20-year-old will likely get regular starts if […]

Padres Claim Socrates Brito Off Waivers

The San Diego Padres claimed outfielder Socrates Brito off waivers from the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Brito, he was in a much better situation to see playing time in Arizona than he will be with his new team. The 26-year-old has hit .202/.229/.351 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 82 games with […]

What's In Your Wallet? My Most-Owned Players in 2019

After a difficult 2018 season, I took stock of what had gone wrong and identified one potential source of trouble: Too many leagues across too many platforms. So, naturally, this is how I responded to that revelation this year: Me in January: Remember not to do too many leagues on too many different sites again, […]

Three National League Outfielders Set To Break Out in 2019

Before listing the three National League outfielders destined for breakout seasons, it’s best to define what I classified as a “breakout” candidate. I decided to choose players that fantasy owners have seen on the waiver wire over the past few seasons. Perhaps these players have even found their way onto a roster or two. However, […]

Updated Relief Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Roto (Mixed Leagues)

We're back up on the bump for this edition of our mixed rankings analysis, and not a moment too soon. The 2019 baseball season is already here! RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Bill Dubiel, Pierre Camus, and Scott Engel want to make sure you are prepared for last-minute drafts, so they have given their […]

Updated Catcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

As we enter the final stretch for drafting it is time to take a look at the latest iteration of points leagues rankings from our amazing hard working rankings staff. Few things in fantasy baseball are more miserable for many than discussing catchers, with perhaps just injuries and suspensions taking the crown. However, getting the […]

Updated First Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

The RotoBaller Head-to-Head rankings review series winds down with a view of first base through the lens of our three-man expert panel of fantasy accuracy champ Nick Mariano and premier staffers JB Branson and Bill Dubiel. The top tier could conceivably have a new kingpin at any point, and not all of our experts believe […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (3/28/19): MLB DFS Lineups

Opening Day is finally here! The baseball season officially got underway last week in Japan but for all intents and purposes this is Opening Day for most fans. Of course that also means the return of daily fantasy baseball. The Opening Day main slate kicks off at 3pm ET with the Houston @ Tampa Bay […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (3/28/19): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

The 2019 MLB season is finally upon us as opening day is Thurday. Luckily, FanDuel kept this one full slate, and we have 14 games. The games start between 1 and 4 PM EST, and we should have the majority of lineups out by the time the first game begins. With this being such a […]

Luis Urias To Start In Minors

San Diego Padres middle infielder Luis Urias will start the year at Triple-A after the team announced that shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. had made the Opening Day roster, according to a source. The Friars just didn't have enough room for Urias with Tatis set to start at short and veteran Ian Kinsler at second […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Makes The Opening Day Roster

The San Diego Padres have announced that their superstar shortstop prospect, Fernando Tatis Jr., will make the team's Opening Day roster. This news comes at a bit of a surprise with the service time manipulation that most teams follow, but it is no doubt deserving for the 20-year-old. The Padres want to go with "the […]

Francisco Mejia Makes Opening Day Roster

San Diego Padres catcher Francisco Mejia has made the Opening Day roster. The Friars No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, hit .179 with three home runs and eight RBI in 21 games with the Indians and Padres in 2018. While the 23-year-old switch-hitter has clear upside with his bat, the uncertainty of playing time at […]

Fernando Tatis Jr. Hopes To Make Opening Day Roster

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., the team's top prospect and No. 2 overall in baseball, is hoping to make the Opening Day roster after opening eyes in spring training. The Padres intend to push their roster decision on Tatis back until the last possible moment, and it still seems likely that he'll begin […]

Three NL Pitchers Set To Break Out in 2019

We're always looking for the next breakout. Cody Bellinger or Chris Taylor in 2017. Trevor Bauer or Aldaberto Mondesi in 2018. These are the kind of guys who can make a good fantasy team great or boost an average team into a playoff spot. How do we find these players before they break out? They […]

Updated Shortstop Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

The RotoBaller Head-to-Head rankings review series continues with a view of shortstop through the lens of our three-man expert panel of fantasy accuracy champ Nick Mariano and premier staffers JB Branson and Bill Dubiel. The position is well-stocked with useful starters, but as you get deeper, the H2H negatives will get exposed more. Near the […]

Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

We are continuing our updated analysis of points league tiered rankings with a final look at starting pitchers. In H2H points leagues, starting pitchers are the lifeblood of a fantasy team. The more innings and strikeouts a starter can rack up, the further it carries your team toward a championship. There is a solid core […]

Five Starting Pitcher Sleepers: National League

With Opening Day now close enough at hand that we can count the hours instead of the days, weeks, or months, the majority of fantasy baseball drafts have already taken place. Still drafting your teams? This column was meant to be ready a week earlier, but the great and unknowable forces of the universe conspired […]

Why You Should Target Injury-Prone Pitchers (Sometimes)

To some fantasy owners, there’s nothing more frustrating than the good but oft-injured starting pitcher. It makes owners just want to wash their hands entirely of pitchers like Rich Hill, James Paxton, and Stephen Strasburg in favor of sub-par innings-eaters and often pushes these fragile hurlers down draft boards. However, in certain league formats, targeting these […]

Man vs. Machine: Nick Mariano and THE BAT's Undervalued and Overvalued Players

What do I, Nick Mariano, have in common with great minds such as Ken Jennings, Gary Kasparov, and Lee Sedot? Before, I wouldn’t have had an answer, but now I can say that we’ve all had the honor of challenging incredible Artificial Intelligence minds! Nevermind that those other three guys got crushed in their “Man […]