Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the September 18th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Seth Lugo Hit Hard By Phillies On Thursday

New York Mets pitcher Seth Lugo managed to go only 1 2/3 innings against the Phillies on Thursday in the Mets' 10-6 win. Lugo was pummeled for eight hits and six earned runs, while giving up four home runs in his brief appearance. Lugo's ERA on the season rose to 4.34, while his ERA in […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 9 Waiver Wire

It feels like the season just started. Remember drafting your team? Remember how excited you were about your roster? Well, I hope you're still excited, because it's time for playoffs (in most leagues). This has been a weird season and 40-something games was not nearly enough to determine what fantasy managers deserved an appearance in […]

Sam Selman Locks Down First Career Save Thursday

San Francisco Giants left-handed pitcher Sam Selman logged the first save of his career against the Mariners on Thursday. Entering the day, Selman’s 153 ERA+ was tops on the Giants’ pitching staff, although it’s not clear if he’ll be seeing more save chances over the final week-plus. No healthy member of the San Francisco bullpen […]

Caleb Ferguson Set For Second Tommy John Surgery

Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson (elbow) is done for the remainder of the 2020 season and likely most of 2021 as well. Ferguson will undergo the second Tommy John surgery of his career next week in response to the results of his latest MRI on his pitching elbow. Ferguson had developed into a crucial […]

Jacob Waguespack Lands On Injured List With Back Strain

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Jacob Waguespack was placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Thursday’s contest against the Yankees due to a strained left back. Things have gone sideways out of relief for Waguespack in 2020, having amassed an 8.15 ERA and 2.04 WHIP across 11 appearances. He becomes the latest Blue Jays […]

Padres-Mariners Series Shifted To San Diego This Weekend

The series scheduled for Friday-Sunday between the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners that was originally planned to take place at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, has been shifted to Petco Park in San Diego due to air-quality concerns. With wildfires raging in the Pacific Northwest, the Mariners already had multiple games against the Giants shifted […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the September 17th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Liam Hendriks Earns Five-Out Save At Colorado

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Liam Hendriks was called on in the eighth inning to protect a two-run lead at Colorado on Wednesday and was able to hold on for the save. Hendriks allowed one hit and struck out two as the closer nailed down his league-leading 13th save. Hendriks came out of nowhere in 2019 […]

Freddy Peralta Grabs Win In Game 2

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Freddy Peralta (3-1) pitched two perfect innings and struck out three to earn the win in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Cardinals. Peralta followed opener Brent Suter in the contest. The 24-year-old Peralta was particularly impressive in the fifth inning, striking out the side on 14 pitches. He's posted […]

Edwin Diaz Picks Up Fourth Save

New York Mets right-handed relief pitcher Edwin Diaz threw a scoreless inning of work on Wednesday picking up his fourth save of the season in the Mets' 5-4 win against the Phillies. For the second night in a row, Diaz stuck out the side in his lone inning of work. He allowed only a two-out […]

The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 9)

Last week I wrote that the schedule had begun to have an outsized impact on value. At this point, it's not impacting projected value even more than recent performance. There are exceptions to that, but that's the overarching rule this week. Paul Goldschmidt's value has been buoyed by this aspect for much of the season. […]

Andrew Chafin Throws Simulated Game

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Andrew Chafin (finger) threw just over 20 pitches in a sim game on Wednesday, and the team is optimistic about the 30-year-old’s progress. Chafin could reasonably return as soon as this weekend and should help a Chicago bullpen that owns a middling 4.47 ERA for the season. With a solid 3.46 […]

Matt Magill Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Matt Magill (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the 2020 MLB season as a result. Magill came into the season as a closer option in a crowded (but not very good) Seattle bullpen, and he tossed nine scoreless innings mixed with a pair of […]

The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings

We're already on the back nine of September, barreling towards the end of fantasy baseball, which means the Week 9 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks are here for a weekly dive into how the top 101 RPs stand for the home stretch. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. […]

Top 50 Prospects for Fantasy Baseball Redraft: Week 9 Rankings

It’s been a crazy ride this summer. The shortened 2020 fantasy season is winding down with less than two weeks remaining before the Major League Baseball playoffs begin. This will be our last update of the Top 50 redraft prospects for the year. It was a challenging season, to say the least, with no minor […]

Week 9 MLB Closers & Bullpen Usage Report

Monitoring bullpens in 2020 will be a vital task each and every day. Because of this, we'll be publishing a weekly article at RotoBaller that tracks which bullpens are being taxed and which pitchers within that bullpen are being heavily used. The idea of this column is to help you gain an inside track into which […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the September 16th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Ken Giles Lands Back On Injured List With Flexor Strain

Toronto Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Ken Giles (elbow) had a long road to returning in 2020, but he made two appearances before landing back on the injured list Wednesday. Having opened the year in the club’s closer role, Giles has been supplanted by breakout performances from Rafael Dolis, Anthony Bass and Jordan Romano at the back […]

Caleb Ferguson Placed On Injured List

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson (elbow) has been placed on the injured list and is set to undergo an MRI on his elbow. Ferguson suffered the injury while pitching in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game. He was taken out of the game as the team took a look at him. Ferguson has […]

Chris Devenski Undergoes Arthroscopic Surgery

Houston Astros relief pitcher Chris Devenski underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to have a bone spur removed on Wednesday. He is expected to be make a full recovery by spring training 2021. Devenski was only able to make four appearances this year and struggled mightily in them, posting a 14.73 ERA and 2.73 […]

Kenley Jansen Unavailable To Pitch On Wednesday

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen will not be available out of the bullpen on Wednesday after making relief appearances in three of the past four days. Jansen closed out the team's victories on Sunday and Tuesday, earning his 11th save of the year in the latter of the two appearances. He also had […]

Dustin May Scratched, Brusdar Graterol To Start Wednesday

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Dustin May (foot) has been scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres. Brusdar Graterol will serve as the Dodgers opener for the contest. May took a comebacker off of his foot in his most recent start, and while it was determined there was no structural […]

Matt Harvey Headed To 10-Day Injured List

Kansas City Royals pitcher Matt Harvey was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lat strain on Wednesday afternoon. The 31-year-old suffered the injury during a relief appearance against the Tigers on Tuesday night. Harvey was horrendous in 2020, posting an 11.57 ERA and 2.74 WHIP across 11 2/3 innings. The former All-Star will […]

Kenley Jansen Picks Up 11th Save Of The Season

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen fired a scoreless ninth inning to notch the save in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres. It did not come easy, however, as Jansen surrendered two hits and a walk to load the bases with one out. Thankfully, the 32-year-old struck out the next two batters he […]

Adrian Morejon Serving As Opener Wednesday

San Diego Padres pitcher Adrian Morejon will serve as the team's opener on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. There was some hope that Chris Paddack (ankle) would return to start this game, but he is facing the Seattle Mariners on Friday instead. Morejon has posted a 2.53 ERA and 1.13 WHIP through 10 2/3 […]

Hector Neris Preserves Three-Run Lead For Fourth Save

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Hector Neris allowed one hit and one walk but didn't allow a run to earn his fourth save of the season in a win versus the Mets on Tuesday. Neris has been pitching better since being demoted from the closer role when the team acquired Brandon Workman from Boston. Neris has […]

Edwin Diaz Strikes Out The Side In One Inning Of Work

New York Mets right-handed relief pitcher Edwin Diaz threw a scoreless inning of work on Tuesday in the Mets' 4-1 loss to the Phillies, striking out the side. Diaz has posted a ridiculous 42 strikeouts in just 20 innings to go with a 1.80 ERA and 1.25 WHIP on the season. Diaz now boasts a […]

Michael Lorenzen Looks Good In Tuesday Start

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen pitched well in his first start of the 2020 season after making 15 appearances out of the bullpen. Lorenzen allowed one run over five innings while striking out six and scattering four hits in a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right-hander joined the rotation to cover for right-hander […]

Jeremy Jeffress Blows Save

Chicago Cubs closer Jeremy Jeffress entered Tuesday’s game with a 0.98 ERA, but he blew the save against the Indians. Jeffress allowed two walks and one hit, which was a two-run shot by Francisco Lindor to tie the game. Jeffress has been having a great season as the Cubs closer, and fantasy managers shouldn’t be […]