Ivan Nova (SP, PIT) - Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ivan Nova was battered over five May starts before hitting the DL, allowing 20 earned runs over just 23 ⅔ innings, but has risen from the ashes in June. Across 19 ⅔ IP, the 31-year-old righty has allowed […]

Week 13 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

Holy guacamole, Batman, we’re almost halfway through the season! I hope those of you that could scoop Freddy Peralta and Shane Bieber after last week’s notes didn’t hesitate. We're back to name names, 10 in fact, and I hope we can satisfy those in shallower formats as well as the multitude who make me feel […]

Jeremy Hellickson (SP, WSH) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson may not be on the Braves and, he might be on the DL, but he still pitches in the NL East and has already shown a form capable of an ERA in the low threes and […]

Kyle Gibson (SP, MIN) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson has shown us an intriguing ceiling ever since the end of August 2017, but some command issues and inconsistencies have held him out of the circle of trust in ‘18. However, the bottom line is that […]

Domingo German (SP, NYY) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German has been dynamic over the last few outings and, if you are going to pick up just one guy, then this is it. German entered Tuesday’s start with an incredible 15.6% swinging-strike rate that ranked […]

Mike Montgomery (SP/RP, CHC) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 24% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomery has been very effective for the Cubbies this season, carving out a role for the 2016 World Champions. It is unfortunate for Montgomery that Tyler Chatwood once again skirted huge damage despite walking everyone on the planet because we […]

Jonathan Loaisiga (SP, NYY) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: New York Yankees starting pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga appears to be the next of a wave of young power pitchers in the Bronx. Hopefully, you were in on Loaisiga before he delivered five scoreless frames for the win in his MLB debut. Still, […]

Freddy Peralta (SP, MIL) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta got the call for a spot start on Tuesday night against the Pirates and was devastating once again. Yes, the electric 21-year-old continued his MLB career the same way he started it, with a freakin’ gem. […]

Marco Estrada (SP, TOR) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 18% of leagues ANALYSIS: Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada had a truly awful start to the season. While we realize that watching Estrada suck through April and May could have given some owners a sense of vindication after years of defying his sabermetrics, Estrada is […]

Shane Bieber (SP, CLE) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber should get some extended looks in Cleveland’s rotation for as long as Carlos Carrasco is out, and may very well push for playing time down the line. While neither of his first two starts (both against the Twins) will inspire […]

Jose Urena (SP, MIA) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Urena has come out of nowhere to actually be a decent fantasy option. While it is surprising to say the least, the man has a 3.48 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over the last month of play. He […]

Matt Strahm (SP/RP, SD) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: While San Diego deals with a myriad of arm injuries, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Matt Strahm has gotten the chance to act as their “opener” in three bullpen games now. In these three games, he has allowed one run and three […]

Week 12 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

Welcome to this week's dive into the starting pitcher waiver wire waters! Before we begin, I'd just like everyone to know that I'm trying to craft a better system for teasing out players that are more likely to be available (beyond raw ownership rate) as the season wears on. The further into the season we […]

Jonathan Loasigia (SP, NYY) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 0% of leagues ANALYSIS:  New York Yankees starting pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga is so much of an outlier that we are not sure if his name is even spelled correctly in our database (it is, don't worry). The Yankees are in need of a starter with Masahiro Tanaka on […]

Dylan Covey (SP/RP, CHW) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of leagues ANALYSIS: If you remember anything about Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Covey from 2017 then you probably want nothing to do with him. No one can blame you either: the man had a 7.71 ERA and 5.64 SIERA with a poor 13.3% […]

Paul Blackburn (SP, OAK) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn allowed just one run on three hits over six strong innings in his 2018 debut, but he has his fantasy fleas. Namely, the three strikeouts in those six frames gives him a higher strikeout rate (15%) […]

Mike Montgomery (SP, CHC) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 16% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Mike Montgomery only has 25 strikeouts in 43 innings thus far, which may leave you looking elsewhere for SP options. However, a 3.56 ERA and 1.16 WHIP are very solid, particularly on a team like the Cubs that […]

Mike Leake (SP, SEA) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS: Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Mike Leake only made one mistake on Tuesday night, which was spotting a great pitch on the outer corner at the knees of Mike Trout. Outside of Trout’s solo homer, Leake was effective against the Halos and has now […]

Lance Lynn (SP, MIN) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 29% of leagues ANALYSIS: Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Lance Lynn has turned things around with four consecutive quality starts after forgetting that he was supposed to get batters out to open 2018. That being the case, you still cannot buy that his command woes are truly […]

Clayton Richard (SP, SD) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres starting pitcher Clayton Richard ended his 2017 season by posting a 3.52 ERA (3.69 SIERA) and being rather useful over his final 10 starts. Well, after a rocky April, Richard is back to mowing down opposing hitters with his […]

Seth Lugo (SP/RP, NYM) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42% of leagues ANALYSIS: New York Mets starting pitcher Seth Lugo is coming off of his best start of the season, creating a waiver rush like no other. Lugo dismantled the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball, as he allowed a mere two singles and struck out […]

Week 11 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

With roughly two-fifths of the baseball season in the past, we’ve got plenty of data to play with and some serious questions to answer about our fantasy teams. Some of you are likely rolling reliever-heavy lineups and I respect that, but you probably won’t find much help here! Whatever your strategy may be, these arms […]

Marco Gonzales (SP, SEA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 19% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales has made three straight starts without allowing an earned run and now has a 2.41 ERA/1.26 WHIP over the last 30 days. This has rejuvenated his ownership lately, but he has also been extremely lucky over […]

Week 10 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

It's that magical time of the season where I start to feel old because we've moved into the "double-digit weeks" when writing out the title. You should have a good idea about where your team stands against the competition, though an unheralded stat in roto leagues with maximums is how many innings you have left […]

Nick Kingham (SP, PIT) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Nick Kingham stumbled in his return to the bigs on Tuesday, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out just four Cubs in the eventual 8-6 defeat. This came after he had two quality […]

Nathan Eovaldi (SP, TB) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: Those desperate for an AL-only arm may want to see what the once-useful Nathan Eovaldi has left in the tank after two elbow surgeries have sidelined him in recent years. Those who bought Eovaldi for yesterday's start against the Athletics must be […]

Vince Velasquez (SP, PHI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS: Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Vince Velasquez rebounded from a rough outing last week by taking a shutout into the sixth inning on Monday, though his bullpen would blow the lead and his win. Still, we have to respect how VV has 70 strikeouts […]

Week 9 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

Hopefully, you’ve all enjoyed a strong first two months of the fantasy baseball season and are heading into June with a full head of steam. Whether you're at the top and looking to strengthen your pitching ranks or in the lower half and seeking out a spark, we've got you covered. If you want to […]

Updated Third Base Rankings (May) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

We are a quarter of the way through the regular season for Major League Baseball (almost a third of the way now), so our premier staff at RotoBaller has updated our rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings. We've been going around the diamond over the last few days and now it's time to turn our attention to […]

Updated Relief Pitcher Rankings (May) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

We are a quarter of the way through the regular season for Major League Baseball, so our crack staff at RotoBaller has updated our rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings. We looked at starting pitchers yesterday, and now we’re ready to hand things off to the bullpen. Closers are known for their volatility and even the greats […]