Dellin Betances' Velocity Down Again

New York Mets right-handed reliever Dellin Betances showed a decline in velocity on Tuesday in Grapefruit League action, an issue that has plagued him since spring training in 2020. Betances' four-seam fastball only averaged 90.6 mph on Tuesday, which was down a couple of mph from earlier this spring. Betances fastball unimpressively sat between 89-92 […]

Charlie Montoyo's 2022 Option Picked Up By Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays picked up manager Charlie Montoyo's 2022 option on Wednesday. The move gives the club some stability for at least the next two years. The decision should be welcomed by fantasy managers as Montoyo has pushed versatility among his players which has increased the fantasy value of players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. […]

Matt Andriese Throws Four Scoreless Innings Of Relief

Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Andriese continued to throw the ball well this spring, throwing four scoreless innings in a long-relief appearance against the Braves. Andriese originally came up as a starter with the Rays but has been effective since switching to the bullpen, posting a 3.00 K/BB ratio and a sub-4.00 FIP over the […]

Hunter Harvey Placed On 60-Day Injured List Tuesday

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Hunter Harvey (oblique) was placed on the 60-day injured list on Tuesday due to a strained left oblique. Per general manager Mike Elias, Hunter experienced "a pretty large strain in the oblique." The move corresponded with clearing a roster spot for newly signed third baseman Maikel Franco. The 26-year-old has experienced multiple injuries […]

Chasen Bradford Signs Minor-League Deal With Braves

The Atlanta Braves signed reliever Chasen Bradford to a minor-league deal on Tuesday, according to Jeff Passan. The 31-year-old missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Bradford last pitched with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. He owns a 3.89 ERA and 6.6 K/9 through 104 innings in his MLB career. Bradford bolsters […]

Roenis Elias Will Undergo Surgery

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Roenis Elias (elbow, forearm) will undergo arm surgery. Further details are not yet known, but it now seems as though Elias will not factor into the bullpen mix for at least the start of the season, if not much longer. Elias left Thursday's game after only a single batter, cutting short […]

A.J. Puk Will Pitch In Spring Training Game Wednesday

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher A.J. Puk (shoulder) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Wednesday, according to manager Bob Melvin. The 25-year-old lefty was once a top prospect in the A's system, but a myriad of injuries have derailed the early portion of his career. Puk missed the 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John […]

Trevor Rosenthal Scheduled To Pitch Wednesday

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (groin) is yet to appear in Cactus League action with his new team, but he's been throwing bullpen sessions and manager Bob Melvin said he is scheduled to pitch in Wednesday's game. Rosenthal is the presumed closer for the A's after signing a one-year deal in Oakland this offseason. […]

Matt Barnes Throws A Strong Inning Of Relief

Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes had another strong outing on Monday, striking out two in a scoreless inning of relief. Barnes has yet to allow a run in three scoreless outings this spring, making a strong case for the closer's role. His competition for the spot, Adam Ottavino, has also pitched well this spring, […]

Hirokazu Sawamura Struggles Monday

New Boston Red Sox reliever Hirokazu Sawamura had a rough outing on Monday, walking three and failing to finish his only inning of relief in Grapefruit League action. Sawamura, who came over from Japan this offseason, impressed scouts and fans alike with his upper-90s fastball and mid-90s splitter, but outings like this could quickly lose […]

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 […]

Shane McClanahan Has Struck Out Seven Straight

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan struck out the side on Monday against the Boston Red Sox. What's more impressive is that he's now whiffed seven straight batters going back to his first appearance on March 3. The southpaw is traditionally a starting pitcher but all three of his appearances this spring have been one-inning […]

Michael Lorenzen Strikes Out Three On Monday

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen allowed two runs over 3 2/3 innings of work in a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels in Cactus League action on Monday. Lorenzen struck out three and walked one while giving up two homers, both to Shohei Ohtani. The veteran right-hander now has a 9.39 ERA and seven […]

Matt Harvey Turns In Decent Start Monday

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Matt Harvey showed some positive signs in Monday's 12-3 win over the Pirates, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks with four strikeouts over four innings pitched. Harvey allowed a home run to Ke'Bryan Hayes in the first inning, but was able to get things relatively under control for the […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pitch Info

One of the most fundamental questions in fantasy sports is if a player's current performance is sustainable. More than any other sport, baseball has a slew of statistical measures that can be dissected in numerous ways to analyze player performance. Pitch Info is a publicly-available pitch tracking system that provides a lot of different data to […]

John Gant Works Into The Fifth Inning On Monday

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher John Gant got the start in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. Gant tossed 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out three. Gant's spring ERA of 5.79 isn't anything to be excited about, but he seems ticketed for the starting rotation […]

Dylan Floro Debuts With A Scoreless Inning On Monday

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Dylan Floro made his Marlins spring debut on Monday in a Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros. The former Dodger tossed a scoreless inning, allowing just one hit. Floro will pitch near the end of the Marlins bullpen and could have a chance to pick up saves if things go […]

Richard Bleier Strikes Out Two On Monday

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Richard Bleier got in 1 1/3 innings of work in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros. He struck out two and allowed just one hit. Bleier should be a fixture near the back end of the Marlins bullpen, but as a ground ball specialist, he doesn't offer the strikeout […]

Zach Britton Has No Timeline For A Return

New York Yankees relief pitcher Zach Britton (elbow) underwent surgery to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow last Wednesday, and manager Aaron Boone left Britton's timeline to return to the team open when speaking on Monday. Encouragingly, Britton's surgery went smoothly, and similar injuries have kept pitchers sidelined for around (and sometimes less […]

T.J. Zeuch Blanks Tigers For Three Innings

Toronto Blue Jays hurler T.J. Zeuch threw three shutout innings in relief on Monday against the Detroit Tigers. He allowed just one hit with a strikeout and four ground-ball outs. Through three spring games, the right-hander has allowed just one run in seven innings of work. A minor-league starter, Zeuch is battling to break camp […]

Jake Diekman Fires Scoreless Inning In Spring Training Game

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Jake Diekman threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning in a Spring Training game against the White Sox on Sunday. The 34-year-old lefty was among the most dominant relievers in baseball last season posting a 0.42 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. Obviously, he won't sustain that pace over a larger sample size, but […]

Roenis Elias Has A Serious Arm Injury

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Roenis Elias (forearm, elbow) exited Seattle's game on Thursday with an apparent arm injury which now appears to be quite serious. The 32-year-old reliever impressed early in camp but is now set to see multiple doctors over the next few days to determine his next steps. It's hard to imagine Elias […]

Trevor Rosenthal Threw A Bullpen On Sunday

Oakland Athletics reliever Trevor Rosenthal, who's been dealing with a mild groin strain, threw a successful bullpen session on Sunday and should make his Cactus League debut in two days. Rosenthal has been ramping up since straining his groin last week and should be good to go for Opening Day if he doesn't have any […]

Jordan Hicks Faces Just One Batter On Sunday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks made his first appearance in two years in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets. He threw 22 pitches, 18 for strikes, while averaging over 100 mph on his fastball. Despite all of that? He faced just one batter, issuing a 22-pitch walk to Luis Guillorme. […]

Chris Martin Will Make Debut In Next Two Days

Atlanta Braves reliever Chris Martin will make his Grapefruit League debut within the next two days, according to manager Brian Snitker. The Braves skipper noted that Martin is healthy and that everything is fine with him. He's just been pitching in simulated games as opposed to live ones. The 34-year-old righty was excellent for the […]

Jay Groome Makes Spring Debut In Relief

Former Boston Red Sox first-round pick Jay Groome made his spring debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless inning in relief against the Braves. Groome was the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he has struggled with injuries throughout his minor league career, throwing just eight innings since 2017. Still just 22, the door […]

Carson Fulmer Claimed By Reds

The Cincinnati Reds claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off of waivers after the Pittsburgh Pirates released him last week. Fulmer, a former first-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, posted a 4.35 ERA and 11 strikeouts, and five walks in 10 1/3 innings of work in 2020. He will look to catch on in the […]

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 […]

Adrian Morejon Whiffs Five Batters

San Diego Padres pitching prospect Adrian Morejon struck out five batters over three innings of work against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. The only run against him came on a solo home run by Ketel Marte to lead off the game. Morejon has 10 strikeouts and six walks with just two runs allowed through seven […]