Michael Lorenzen Expects To Return Soon

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen (shoulder) is confident that he will be able to return to the field soon. Lorenzen is dealing with a slight strain in his right shoulder but he could be back in time to not miss a regular-season start. "We can get creative with it. If there's a start here that […]

Overcoming Recency Bias on Draft Day

With all the draft analysis and sabermetrics being thrown at fantasy managers these days, I think it's time we take a step back and focus on the most important thing to dissect before your draft - YOU. A few months ago, I covered some of these cognitive biases for fantasy football season. Now, I believe […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Statcast Exit Velocity

If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the so-called Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP and HR/FB figures. […]

RotoBaller Friends & Family Industry Mock Draft Recap

The 2021 RotoBaller Friends & Family Mock Draft is the continuation of an annual tradition where we gather some of the biggest names from the fantasy baseball world and put together a mock draft just as spring training has commenced. Thanks to RT Sports for once again hosting and providing a custom draft site where […]

Eugenio Suarez Hits Two-Run Homer

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Eugenio Suarez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in a 6-5 Cactus League loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Suarez ripped a fifth-inning pitch over the fence for his first long ball of the spring. Overall, the veteran infielder is hitting .278 with six runs and five RBI in 36 at-bats […]

2021 Points League Ranks - First Base

Draft season is in full gear as we're only less than two weeks from Opening Day baseball. And here at RotoBaller, we're about more than just roto leagues. We're here to cover your whole fantasy spectrum. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from last year, I have strong opinions on […]

Tejay Antone "Most Likely" Will Start 2021 In Bullpen

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tejay Antone will "most likely" be used as a reliever to open the season, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Antone has not pitched in a game since March 17, as he dealt with hip and groin injuries. He appears on track though to be ready for the start of the […]

Amir Garrett Strikes Out The Side

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Amir Garrett looked dominant in a Cactus League appearance against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. Garrett threw a scoreless sixth inning, striking out the side in the frame, the second straight outing where the big lefty has gotten all three outs via the strikeout. Garrett missed the early part of Cactus […]

Tejay Antone Expects To Begin Regular Season On Time

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Tejay Antone (groin/hip) has been out of action since leaving his March 17 start with a mild right groin strain. He since added a right hip flexor irritation to his list of injuries during a bullpen session on Saturday. Despite the two nagging injuries, Antone indicated on Tuesday that he expects to […]

Nick Castellanos Rips Third Spring Homer

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos continued his torrid spring, going 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in a 5-4 Cactus League loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. The veteran outfielder belted a third-inning pitch over the fence, bringing Jesse Winker around to score. Castellanos is hitting a robust .406 with three homers, six runs, […]

KC Bubba's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021

The 2021 season is so close to starting, which means it is time for some bold predictions. It appears the season will still be a complete 162 games, with no NL DH and a standard playoff format. The bouncy ball will supposedly be replaced with a ball designed to limit power, fun times like usual from […]

NL Starting Pitcher Sleepers

Looking at early mock and seasonal drafts results, we see the huge trend of starting pitchers falling off of draft boards at a furious pace in the early rounds. As a result, managers who miss out on rostering the top-tier starters must identify value sleepers they can target in the mid-to-late rounds of drafts. Below […]

Cincinnati Inks Heath Hembree To Minors Deal, Invite To Camp

Right-handed reliever Heath Hembree has joined the Cincinnati Reds on a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to the team's big league camp. Hembree appeared in seven Cactus League contests with Cleveland and allowed just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight batters. Hembree scuffled during the abbreviated 2020 season, posting […]

Sonny Gray Able To Throw On The Side

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray (back) was able to throw a side session on Saturday. Gray was shut down about a week ago with a mid-back injury- though he was able to play catch on Wednesday before ramping up to throwing the session this past weekend. Manager David Bell said that it's a great […]

Tyler Mahle Allows Five Runs In Cactus League Loss

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle struggled in an 11-6 Cactus League loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Mahle allowed five runs over 3 2/3 innings of work while striking out three and walking one. All of Chicago's damage came via the homer as Mahle allowed three long balls, back-to-back shots in the first inning […]

MLB Sophomores: Who Will Improve, Who Will Stumble?

We all expect excellent rookie seasons from the most hyped prospects in baseball. But the reality is that some players just don’t hit their strides for a year or two. Other prospects start off strong but then fade away. If we look back at 2015, Corey Seager, Miguel Sano, Carlos Correa, and Kris Bryant had […]

Nick Mariano's Top 140 Saves+Holds Rankings

To any reader who thinks they don't have a voice here at RotoBaller, let it be known that this article came from a simple Reddit comment about how those seeking Saves+Holds reliever ranks were often overlooked. Poof, and here we are. Allow me, Nick Mariano, 2018's most accurate draft expert (top-three for RPs in '18 […]

Nick Castellanos Enjoying Strong Spring

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos is playing great baseball this spring. Castellanos is batting .414 with two home runs, six RBI, and five runs scored in 11 games. He seems poised for a rebound season after a disappointing 2020 that saw him bat just .225 with a career-worst strikeout rate- 28.5 percent- though he did […]

Joey Votto Returns To Reds Camp

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (COVID-19) returned to the Reds' facility on Sunday for the first time since testing positive for COVID-19, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale. Votto had been gone from the team for the last 12 days following the positive test. General manager Nick Krall said the team is hopeful that […]

Michael Lorenzen, Tejay Antone Should Be Ready For Opening Day

Cincinnati Reds pitchers Michael Lorenzen (shoulder) and Tejay Antone (hip) are believed to have avoided significant injury and should be ready for the start of the season, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Lorenzen exited the Reds' "B" game on Saturday with a slight shoulder strain, while Antone left a bullpen session early with […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 3 Lineup Trends

We are entering week four of Spring Training and week three gave us a lot to watch down the stretch. But of course, you can catch up by talking a look at week one and week two recaps. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes […]

Dollar-Day Targets - Salary Cap League Values

Players who go for just $1 in salary cap leagues are guys who lack outside confidence. Not a lot of managers trust that they will be useful on a roster. In standard leagues, many of these players will go entirely undrafted and float around the waiver wire until they produce enough to be picked up […]

Finding Hitter Clones At Cheaper ADPs

One of the most useful algorithms in the machine learning world is that of data clustering. Clustering, in this case, is defined as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups […]

Jon Anderson's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021

Today, I am honored to take my turn giving you my 10 bold predictions for the 2021 season here at RotoBaller. It's a thrill to be featured on this site, and I look forward to continuing to put out content for you all over the 2021 season and beyond. This was not an easy post […]

Using Data Analysis To Spot Strikeout Risers

The key to winning a fantasy league is to spot things that are to come before they happen. This is what we try to do here every day at RotoBaller. As the years have gone by, more data about the game has been made available to us, and we can use that data to make […]

Multi-Position Assets For All Fantasy Leagues

With such a short season in 2020, many starting pitchers weren't able to throw more than 60 innings, so it's unlikely that they take the massive jump this season that would allow them to get to the 170-180 innings we usually expect. To work around this, many teams have discussed implementing six-man rotations and even […]

Prospect Sleepers for 2021 Redraft Leagues

This time last year, I provided RotoBaller readers with some sleeper prospect names for 2020 redraft leagues. The advice aged quite well despite the stunted major league season and lack of minor league games. Among my predictions, I spoke glowingly about Tony Gonsolin — a pitcher that had not received much love from others. However, […]

Nick Lodolo Allows One Runs In Cactus League Start

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo made the start in a 6-2 Cactus League win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The lefty allowed one run over one inning of work while striking out one in the outing, bringing him to a 6.00 ERA across three innings of work this spring. Lodolo is ranked as […]

Luis Castillo Tabbed As Opening Day Starter

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo was tabbed as the team's Opening Day starter for the second straight year. Castillo is coming off of an impressive 2020 season where he registered a 3.21 ERA in 70 innings while striking out 89 batters and walking just 24. The 28-year-old is entering his prime armed with a […]

Nick Mariano's H2H Points Leagues Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) usually cater to the biggest stars or the deepest sleepers, but there are very few articles that simply discuss the mid-round targets that deserve a boost in points league formats (even if points veterans will laugh at some […]