James Karinchak Is A Relief Pitcher To Know in 2020

One of the lesser-known players that intrigues me for the 2020 MLB season is Indians relief pitcher James Karinchak. The former Bryant Bulldog was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in the 2017 draft and went on to have one of the most outrageous statistical seasons in minor league baseball history. As someone who […]

2020 Relief Pitcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Often regarded as an inferior fantasy baseball format, points leagues offer a different style of boasting over your friends or coworkers similar to that of fantasy football. These setups are typically head-to-head formats for a one-week stretch where the player with the most points gets a win. Easy right? While it's true that roster construction […]

Corey Knebel Could Be Ready By Early May

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Corey Knebel (elbow) is scheduled to throw his fourth bullpen session on Friday, in which he'll throw around 20 pitches at 80 percent intensity. Barring setbacks, Knebel could return to the team's bullpen around the first week of May. The hard-throwing right-hander is coming back from Tommy John surgery that kept […]

Josh Hader Loses Arbitration Case

Milwaukee Brewers All-Star closer Josh Hader lost his salary arbitration case and will make $4.1 million in 2020 instead of the $6.4 million he was requesting. Hader, who turns 26 in April, had 37 saves in 44 chances in 2019 and was 3-5 with a 2.62 ERA in his second straight All-Star campaign in 2019. […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pitcher BABIP

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy owners should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what really matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. While some of this luck is unpredictable, we can and should predict some […]

Second Year Player Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET, Saturday nights from 9-11 PM ET […]

Felix Pena Should Be Healthy For Opening Day

Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon said that pitcher Felix Pena (knee) should be healthy by Opening Day. Pena is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last August, but he's ahead of schedule and could be an option to win the team's No. 5 rotation spot if he proves himself in spring training. The […]

Brusdar Graterol Will Be A Reliever

Los Angeles Dodgers pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol, who was acquired in the three-team blockbuster trade that sent Kenta Maeda to the Twins, will be a reliever with his new team, according to manager Dave Roberts. The Red Sox saw something in Graterol's medicals that they did not like, and they viewed him as a reliever […]

Tommy Milone Signs With Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles signed starting pitcher Tommy Milone to a minor league deal on Thursday, according to an industry source. Milone will be a non-roster invite in spring training. The 32-year-old lefty, 33 on Sunday, went 4-10 with a weak 4.76 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 23 outings (six starts) for the Mariners last year […]

Yonny Chirinos In Great Shape

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that pitcher Yonny Chirinos looks "awesome" after losing 15 pounds while working out this offseason. Chirinos went 9-5 with a 3.85 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 114 strikeouts and only 28 walks in 133 1/3 innings over 26 outings (18 starts) in 2019 for the Rays. He was slightly better […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. West

We've made it out west, folks! After covering every American League team and all of the National League East and Central, it's time for our final division of the winter: the National League West. The NL West has the bullpen that is likely to be the best in the National League. It also has one […]

Hunter Harvey To Begin Year As Reliever

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Hunter Harvey, a former first-round pick, will be a relief pitcher in 2020. A former top pitching prospect in Baltimore's system, Harvey never lived up to expectations because of injuries. But he made his big league debut in 2019 out of the bullpen and excelled, posting a 1.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and […]

Darwinzon Hernandez Could Be A Starter

Boston Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said that pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez is a relief pitcher right now, but the coaching staff discussed the idea of him starting again at some point. The 23-year-old left-hander made his MLB debut in 2019 by making one start and 28 relief appearances. He posted a 4.45 ERA and 1.75 […]

Red Sox View Brandon Workman As Their Closer

Boston Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke believes that relief pitcher Brandon Workman will be the team's closer entering the regular season, barring something unforeseen. “I think with what he did last year, he deserves that shot to be the closer,” Roenicke said. Workman became Boston's closer late in the year in 2019, posting a stellar […]

Keone Kela Earns Closer Role For Start Of 2020 Season

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Keone Kela has earned the closer role for the start of the 2020 season, as stated by Pirates manager Derek Shelton. Kela doesn't have all that much competition, but for the manager to name him the closer after just one workout has to be great news in terms of how his offseason […]

Dellin Betances Believes He'll Be Ready For Opening Day

New York Mets reliever Dellin Betances (shoulder, Achilles) told reporters on Tuesday that he will be ready for Opening Day. The 31-year-old endured a miserable 2019 season that was plagued with injuries, limiting him to only one appearance. Nevertheless, if Betances is ready for the start of the 2020 season, he will likely serve as […]

Wade Davis Will Enter Season As Closer

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black made it clear that relief pitcher Wade Davis will be the team's closer, with Scott Oberg as the primary setup man. "In a perfect world, Wade is our closer and Scotty pitches in front of him in some capacity," Black said. "That's based on Wade's great track record... That's our […]

David Robertson Could Return In Second Half

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher David Robertson (elbow), who had Tommy John surgery last year, isn't being ruled out from a second-half return in 2020. Robertson was a free-agent flop for the Phillies last season, as he appeared in just seven games (no saves) and allowed four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings pitched. The Phillies […]

2020 NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Late-Round Pitching Category Boosters (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Pitching strategies are challenging to master on draft day. Should you draft two elite starters early and then wait to finish out your rotation? Do you load up on hitting early and devour all the pitchers in the middle rounds? When do you grab […]

Talking Projections and Data-Based Drafting with Ariel Cohen

The fantasy baseball industry is driven by data and many analysts go so far as to develop their own systems for projecting value. Recently, ATC has become more popular as a baseline for those who are seeking a way to rank players for the upcoming season. I recently had a conversation with the man behind […]

Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling Trade Called Off

While the Los Angeles Dodgers re-agreed to the Mookie Betts and David Price trade, they changed their mind on their deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Contrary to previous reports, outfielder Joc Pederson and pitcher Ross Stripling are not headed to their in-state rivals, and will instead stick with the Dodgers for the time being. […]

Emilio Pagan Headed To San Diego

The San Diego Padres acquired relief pitcher Emilio Pagan from the Tampa Bay Rays on February 8. The Rays receive outfielder Manuel Margot and prospect catcher Logan Driscoll in the exchange. Pagan crushed the competition in 2019 with 20 saves, a 2.31 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 36 percent strikeout rate across 66 appearances. The 28-year-old […]

Brusdar Graterol Headed To The Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol from the Minnesota Twins for starter Kenta Maeda, $10 million, and a low-level minor-league player. The Boston Red Sox were initially supposed to acquire Graterol, but they rebuffed after looking at his medicals. The 21-year-old will instead join the Dodgers, and fill a vital role […]

Late Round Strikeout Sources: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET, Saturday nights from 9-11 PM ET […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: FIP and xFIP

The first advanced pitching stat most fantasy owners encounter is FIP. FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, and attempts to measure a pitcher's actual skill instead of the effects of luck or his supporting cast. According to the DIPS theory, pitchers control only Ks, BBs, and home runs allowed. Therefore, Ks, walks, and dingers are […]

2020 RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Reactions

Over the last couple weeks, RotoBaller's roster has grown with several new faces to join our esteemed veteran corps. We figured it would be nice to roll out the welcome wagon with a February fantasy baseball mock draft, putting six "RotoNewbs" with six RotoVets. It was a snake draft hosted on Fantrax, a traditional 5x5 format with […]

Ron Roenicke In Line To Become Next Red Sox Manager

Boston Red Sox bench coach Ron Roenicke is in line to replace Alex Cora as the team's next manager after a ruling comes down from Major League Baseball regarding their investigation of allegations that the Red Sox cheated in 2018. Roenicke has been the team's bench coach the last two seasons, and he was the […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. Central

We've covered all of the American League and the NL East, and next week we'll wrap things up with the National League West. This week, it's the National League Central's turn though. There are plenty of players with fantasy importance in the Central, and that rings true in the bullpens as well. The National League […]

Undervalued Power Hitters: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET, Saturday nights from 9-11 PM ET […]

Shane Greene Loses Arbitration Case

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Shane Greene lost his salary arbitration case against the team, according to a source. He'll earn $6.25 million in 2020 instead of the $6.75 million he requested. Greene put up a nice 2.30 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with the Tigers and Braves in 65 relief appearances last year. The right-hander also […]