Nick Mariano's Waiver Picks - Get 'Em While They're Hot (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Welcome to July, where midsummer dreams come true and we all inch closer to championship trophies. Ideally while holding some darn good food from the grill. The waiver wire is also heating up so let's check in on players who are rostered in roughly […]

Scott Barlow Earns Save In Second Straight Game

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Scott Barlow earned his fourth save of the year and his second save in as many days in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Barlow pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out one. Greg Holland, Barlow's main competitor for saves at this […]

Daniel Bard Gets The Save On Saturday

Colorado Rockies right-hander Daniel Bard earned the save on Saturday when he allowed one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over a scoreless ninth inning in a 3-2 win over the Cardinals. Bard was able to notch his 12th save of the season but it wasn't without drama. He walked Paul DeJong to start […]

James Karinchak Posts Fifth Straight Scoreless Outing

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher James Karinchak allowed two walks while striking out three in 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief against the Astros on Saturday. It was his fifth straight scoreless outing, as he has allowed one hit and six walks while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings of work. His 14.2 percent walk […]

Cesar Valdez Could Be Activated On Sunday

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Cesar Valdez (back) could be activated from the 10-day injured list on Sunday. Although it also could be sometime after that, the veteran is nearing a return after spending time on the IL with a lower back strain. However, Valdez isn't worth much from a fantasy standpoint, primarily after his role […]

Archie Bradley Tosses Clean Inning To Earn Hold

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Archie Bradley pitched a scoreless eighth inning versus the Padres to earn a hold on Saturday. Bradley needed just 13 pitches in an efficient outing that has been rare for Philadelphia this season. The Phillies have blown 22 saves this season, six more than the next-closest team. Bradley has closing experience […]

Ranger Suarez Earns First Save For Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ranger Suarez pitched a clean ninth inning to earn his first save of the season. Suarez faced the heart of the Padres' batting order with a two-run lead and got through the outing without issue while picking up a strikeout. The right-hander hadn't earned a save at any level since rookie-ball […]

Heath Hembree Picks Up Second Straight Save

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Heath Hembree tossed a scoreless ninth inning to save a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. Hembree struck out two and allowed one hit in the frame. The veteran reliever has been busy of late, having picked up a save on consecutive nights. Hembree now has a 2-3 record, 5.06 […]

Rookie Report: Prospect Risers and Fallers for Week 14

Welcome to the latest edition of RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball! Here I discuss some recently promoted MLB prospects and rookies , making note of what I think their upside could be for fantasy baseball managers, and whether they are potential risers or fallers. We have seen 150 rookies make their MLB […]

Fantasy Baseball Injury Updates - Week 15

As we move past the July 4th weekend and make our way to the All-Star game, there continues to be an increase in injuries this year compared to prior years, particularly of the soft tissue variety. These injuries include oblique, groin, hamstring, and back injuries. Not all of the injuries are the same for each player […]

Yimi Garcia Picks Up Save Number 13 On Saturday

Miami Marlins closer Yimi Garcia saved his 13th game of the season in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Garcia was asked to deliver the one-run win for the Marlins and did just that, allowing only an infield hit in a scoreless ninth inning that included a strikeout of Ronald Acuña, who represented the […]

Jordan Romano’s Scoreless Streak Snapped On Saturday

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano gave up two runs to the Rays on Saturday in a non-save situation as his club went on to a 6-3 victory. The right-hander walked the first two batters of the inning and both came around to score on a two-out single by Kevin Kiermaier, snapping his 18-inning scoreless […]

Jose Mujica Recalled From Triple-A

Colorado Rockies right-hander Jose Mujica has been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque. Reliever Antonio Santos was optioned in a corresponding move. Mujica put up a 6.91 ERA in nine starts (43 innings) at the Triple-A level but will likely work as a reliever with the big league club. He put up a 12.46 ERA over 4 […]

Anthony Bender Strikes Out All Six On Friday

Miami Marlins rookie relief pitcher Anthony Bender struck out all six batters he faced in Friday's game against the Atlanta Braves. Coming off the first actual poor outing of his major league career, Bender was impeccable in this one, throwing 29 pitches (21 strikes) in his two innings of work. Bender has a 0.74 ERA […]

David Hess Acquired By Marlins

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher David Hess was traded to the Miami Marlins for right-handed pitching prospect Justin Sterner and cash considerations, according to the Miami Herald. Hess was impressive at Triple-A Durham this season, earning a 2.81 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and 37 strikeouts to just five walks across 32 innings, including two […]

Yency Almonte Implodes On Friday

Colorado Rockies reliever Yency Almonte was destroyed on Friday night when he allowed six runs (five earned) on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a 9-3 loss to the Cardinals. The Rockies held a narrow 3-2 lead heading into the ninth inning before reliever Justin Lawrence blew the save, prompting the game […]

Michael Fulmer Could Return After All-Star Break

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Michael Fulmer's (neck) visit with Dr. Keith Meister confirmed a previous diagnosis of no shoulder issues, according to MLB.com. Fulmer, who was placed on the 10-day injured list last weekend with a right cervical spine strain, is headed to Low-A Lakeland and is not expected to back until after the All-Star […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 15 Waiver Wire

There's a very important holiday coming up this weekend and you will see fireworks lighting up the sky in celebration: the mid-point of the Major League Baseball season. Some teams have already played their 81st game, but most clubs will reach that number at some point this weekend. After the 2020 season, nothing else can […]

The Baller Ranks: Weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Rankings

We're onto July, meaning it's the second half of the season and our time to gripe about the All-Star Game selections. Pitchers are still adjusting to life with sticky checks and all we can do is put on a brave face. Hit the All-Star break in stride with my top 101 RP Baller Ranks, which […]

The Bigger Picture - Where We've Gone Wrong This Year

Expectations are a dangerous thing. They can dictate our decision-making processes well into the future and prevent us from seeing things as they truly are. The baseball season is the longest of any professional team sport, spanning eight full months including spring training. That means a lot will change throughout the course of the season […]

Ryan Pressly Locks Down 13th Save Friday

Houston Astros relief pitcher Ryan Pressly nailed down his 13th save of the season Friday in a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The 32-year-old gave up a leadoff single to start the ninth but rebounded to close out the game with two strikeouts. The 2019 All-Star has been stellar during the 2021 campaign, converting […]

Ranger Suarez Earns Win In Relief On Friday

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ranger Suarez pitched 1 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run to pick up the win when the home team walked off in the 10th inning. Suarez was called on in the ninth when Jose Alvarado ran into trouble. Two of Alvarado's baserunners scored on Suarez's watch, so Suarez was tagged […]

Jose Alvarado Allows Three Runs To Blow Save Friday

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado allowed three runs in 2/3 of an inning to blow a save versus the Padres on Friday. The hard-throwing righty was called on for a four-out save; he got out of the eighth inning, but ran into trouble in the ninth starting with, as usual, a leadoff walk. Alvarado […]

Scott Barlow Earns His Third Save On Friday

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Scott Barlow was called upon to close out the team's 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Barlow pitched a perfect ninth inning, allowing no hits or walks while striking out one. He earned his third save of the year. Save opportunities have been tough to come by lately […]

Heath Hembree Picks Up Second Save

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Heath Hembree threw a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Hembree struck out two and allowed one hit to pick up his second save of the season. The veteran reliever is trending up after a rough start to the season, having allowed three earned […]

Will Smith Collects Save Against Miami

Atlanta Braves closer Will Smith continues to rack up saves picking up his 17th of the season. After a blown save opportunity on July 1st against the Mets, Smith almost picked up another loss giving up one hit and two walks. He was able to get out of the jam to earn the save. The […]

Adam Ottavino Records Sixth Save Friday

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Adam Ottavino pitched the bottom of the 10th inning Friday against the Oakland Athletics, allowing one hit on route to his sixth save of the year. As long as Matt Barnes is around, Ottavino will always be the second choice in save situations, but should an injury arise, he would […]

Matt Barnes Blows Fourth Save Friday

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Matt Barnes blew his fourth save of the year against the Oakland Athletics Friday, allowing one run on an Elvis Andrus home run in the bottom of the ninth. He went on to earn the cheap relief win when the Red Sox won in 10 innings, improving his season record […]

Josh Hader Named NL Reliever Of The Month For June

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader was named June's National League Reliever of the Month on Friday. He was nothing short of dominant on the mound this past month, allowing three hits and four walks over 11 scoreless innings of work while striking out 18 and recording eight saves. After this past month, Hader is […]

Alec Mills Pitches Well In Loss

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Alec Mills picked up a tough loss on Friday versus the Cincinnati Reds. Mills went 5 2/3 innings and allowed two hits, two runs, one walk and nine strikeouts. Mills was cruising for most of his outing and left with two runners on two out in the bottom of the sixth […]