Evan Longoria Doesn’t Expect To Miss Time With Ankle Soreness

San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria (ankle) said on Saturday that he is day-to-day with left ankle joint soreness. Longoria was a last minute scratch prior to Friday’s game. Longoria said that he’s dealt with plantar fasciitis in the same foot but does not know if it’s related to his current issue. The good […]

Chase Headley Focuses On Natural Swing

San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley hopes a few mechanical adjustments in his swing will allow him to surpass his recent unexceptional performance. Since a magical 2012 season when he hit 31 home runs, scored 95 runs and drove in 115 RBI (along with 17 steals and an .874 OPS), Headley has settled for […]

Best Ball Sleepers and Late Round Targets for Fantasy Baseball

Best ball leagues are one of the latest variations of fantasy baseball that are quickly growing in popularity. Draft day is the only day of the year where owners will have control over their roster. There is no waiver wire and there are no trades. Owners won't even set daily lineups, as they will instead […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season blessedly just a few weeks away, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to update our rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the third base position. There's a ton of talent at the hot corner this season, with the usual elites at […]

Evan Longoria Dealing With Sore Heel

San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria (heel) was scratched from Friday’s lineup. There is no update yet on how he suffered the injury and how long he will be sidelined. For the first time in his career, Longoria will be wearing a uniform that isn’t a Tampa Bay Rays one, and he should put […]

Christian Villanueva Adding First Base To His Resume

San Diego Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva will play first base Friday as he fights for a roster spot. The Padres third baseman was also recently linked to taking repetitions at shortstop. His versatility could supplement a bat that's hitting .435 with three homers and 11 RBI in 23 spring at-bats (1.465 OPS). If he makes […]

Matt Carpenter Begins Fielding and Batting Practice

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter (back, shoulder) began hitting and fielding drills this week. The team is reportedly concerned about both Carpenter's back and his shoulder, which may lead them to sticking him at first base. Originally, Carpenter was being looked at as a super-utility infielder who could play almost any infield position. For […]

Eduardo Nunez Hitless in Debut

Boston Red Sox super-utility man Eduardo Nunez (knee) had no hits in two at-bats in four innings of play on Wednesday. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported that following the fourth inning, Nunez began a more intensive workout session. Nunez pulled a sled loaded with weights back and forth, followed by more conditioning work. Nunez […]

Points League Primer - Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy

When discussing fantasy baseball, an often neglected but entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both season-long cumulative and weekly head-to-head leagues. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a […]

Eduardo Nunez Makes Spring Debut Thursday

Boston Red Sox super-utility man Eduardo Nunez will be making his spring debut at second base Thursday. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe has reported Nunez is in the lineup and is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday as well. Nunez will start the season at second base in place of the injured Dustin Pedroia (knee). […]

Eduardo Nunez Has First Appearance In Spring Delayed

Boston Red Sox super-utility player Eduardo Nunez will not start Wednesday as previously expected, reported Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. Nunez is fine, but the team is just being cautious because the grass is wet due to rain. He is expected to start Thursday. Nunez hit .321 with eight home runs and six stolen bases […]

Best-Ball Draft Strategy Overview for Fantasy Baseball

It's finally March, which can only mean two things: Spring Training and fantasy drafts. All the effort spent on rankings and draft prep finally come to fruition. Once your draft is completed, you then get to spend every day of the rest of the season analyzing player performances, scouring waiver wires and setting the best […]

Wilmer Flores (3B, NYM) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~ 300 CURRENT ADP: 326 ANALYSIS: What does Wilmer Flores have to do to convince the Mets he’s worthy of an everyday role? In three partial seasons the versatile infielder has not only mashed lefties, but also improved versus right-handers, posting a career high .765 OPS in 2017. Flores maintained his fly […]

Champ or Chump - Kevin Kiermaier and Alex Bregman

Our friends at FantasyPros have added ESPN and CBS to their composite ADP rankings, drawing from a total of six sources (those two plus Yahoo!, Fantrax, NFBC, and RT Sports). The vast majority of you probably use at least one of those services, making the compiled ADP data a fairly reliable predictor of what might […]

Tim Beckham Blasts Second Homer of Spring On Sunday

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Tim Beckham seems fairly comfortable manning the hot corner. He went 2-for-4 on Sunday with two RBI. One of them came on a solo homer and the other on a run-scoring single. The blast was his second of the 2018 Grapefruit League. O's fans have to hope that he's going to continue to show […]

White Sox Have Little Interest In Mike Moustakas, Carlos Gonzalez

The Chicago White Sox have very little interest, if any, in free-agent third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, according to sources. Moose and Car-Go haven't seen much of a market for their services this offseason. It's understandable for Gonzalez after he struggled in 2017, but Moustakas is coming off a career-high 38 home […]

Martin Prado, J.T. Riddle Could Both Be Ready For Opening Day

Miami Marlins starting infielders Martin Prado and J.T. Riddle could both be ready by Opening Day, according to MLB.com's Joey Johnston. Both Prado and Riddle were shut down in the middle of the 2017 season for respective surgeries, but Marlins' skipper Don Mattingly is hopeful that both will be ready to go once the season […]

Anthony Rendon Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

We continue our long-running series of articles debating fantasy rankings with a player that managed to stay healthy enough to post his first 100-RBI season and is now one of the top third baseman on draft boards. RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings for mixed leagues, but that doesn't mean we […]

Danny Valencia Still Sees Himself As A Major Leaguer

Third baseman Danny Valencia, who just signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles, said he won't accept being sent down to the minors after spring training. He wants to make the team and he said that he's been productive while in the bigs. He may get that chance should first baseman Chris Davis find […]

RotoBaller Industry Expert Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

On Thursday, February 15th, we brought together an illustrious group of industry experts to take part in the RotoBaller Friends and Family mock draft. We'll be playing this out as a best ball league. Our participants represented sites like: Creative Sports (Lawr Michaels) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) GuruElite (Ray Flowers) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) CBS (Heath […]

Kris Bryant Could Play Again On Saturday

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (flu) returned to action on Friday and went 1-for-2 before being pulled in the third inning. Bryant isn’t at full strength but may still play Saturday. Bryant should be good to go and is one of the safest picks if you are looking for hitting early on.

Christian Villanueva Could Play Both Third and Shortstop

San Diego Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva wants to be the Padres primary third baseman. However, that role belongs to veteran Chase Headley. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports San Diego will test Villanueva at shortstop to back up Freddy Galvis. There's no guarantee Headley will be with the Padres all season and versatility adds to […]

Danny Valencia Signs Minors Deal With Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles signed free-agent third baseman Danny Valencia to a minor league deal. It'll become official when he passes a physical on Saturday. Valencia played for the Orioles once before, in 2013. He'll provide some depth at third and the outfield should there be any injuries. He's not a fantasy star by any stretch […]

Kris Bryant Returns To Lineup

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (flu) has returned to the Cubs lineup. Bryant missed much of the week battling the flu, but it’s nothing for fantasy owners to worry about. Bryant will bat second Friday and remains one of the better offensive options in 2018 drafts.

Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~245 CURRENT ADP: 302 ANALYSIS: Fantasy owners are showing a lot more love to Oakland’s other Matt- Olson, natch – in drafts this spring, but don’t forget about Chapman. In his FanGraphs player capsule, Alex Chamberlain referred to Chapman as “a less-extreme Joey Gallo,” which seems an apt comparison. Chapman does not have […]

Ryder Jones Out 10 Days

San Francisco Giants infielder/outfielder Ryder Jones (hamstring) will miss a minimum of 10 more days. Jones suffered a hamstring injury early in camp. Jones struggled last year in his first big league action, hitting just .173 in 155 at-bats. With first baseman Brandon Belt healthy and third baseman Evan Longoria in the picture, Jones has been working […]

Kris Bryant Returns To Cubs Camp

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (illness) has returned to Cubs camp Thursday. The former National League MVP should once again be one of the better offensive players in 2018 and should see his run production improve from 2017.

J.D. Davis Off To Hot Start For Defending Champs

Houston Astros third baseman J.D. Davis is off to a strong start at the beginning of spring training for the defending-champion Astros. It may only be 11 at-bats, but Davis has already hit two home runs, driven in four and is hitting .364. Davis saw only 64 at-bats with the big league club last season, […]

Marco Hernandez Six Weeks Away From Baseball Activities

Boston Red Sox infielder Marco Hernandez (shoulder) says it will be about six weeks before he can start baseball activities, reported Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Hernandez returned to camp from Boston on Tuesday. While in Boston, he had two screws removed from his shoulder, stemming from a procedure he had in May. He will be […]

Matt Duffy To Miss A Couple Days

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Matt Duffy (back), who was scratched with back spasms Tuesday, said he will only be out a couple of days. "No issues with the foot. Just a little back spasm. It'll be a couple days. It's pretty anti-climactic," Duffy said. Duffy missed all of 2017 with injuries, but he should have […]