Padres Checking In On Michael Wacha

The San Diego Padres have checked in with free-agent starting pitcher Michael Wacha. The 31-year-old veteran right-hander remains available on the open market with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring camps this week. He played the 2022 season with the Boston Red Sox, going 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA (4.14 FIP), 1.11 WHIP and 20.2... Read More

Drew Pomeranz Likely To Be Limited In Spring Training

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin said that relief pitcher Drew Pomeranz (elbow) will likely be limited for the start of spring training. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise after Pomeranz didn't pitch at all in 2022 after having flexor tendon surgery in 2021. The 34-year-old veteran southpaw has only thrown 44 1/3... Read More

Five Overvalued Outfielders for 2023 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Welcome back RotoBallers! This is the second part of our overvalued players series for 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. Today we are looking at outfielders. You can see the first part about overvalued infielders as well. When playing fantasy baseball, the player pool is so deep you have to know it front and back. A key... Read More

Padres Expected To Explore Extension With Manny Machado Soon

The San Diego Padres are expected to explore a long-term contract extension with franchise third baseman Manny Machado before Opening Day. Machado can opt out of his contract after the 2023 season, and making him a Padre for the rest of his career might require a new deal of at least six or seven years... Read More

Padres Give Yu Darvish A Six-Year Extension

The San Diego Padres and right-hander Yu Darvish agreed to a six-year, $108 million contract extension on Thursday, according to sources. The deal will start in 2023 and runs through 2028, when Darvish will be 42 years old. The 36-year-old was previously due $18 million this season and was scheduled to become a free agent... Read More

Will Bryce Harper be Ready for the Season? Fantasy Baseball Injury Update

After a disappointing fallout in the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies will face a difficult challenge heading into 2023. Bryce Harper will miss the first half of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and is expected to begin swinging a bat around March. I'm sure you guys are wondering what... Read More

Breakout Pitchers for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Finding breakout starting pitchers is one of the most important things we have to do in order to win fantasy baseball leagues every season. In most leagues, an individual starting pitcher has more of an impact on a fantasy team than an individual hitter since they are throwing a higher percentage of your team's total... Read More

3 Fantasy Baseball Hitters Slated to Breakout Earlier Than Their Prime in 2023

Some ball players are just built differently. The superstars of the MLB world tend to break out well before their prime, far closer to the age of 20 than the generally accepted age-28 prime season. Let's be honest, even though he was promoted at the ripe age of 19, few expected Juan Soto to explode... Read More

Fernando Tatis Jr. Open To Any Position

When San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was asked what position he'll play in 2023, he said: "Gotta talk to my manager," while adding that he's open to playing any position after the Padres signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts this offseason. Tatis also said he's been working at both outfield and infield as he prepares... Read More

Eguy Rosario Out Until Summer With Broken Ankle

San Diego Padres infield prospect Eguy Rosario (ankle) broke his ankle earlier this offseason while doing sprint work in winter ball and will be sidelined until the middle of the summer. The 23-year-old required surgery on his ankle. It's a tough break for Rosario, as he was slated for an extensive opportunity to play in... Read More

Pull%: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

We have previously determined that fantasy managers generally prefer batters to hit the ball into the air to have a chance at a home run. Yet, all fly balls are not equal for this purpose. A player can maximize his power production by pulling the ball in the air. One way to illustrate this is... Read More

Known-Skill Starting Pitcher Rankings - Predicting Future Stats for Fantasy Baseball

There is a lot of guesswork that goes into fantasy baseball. This is especially true when we're talking about starting pitchers. And all of this despite the fact that we have more metrics than we can even count about pitchers. You will see a ton of talk this year about fancy advanced pitch metrics. Spin,... Read More

Injury Agnostic SP Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

It's hard to project injuries. Therefore, it's hard to project how many innings a pitcher will throw in a given year. Am I rocking any boats yet? Sure, Jacob deGrom is more likely to hit the IL this year than Gerrit Cole. There's no questioning that, and that should matter when you are drafting your... Read More

Early 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Hello there fellow RotoBallers! Below you'll find our MLB team's early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. This is an exciting time of year for MLB and fantasy baseball fans, as the MLB season is getting closer and there's a full year of fantasy baseball that lies ahead. We're here... Read More

Fernando Tatis Jr. Takes Swings Thursday

San Diego Padres shortstop/outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (shoulder, wrist) took swings in the batting cages on Thursday. Tatis was cleared to resume baseball activities on Jan. 6 and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training after missing all of the 2022 season due to a fractured wrist and a suspension for... Read More

Adalberto Mondesi and Michael A. Taylor: Buying and Selling the Latest Offseason News for Fantasy Baseball

Even though the Winter Meetings are now behind us, there’s still plenty of offseason left when it comes to baseball news and rumors – especially with a number of the offseason’s top free agents still without a team. And that’s all without mentioning potential trades as there hasn’t been an overabundance of deals made so... Read More

Jon Anderson's Early Starting Pitcher Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! We are finishing it up today with starting pitcher. I have been through all of the hitting positions already, so check those out at the links below. Catcher First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Outfield I went for an even 100... Read More

Jon Anderson's Early Outfield Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! Today, we are covering the outfield, and it's a monster! Here is what we've done so far: Catcher First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base I am putting my top 80 or so outfielders into this, so we'd better get started.  Be... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Hitters That Could Benefit Most From the Shift Ban

Major League Baseball is making some big changes ahead of the 2023 season. One of the most significant is the banning of the shift. You can read more about that here, but here's a quick summary from that article: "With all four infielders needing to be on the dirt, the days of the four-outfielder setup... Read More

Predicting Pitcher K-BB% Breakouts For Fantasy Baseball 2023

You will not read an article from me about fantasy baseball starting pitchers that does not talk a ton about the strikeout-to-walk ratio (K-BB%). It is the most important and most predictive statistic out there for evaluating pitchers. The way to win a fantasy league is to have a few breakout players on your team.... Read More

Using Hitter Projections to Identify Probable Improvers for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Hey everyone, it's Jon Anderson back again! I have recently finished my season-long hitter projection system, so now the fun begins! I will be writing at least a few pieces here that look at what the projections are telling us. This is my first year doing a projection system, so I don't exactly have a... Read More

Early Draft Takeaways: Fantasy Baseball 2023

In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to give you all a little gift. And the gift I will give you is way too early fantasy baseball ADP analysis. It is not even Christmas as I write this, so this is strange territory. We are at least two months away from what any normal... Read More

The Toughest Players to Rank for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

The name of the game in fantasy baseball is projections. If you ever hear anybody telling you to "draft with your gut" or "listen to your instincts" – run. It's a numbers game, we need to use numbers. Your gut has no say in the matter other than digesting the potato chips you ate while... Read More

Valuing Injured Fantasy Baseball Players Returning in 2023

The 2022 season had its fair share of devastating injuries. Especially those who make a significant impact on the field. If we were to compose a list of every notable injury, things would get ugly. Now that we've mentioned injuries, which is quite a broad term, here are the most valuable players returning in 2023.... Read More

Pitchers That Could Improve for 2023 Fantasy Baseball - Exploring K% Correlation

With all of the data at our fingertips, we can really do some interesting things in the offseason. We know that the strikeout rate is one of (if not the) most important metrics for a pitcher. It's hard to have success with a low strikeout rate, and it's a bit tough to not have success... Read More

Plate Discipline: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

No matter how high a particular player's BABIP may be, his average will be mediocre at best if he strikes out too much. This is why fantasy managers have known for years that players like Mike Zunino are potential drains on a fantasy team's batting average. Furthermore, players who whiff a lot tend to continue... Read More

HR/FB: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Batting average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. Most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier, though. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI.... Read More

The Toughest Players to Rank for 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Part 2

Welcome to part two of my mini-series on the toughest players to rank. I have been in the numbers for months now, and there are plenty of players I really don't know what to think about for next year. These post series help me get a little bit of clarity on how to view them,... Read More

Sean Poppen Outrighted To Triple-A

San Diego Padres right-hander Sean Poppen has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A El Paso. The Padres initially claimed Poppen off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 28-year-old saw action 29 times out of the bullpen for the Snakes in 2022, posting a 4.40 ERA (5.21 FIP), 1.36 WHIP, 12 walks and only... Read More

Jon Anderson's Early Third Base Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! Today, we are covering third base! Here is what we've done so far: Catcher First Base Second Base Shortstop Third base is a really interesting position this year. There are a handful of really, really good hitters at the top - but... Read More