Kirby Yates Still Elite Closer Option After Rocky Start

San Diego Padres closer Kirby Yates had two straight two-run outings at the end of July that will definitively damper his ERA for the remainder of 2020. In such a shortened season, owners will have to rely on stuff and pitch mix moving forward, rather than gaudy small sample size stats. Following another save Friday, […]

Corbin Burnes Doesn’t Have Defined Role Moving Forward

Milwaukee Brewers right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes has pitched once out relief and once out of the starting rotation this season. Where will his next appearance come? Manager Craig Counsell won’t say. Citing it to be in the club’s interest to not announce when Burnes is pitching, owners are left in flux as to what kind […]

Brandon Workman Collects Third Save of Season

Boston Red Sox closer Brandon Workman worked a clean ninth inning to earn his third save of the season in Friday's 5-3 victory against the Blue Jays. The 31-year-old received tremendous support from his defense with the first batter he faced, as infielder Travis Shaw crushed a ball over the right fielder wall that was […]

Evaluating Rookie Performances - Week 4

Happy Jo Adell week everyone! It may not have been the most thrilling way for Adell to begin his big league career, with a whimper of a single followed by a quad injury two days later, but there’s still plenty to discuss with the Angels’ new slugger and some fellow rookies who made headlines this […]

Julio Urias Effective In No-Decision

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Julio Urias allowed one run on three hits across four innings of work during Friday's 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. He struck out two batters while walking two. The 23-year-old needed 78 pitches to complete the four frames, so it was not the most efficient effort. Nevertheless, Urias mitigated […]

Devin Smeltzer Has So-So Outing

Minnesota Twins pitcher Devin Smeltzer pitched 4 1/3 innings against the Royals, allowing two runs while walking one and striking out a pair. Smeltzer left in a tie game so he couldn't factor into the decision, though it was a somewhat successful debut for his new slider. The 24-year-old threw the pitch 15 times and […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the August 8th 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 […]

Pocket Aces: Week 4 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis. In this episode he breaks down some of his recommend players to target as fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and adds for Week 4 of the 2020 MLB season. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller […]

Adam Ottavino Takes The Loss On Friday

New York Yankees relief pitcher Adam Ottavino took the loss on Friday, allowing one run over one inning of work. A pair of walks were Ottavino’s undoing on Friday, but there don’t appear to be any long-term concerns regarding his control. The primary issue for Ottavino’s fantasy value is his role; as a part of […]

Nick Vincent Earns A Save On Friday

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Nick Vincent earned a save on Friday, his first since the 2016 season. With Brad Boxberger and Brandon Kintzler both unavailable due to recent usage, Vincent stayed in to pitch the ninth inning after getting the Marlins through the eighth. He ended up with 1 2/3 innings pitched, allowing one hit […]

Ryan Helsley Tests Positive For COVID-19

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley has tested positive for COVID-19 as announced by the team on Friday. Fellow reliever Austin Dean also tested positive, pushing the Red Birds to nine positives this week and forcing the league to postpone their weekend series versus the Cubs. Helsley was a candidate for saves entering the season, […]

Nick Vincent Picks Up Save For Marlins

Miami Marlins reliever Nick Vincent picked up the save in 1.2 innings of work on Friday. Vincent was signed to a minor league contract at the end of July but was called up as the Marlins' roster began to thin after a COVID-19 outbreak. While it's good for Vincent that he locked down the save, […]

Aaron Bummer Leaves Game With Bicep Soreness

Chicago White Sox pitcher Aaron Bummer (biceps) left Friday's game with left biceps soreness. Bummer pitched 1.2 innings, allowing a hit and walking a pair before being replaced by fellow reliever Evan Marshall. White Sox manager Rick Renteria said that Bummer will be re-evaluated on Saturday. The 26-year-old had 12 strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched […]

Rafael Montero Activated From Injured List

Texas Rangers reliever Rafael Montero (elbow) has been activated off the 10-day injured list. Montero threw an inning on Wednesday at the team's alternate training site and it went well so he's now able to join the big club. Texas is in need of a steady presence in the ninth inning after Jose Leclerc (shoulder) […]

Braves and Phillies Game Postponed Due To Weather

Friday's game between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies has been postponed due to inclement weather. The teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday. Owners in daily lineup formats and DFS players should remove any Braves and Phillies in their lineups.

Robert Gsellman Activated Off The IL

New York Mets relief pitcher Robert Gsellman (triceps) was activated off the injured list on Friday. Gsellman missed, roughly, the first two weeks of the 2020 season. In 2019, Gsellman produced a 4.66 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and struck out 60 in 63 2/3 innings pitched. Gsellman allowed only a 3.7% overall barrel rate and overall […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 3 Waiver Wire

Before this 60-game season started, we all knew every little thing would matter more. We knew that every game was, essentially, 2.7 times as important as a regular game in a 162-game season. We knew managers would have much shorter leashes on their underperforming players, and perhaps much quicker promotions for the quick starters. But […]

Cubs Vs. Cardinals Game Postponed On Friday

Friday's scheduled game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals has been postponed due to another positive COVID-19 test. The Cardinals have had their season paused after a bunch of positive tests, but they were cleared to return to play on Friday before a new positive test threw a wrench in those gears. […]

Touki Toussaint Strong In Thursday's No-Decision

Atlanta Braves starter Touki Toussaint allowed three runs on four hits across 6 2/3 innings of work during Thursday's 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The 24-year-old right-hander was cruising through six innings before the Blue Jays managed to put a two-run rally together. Toussaint struck out a career-high nine batters without issuing a […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the August 7th 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 […]

Brandon Kintzler Escapes With His Third Save On Thursday

Miami Marlins closer Brandon Kintzler earned his third save of the season in Thursday's win over the Baltimore Orioles. He wasn't great, allowing a run on three hits, but he was able to record three outs and save the 8-7 win for the red hot Marlins. Kintzler makes for a better "real life" closer than […]

Tyler Anderson Pitches Well In Spot Start Thursday

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Anderson turned in a great performance in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Rockies. Anderson pitched five innings, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The 30-year-old has now made two starts and four total appearances and owns a 2.19 ERA with seven strikeouts over […]

Ryan Pressly Gets Save Chance Thursday

Houston Astros right-handed pitcher Ryan Pressly has not officially been announced as the club’s closer in the wake of Roberto Osuna’s (elbow) injury, but he was tasked with pitching the ninth Thursday against Arizona. Pressly had appeared just once all season, but with the Houston relief corps severely undermanned, he would seemingly make the most […]

Taylor Rogers Blows Save Against Pirates

Minnesota Twins closer Taylor Rogers blew his first save of 2020 and was saddled with the loss against the Pirates on Thursday. Rogers gave up three hits in the ninth, including a single that made it through the Twins' drawn-in infield. The 29-year-old was probably due for a bad outing, considering he had surrendered just […]

Kelvin Herrera Inks Deal With Cubs, Eyes Bullpen Spot

Right-handed pitcher Kelvin Herrera has latched on with the Cubs after a brief two-game tenure with the White Sox to open 2020. Things went sideways for the veteran righty to start the year, yielding four runs in 2 ⅓ innings. While his 2019 numbers (6.14 ERA in 51 ⅓ frames) aren’t promising either, Herrera has […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the August 6th 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 […]

Kwang Hyun Kim Enters Starting Rotation, Closer Spot Open

St. Louis Cardinals left-handed pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim has been tabbed to take the rotation spot left voided by Carlos Martinez, thereby opening up Cardinals closer’s duties. Kim served predominantly as a starter during his time in Korea, but opened the year in the St. Louis bullpen as injuries and absences piled up. Having compiled […]

Braves Activate Will Smith On Thursday

Atlanta Braves reliever Will Smith (COVID-19) has been activated by the team and will be active in the bullpen for Thursday's contest against the Blue Jays. Smith has been recovering after a positive test and was able to throw a simulated game session on Thursday. While he will have competition for saves from fellow reliever […]

Week 3 MLB Closers & Bullpen Usage Report

As this weird, altered season progresses, the imbalance in the schedule becomes a bigger and bigger issue. Some teams have already played double-figure games, while others have played just a single series. This imbalance is obviously troublesome for the standings with the playoffs not all that far off in the grand scheme. It is also […]

Top 50 Prospects for Fantasy Baseball Redraft: Week 3 Rankings

We have yet to play two full weeks of the Major League Baseball season but we’ve already witnessed a great many things in 2020 — some good, some not so good. But, on the plus side, this crazy season — and its 30-man rosters — has afforded quite a few opportunities to MLB rookies, especially […]