Carlos Martinez Won't Be Built Up To Start

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said that relief pitcher Carlos Martinez won't be built back up as a starter despite Martinez's hope that he could return to the rotation after the All-Star break. Shildt isn't ruling out Martinez starting again at some point, but it doesn't look to be anywhere on the horizon. Because […]

Drew Smyly Designated For Assignment

Texas Rangers pitcher Drew Smyly was designated for assignment Thursday, effectively ending an unfortunate tenure with the club. Smyly had not pitched since 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. In 13 games with Texas this season, nine of them starts, Smyly allowed a whopping 19 home runs in just 51 1/3 innings. He also walked […]

Wade Davis Gets Save But Allows A Run

Colorado Rockies closer Wade Davis isn't having a good week. He appeared three times in the series with the Padres where the two teams combined to score more runs than had ever been scored in a four-game series. He allowed runs all three times, culminating in a spectacular meltdown on Sunday in which he allowed […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (6/20/19)

Welcome to the Thursday, June 20th 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 […]

Digger Deeper: AL-Only Waiver Wire Report for Week 12

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

John Gant Wins His Seventh Game on Wednesday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher John Gant was credited with his seventh win of the season on Wednesday, improving to a perfect 7-0. He also lowered his ERA to 1.58, tossing a perfect 11th inning before a Paul Goldschmidt walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning. Gant has been incredible this season and […]

Chad Green To Start Thursday

New York Yankees pitcher Chad Green will make the start on Thursday against the Astros. Green sports an ugly 7.54 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 30 K's in 22 2/3 innings over 22 outings (five starts), but he is coming off a two-inning start over the weekend in which he struck out all six White Sox […]

Blake Parker Heads To Emergency Leave List

The Minnesota Twins placed relief pitcher Blake Parker on the family medical emergency list on Wednesday and recalled pitcher Sean Poppen from Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. Parker has been playing second fiddle to Taylor Rogers in save situations of late but does have nine saves and a 4.26 ERA over 25 1/3 innings […]

Roberto Osuna Blows Save Versus Reds

Houston Astros relief pitcher Roberto Osuna blew his third save of the season Wednesday in Cincinnati. Osuna hadn't pitched in seven days and the first pitch he threw was ripped for a double. Osuna almost pitched around it by striking out the next two batters before giving up back-to-back singles to Nick Senzel and Jesse […]

The Fantasy Injury Exam Room - Noah Syndergaard, J.T. Realmuto and More

In our continuing weekly feature in collaboration with Inside Injuries, we take a comprehensive look into major injuries and their Fantasy implications. The medical team at Inside Injuries breaks down each player’s outlook from physical perspectives. RotoBaller then provides in-depth fantasy recommendations based on the impact of every injury breakdown. It’s an unrivaled combination of […]

Sean Newcomb To Concussion IL

Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb was placed on the seven-day injured list on Wednesday. Newcomb was hit in the head by a line drive back on June 15 and while it was unclear for a while how much time he'd miss, the Braves will clearly be without him for at least a few days now. […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (6/19/19)

Welcome to the Wednesday, June 19th 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 […]

Digging Deeper: NL-Only Waiver Report for Week 12

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Brandon Morrow Throwing Up To 135 Feet

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Brandon Morrow (elbow) is now throwing up to 135 feet, according to general manager Jed Hoyer. A little too late. Morrow has been out since the first half of last season and still is without a timetable for a return to Chicago's bullpen. It doesn't really matter now for fantasy purposes, […]

Hunter Strickland To Resume Playing Catch

Seattle Mariners closer Hunter Strickland (lat) will resume playing catch in the next day or two after his MRI exam didn't show any new injuries. Strickland felt soreness in his right lat while throwing over a week ago, but it looks like he avoided something much worse. The right-hander has two saves in three appearances […]

Cardinals Not Babying Jordan Hicks

St. Louis Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks was available on Sunday but he remained in the bullpen as insurance for a bullpen that didn't have any other available arms, according to manager Mike Shildt. Carlos Martinez pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his second save of the season, and Hicks completed the 10-day road trip […]

Jose Alvarado's Return Not Imminent

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jose Alvarado has returned to the United States after spending time in Venezuela with his family and will report to the team's spring training facilities to get some action in before returning from the restricted list. It's unclear exactly when he'll be back with the Rays, but the team could […]

Ken Giles Could Be Activated on Friday

Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles (elbow) could be activated when first eligible later this week. The 28-year-old has been one of baseball's best closers in 2019, recording a 1.08 ERA over 25 innings to go along with 42 strikeouts and just seven walks. Giles is one of the Blue Jays biggest trade deadline chips and […]

Matt Bush Looking Good

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Matt Bush (elbow) has thrown three scoreless innings in three outings for Double-A Frisco since coming off the injured list and has allowed one hit and struck out three. “He’s up to 95-96, and his stuff looks good,” assistant general manager Shiraz Rehman said. “He wants to be here, and we […]

Brian Flynn Vultures Win Against Seattle

Kansas City Royals reliever Brian Flynn has been on a roll since he returned from the Injured List (elbow). Flynn has worked 9 2/3 innings in relief so far, and is carrying a sparkling 0.93 ERA. On Monday, he showed off by shutting down the Mariners for two scoreless innings to allow his offense to […]

Ryan Brasier Nails Down Seventh Save

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless ninth inning, with a strikeout, to save a 2-0 win over Minnesota Monday. The 31-year-old needed just 11 pitches to clean up the inning and record his team-leading seventh save. He had just been activated from a week-long stint on the bereavement list. On the […]

Statcast Changeup Movement Profiles for Week 12

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers advanced stats and StatCast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. This will be my second installment using Statcast's new pitch movement tab to look at pitchers' […]

Raisel Iglesias Removed During Ninth Inning

Cincinnati Reds closer Raisel Iglesias was pulled early from a save chance on Monday. He got two outs in the eighth and the first out in the ninth inning before giving way to Michael Lorenzen, who wound up earning the save in the eventual 3-2 win over the Houston Astros. Iglesias did not allow a […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (6/18/19)

Welcome to the Tuesday, June 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 […]

Jeurys Familia Continues To Have Nightmare Season

The New York Mets brought reliever Jeurys Familia back during the offseason and former All-Star has not rewarded his club. After entering the seventh inning with his club down two runs Monday night in Atlanta, Familia loaded the bases before getting pulled. All three runs would score as the Braves blew the game wide open […]

Derek Law Named Opener for Monday

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Derek Law will draw the start against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. Law made a start last week and pitched one scoreless inning versus the Orioles. He'll attempt to do it again on Monday with Edwin Jackson following him out of the bullpen. Neither Law or Jackson are valuable fantasy […]

Taylor Scott Named Opener on Monday

Seattle Mariners pitcher Taylor Scott has been named the opener for Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals. Lefty Tommy Milone was supposed to draw the start, but he'll follow Scott out of the bullpen. Scott hasn't pitched well during his short time in the MLB, so expect Milone to pitch a majority of the […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (6/17/19)

Welcome to the Monday, June 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 […]

Hunter Strickland (RP, SEA) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 23% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Hunter Strickland has been on the injured list since late March with a Grade 2 right lat strain, but he appears to be nearing a return, possibly by the end of the month. The Mariners haven’t had much luck filling […]

Framber Valdez (SP/RP, HOU) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN: 39% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Since joining the Houston Astros pitching rotation, Framber Valdez has made two starts, both quality starts, allowing three earned runs across 13 innings while striking out 15 and walking just two. He has reduced his walks significantly from last year. In 2018, he had a […]