Rafael Devers With Three Home Runs This Spring

Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers has delivered some solid power numbers so far this spring. Over 11 games and 29 at-bats, he's hit three home runs and tallied seven RBI. He's slashing .207/.258/.552. Devers had his breakout season in 2019, when he hit .311 with 32 home runs, 115 RBI and 129 runs. […]

Triston Casas, Jarren Duran Reassigned To Minors

The Boston Red Sox have made several roster moves on Wednesday. The team is sending its top prospect, first baseman Triston Casas, to the minor leagues. Outfielder Jarren Duran, the team's No. 4 prospect, has been reassigned as well. Duran had a strong spring with the club, slashing .318/.375/.773 with two home runs and two […]

Tanner Houck Optioned To Alternate Site

Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck has been optioned to the team's alternate site. Houck had an abysmal spring with the club. He walked 10 batters over 6.1 innings and posted an 8.53 ERA and 2.53 WHIP. The 24-year-old Houck made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2020 and performed exceptionally well. He […]

Boston Names Eduardo Rodriguez As Opening Day Starter

Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez has been tabbed as the club's Opening Day starter for April 1 versus the Orioles. Rodriguez missed the entire 2020 season after dealing with severe complications stemming from COVID-19, which included myocarditis. The ailment makes Rodriguez something of an unknown heading into the new year, although the Red […]

Sam Chinitz's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021

The 2021 MLB regular season is less than one month away, so it’s time for some bold predictions. Last year’s bold predictions didn’t pan out too well for me; if we’re being generous, two out of the ten predictions hit -- and that’s including Corey Kluber posting a sub-3.00 ERA (which technically happened, even if […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Third Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Danny Santana Will Miss At Least Two More Weeks

Boston Red Sox utility man Danny Santana (foot) was hospitalized earlier in the week due to a foot infection, an ailment which has now been cleared up. Santana was allowed to leave the hospital Wednesday after receiving stitches, but his timeline for a return to game action has been pushed back. Santana appeared in just […]

Franchy Cordero Could Miss Opening Day

Boston Red Sox outfielder Franchy Cordero has been working his way back from a bout with COVID-19, shifting his timeline for his regular-season availability. Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that there was "a chance" that Cordero would be cleared in time for April 1 against Baltimore, although the team's glut of reserve outfielders could help […]

Matt Andriese Throws Four Scoreless Innings Of Relief

Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Andriese continued to throw the ball well this spring, throwing four scoreless innings in a long-relief appearance against the Braves. Andriese originally came up as a starter with the Rays but has been effective since switching to the bullpen, posting a 3.00 K/BB ratio and a sub-4.00 FIP over the […]

Red Sox Will Open Season With Five-Man Rotation

After experimenting with an opener and a six-man rotation in 2020, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced on Monday that the Red Sox will be returning to the five-man rotation. This is promising fantasy news for each of the Red Sox starters, who will now have free reign to eat up innings, but none […]

Alex Verdugo Continues To Struggle

Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo went 0-for-3 on Tuesday, dropping his already low spring training average to an anemic .111. Verdugo was one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox last year, hitting .308 with a 126 OPS+ while placing 12th in the American League MVP race. Verdugo has hit at every […]

Tanner Houck Gets Roughed Up Again

Boston Red Sox starter Tanner Houck allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves. In three spring appearances, his ERA is now at 8.53 and he has an underwhelming K:BB of 4:10. Houck entered camp with an opportunity to secure one of the starting slots for the Red […]

Matt Barnes Throws A Strong Inning Of Relief

Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes had another strong outing on Monday, striking out two in a scoreless inning of relief. Barnes has yet to allow a run in three scoreless outings this spring, making a strong case for the closer's role. His competition for the spot, Adam Ottavino, has also pitched well this spring, […]

Hirokazu Sawamura Struggles Monday

New Boston Red Sox reliever Hirokazu Sawamura had a rough outing on Monday, walking three and failing to finish his only inning of relief in Grapefruit League action. Sawamura, who came over from Japan this offseason, impressed scouts and fans alike with his upper-90s fastball and mid-90s splitter, but outings like this could quickly lose […]

Nick Pivetta Has Another Strong Outing

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta looked good again in Monday's start, throwing four innings of one-run ball while striking out four and walking just one. Pivetta has been sharp from his very first pitch this spring, as evidence by his 8:1 K:BB ratio. With Matt Andriese struggling and prospect Tanner Houck pitching in relief, […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Injury Updates

Injury updates tend to change often during Spring Training. "Soreness" is a common theme as players get back into game shape. I will be giving the most recent available injury updates from the offseason. These updates will undoubtedly change as Spring Training continues. As we get closer to Opening Day, some injuries are much more […]

Michael Chavis Homers Again

Boston Red Sox utilityman Michael Chavis hit his fourth home run of the spring on Monday, continuing to make a strong impression as he fights for a roster spot. Chavis is coming off a down 2020 in which he dealt with injuries and posted just a 69 OPS+. Chavis has been very vocal about his […]

Later-Round First Basemen - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, everyone wants to draft some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have playing time concerns. […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 1)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, and Outfield. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on early spring training action. You can […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways: Recapping Week 2 - Bases Loaded Podcast

Continuing on to week two of Spring Training lineup coverage! Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, […]

Jay Groome Makes Spring Debut In Relief

Former Boston Red Sox first-round pick Jay Groome made his spring debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless inning in relief against the Braves. Groome was the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he has struggled with injuries throughout his minor league career, throwing just eight innings since 2017. Still just 22, the door […]

Xander Bogaerts Continues To Feel Good After Weekend Debut

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (shoulder) reiterated the claim that he will be ready for Opening Day, saying he felt good after his spring training debut on Friday and Saturday. Serving as the designated hitter in both games, Bogaerts went 0-2 on Friday but hit an RBI double against star rookie Ian Anderson on Saturday. […]

Jeter Downs Leaves Game With Injury

Boston Red Sox middle infielder Jeter Downs left Sunday's game with what is being described as a left side injury. Downs, the Red Sox's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, incurred the injury while diving for a ball at shortstop. He will undergo more tests in the coming days, but this could be a huge blow […]

Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers

With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends

Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]

Catcher Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball catcher rankings and catcher draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of five different MLB players at the catcher  position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to also tune […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Third Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Last year we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four third basemen and our site projections for them. Stay tuned over the next couple […]

Top 25 Starting Pitchers - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

Pitching is an important element of any successful Major League Baseball team — real or fantasy. Coming off a truncated season in 2020 and facing another unique season ahead, pitching prospects will be more important than ever in 2021. MLB managers will be faced with a full 2021 season and, after throwing reduced innings last […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Second Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Garrett Richards Looks Sharp Against Rays Friday

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Richards looked dominant on the mound on Friday, tossing four scoreless innings while striking out seven in an 8-2 victory. Richards allowed just one hit and three walks in the outing, as he put up his best start of the spring after allowing six runs over his first four […]