Twins Sign Anibal Sanchez

The Minnesota Twins signed free-agent starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez to a $2.5 million major league deal, with $2.5 million available in incentives. The deal is pending a physical. The Twins were desperate for rotation help with last year's ace, Ervin Santana, set to begin the year on the disabled list. While Sanchez should open the […]

Twins Considering Anibal Sanchez

The Minnesota Twins are in the mix for free-agent starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez, according to sources. The Twins are getting desperate for arms for their rotation with Ervin Santana set to begin the year on the disabled list after losing out on Yu Darvish. Sanchez, 34 later this month, is a veteran arm, but he […]

Splint Will Remain On Travis Wood's Hand

Updating a previous report, the splint will remain on Detroit Tigers pitcher Travis Wood's right index finger, and manager Ron Gardenhire said it will be a while before Wood can catch a baseball. While the injury is to his non-throwing hand, it doesn't help his chances of winning a roster spot. The veteran southpaw can […]

Travis Wood Undergoing X-Rays

Detroit Tigers pitcher Travis Wood (finger) is undergoing X-rays on his broken right index finger Friday, and he may get his splint off if it has healed properly. Wood will be a swingman for a rebuilding Tigers team, and he should have plenty of time to heal before the start of the regular season, especially […]

Nick Mariano's 2018 Late-Round MLB Fliers (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Howdy, RotoBallers! I hope you're ready to take chances, make mistakes and get messy. We’re here to dig a little deeper into the draft room and look for players that would be wise to take a flier on in the late rounds. It can […]

Tommy Pham Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

This is the next piece in a long-running series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2018 baseball season. RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings for mixed leagues, but that doesn't mean we agreed on everything. In this space, we'll hear from rankers […]

Jordan Zimmermann Receives Injection In Back

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (back, neck) recently visited with Dr. Andrew Dossett and received an injection in his back instead of his neck. As a result, he will resume his throwing program Tuesday. Zimmermann is dealing with a couple of bulging discs in his back, but he said he feels "100 times better" […]

Top 600: Dynasty League Fantasy Baseball Rankings

What's up RotoBallers. Today we are bringing you our top 600 fantasy baseball dynasty rankings for the 2018 MLB season. Dynasty leagues, or keeper formats, are becoming more and more popular in the fantasy sports landscape. For those of you who are playing in dynasty formats, or are interested in long-term valuations of fantasy players, this is […]

The Most Profitable Hitters of the Last Five Years

As you may have heard me mention on Twitter or the fantasy baseball subreddit, I recently acquired the last five seasons’ worth of average draft positon (ADP) data for NFBC and all three of the major fantasy platforms (Yahoo, ESPN, and CBS). I am terrible at Excel, so it’s taken a lot of trial and […]

Should Fantasy Managers Swipe Left and Chase Steals?

Steals are an important statistic in fantasy baseball. They represent 10% of scoring categories in 5x5 leagues and earn an equivalent value or more to singles, runs and RBI in points leagues. Comparing runs and stolen bases, the fantasy significance of a steal is certainly overvalued versus its real baseball relevance. The Run Expectancy table […]

Using xwOBA for Predictive Purposes in Pitchers

When it comes to predictive metrics, MLB's statcast has afforded the baseball community a wealth of data since its league-wide installation in 2015. One of the more intriguing metrics is expected wOBA, or xwOBA. This statistic gives us the expected wOBA for a player based on the hit probability of batted balls, calculated using exit […]

2018 First Basemen - Dynasty Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball dynasty rankings analysis with the first base position. RotoBaller writers Kyle Richardson, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our pre-season rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. In a dynasty league, it can be tough to decide between a proven veteran or a high-upside […]

2018 Early Bullpen Outlooks - American League Central

The American League Central comes second in our series of 2018 Early Bullpen Outlooks. Check out the first of the series, on the American League East, right here. The AL Central doesn't have bullpens with anywhere near the firepower of the AL East, but there are still some solid arms that can contribute to fantasy […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - Discovering Closers

When looking to develop talent in a dynasty league, there are two paths to follow. The first is to select prospects. The depth of your league will determine how far you have to reach into the minors. In a 12-team league, you're probably looking to find the next Fernando Tatis Jr. In a 20-team league, […]

January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Best of the Rest

Here at RotoBaller, 12 of our expert writers recently took part in an early mock draft for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. We've already shared those draft results, including our big board from RT Sports, accompanied by a series of articles analyzing each round. Here's the complete list of recaps, in case you missed it: Round 1 […]

2018 Home Run Risers and Fallers - What We Learned

Drafting sluggers is absolutely imperative in fantasy baseball. With homers on the rise, fantasy owners must be sure to prioritize the long ball this season. It seemed like every other fantasy-viable batter hit over 25 HR last year, didn’t it? At the same time, however, sluggers like Mark Trumbo (23 HR), Miguel Cabrera (16 HR), […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

It's time to round out our early points league rankings with a look at the bullpen. Relief pitcher values will fluctuate greatly throughout the season, so choosing wisely on draft day can save you a lot of grief. Here are the first round of RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball points league rankings for relief pitcher in the month […]

Tigers Sign Travis Wood

The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent pitcher Travis Wood to a minor league deal Monday, according to the Tigers. In 39 games (14 starts) for the Royals and Padres in 2017, Wood boasted an ugly 6.80 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and only 65 strikeouts in 94 innings. the soon-to-be 31-year-old southpaw doesn't have much left at the […]

January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Rounds 5-9

The 2018 MLB season is approaching ever faster and draft season is already here! RotoBaller recently gathered 12 of our baseball writers to conduct a 23-round mock draft in order to evaluate current ADP values. We will break down those draft results in detail throughout the week. This article will take a look at rounds 5-9 […]

2018 Outfield - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

I have the honor of tackling the ever-so-deep class of outfielders for you, the esteemed points-league owner. We realize that many sites tailor their analysis toward the standard rotisserie league, but we love everyone equally. That said, we have to recognize that standard 5x5 categories are also much easier to create white-label rankings that anyone […]

2018 Third Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

If you play in a head-t0-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense […]

Miguel Cabrera Unlikely To Be Traded

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila doesn't see it as likely that the club will trade first baseman Miguel Cabrera amidst their rebuild. "That's hard to predict as far as Miggy's concerned,'' Avila said. "That's a huge contract, and those kind of contracts are not usually moved or easily moved.'' Cabrera had the worst season […]

Michael Fulmer, Victor Martinez On Track For Spring Training

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulmer (elbow) and designated hitter Victor Martinez (heart) are expected to be at full strength for spring training. Fulmer had elbow surgery in September and Martinez had a surgical procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat around the same time. "He's thrown out to 180 feet with no restrictions and no […]

Tigers Sign Alexi Amarista

The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent infielder Alexi Amarista to a minor league deal Tuesday, according to a source. The Little Ninja is mainly useful for his positional versatility, and he figures to perform as a super-utility player for the rebuilding Tigers. Amarista hit just .238 with the Rockies in 2017 in 96 games, and he […]

2018 Strikeout Risers and Fallers - What We Learned

For the second straight season, we witnessed the highest strikeout totals in MLB history. There was an average of 8.25 strikeouts per MLB game in 2017, up from 8.03 strikeouts per game in 2016. Strikeouts have increased in baseball every year since 2005, and there is no indication that this trend will reverse any time […]

Using xwOBA as a Predictive Tool for Hitters

With spring training on the horizon, fantasy baseball draft season is in sight, as well. That means it’s time to pore over rankings, go through countless mock drafts, and do plenty of research trying to find that diamond in the rough other owners are undervaluing. Luckily, more statistics are available than ever before to determine […]

Dynasty American League Starting Pitchers - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I have covered impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks, and have already coveredcatchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, both AL and NL outfielders and National League starting pitchers. Today I'm bringing you my top 20 American League starting pitchers - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. As discussed in the […]

2018 First Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

If you play in a head-to-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense […]

2018 Stolen Base Risers and Fallers - What We Learned

He did it again! For the third time in four seasons, Dee Gordon held the top spot of the steals leaderboard. He concluded the 2017 season with 60 swipes. Gordon is averaging 53 SB over the past four years. That includes the 2016 season where Gordon missed 80 games due to a suspension. The Seattle Mariners had […]

2018 Batting Average Risers and Fallers - What We Learned

The great thing about batting average is that it’s a great starting metric for building a strong fantasy team. It’s one of those rare stats that, when correctly targeted and prioritized, sets the foundation for a season of nearly guaranteed success. In fantasy football, it’s a good idea to acquire players who get red zone […]