Ryan Zimmerman Will See Grapefruit Action This Week

Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman will play in Grapefruit League games this week for the first time all spring. There's nothing officially wrong with him, but he's being brought along slowly due to his age and history of injury. The 33-year-old slugger enjoyed a resurgent year in 2017, hitting career highs in home runs […]

Royals Prospect Ryan O'Hearn Bashes Another Homer

Kansas City Royals first base prospect Ryan O'Hearn has gone on a tear in the Cactus League. O'Hearn has belted four homers in his last three games, and though the 24-year-old will be starting the season at Triple-A Omaha, he could see big-league at-bats soon enough. O'Hearn has shown that he packs a real punch […]

Joey Gallo May Hit Second

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that the Texas Rangers want to try a few days of Delino DeShields leading off with Joey Gallo following. This is certainly a vote of confidence in the gains that the slugger has made in his hitting approach, but fantasy owners should not get too excited by this news. The […]

Chris Davis Gets A Hit In First Game Action In A While

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis played the field for the first time in a while after having to sit out with a tight forearm. Fortunately, it didn't require surgery. Davis, who wasn't able to play on his birthday the day before thanks to manager Buck Showalter's overabundance of caution, went 1-for-3 before yielding to […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 14 - Statcast For Pitchers

Previously, we looked at Barrels, a stat combining exit velocity and launch angle to measure how often a batter makes quality hard contact. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is some evidence that pitchers do not have the same influence […]

ADP Rankings Debate - Cody Bellinger vs. Freddie Freeman

As with a number of ADP debates, Cody Bellinger and Freddie Freeman both offer the skills for success in 2018. Each first baseman is going in the first two or three rounds of fantasy baseball drafts, but chances are you'll only be able to snag one. Which young slugger will deliver better value in 2018? […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2018

Every day from now until Opening Day, our writers will be offering their most audacious projections for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. This is my fourth go-round with this series. I've had some great successes and some equally terrible calls in both previous attempts, and this year should be no different. Hopefully the former outweigh […]

Cody Bellinger Won't Whiff As Badly As In The World Series

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger says he won't ever again deliver a performance as bad as the one in the World Series. Bellinger, who lit up the National League for 39 home runs in the 2017 regular season en route to unanimously being voted the Rookie of the Year, hit .143 with one […]

Ryan McMahon Doubtful To Start At First Base

Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon went 2-for-4 with one run, two RBI and a double in the 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. McMahon has been one of the best stories this Spring Training, as this game now gives him a .333 batting average, one home run and seven RBI's in 57 at-bats in Cactus […]

Dominic Smith Still Not Running

New York Mets first baseman Dominic Smith (quadriceps) still has enough pain in his quad to prevent him from running, but he is hoping to play in a spring game before the team breaks camp. The Mets were already skeptical of using Smith as the everyday first baseman heading into 2018 after he struggled to […]

Matt Adams Scratched

Washington Nationals first baseman Matt Adams (leg) was a last-minute scratch before Saturday's Grapefruit League game versus the Mets. He had leg cramps and the move was precautionary, according to the team. Adams looks to start the season as the team's backup first baseman to Ryan Zimmerman. But given how often Zimmerman is hurt, Adams […]

Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects - AL Central

If you are in a dynasty league, then the number one thing you likely focus on year-round are prospects. It's a never-ending hunt to find the best prospect and acquire them for the lowest cost possible. Not only are owners looking for the best prospect, they also have to discern whether or not they will […]

Ian Desmond Homers Twice In One Inning

Colorado Rockies outfielder/first baseman Ian Desmond was apparently paying attention to the press this morning. Shortly after an article came out headlining Desmond's terrible spring at the plate, he took the Angels to task. Desmond ignited Colorado's offense in the second inning by blasting a towering home run off Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani, and the […]

Kennys Vargas Not Expected To Make Final Roster

Minnesota Twins first baseman/designated hitter Kennys Vargas will likely be the odd man out when the team has to trim the roster down to 25 players. Vargas was originally expected to be the team's backup first baseman but the mid-spring signing of Logan Morrison will likely leave Vargas without a spot on the active roster, […]

Brad Miller To Play Saturday

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller (toe) will play in a Grapefruit League game Saturday against the Red Sox. Miller played in a minor league game on Thursday and went hitless, but he's progressing and expects to be ready for Opening Day. After surprisingly hitting 30 homers in 2016, Miller predictably fell back down to […]

Chris Davis Improving And Hopes To Play Saturday

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (forearm, elbow) said that he's feeling better. He took part in baseball activities and also indicated that he hopes that he can play on Saturday. Since that's his birthday, it would be a nice gift. He also thought he had enough time to get himself ready for Opening Day. […]

Greg Bird Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

As we move closer and closer to the start of the regular season, our writers are still vigorously debating each other's preseason rankings. In this space, we'll hear from rankers with the biggest differences of opinion on a well-known player and have them defend their position against each other. Today, the subject of discussion is […]

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - First Base

Whether or not you share my trepidation regarding the term "sleeper," we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Beyond the ultimate result of victory or not, nothing in this game is more satisfying that getting a great player for way less than you should have had to pay. […]

Ryon Healy Expected To Play This Weekend

Seattle Mariners first baseman Ryon Healy (hand) is making good progress and is expected to return to game action this weekend. That's great news for Healy, and barring a setback, he might actually be fine for Opening Day. Healy makes a lot of hard contact and hits a lot of balls in the air, but […]

Daniel Vogelbach Playing His Way Into Early Season At-Bats

Seattle Mariners first baseman Daniel Vogelbach is hitting .407 over his last 10 spring games and is playing his way onto the Opening Day roster. With Ryon Healy still rehabbing a hand injury and the uncertain severity of Nelson Cruz's quad injury, Vogelbach could be in line for at-bats to begin the season. So far […]

Yuli Gurriel To Begin Defensive Drills

Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel (hand) will be cleared to begin defensive drills in his rehab process, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Hinch told reporters, "He's starting to do a little bit more...He's not close to hitting, but he'll put a glove on his hand and start to do some defensive stuff." Gurriel is still […]

Brad Miller To Play Thursday

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller (toe) will play in a minor league game Thursday, and he is fully confident that he will be ready for Opening Day. Miller dealt with injuries last year as well, playing in just 110 games and disappointing with a .201 average and nine home runs. That's after he surprisingly […]

Albert Pujols Blasts Two Doubles

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols hit two doubles on Monday, his first two extra-base hits of spring training. He drove in a run on each. Pujols is now 6-for-27 (.222) in the spring. However, he has only struck out once, an encouraging sign after he tied a career high with 93 strikeouts last […]

Yuli Gurriel (1B, HOU) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~160 CURRENT ADP: 208 ANALYSIS: Houston Astros first basemen Yuli Gurriel really came into his own in his second year in the major leagues, hitting .299 with 18 home runs and 75 runs batted in. The 32-year old became an integral cog in last year's dangerous Houston lineup but can he take his game […]

Ryan McMahon's Spot On Rockies Could Depend On Next Two Weeks

Colorado Rockies first baseman Ryan McMahon's spot on the Rockies "could depend on the next two weeks." McMahon has had a very solid spring training so far with a .354 batting average, .367 on-base percentage and .542 slugging percentage and has impressed the Rockies organization at first base. However, the signing of outfielder Carlos Gonzalez means […]

Brad Miller Out Another 4-5 Days

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller (toe) will miss another four to five days before he's able to play in a game, but his availability for Opening Day shouldn't be impacted, according to manager Kevin Cash. The left-handed hitter slugged a whopping 30 home runs in 2016 but fell back to earth dramatically in 2017, […]

Adam Lind Released By Yankees

After signing a minor league contract with the New York Yankees in an attempt to win the backup first baseman job, Adam Lind has been released with two weeks left in Spring Training. The 34-year-old took part in five games with the Yanks this spring, hitting .200 with just three hits in 15 plate appearances. […]

Matt Carpenter Makes His 2018 Debut

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter (back, shoulder) made his 2018 Grapefruit League debut on Tuesday, walking twice and scoring two runs. Carpenter has been recovering from a back injury and is still dealing with a shoulder issue that plagued him last season. Still, it seems like everything went OK on Tuesday, and unless something changes, […]

Chris Davis Still Hopes to Play This Weekend But Team Not So Sure

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (forearm) said his injury is feeling better. He hopes to take the field this upcoming weekend. The team is not entirely ruling out a stint on the disabled list, though. Davis seems to be unable to completely shake this injury, no matter what. Perhaps forced rest will do something. […]

ADP Busts - 2017 Infield Breakouts to Avoid in 2018

Earlier this week, I took a look at four outfielders whose disappointing 2017 performances made them potential draft bargains for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Today, we’re taking the opposite tack. Overpaying for last year’s breakout is one of the easiest – and costliest – mistakes a fantasy owner can make, and we’ve all fallen […]