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 […]

Ross Stripling (SP, LAD) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 19% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Dodgers seem to have outclassed themselves with “playing the 10-day DL” (sarcasm), as Rich Hill is set to miss a month with a blister issue, Clayton Kershaw is still working back from biceps tendinitis and Hyun-Jin Ryu tore his groin off the bone.  Anyway, the […]

Luiz Gohara (SP, ATL) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 19% of leagues ANALYSIS: Atltanta Braves starting pitcher Luiz Gohara is finally getting the turn in the rotation that we all envisioned before Opening Day, but we need to temper expectations since he is transitioning from the bullpen and will travel to Brazil after the outing […]

Joe Musgrove (SP, PIT) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 10% of leagues ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove appears set to toe the rubber for the Pirates on Friday against the Cardinals after posting a very respectable 17-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 17 ⅔ innings (four rehab starts). The biggest knock against ol' Joe is the […]

Carlos Rodon (SP, CHW) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon fits a theme of “injury-prone starters” that are still available in many leagues. He just turned in five innings of one-run ball in a rehab start and is good for over a strikeout per inning […]

Anthony DeSclafani (SP, CIN) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani now has two rehab starts under his belt and has looked pretty darn good against Double-A players. Tony Disco has struck out 12 while walking just one over eight innings of work, yielding two earned runs on […]

Zach Eflin (SP, PHI) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of leagues ANALYSIS: While not at his best against the Cardinals on May 19, Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zach Eflin was in line for the win before a premature rain-delay call by the umpires saw him lifted after just 4 ⅔ innings. He had yielded […]

Trevor Cahill (SP, OAK) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 24% of leagues ANALYSIS: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Trevor Cahill toyed with a watered-down Mariners team on Tuesday night, nearly cruising through seven innings without a blemish before serving up a two-run homer to Mike Zunino as he approached 100 pitches. He wound up throwing 101 on the […]

Week 8 Waiver Wire - Starting Pitchers

We've officially moved beyond the quarter-season mark and will be staring down the one-third pole when next week rolls around, so it's high time you start assessing your team and really scrutinizing those slow starts. I don't know why guys like Aaron Sanchez, Felix Hernandez, Rich Hill and Chad Bettis continue to have 50% ownership […]