Brandon Crawford To Make 10th Consecutive Opening Day Start

San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford will make his 10th consecutive opening day start on Thursday; he will become just the fourth Giants player to achieve that in the team's history. The 34-year-old had a decent 2020 season, slashing .256/.326/.465 with eight home runs and 28 RBI. He also had a strong spring, slashing .306/.395/.556 […]

Tucupita Marcano Beats Out Brian O'Grady In Roster Battle

The San Diego Padres announced infield prospect Tucupita Marcano made the Opening Day roster over outfielder Brian O'Grady. Marcano, the team's No. 6 prospect, was a long shot entering spring training but lit the Cactus League aflame, going 17-for-42 with six extra-base hits and a 1.098 OPS. The 21-year-old's reps in the outfield were apparently […]

Sam Haggerty Steals Seventh Spring Base

Seattle Mariners utility man Sam Haggerty has found ways to contribute all spring, and that continued Monday. Against the Cincinnati Reds, Haggerty went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI and stole his seventh base of the spring. Those seven steals lead the league, and he's accomplished that number in only 46 at-bats. With Kyle […]

Mets Offer Francisco Lindor 10-Year $325 Million Contract

The New York Mets have reportedly made a contract extension offer of 10-years, $325 million to shortstop Francisco Lindor. The Mets had been reportedly willing to go to, at least, $300 million to get a deal completed between the team and Lindor prior to Opening Day. It would appear the Mets have made good on […]

Yankees Option Thairo Estrada

New York Yankees infielder Thairo Estrada was optioned to the minor leagues after losing a roster battle with infielder Tyler Wade this spring. Estrada is buried behind several capable players on the team's depth chart, and it's unlikely that he receives much meaningful playing time as a result. Still, Estrada offers decent contact skills and […]

Tyler Wade Makes Opening Day Roster

New York Yankees infielder Tyler Wade will be on the team's Opening Day roster. Wade's defensive versatility effectively guaranteed him a spot on the team's crowded bench to start the season, but his roster spot could be threatened when first baseman Luke Voit (knee) rejoins the team in mid-May. A light-hitting 26-year-old with a career […]

Anderson Tejeda To Get More Minor League Seasoning

Texas Rangers infielder Anderson Tejeda was a surprise contributor to the club in 2020 but he'll open this year at the alternate training site. He had a solid showing in spring training by hitting 8-for-20 (.400) with three doubles and a BB-K of 3-8 but with Nick Solak at second base and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at […]

Jose Iglesias Lacks Fantasy Appeal

Los Angeles Angels shortstop Jose Iglesias will look to provide a defensive presence for the Angels infield heading into the regular season. The light-hitting infielder is slashing .256/.289/.512 this spring and will try and replace Andrelton Simmons at shortstop for the Angels. To be fair, Iglesias was incredible last season for the Orioles, slashing .373/.400/.556 […]

David Fletcher To Have Late-Round Value

Los Angeles Angels second baseman/shortstop David Fletcher is in line to become an important cog at the top of the Angels lineup heading into the season. Casual fans may not know much about Fletcher but all the 26-year-old has done the past few seasons is hit. In 283 career games over the past three seasons, […]

Advanced MLB DFS Strategy: Targeting Pitchers Due For Regression

Spring is in the air and MLB regular season is only a few weeks away! Hopefully, you're using our RotoBaller rankings and preseason content to crush your season-long drafts and build some winners in your season-long leagues. If you haven't already read it, check out Jon Anderson's article about stacking hitters for GPPs and some great […]

Deeper Shortstop Draft Sleepers

This year could be the most fantasy friendliest for the shortstop position with six having an ADP of 25th or lower (according to current NFBC draft data) and nine with an ADP of 42nd or lower. You may be forgiven for thinking that you don't need to look deep into drafts for a shortstop. While […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Statcast xStats

Statcast is a valuable tool for fantasy analysis, and it can be easy to look at a stat called "Expected Batting Average" and blindly use it as your projection moving forward. Of course, proper use of these metrics is a little bit more nuanced than that. First, a disclaimer: This article is about the "Expected […]

Hitters Primed for Comebacks After Injury-Plagued Seasons

Injuries can be tough to manage for fantasy managers, especially coming off of a 2020 season that saw coronavirus have a significant effect. Additionally, injuries can sometimes be freak accidents, and it can be difficult to separate concerning injuries from noise. Still, there are general truths about injuries that can help fantasy managers properly value […]

Pierre Camus' Bold Predictions for 2021

Can any prediction really be considered bold after 2020? We hope for a return to normalcy but we also have to remember that the very definition of normal is constantly changing. I've never shied away from pushing the envelope when it comes to this bold predictions column, so this year will be no exception. I […]

Which Batters Are Being Overlooked in 2021?

Pre-season analysis has achieved peak velocity, and at this point, we've started to hear certain names mentioned again and again: Jarred Kelenic, Andrew Vaughn, Randy Arozarena. Those three examples follow the expected pattern: young, exciting players whose potential outstrips the established knowledge. Put more simply, there are interesting things to say about Kelenic, Vaughn, and Arozarena. But […]

Finding Breakout Power Hitters Using Barrel Rates

In part one of this article, I explained how important Statcast is to determining surface stats and the usefulness of barrel rates. Before continuing, I would recommend checking out that article if you're interested in learning how Statcast metrics affect surface stats and player outcomes, and which Statcast metrics are the best predictors of success (hint: […]

Chad Pinder To Occupy Super Utility Role

Oakland Athletics infielder Chad Pinder is again slated to be a "super-utility player" for the team this season, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Pinder's versatility makes him a very valuable player for the A's, but less so in fantasy, even if he finds himself starting four or five games per week. Non-starters can have […]

Jose Garcia To Open Season In Minors

Despite impressing early in camp, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Jose Garcia lost his bid to make the big league team once Eugenio Suarez proved that he could handle shortstop. Garcia was optioned to Cincinnati's Triple-A affiliate in Louisville last week where he will bide his time. The young infielder was recently graded to have the best […]

Updated Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021

Opening day is just around the corner. So what better way to celebrate the occasion than to refresh the Top 50 prospects list for 2021 redraft leagues. If you're a habitual prospect watcher then you could have a leg up on your fantasy competition in 2021. Managers around baseball will heavily rely on rookies like […]

Paul DeJong Struggling In Grapefruit League Play

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong has struggled in Grapefruit League play this season. In 43 spring at bats, DeJong is hitting just .209 with a .571 OPS. He's hit just one home run so far. DeJong is not in any danger of losing any regular season playing time, but he's been such a streaky […]

Tucupita Marcano Has Fighting Chance To Make Team

San Diego Padres infield prospect Tucupita Marcano has raked this spring and has a chance to make the Opening Day roster. The Friars No. 6 prospect has gone 15-for-36 with six extra-base hits, tallying a 1.167 OPS. A long shot entering March, Marcano's strong performance and injury to starting center fielder Trent Grisham (hamstring) has […]

ATC Projections Volatility for Multi-Category Players

One year ago, I penned my very first article on RotoBaller. I am truly honored that the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) awarded the piece as the 2020 Baseball Article of the Year. “Finding Combo-Player Values Using Z-Scores and ATC Projections” provided a new perspective on how to find helpful multi-category players to fill out […]

2021 ATC Projections: Hitter Surprises

By their nature, projection systems don’t typically offer many big surprises. Outside of Lucas Giolito’s ZiPS projection, there aren’t many player projections that jump off of the page this season. Still, even seemingly small surprises can have significant fantasy implications, and it’s worth exploring those surprises. To add an element of objectivity to this analysis, […]

2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to once again reveal their favorite preseason draft sleepers. We recently asked some of our top fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely […]

Analyzing the Theory of Hot and Cold Streaks

You hear it all the time. "This pitcher is really locked in right now" or "this hitter is just seeing the ball so well recently." Looking for patterns and explanations is part of human nature. This manifests itself in sports by people picking up on hot and cold streaks and making quite a big deal […]

Francisco Lindor With Three More Hits On Saturday

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk on Saturday in Grapefruit League play against the Houston Astros. Lindor is now batting a robust .388/.444/.653 with four home runs, 14 RBI, and one stolen base in 49 spring training at-bats. After a sluggish start to spring training, Lindor is now […]

Eugenio Suarez Expected To Be Everyday SS

The Cincinnati Reds are expected to make Eugenio Suarez their everyday shortstop this season, according to general manager Nick Krall. It is highly likely that Suarez is at shortstop on Opening Day when the Reds face off against the St. Louis Cardinals. Krall said, "I feel good about it. He has played well. He has […]

Jon Berti Hits A Triple On Saturday

Miami Marlins super utility man Jon Berti had another good game in a Grapefruit League matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Berti got the start at third base and went 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. He's hitting a strong .435 with a 1.168 OPS in the spring and has gotten playing […]

Joe Panik Makes Blue Jays Roster

Toronto Blue Jays infielder Joe Panik has made the club's opening day roster. The veteran utility player was in camp as a non-roster invitee and will need to be added to the club's 40-man roster. He was informed that would likely not occur until Major League Baseball's deadline to set rosters because the Jays' roster […]

Eric Samulski's Bold Predictions for 2021

It's bold prediction time! Everybody's favorite time of year. Last year I put out my bold prediction article, and it was a doozy. Obviously, publishing it before the shutdown which delayed the MLB season impacted some of the claims, but, actually, no, I'll just blame everything on that. Anyways, I'm back again to plant my […]