Travis Jankowski Cranks Two Homers

San Diego Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski went yard twice on Saturday against the Indians. Prior to Saturday's eruption, Jankowski was hitting .182 and on the outside looking in at a competitive San Diego outfield. Jankowski, 26, has played sporadically in three seasons with the Padres but did steal 30 bases in 2016. While his speed […]

Bryan Mitchell Comfortable As A Starter

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Bryan Mitchell will open 2018 as the team's No. 2 starter. Mitchell, acquired with third baseman Chase Headley during the offseason, was believed to be San Diego's real target in the transaction. At 26, Mitchell hasn't shown he belongs in the majors (4.94 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 5.86 K/9 through 98 1/3 […]

Chase Headley Focuses On Natural Swing

San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley hopes a few mechanical adjustments in his swing will allow him to surpass his recent unexceptional performance. Since a magical 2012 season when he hit 31 home runs, scored 95 runs and drove in 115 RBI (along with 17 steals and an .874 OPS), Headley has settled for […]

2018 Bullpen Outlooks - National League West

The National League West wraps up our 2018 Bullpen Outlooks series. Check out all of the American League divisions here: AL East, AL Central, AL West, and the rest of the National League here: NL East, NL Central. Stick with Rotoballer all season long for weekly Closer Reports including recaps of the week that passed, outlooks for […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season blessedly just a few weeks away, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to update our rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the third base position. There's a ton of talent at the hot corner this season, with the usual elites at […]

Eric Hosmer Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

We continue our long-running series of articles debating fantasy rankings with a player that has ignited a good amount of debate over the last few months within our rankers. RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings for mixed leagues, but that doesn't mean we agreed on everything. In this space, we'll hear […]

Christian Villanueva Adding First Base To His Resume

San Diego Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva will play first base Friday as he fights for a roster spot. The Padres third baseman was also recently linked to taking repetitions at shortstop. His versatility could supplement a bat that's hitting .435 with three homers and 11 RBI in 23 spring at-bats (1.465 OPS). If he makes […]

Cubs Maul Jordan Lyles, Matt Strahm

Both fighting for starting spots, San Diego Padres pitchers Jordan Lyles and Matt Strahm were rocked in Thursday's spring training game against the Cubs. Lyles, who started, was pulled before he recorded an out in the second and gave up five earned runs. Strahm pitched a solid inning but struggled in his second. He left […]

Points League Primer - Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy

When discussing fantasy baseball, an often neglected but entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both season-long cumulative and weekly head-to-head leagues. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a […]

Franchy Cordero Capitalizing On Opportunities

San Diego Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero is forcing his way into San Diego's roster discussions with a sizzling spring training. After a 1.052 OPS second half in Triple-A followed up by winning the Dominican Winter League MVP, Cordero is hitting .423 with two homers through 26 spring at-bats. His speed, rocket arm, ability to play […]

Padres Check In On Jake Arrieta

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports indicates through sources the San Diego Padres have internally discussed free-agent starting pitcher Jake Arrieta. This flies in the face of an ESPN article that identified San Diego was "not gonna happen" as Arrieta's landing spot. With a fairly weak and inexperienced starting rotation, the Padres could conceivably offer Arrieta […]

Updated First Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers. With the MLB season just a few short weeks a way, it's time to update our rankings and analysis to account for injuries, free agent signings, spring training risers/fallers and more. We kick off our updated March rankings today with the first base position. Harris breaks down each tier and provides analysis […]

Carlos Asuaje And Cory Spangenberg Fighting For Roster Spot

San Diego Padres manager Andy Green hinted the loser of the second base battle between Carlos Asuaje and Cory Spangenberg may not make the final roster. Due to crowded outfield and pitching situations, the Padres likely do not have room for two left-handed hitting second basemen. Additionally, right-handed Jose Pirela, who can play outfield and […]

Chris Young Sharp, Luis Perdomo Struggles Against Royals

Two San Diego Padres competing for the starting rotation made their cases on Tuesday against the Royals. Pitcher Chris Young struck out four and allowed one earned run in three innings. Meanwhile, starter Luis Perdomo struggled in three innings, allowing two earned runs, but recorded five strikeouts. Young, a non-roster invitee, is a 38-year-old veteran with both […]

Alex Dickerson Diagnosed With UCL Sprain

Updating a previous report, San Diego Padres outfielder Alex Dickerson (elbow) has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. Dickerson will weigh his options, including Tommy John surgery. He is expected to be out for at least six weeks if he tries rehab over surgery. His absence means one less Padre vying for the remaining starting […]

Alex Dickerson Out Through Opening Day

AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweeted that San Diego Padres outfielder Alex Dickerson (elbow) is likely out through Opening Day. This is a tough setback for Dickerson, who missed all of 2017 to a back injury and was expected to vie for playing time. There is no timetable for the San Diego native's return. His absence […]

Dinelson Lamet Working On Secondary Pitches

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dinelson Lamet is working on developing a curveball and changeup. Manager Andy Green is encouraging Lamet to grow comfortable mixing in other pitches to complement his power fastball-slider profile. Making his debut last season, Lamet registered a 10.94 K/9 in 21 starts. While impressive, his limited repertoire resulted in inconsistency […]

Colin Rea Shut Down With Shoulder Pain

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Colin Rea (elbow, shoulder) is being temporarily shut down after experiencing shoulder pain. This is a tough setback for Rea, who missed all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Rea's absence will jeopardize his shot as a starter. His injury likely leaves seven Padres pitchers vying for three rotation […]

2017 Breakouts Due for Regression - Starting Pitchers

The 2017 season saw a number of starting pitchers emerge and become studs for both their real and fantasy teams. Aaron Nola and James Paxton finally matched their prospect hype. Alex Wood finally stayed (mostly) healthy and earned his first All-Star appearance. Trevor Bauer finally seemed to put his inconsistency behind him with a dominant second […]

RotoBaller Industry Expert Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

On Thursday, February 15th, we brought together an illustrious group of industry experts to take part in the RotoBaller Friends and Family mock draft. We'll be playing this out as a best ball league. Our participants represented sites like: Creative Sports (Lawr Michaels) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) GuruElite (Ray Flowers) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) CBS (Heath […]

Christian Villanueva Could Play Both Third and Shortstop

San Diego Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva wants to be the Padres primary third baseman. However, that role belongs to veteran Chase Headley. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports San Diego will test Villanueva at shortstop to back up Freddy Galvis. There's no guarantee Headley will be with the Padres all season and versatility adds to […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - NL Relief Pitchers

Early-season drafts do not always tend to be reflective of a player's actual value. Average draft position does not tend to stabilize until closer to Opening Day but that does not stop people like myself (and presumably you as well if you're reading this) from drafting well before then. The ADP of relief pitchers is […]

Robbie Erlin And Colin Rea Return To Game Action

After both players missed 2017 recovering from Tommy John Surgery, San Diego Padres starting pitchers Robbie Erlin (elbow) and Colin Rea (elbow) returned to live action in a "B" game on Thursday. They each pitched two innings and struck out a pair. Erlin and Rea are two of eight Padres pitchers battling for three rotation spots and could […]

Luis Urias' Callup Probably Sooner Than Later

San Diego Padres manager Andy Green offered glowing remarks about 20-year-old second baseman Luis Urias on Thursday. San Diego's No. 3 prospect is making a strong case to make the MLB Opening Day roster, pushing incumbents Carlos Asuaje and Cory Spangenberg. While logistics of team control will likely prevent him from making the squad outright, […]

Austin Hedges (C, SD) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~220 CURRENT ADP: 266 ANALYSIS: Regarded as a top-shelf defensive catcher, Austin Hedges bucked his one-sided reputation in 2017 by hitting 18 homeruns, tied eighth-best for signal-callers. Unfortunately, the power did not translate into other fantasy-useful categories. Hedges finished outside the top-20 for backstops with a meager 36 runs, 55 RBI and […]

Matt Strahm May Not Be Ready To Start

AJ Cassavell tweeted that San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Strahm may not be ready to start by Opening Day but can come out of the bullpen. Although he's competing for a back-end rotation spot, Strahm also projects to be a useful relief arm. Strahm is returning from a torn left patellar tendon suffered last July. […]

Outfielders Who’ll Continue to Improve in 2018

While the other managers in your league are drafting redundant assets and fretting over which volatile closer they’re going to draft, you’ll be targeting up-and-coming outfielders with skyrocketing value. Winning the late rounds on draft day is the most you can do to put yourself in the best position to win a fantasy title. All […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

As we move closer to the 2018 baseball season, at RotoBaller we have released our Dynasty Rankings. We have been dissecting the tiers of each position, showing fantasy owners where to find value in their draft. We have a total of 54 relief pitchers ranked in the first six tiers. When looking at dynasty leagues, one […]

Austin Hedges Hits Third Spring Homer

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges hit his third spring training home run on Wednesday against the Dodgers, sending a Wilmer Font pitch over the left field wall. Hedges has started red-hot, going 3-for-5 with a homer in each game played. The rate is unsustainable, but early returns are promising for Hedges, who changed his swing […]

Platoon Role For Hunter Renfroe Possible

San Diego Padres outfielder Hunter Renfroe will likely assume a platoon role in 2018. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the ongoing battle in San Diego's outfield, pointing out Renfroe's struggles with righties (.636 OPS) and success against lefties (1.077 OPS). Manager Andy Green admitted injuries and lack of depth last season forced […]