Closers and Saves Report - Week 7 Waiver Wire

Let's talk about a Crazy Little Thing Called Saves. (Count it ✔) The Braves might have accidentally stumbled into one of the best closers in baseball. The Twins and Mariners continue to play the messy bullpen game, but it looks like maybe the Rays are settling into some kind of routine? The top two relievers in […]

Drew Steckenrider Avoids Surgery For Now

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Drew Steckenrider (elbow) visited with Dr. James Andrews, who confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right flexor strain. Andrews recommended rest for Steckenrider, and there is no timetable for his return. The 28-year-old isn't out of the woods yet and could eventually need to go under the knife, but he'll rehab […]

Dellin Betances Throws Tuesday

New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances (shoulder) played catch from 90 feet on Tuesday, according to manager Aaron Boone. Boone doesn't know when Betances will throw from a mound, but once he does, he could progress quickly. The hard-throwing right-hander hasn't pitched at all this year due to a shoulder impingement, but he could […]

Fantasy Baseball RookiePalooza: After Hours With RotoBaller Radio

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2019 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) - Monday through Friday from 6-7 am ET. You can also find new weekly shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, SoundCloud and on iTunes […]

Jose Leclerc Will Serve as Opener on Friday

Texas Rangers pitcher Jose Leclerc will serve as the opener for Friday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be Leclerc's first career start in the MLB. Leclerc began the season as the closer, but struggled, so Chris Martin took over as the closer in Arlington. Leclerc is expected to pitch an inning or […]

David Robertson To Miss Another Month

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher David Robertson (elbow) will be out for at least another month after Dr. James Andrews saw him for a second opinion on his right arm on Monday. Andrews advised Robertson to not throw for three weeks. The right-handed reliever, who signed for $23 million in the offseason, has been out since […]

Ryne Stanek To Open, Yonny Chirinos To Follow Friday

Tampa Bay Rays pitchers Ryne Stanek and Yonny Chirinos will make up the first two pitchers on Friday against the Yankees, respectively. Stanek typically pitches one to two innings on “opener” days with a couple of options to relieve him and pitch the next three to six innings. On Wednesday, Stanek opened and was followed […]

Richard Bleier Activated, Jimmy Yacabonis Optioned

The Baltimore Orioles did some bullpen shuffling Thursday, activating relief pitcher Richard Bleier from the 10-day injured list and sending pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis to Triple-A Norfolk. Bleier earned his first career save on April 1, but only has a 14.54 ERA in 4 1/3 innings this season. Even if he works his way into more […]

Carlos Martinez To Join Cardinals This Weekend

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (shoulder) will return to the Cardinals this weekend after his stint with Double-A Springfield this week. Martinez made an appearance in the minors on Wednesday. "I feel 100% right now," Martinez said. "I'm grateful to go back up." The right-hander will return to a bullpen role, which he's fine […]

Diego Castillo Logs Fifth Save

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Diego Castillo shut the door in a 1-0 win over the Marlins Wednesday. There hasn’t been much consistency in the back end of the Rays bullpen but Castillo has two saves in the past two weeks and is looking like the guy for now. Also, Emilio Pagan and Jose Alvarado […]

Digging Deeper: AL-Only Waiver Wire Report for Week 7

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 […]

Top 30 Impact Prospects for Redraft Leagues (Week 7)

Another week, another whack of promotions from the Top 30 list. In his eighth pro season, outfielder Harold Ramirez finally earned a shot with the last-place Marlins after hitting .355 in 31 Triple-A games. The Indians have finally turned to Oscar Mercado for help with their beleaguered outfield. With Collin McHugh struggling to a 6.37 ERA […]

Aroldis Chapman Picks Up Two Saves Wednesday

With two close victories Wednesday, the New York Yankees had closer Aroldis Chapman work twice. In the first game of the day, the Cuban native allowed a hit in the ninth, but locked down the save with a pair of strikeouts. In the nightcap, he once again entered with a two-run lead and struck out […]

Freddy Peralta Heads to the Bullpen

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta will move from the starting rotation to the bullpen. Chase Anderson (finger) will be activated from the injured list and draw the start versus the Diamondbacks on Saturday. Anderson has pitched well this season, posting a 3.20 ERA. Peralta has a 6.16 ERA in 30 2/3 innings of work, but […]

Seth Lugo Continues Dominance In DC

With three strikeouts to close out the ninth inning Tuesday night, New York Mets reliever Seth Lugo extended his scoreless appearance streak to nine as he continues to dominate the National League. During the streak he's also struck out 16 batters in 12 innings, lowering his ERA from 5.27 to 2.88. The 29-year-old has quickly […]

Angels Call Up Dual-Threat Jared Walsh

The Los Angeles Angels called up first baseman/relief pitcher Jared Walsh on Wednesday. Walsh will make his debut batting eighth against the Minnesota Twins. Walsh is the Angels 20th-ranked prospect currently, according to MLB Pipeline. The calling card for Walsh is his power, hitting 18 home runs and slugging .533 in 84 Triple-A games in […]

Roenis Elias Converts Seven-Out Save

Seattle Mariners reliever Roenis Elias was summoned in the seventh inning Tuesday night to get out of a two-out bases-loaded jam. He did just that striking out Chad Pinder to protect the team's one-run lead before striking out the side in a clean eighth inning. Elias ran into some trouble in the ninth after a […]

Blake Parker Picks Up Seventh Save

Minnesota Twins closer Blake Parker pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to nail down his seventh save in a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. Parker struck out one batter and had to work around three baserunners to get the save. The Twins have dabbled with a closer by committee approach this season, […]

Rest of Season Relief Pitcher Rankings - May Update

We are more than six weeks deep into the 2019 MLB season, so we're whipping it around the horn for a Rest-of-Season update of our mixed rankings analysis. RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Bill Dubiel and Scott Engel want you to crush the competition and know that rankings can't end on draft day. After […]

The Fantasy Injury Exam Room - Jose Altuve, Tyler Glasnow 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 […]

Digging Deeper: NL-Only Waiver Wire Report for Week 7

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 To Be Evaluated This Week

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Brandon Morrow (elbow) will be evaluated this week and could resume throwing if everything checks out. Morrow has missed the whole season thus far as he is recovering from right elbow surgery and has not thrown in the big leagues since last July. With Pedro Strop (hamstring) also on the injured […]

Manny Banuelos Exits With Sore Shoulder

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Manny Banuelos left Tuesday’s contest versus the Indians with a sore left shoulder. Banuelos went four innings before exiting and allowed four hits, five runs, three walks and struck out five. Banuelos will be re-evaluated on Wednesday before a decision is made on whether he will be good to go […]

Julio Urias Arrested For Domestic Battery

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias was arrested on Monday night for suspicion of domestic battery. The Dodgers released a statement saying that they "are in the process of gathering information," but will fully cooperate with authorities and Major League Baseball to ensure proper discipline is enforced if needed. Urias has produced a 2-2 record […]

Statcast xSLG Studs and Duds for Week 7

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. The next stat we will use is one that utilizes exit velocity and launch angle to […]

Brad Hand Saves His Eleventh Game on Sunday

Cleveland Indians closer Brad Hand closed out his 11th game of the season on Sunday, tossing a perfect inning with a strikeout. It was a good bounce back from Hand after coughing up a home run and taking a loss earlier in the weekend. Hand has been great this season and needs to be started […]

Luke Jackson (RP, ATL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 26% of leagues ANALYSIS: It has been a tumultuous start to the 2019 season for the Atlanta Braves bullpen. Arodys Vizcaino broke many a heart by landing on the 60-day IL after having surgery on his elbow, A.J. Minter was recently demoted for Jonny Venters as he failed […]

Chris Martin (RP, TEX) - Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Adds

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 4% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: Earlier today the Texas Rangers placed Shawn Kelley on the injured list with an infection. Kelley had been acting as the Rangers closer ever since Jose Leclerc was removed from the role. It's unclear how long Kelley will be out for, so it's time […]

Hansel Robles (RP, LAA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: Few ninth inning situations are as confusing as the one led by Brad Ausmus down in Los Angeles. First it was Cody Allen, but injuries and ineffectiveness have left him on the outside. Then, briefly, it was Ty Buttrey, who has been LA's […]

Roenis Elias (RP, SEA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 38% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Mariners' bullpen has been pretty terrible this season, ranking toward the bottom of MLB in home runs, walks, and ERA. An early-season injury to Hunter Strickland has left them mostly employing a committee approach to the late innings. However, Roenis Elias has been […]