Ball Street: Roto Never Sleeps - MLB Recap Featuring Butler, Utley, Fiers, Machado, Betts, Travis and More

With week 3 coming to a close, let's recap some players whose stocks might be rising or falling. Now that we're almost through April, we're developing a decent sample size so we can start to see who might be for real and who we should cut. Stats current as of 9am, 4/24/2015     MLB […]

Ubaldo Jimenez (SP, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper leagues OWNED IN: 24% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: Yes, that Ubaldo Jimenez. Once a Cy Young candidate and one of the most feared pitchers in the game, Jimenez has since turned that reputation into one of the most inconsistent pitchers in the game. He quickly fell off a cliff after his tremendous 2010 campaign but […]

Week 3 Start/Sit: MLB Starting Pitcher (SP) Matchups

What’s up RotoBallers. Hopefully the start of the MLB and fantasy baseball season is treating you well, and your teams are off to a roaring start. Either way, we are here to help as always. Below are all of the starting pitching matchups for Week 3. For every week of the fantasy baseball season, we look to […]

Brock Holt, (1B/2B/SS/3B/OF, BOS) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / Monitor in All Leagues OWNED IN: 8% of Fleaflicker Leagues If Brock Holt had an everyday job, he’d be a must add. The combination of speed, batting average, and positional flexibility he offers is hard to find in today’s game. He’s still useful even in his current role, however. As the Red […]

Wade Miley (SP, BOS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 12% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Wade Miley burst onto the scene with the Dbacks  in 2012. He finished second to Bryce Harper in Rookie of the Year voting on the strength of 16 wins and a 3.33 ERA. The following season, Miley weathered significant jumps in both walks […]

Top Five Dynasty / Keeper Shortstops for 2015

Winning in a dynasty league requires bold strategy, smart trades and a ton of luck. This past season in a keeper league, I lost in the semifinals on account of a Carlos Santana stolen base. That was Santana’s fifth SB of the year and served as the tiebreaker that ended my season. You just can't […]

Clay Buchholz (SP, BOS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWED IN: 42% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: It has never been a question whether or not Clay Buchholz has the talent to be one of the top pitchers in all of baseball. He still might not quite be there, but he should be owned in all fantasy leagues because of his talent […]

MLB Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Watch for 4/9/15

Editor's Note: Bookmark our MLB Closers & Saves Depth Charts for the latest look at all the current closers, setup men, longshots and relief pitcher waiver wire adds. Waiver Wire Saves & MLB Bullpen Report for 4/9/2015 The season isn't even a week old yet, but we already had one major trade involving a closer and a […]

Edward Mujica (RP, BOS) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft Target in Late Rounds / Immediate Waiver Wire Add ANALYSIS: With the recent news that Koji Uehara is still nursing an injury, Edward Mujica will start the year as the fill-in closer for the Red Sox. He may wind up being in that role longer than some would expect, if Uehara can't get over […]

Red Sox Option Castillo, Bradley Jr. To Triple-A

Shortly before opening day, the Boston Red Sox decided to option Jackie Bradley Jr. and Cuban defector Rusney Castillo to Triple-A Pawtucket, according to Reuters. Boston looks to bounce back from finishing last in the AL East a season ago. The Red Sox will start the season without two players that were expected to contribute right away. […]

Top Five Dynasty / Keeper Second Basemen

Last week, I completed my first ever slow draft. Instead of a typical 60 seconds to make your pick, slow draft gives up to 8 hours to make a pick. This style of drafting could possibly take a couple weeks rather than the standard couple of hours. Needless to say, slow draft completely took over […]

Five Starting Pitchers Due for Regression in 2015

Each year, starters emerge from out of the woodwork to put together a phenomenal season. Pitchers like Jake Arrieta and Jacob deGrom who, from out of nowhere, become both the ace of an MLB pitching staff and turned out to be fantasy waiver wire gold. It is not that rare for a pitcher to have a breakout year, […]

Clay Buchholz (SP, BOS) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~290 Overall ANALYSIS: A season after posting a ludicrous 1.78 ERA that sat a full run below his FIP, the pendulum swung all the way back for Clay Buchholz. His E-F was the highest among all qualified starters. As you might imagine, it’s fairly uncommon to see a pitcher’s ERA triple from […]

Top Five ERA Surgers for 2015: Fantasy Baseball Predictions

Scour the Pitching Peripherals It’s not a category in your typical fantasy league, but Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a useful metric to uncover undervalued assets on draft day. FIP attempts to isolate the factors under a pitcher’s direct control to determine whether he was a victim of poor defense or rotten luck. Intuitively and […]

Five Rookies / Prospects You Should Draft in 2015

MLB Rookies & Prospects to Make Fantasy Impacts Whether you are a 5 year old opening your presents on your birthday or a 40 year old getting a new fancy car during your mid-life crisis, everybody loves new toys. Rookies and prospects are the new cars of the MLB and untapped potential is their fuel. […]

Cuban Defectors That Will Have Most Fantasy Impact In 2015

Cuba lost some of its top players as they signed blockbuster deals to come over and play in the MLB. Each team hopes their guy follows in the footsteps of last year’s Cuban defector Jose Abreu, who hit 36 home runs, 107 RBI and a .317 batting average, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2014. There […]

5 AL Players Whose New Teams Will Impact Their Performance

Who Will Be Helped or Hurt by a Change of Scenery? J.A. Happ, Seattle Mariners Let’s be honest: Happ did not post Cy Young-caliber numbers in his most recent campaign. A 4.22 ERA and lackluster 7.6 K/9 IP made Happ one of many problems for the Blue Jays in 2014. That’s exactly why a transition […]

Mookie Betts (OF / 2B, BOS) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis

CURRENT ADP: 121 RANKINGS STATUS: Undervalued ANALYSIS: It is becoming increasingly obvious that Mookie Betts will be the Boston Red Sox Opening Day center fielder and leadoff man. He entered spring training expecting to compete with Cuban sensation Rusney Castillo for the center field job, but Castillo suffered an oblique injury which has prevented him […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Stock Watch: Semien, Norris, Betts, Davis

  Welcome to the Stock Watch First of all, welcome to the RotoBaller fantasy baseball “Stock Watch”. This will be a recurring weekly column which attempts to gauge the value of certain hitters and pitchers who are trending in the right and wrong direction. The goal is to help you make more informed decisions with […]

MLB Closer Breakdown: AL East Edition - 2015 Fantasy Baseball

  New York Yankees This is going to be one of the most closely monitored closer competitions in the spring of 2015. The Yankees are currently examining two gigantic (literally) options for the closer spot, in the forms of lefty Andrew Miller and righty Dellin Betances, both of whom throw absolute smoke. Both did plenty […]

Terms of Moncada's Monster Deal with the Red Sox

Boston reached an agreement with Yoan Moncada early Monday morning. The Cuban infielder has agreed to a $31.5 million deal. Due to Major League Baseball's international signing guidelines, Boston with have to pay the league an additional fee-- equal to Moncada's contract value-- by the end of the year. The signing guideline brings Boston's total investment to […]

Boston Red Sox To Sign Yoan Moncada

According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, infielder Yoan Moncada has agreed to sign with the Boston Red Sox. BREAKING - Source: Cuban INF prospect Yoan Moncada agrees with Red Sox on a deal in $30 million range. Check http://t.co/mkcBseoZWQ. — Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) February 23, 2015 The highly-touted 19-year-old Cuban infielder agreed to a signing […]

Xander Bogaerts (3B/SS, BOS) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target in Rounds 12-16 ANALYSIS: Expectations were high for young standout Xander Bogaerts in 2014. Fantasy owners hoped his toolsy skill-set could help him become a fantasy monster. Unfortunately, Bogaerts endured growing pains as a 21-year-old. He finished with a .240 BA, 12 HR and 46 RBI. He has since decided to up his offseason training routine. […]

Xander Bogaerts: 2015 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Sleeper

A Work In Progress As a major contributor to the Boston Red Sox’s championship run in 2013, many fantasy baseball owners targeted Xander Bogaerts in their 2014 drafts. They hoped his toolsy skill set could help him to become a fantasy monster Expectations were high for the young standout. His minor league statistics had Boston fans wondering […]

Boston Red Sox, Wade Miley, Agree to Three-Year Deal

  O'Connell Sports Management, the agency that represents starting pitcher Wade Miley, announced that Miley and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a three-year deal worth $19.25 million and takes care of him for his remaining three years of arbitration. This contract will not delay his free agency though.   Wade Miley (@wademiley20) and […]

MLB Rules Changed, Cuban Prospect Yoan Moncada Becomes Free Agent

  According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, highly touted Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is now a free agent eligible to sign with a team. Breaking: Yoan Moncada is a free agent after MLB changes its rules regarding Cuban players. Story with details soon on Yahoo Sports. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 3, 2015   […]

Shane Victorino (OF, BOS) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target Late in Very Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: Considering he missed all but 30 games in 2014, Shane Victorino is a big risk for fantasy owners in terms of health. Throw in his declining production and the deep outfield competition he’ll face in Boston, and you have the recipe for a player who should go […]

Red Sox, Rangers Swap Anthony Ranaudo, Robbie Ross

In a straight-up one-for-one trade of young pitchers, the Rangers have acquired Anthony Ranaudo from the Red Sox for Robbie Ross. While it doesn’t look like any sort of major deal at first glance, it could ultimately serve as a beneficial one for both sides, seeking to fill critical needs with their newest additions. Ranaudo […]

Putting the "I" in R.O.I.D.S. to Find Late Round Draft Sleepers

  An International Flair Welcome to the third installment of my fantasy draft sleeper series, hilariously known as R.O.I.D.S. In the last two installments we looked at deep sleepers with unique opportunities and rankings anomalies. Today, we are  focusing on the letter "I" for International prospects. Over the last several years, Cuban defectors Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Yoenis […]

Mookie Betts (2B/OF, BOS) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target in Late Rounds ANALYSIS: Mookie Betts thrived in his rookie campaign, posting a .291/.368/.444 triple-slash line, shuffling between second base and the outfield. But heading into 2015, there are concerns about playing time. Even after shipping Yoenis Cespedes out of town, the Red Sox have a serious case of roster crunch. However, manager […]