Jose Altuve, Collin McHugh Starting Rehab Assignments Friday

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (hamstring, knee) and pitcher Collin McHugh (elbow) will start their rehab assignments with Triple-A Round Rock on Friday. It'll be the second time Altuve goes out on a rehab assignment after suffering a setback. The 29-year-old All-Star could return to Houston's lineup early next week if all goes well. […]

Ryan Yarbrough Allows Five Runs

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough managed to get through six innings while allowing five runs on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. He's been able to throw a couple of nice games here and there but has been inconsistent as evidenced by his 5.59 ERA. Despite some rough starts, he's still been an […]

Matt Strahm Taps Out Early At Coors Field

San Diego Padres starter Matt Strahm was tagged for six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. Coors Field was not a favorable spot to return from an IL stint and Strahm did himself zero favors by allowing seven hits and four walks in the abbreviated outing. He fanned four on […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 11 Waiver Wire

Hockey is over (congrats, Blues), basketball is done very soon, and football won't start for a while. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage: BASEBALL! School's out, the sun is beating down across America, it's summer folks. And that means baseball takes center stage. This season is already showing the importance of relief pitchers, […]

Top 30 Impact Prospects for Redraft Leagues (Week 11)

Well, it finally happened. The Astros promoted No. 1 ranked 2019 impact prospect Yordan Alvarez last Sunday, perhaps to spark the offense or perhaps to increase his trade value while the club searches for controllable pitching. Or possibly both. Either way, he made his presence known immediately by homering in his first game which should […]

MLB Draft Analysis - Deeper Dynasty Prospects to Target

The role of the MLB Amateur Draft for fantasy baseball differs from league to league. Some dynasty leagues play into the amateur draft, so teams and owners will need to know more than the first round to be competitive. Below are draft prospects from the later rounds that will find themselves in good spots, with […]

David Robertson Back To Playing Catch

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher David Robertson (elbow) played catch on Tuesday for the first time since going on the injured list in mid-April with a sore elbow. There remains no timetable for Robertson to return, but he's been a bust for the Phillies and fantasy owners after signing a two-year, $23 million deal in January. […]

Steve Cishek Won't Be Out Long

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Steve Cishek (knee) thinks he'll only miss one or two games after he was carted off the field before the game on Wednesday after he was hit by a ball during batting practice while playing catch. He was diagnosed with a deep bruise inside his right knee. Cishek has a 3.21 […]

Joe Biagini Serving As Closer With Ken Giles Out

The Toronto Blue Jays placed closer Ken Giles (elbow) on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with right elbow inflammation. Right-hander Joe Biagini will serve as the closer in Giles' absence. Pitcher Jordan Romano was called up from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. Giles hadn't pitched since June 5. The hard-throwing right-hander has a […]

Three Boston Pitchers To Make Their Return Soon

Boston Red Sox pitcher Brian Johnson (elbow) will be activated from the injured list on Friday. Hector Velazquez (back) started his rehab assignment on Thursday. Knuckleballer Steven Wright's knee is feeling great and he's on track to return when he's eligible on June 25 after serving a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. All three pitchers are […]

Collin McHugh Expected To Start Rehab Assignment This Weekend

Houston Astros pitcher Collin McHugh (elbow) is expected to start a minor league rehab assignment this weekend after he threw a high-intensity bullpen session on Tuesday. McHugh has been out since May 21 and had a rough 6.04 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 48 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings in eight starts and two relief outings […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (6/14/19)

Welcome to the Friday, June 14th 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 […]

Matt Bush Could Return Soon

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Matt Bush (elbow) could join the bullpen before the end of the month after having surgery late last season for an elbow injury. He has completed his recovery in Arizona and is now pitching for Double-A Frisco. "He’s going to be soon," manager Chris Woodward said. "He’s not that far away. […]

Aaron Bummer Earns First Save Of Season

Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Aaron Bummer earned the save on Thursday after striking out two batters and allowing a hit in the ninth inning of Chicago's 5-4 victory over the Yankees. It was a night off for regular White Sox closer Alex Colome, who threw 39 pitches in Tuesday's save. Bummer is having a […]

Twins Still Using Multiple Pitchers For Ninth Inning

The Minnesota Twins continue to use a revolving door in the ninth inning in save situations, and manager Rocco Baldelli thinks that approach works best for his team. Five Twins pitchers have at least one save this season and right-hander Trevor May earned his first save on Tuesday against the Mariners. Blake Parker leads the […]

Craig Kimbrel Throws Live BP Thursday

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel threw 24 pitches of live batting practice on Thursday and will have "at least one more" live batting practice session. President Theo Epstein was careful not to say what he expects of Kimbrel next on the schedule. The plan is a "rough draft" that will go off of how […]

Ryan Yarbrough Rocked By Angels

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough gave up five runs in six innings vs the Angels Thursday. Yarbrough, who usually works behind an opener, was given the opportunity to start Thursday which proved to be a mistake. He served up a three-run homer to Shohei Ohtani in the first inning before settling in somewhat. Yarbrough's […]

Luke Jackson Earns 10th Save

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Luke Jackson earned his tenth save of the season Wednesday allowing two hits and an unearned run but hung on to preserve the win. Jackson was shaky again in this one, he's allowed at least one hit in ten straight appearances. His saving grace is an elite 35.8 percent strikeout rate […]

Hunter Strickland Suffers Setback

Seattle Mariners closer Hunter Strickland (lat) felt soreness while throwing his live batting practice session on Sunday and is putting his throwing program on hold for a few days. Manager Scott Servais called it a setback. Strickland has been out basically the entire season, so this is frustrating to his fantasy owners, but at least […]

Dellin Betances Dealing With Lat Strain

New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances (lat) is rehabbing a "low-grade" right lat sprain and has been shut down for a couple of weeks. The Yankees still expect Betances to have a big role in their bullpen in the second half of the season, but it's looking like he might not be back with […]

Fernando Romero Recalled

The Minnesota Twins recalled relief pitcher Fernando Romero on Thursday, optioning reliever Ryan Eades to Triple-A. In 2018, Romero started all 11 games he appeared in, posting a 4.69 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings. This season, he appeared in relief seven times, allowing five runs in eight innings. Triple-A didn't go much […]

Yonny Chirinos Allows Two Runs In Quality Start

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Yonny Chirinos fired six strong innings on Wednesday, allowing two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts against the A's. The Rays weren't able to give him much run support and the bullpen collapsed late in the game giving Chirinos a no-decision. This start brings him to a 7-2 record with […]

The Fantasy Injury Exam Room - Yoan Moncada, Caleb Smith and More

In our 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 medical […]

Shane Greene Reaches 20 Saves

Detroit Tigers closer Shane Greene logged his 20th save of the year on Wednesday against the Royals. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning and struck out one of the three hitters he faced, bringing his season ERA to 1.00 with a strikeout rate of 9.67 per nine innings of work. Greene is on track for […]

Greg Holland Reaches Double Digits In Saves

Arizona Diamondbacks closer Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth inning in Wednesday's 2-0 win against the Philadelphia Phillies, nailing down his 10th save of the season while lowering his ERA to 1.99. Holland rebounded from a shaky performance last time out in a non-save situation Monday in Philly. He has now converted saves in 10 […]

Digger Deeper: AL-Only Waiver Wire Report for Week 11

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 […]

Jesse Chavez Sees Scoreless Streak Snapped

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jesse Chavez allowed an earned run, two hits and two walks while retiring just one batter in a relief loss Wednesday in Boston. As such, his streak of 18 consecutive scoreless appearances came to a close. It wasn't like he was hit hard, as he allowed a bloop single and two […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (6/13/19)

Welcome to the Thursday, June 13th 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 […]

Daniel Poncedeleon Officially Starting Friday

After St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (hamstring) landed on the injured list earlier this week, the Cardinals announced that Daniel Poncedeleon will take his spot in the rotation for the time being. His first test will come Friday night in New York to take on the Mets in a decent streaming matchup. In one spot […]

Jon Duplantier Placed on Injured List

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jon Duplantier (shoulder) has been placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday. Duplantier is dealing with right shoulder inflammation that has led to his velocity dropping. The D-Backs are taking the safe route here and giving Duplantier some time off to rest. It's unclear how long he's going to be sidelined […]