2022 Fantasy Baseball Year-in-Review: Bobby Witt Jr.
Bobby Witt Jr. managed to crack the Kansas City Royals' roster out of Spring Training in 2022 and went on to produce what ended up as a superb rookie season. Witt Jr. certainly managed to live up to the hype after being drafted with the second overall pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. While […]
Early Outfield Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball
Welcome back RotoBallers to another edition of tiers and rankings for the 2023 season. It is the perfect time to enthrall you guys with some fantasy preparation as we creep toward Spring Training. This time around, I present you with the top 75 outfielders as displayed in the corresponding chart. I personally have not had […]
Guardians, James Karinchak Avoid Arbitration
The Cleveland Guardians and reliever James Karinchak avoided salary arbitration after inking a one-year, $1.5 million deal. Known to have one of the most sophisticated routines in the game, Karinchak has established himself as one of the most dependable Cleveland arms. He dealt with a shoulder strain this past season which sidelined him for a considerable amount […]
Jon Anderson's Early Shortstop Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball
Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! Today we are onto the shortstop position in my early positional ranks and tiers posts. Here is what we've done so far: Catcher First Base Second Base This may be the deepest position in the game this year. This was true last […]
Guardians, Amed Rosario Agree On One-Year, $7.8 Million Deal
The Cleveland Guardians agreed to a one-year, $7.8 million deal on Friday with shortstop Amed Rosario to avoid salary arbitration. In his second full season in Cleveland after four years with the New York Mets to begin his MLB career, Rosario slashed .283/.312/.403 with a .715 OPS, 11 home runs, 71 RBI, 86 runs scored […]
Shane Bieber Settles With Guardians For $10.01 Million
The Cleveland Guardians and starting pitcher Shane Bieber avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $10.01 million deal. Bieber was once again excellent for Cleveland and fantasy managers alike in 2022 in his fifth major-league season, going 13-8 with a 2.88 ERA (2.87 FIP), 1.04 WHIP and 25 percent strikeout rate in […]
Guardians, Josh Naylor Avoid Arbitration
The Cleveland Guardians and first baseman/outfielder Josh Naylor avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.35 million deal on Friday. Naylor had by far his best season in the big leagues for Cleveland last year, posting career-highs in home runs (20), RBI (79), runs scored (47) and stolen bases (six) in 122 games while […]
Exploring Soft Contact for Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers to Downgrade in 2023
There are two ways for a pitcher to get a hitter out: Strike them out Generate a ball in play that can be handled for an out We talk a ton about strikeout and walk rates here, as we should - those stats are the best predictors of success in baseball. But they don't tell the […]
Jon Anderson's Early Second Base Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball
Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball second base rankings and projections. Today we are onto the second base position in my early positional ranks and tiers posts. So far, we have hit up catcher and first base, read those below: Catcher First Base Second base has long been a tough position to […]
Roman Quinn Agrees To Deal With Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians and free-agent outfielder Roman Quinn are reportedly in agreement on a minor-league contract, per a tweet from FanSided's Robert Murray on Wednesday morning. Quinn, who spent last season with the Phillies and Rays, gets an invite to spring training. The 29-year-old hit .215 with a .287 on-base percentage and four stolen bases […]
Jon Anderson's Early First Base Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball
I started the fantasy baseball rankings and tiers series very early this year, but it's January - what else do we have to do? The Catchers post kicked off the series, you can read that here. Today, we'll cover the first base position. I use the projection system I designed to help me in this, […]
Jon Anderson's Early Catcher Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball
We have officially flipped the calendar to 2023. The holidays are over, and your fantasy football league has probably crowned its champion. That means it's time to get into some fantasy baseball! We've been writing fantasy baseball all fall and winter long here at RotoBaller, and we've already started our rankings series. Over this offseason, […]
Early Shortstop Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball
As the final free agent signings trickle down, it is time to present our early 2023 fantasy baseball shortstop rankings. Even though the new year has not dawned upon us, it is never too early to prepare for fantasy baseball. Our staff expert rankers at RotoBaller- Nick Mariano, Jon Anderson, and Ben Rosener - have […]
Brewers Acquire Owen Miller From The Guardians
The Milwaukee Brewers acquired infielder Owen Miller from the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. To make room on their 40-man roster, the Brewers designated catcher Mario Feliciano for assignment. Miller played in 130 games for Cleveland in his second major-league season in 2022 and slashed […]
Mike Zunino Heading To Cleveland
The Cleveland Guardians signed free-agent catcher Mike Zunino (shoulder) to a one-year, $6 million deal on Tuesday. Zunino played in only 36 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022 and had thoracic outlet surgery in July. However, the 31-year-old backstop is expected to be ready for the start of the 2023 season, where he […]
Fantasy Baseball Batted Ball Type Analysis - Predicting Ground Ball, Line Drive and Fly Ball Hitters
MLB data has become so rich that there are countless things we can study and write about. It's really the best sport by a large margin for player and event analysis. One of the most useful and interesting data points we have available to us concerns batted ball data. We hear a lot about launch […]
Jameson Taillon to Cubs - Fantasy Baseball Impact
We have seen a ton of big-time news in recent days. Huge names like Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, Aaron Judge, and Trea Turner have signed massive contracts just in the last week. The thing about fantasy baseball, however, is that the player moves that have the biggest impact are the mid-range players like Taillon. For […]
Emmanuel Clase Named AL Reliever Of The Year
Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was named the 2022 Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award on Tuesday. Clase is a first-time recipient of the award, and the 24-year-old was also named an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2022. He had a sparkling 1.36 ERA and led the majors […]
Josh Bell Lands With The Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians signed free-agent first baseman Josh Bell to a two-year deal worth $33 million on Tuesday. The deal includes an opt-out clause after next season. It was reported earlier in the day that Bell was among the players on Cleveland's list. The 30-year-old switch-hitting first baseman hit .301 with 14 home runs, 57 […]
Jacob deGrom to Rangers - Fantasy Baseball Impact
The biggest news of the young offseason hit last Friday night, as the Rangers signed Jacob deGrom to a five-year contract. deGrom was right there with Aaron Judge in terms of the biggest names available on free agency, and it did not take him all that long to find a new home. deGrom is inarguably […]
Anthony Gose Re-Signs With Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians agreed to re-sign left-hander Anthony Gose (elbow) to a two-year minor-league deal on Thursday, according to sources. Gose continues to rehab after having Tommy John surgery in September, and he will not be able to play at all in 2023. The deal pays him $1 million per season if he's in the […]
Guardians Pursuing Sean Murphy
The Cleveland Guardians are among the most active suitors for Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy, the 2021 Gold Glove winner who could be dealt by the end of next week's winter meetings, according to sources. Murphy has proven to be an above-average hitting catcher in three-plus big-league seasons and is attractive to any team seeking […]
Pitchers: Strong Septembers to Remember for 2023 Fantasy Baseball Drafts
Earlier this week, we looked at hitters that had strong Septembers. I included some important context in the opening of that piece. It's very important to read, and I don't want to just repeat all of that - so go there and read that first. I will be picking out five notable starting pitchers that […]
Hitters: Strong Septembers to Remember for 2023 Fantasy Baseball Drafts
It is typically a bad idea to look at one month of baseball data and draw strong conclusions from it. How do you like that for an opening to a piece that will look at one month of data and draw conclusions from it? Before you do an irresponsible thing, it is at least good […]
Pitch Mix Analysis: Starting Fantasy Baseball Pitchers With Upside In Their Arsenal
If you are going to make a living as a Major League starting pitcher, you had better come to the table with more than one effective pitch. There are very rare exceptions, but exceptions do not disprove the rule. Starting pitchers need multiple useful offerings to have success, and that's especially true when we're talking […]
Terry Francona Wins Thirds AL Manager Of Year Tuesday
Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona was named the American League Manager of the Year for the third time in his career on Tuesday. He also won the award with Cleveland in 2013 and 2016. Despite not having a star-studded roster, the Guardians won 92 games in 2022, earning them the American League Central Division title. […]
Rockies Acquire Nolan Jones From Guardians
The Colorado Rockies acquired infielder Nolan Jones from the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday in exchange for infielder Juan Brito. Jones was a former second-round pick and is listed as Cleveland's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 24-year-old has had some of the best walk rates in the minors over the last couple seasons, and […]
Guardians Won't Trade Shane Bieber
Cleveland Guardians general manager Chris Antonetti said that starting pitcher Shane Bieber will not be traded and will be a part of the team in 2023, as expected. The Guardians are trying to add a catcher and another bat this offseason, with A's catcher Sean Murphy and Blue Jays backstop Alejandro Kirk being potential trade […]
Jose Ramirez Undergoes Successful Surgery
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (thumb) underwent successful right thumb surgery on Wednesday to fix the ulnar collateral ligament injury that he suffered in June. Ramirez is expected to resume baseball activity in six to eight weeks. The 30-year-old All-Star played through the injury, but his power production definitely took a dip in the […]
Jose Ramirez To Have Thumb Surgery On Wednesday
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (thumb) will have thumb surgery on Wednesday. Ramirez initially injured his thumb in mid-June but played the rest of the season with the injury while noticeably being affected by it at the plate. But all in all, the 30-year-old Dominican switch-hitter was still one of the best hitters in […]