MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/16) - Luis Robert Scratched Monday

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Injury Updates

Injury updates tend to change often during Spring Training. "Soreness" is a common theme as players get back into game shape. I will be giving the most recent available injury updates from the offseason. These updates will undoubtedly change as Spring Training continues. As we get closer to Opening Day, some injuries are much more […]

Eugenio Suarez To Start At SS On Tuesday

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez will shift over and get the start at shortstop in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Colorado Rockies. Suarez was originally a shortstop in the minors and spent some time in the majors at the position as recently as 2015 before getting moved to third base. Manager David Bell […]

Rio Ruiz Plays Well In Return To Lineup

Baltimore Orioles third baseman/first baseman Rio Ruiz (illness) had a solid overall performance in Monday's 12-3 win over the Pirates. Ruiz had missed more than a week with an undisclosed illness, but he went 2-for-3 with two doubles in his return to the lineup. He also made a nice diving stop in the second inning. Things aren't […]

Alex Bregman Set To Make Spring Debut Tuesday

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (hamstring) will make his spring training debut on Tuesday, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Bregman has yet to appear in a game this spring due to a lingering hamstring issue, although he had previously tweeted that if it were during the regular season, he would have already been back in […]

Austin Riley Clears COVID Protocols, Will Return Wednesday

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley has cleared the league's COVID-19 protocols and will return to the lineup on Wednesday, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Riley last played on Thursday and was penciled into Monday's lineup before being removed just prior to the game's start. Riley hasn't shown power this spring, but he's been […]

Nolan Arenado Gets Two Hits On Monday

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado went 2-for-3 with two singles and an RBI in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. Arenado lifted his spring batting average to .304 and his OPS to .694. The Cardinals and fantasy managers with Arenado on their rosters are obviously expecting more pop from Arenado once […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes Hits First Homer Of Spring Monday

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes crushed his first home run of the spring on Monday afternoon, as he finished 2-for-3 with two RBI in a loss to the Orioles. Even though Monday marked his first homer, Hayes has been showing off power at the plate so far, with six of his 10 spring hits […]

Chad Pinder (2B/3B, OAK) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 440 CURRENT ADP: ~542 overall ANALYSIS: Pinder took clear steps he took to improve his plate discipline leading up to the 2020 season last February, and those improvements showed up in his performance. Although Pinder’s O-Swing rate was up slightly from 2019 at 33.3%, his swing rate at pitches in […]

Orioles Finalizing Deal With Maikel Franco

The Baltimore Orioles were reportedly finalizing a deal with free-agent third baseman Maikel Franco on Sunday, per Joe Trezza of MLB.com. The O's have yet to confirm the agreement. Franco posted solid numbers at the plate with the Royals in 2020, slashing .278/.321/.457 with eight HR and 38 RBI. If signed, Franco could potentially play […]

Eugenio Suarez (3B, CIN) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 58 CURRENT ADP: ~73 overall ANALYSIS:  Suárez had offseason shoulder surgery in January 2020 and said he was 100% by June. The .268 ISO and 15 home runs in 57 games backed that up, but fantasy owners got burned by a .202 average. Stare long and hard at the .214 […]

Wander Franco Plays Third Base

Tampa Bay Rays infield prospect Wander Franco, traditionally a shortstop, played third base on Sunday. The Rays coaching staff values versatility among its players and the move provides the 20-year-old with a smoother path to big-league playing time. The club already has Willy Adames at shortstop but the hot corner is expected to be manned […]

Miguel Sano Has Solid Day Sunday

Minnesota Twins infielder Miguel Sano went 1-for-2 with a two-RBI double and a walk in Sunday's 5-5- tie with the Boston Red Sox. Sano has struggled this spring as he is now just 3-for-18, but he is going to be all about the power numbers in 2021 as he hit just .204 in 2020 and […]

Eugenio Suarez Reaches Once In Cactus League Loss

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez went 0-for-2 with a walk in a 10-4 Cactus League loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Even though he's still looking for his first homer, Suarez has been enjoying a productive spring, hitting .353 with four runs in 17 at-bats. The veteran third baseman is looking to […]

Matt Carpenter Reaches Twice On Sunday

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter reached base twice in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets. Carpenter ended up 1-for-2 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Carpenter has been struggling mightily this spring, with Sunday's performance raising his batting average to .059 and his OPS to .390. Carpenter is more […]

Maikel Franco Nearing A Deal With The Orioles

Free agent third baseman Maikel Franco is "moving close" to a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Heyman later added that both sides are working on it but nothing is official as of now. Franco has been also been linked to the Braves and the Mets but the Orioles […]

Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers

With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]

Top 10 Tips for Fantasy Baseball Snake Drafts

Before I begin, let me caveat everything I say with this: I don't consider myself to be some sort of expert master fantasy player. I've only been playing fantasy baseball for a little under a decade. But as soon as I started to immerse myself into this game we all love, my main focus was […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends

Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Third Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Last year we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four third basemen and our site projections for them. Stay tuned over the next couple […]

Miguel Andujar To See Hand Specialist

New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar (hand) will see a hand specialist after experiencing hand soreness over the offseason and during spring training. Andujar was already likely to start the regular season in the minor leagues, and this injury makes that an effective guarantee, even if he can be healthy by Opening Day. It's […]

Jose Ramirez Doubles Saturday

Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez went 1-for-3 with an RBI double in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Ramirez is now 4-for-16 with two RBI and two stolen bases across his first six spring games. Ramirez will be a stalwart in the middle of the Indians' lineup in 2021 after he slashed […]

Andres Gimenez Continues Torrid Spring

Cleveland Indians infielder Andres Gimenez continued his strong spring in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored. He is now 7-for-21 with two home runs, six RBI, and three runs scored across his first eight spring games. Gimenez has been hitting near the top of the […]

Michael Florio's Hitters to Target

Every year, one of the articles I look most forward to writing is about the players I am targeting in my drafts. It not only allows me to talk about the players I know I am high on and go into my drafts hoping to select, but it also forces me to look over my […]

DJ LeMahieu Homers On Saturday

New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu hit his first home run of spring training this year as part of a two-hit game against the Pirates. LeMahieu has had a tepid start to spring training so far this season, but fantasy managers shouldn't be concerned about his relatively slow start after the 32-year-old posted a […]

Cavan Biggio Breaks Out Of Slump

After scuffling for much of the spring, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Cavan Biggio broke out of his slump with a 2-for-2 day against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. He hit his second double of the spring and his first home run, a two-run shot. Entering today's game, Biggio was just 2-for-14 (.143). He's expected […]

Josh Jung Sent To Minor League Camp

Texas Rangers third base prospect Josh Jung has been re-assigned to the team's minor league camp, suggesting that Jung is going to start the 2021 season in the minors. The team's top prospect right now, Jung will have a good chance to make it up to the big leagues at some point in 2021, and […]

Eduardo Escobar Homers In Diamondbacks Loss

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eduardo Escobar went 2-for-3 with his second home run of the spring on Friday afternoon in a 4-3 loss to the Angels. After starting off 0-for-4, Escobar has a hit in five consecutive games and is now slashing .316/.350/.737 through seven games this spring. Escobar is looking good at the plate […]

Jonathan India Remains In Big League Camp Through Cuts

Cincinnati Reds infielder Jonathan India got the green light to stick with the Major League squad after the team announced its first round of cuts Friday. With Joey Votto (COVID-19) sidelined, the Reds' infield picture could shift, with Mike Moustakas potentially moving over to first, opening a slot for India to make his Major League […]

Spencer Torkelson Survives First Round Of Roster Cuts

Detroit Tigers third baseman Spencer Torkelson has gone hitless over his first 16 plate appearances this spring and has struck out eight times. Despite the struggles, Torkelson will remain with the team for now. He survived the first round of roster cuts. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, "We're gonna keep rolling him out there and […]