Second-Year Pitchers Poised for a Breakout

The first year in the big leagues is full of ups and downs for most players, particularly pitchers. Adjusting to the best hitters in the world simply takes time, and many hurlers need multiple seasons to find their footing. Thus, identifying breakout candidates among second-year pitchers is no easy task, as the league has time […]

Eric Hosmer Signs With San Diego

The San Diego Padres signed free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer to an eight-year deal worth $144 million. The deal is front loaded towards the first five seasons, and Hosmer will be able to opt out in the offseason after that fifth year. Hosmer hit .318/.385/.498 with 31 doubles, 25 homers, 94 RBI, 98 runs and […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - Catcher

Catcher is generally considered the weakest position in fantasy baseball. That is exactly why getting reliable production from the position is so important. There won’t be many good options on the waiver wire to replace a bad pick. This article looks at some catchers that are undervalued and overvalued based on their NFBC ADP (as […]

Three Up, Three Down - 2018 Shortstop Prospects

Much like the wave of third basemen to sweep the league, we’ve had an equally impressive push of young shortstops. Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, and Corey Seager are all 24-years-old, or younger, and are in the Top 30 in fantasy baseball rankings. Who will be part of the next breath of fresh air […]

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 […]

Brad Hand (RP, SD) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~105 CURRENT ADP: 119 ANALYSIS: Brad Hand followed up a strong 2016 with a fantastic 2017 campaign in which he posted a 2.16 ERA (2.90 xFIP) with 21 saves and a 33.4% K% over 79 1/3 IP. His innings total is likely to go down with a full season in the closer's role, but the […]

Freddy Galvis (SS, SD) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~345 CURRENT ADP: 353 ANALYSIS: Freddy Galvis was boring roster glue at best last season, slashing .255/.309/.382 with 12 HR and 14 SB (five CS). The 28-year old is probably younger than you think he is, and the pedestrian numbers above mask the best plate discipline metrics of the shortstop's career (6.8% BB%, 16.7% K%). […]

Champ or Chump - Brad Hand and Gerrit Cole

Pitching is the name of the game in both real life and fantasy baseball. Rostering the wrong arms can put any team into a hole it's difficult to dig out from under, but overpaying for the right ones can leave your team exposed on the offensive side. What's a fantasy owner to do? The best […]

Champ or Chump - Freddy Galvis and Jay Bruce

Baseball's hot stove is finally starting to heat up a bit, with names like Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole headed to new addresses in 2018. It's late in coming, but now is the time some fantasy owners begin overlooking the smaller moves to concentrate on the biggest names. Don't make that mistake. This doesn't mean that […]

Padres Not Planning To Alter Eric Hosmer Offer

San Diego Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler said that the team isn't planning on making big changes to their contact offer to free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Padres presented Hosmer's agent, Scott Boras, with a seven-year deal worth less than $140 million earlier this month, and the Padres apparently haven't budged from that position. […]

Rule 5 Picks to Watch for Keeper Leagues

Every year the MLB Rule 4 draft, more commonly known as the First-Year Player Draft, gets a lot of attention from casual baseball fans and fantasy baseball players alike. In terms of fantasy relevance, though, the Rule 5 draft, which occurs during baseball's annual Winter Meetings, is far more impactful than the Rule 4 draft for […]

Freddy Galvis Settles With Padres

The San Diego Padres and shortstop Freddy Galvis avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $6.825 million. Galvis was acquired by the Phillies earlier in the offseason and will be the Padres everyday shortstop. He is a streaky hitter who offers some pop to his bat, but the move to San Diego will […]

Champ or Chump: Chase Headley & Starlin Castro

The following analysis is presented with some misgivings. Both Chase Headley and Starlin Castro were moved this offseason, making them candidates for a change of scenery examination. However, these veteran players do not present an obvious fit with their presumably rebuilding clubs and have been included in trade speculation, with Castro reportedly asking to be […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We wind up our mixed league rankings analysis with a look at the most volatile position of all, relief pitchers. Whether you choose to grab a top-notch closer early or prefer to work the waiver wire all season, these early rankings will give you a good sense of where the current market values each reliever, before […]

2018 Starting Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

Welcome back to the early edition of RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball rankings! As a reminder, this round of rankings comes to you courtesy of Pierre Camus and Jeff Kahntroff, in addition to yours truly. Today, I’ll be taking a look at how we ranked starting pitchers. As you peruse the info below, keep in mind […]

2018 Outfielders - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It's a new year, and with that comes our first set of rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. As a reminder, our first round of rankings comes to you courtesy of Pierre Camus and Jeff Kahntroff, in addition to yours truly. Today, I’ll be finishing up the hitter side of things with a look at […]

Chris Young Signs Minor League Deal With Padres

Free-agent pitcher Chris Young has agreed to a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres. Should Young make the opening day roster, he will receive $1 million plus an extra $6 million in incentives. Young, 38, struggled this past season with a 7.50 ERA in 30 innings. Even if he makes the opening day […]

Kazuhisa Makita Agrees With Padres

Japanese relief pitcher Kazuhisa Makita agreed to a two-year, $4 million deal with the San Diego Padres on Saturday, according to sources. Makita posted stellar numbers for the Seibu Lions the last two years overseas, but he's likely to have just a setup role in the San Diego bullpen in 2018, which means he is […]

Padres Are “Strong Favorites” To Sign Kazuhisa Makita

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the San Diego Padres "have emerged as strong favorites" to sign Japanese reliever Kazuhisa Makita. Makita, 33, pitched to a 2.30 ERA this past year in 58 games. He’s not a strikeout pitcher, having just 35 this past year in 62 2/3 innings. Unless he becomes a closer, […]

2018 First Base - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first base position. RotoBaller writers Kyle Bishop, Jeff Kahntroff, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. There are plenty of free agents yet to sign, so keep in mind that these rankings […]

2018 Catchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

With the holidays in the rearview mirror, it’s time to turn our attention to the upcoming fantasy baseball season. (Or, if you’re me, it’s finally time to start writing about it now that people aren’t focused on the vastly inferior but more popular fantasy sport that is football). Our first round of rankings comes to […]

Eric Hosmer Has Seven-Year Offer From Padres

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer has a seven-year offer from the San Diego Padres. Nightengale says the offer would be the largest contract given out in franchise history. Hosmer would fill a leadership role in San Diego for a team that is not ready to compete this upcoming […]

Dynasty Shortstops - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks. I’ve already covered catchers, first basemen, second basemen and third basemen. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 shortstops - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. Though there are still plenty of players who could […]

Dynasty Third Basemen - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks. I’ve already covered catchers, first basemen and second basemen. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 third basemen - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. This is one of the more top-heavy prospect groups in […]

Reviewing Kyle Bishop's Bold Predictions for 2017

What’s even more fun than making bold predictions? Looking back at the end of the season to see how good (or so, so hilariously bad) they were. Just like with the preseason pieces in March, I’m kicking off the review of our RotoBaller staff’s 2017 bold predictions. Let's get to it.Be sure to check all […]

Reviewing JB's 2017 Bold Predictions

What’s even more fun than making bold predictions? Looking back at the end of the season to see how good (or so, so hilariously bad) they were. As Michael Scott once said, "It takes a big man to admit his mistakes, and I am that big man." Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball […]

Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Picks (9/29/17): MLB Advice for FanDuel and DraftKings

The season is coming to an end, but we continue to feature large Friday slates. It isn't shocking, as the MLB continues to fight for views. Tonight, we have plenty of options for varying price tags, which makes lineup construction fairly easy. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup […]

Streaming Wars: Waiver Wire Targets for September 29

Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories in this, the final week of the season. Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Friday, September 29. Let's get to it.Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and […]

Streaming Wars: Waiver Wire Targets for September 27

Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories in this, the final week of the season. Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Wednesday, September 27. Let's get to it.Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools […]

Week 26 Middle Infield (MI) Waiver Wire Targets

Championship week is among us! If you have made it this far, you are certainly doing something right. With the final week among us I will be digging deep to find some hot bats to help you out in the final week.  As I normally mention, when it comes to the back-end of your rosters […]