Jakob Junis To Throw Simulated Game On Sunday

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jakob Junis (back) is slated to throw a simulated game on Sunday, and manager Mike Matheny told reporters that he expects Junis to make a start a few days after that. Junis missed his last scheduled start due to lower back inflammation, but he seems to be recovering quickly from […]

Ryan O'Hearn Rips Another Spring Homer

Kansas City Royals first baseman Ryan O'Hearn is back to pounding spring training pitching two years after he was the darling of the season. O'Hearn got everyone's attention in 2018 when he launched five home runs and hit .400 during the spring session, but he was left to marinate in the minors until the second […]

Ryan McBroom Goes Deep Again

Kansas City Royals first baseman Ryan McBroom drilled his third home run of spring training on Saturday, raising his average to .345 in the process. A year after he scuffled terribly for the Yankees in spring training, McBroom has turned it around and is hammering opposing pitchers. In a cup of coffee last September, McBroom […]

Danny Duffy Superb On Saturday

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy was on it on Saturday when he went four innings against the Reds. Duffy struck out six and only allowed one hit during his longest outing of the spring, and the good results this spring have given the team a lot of hope for Duffy coming into the […]

Adalberto Mondesi Still On Schedule

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder) is still rehabilitating according to schedule, but there's still no set date on when he's expected to return to game action. It's also not clear if he'll be ready for Opening Day. Mondesi experienced some soreness late this week, and so the team had his surgeon come check […]

Nine NL Rookies Ready to Leap Into Starting Lineups

Every year, there are those rookies who we expect to make a splash right away; think Kris Bryant, Ronald Acuna, Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge -- those guys. Once we make it through all the service time manipulation shenanigans, there are always youngsters ready to snatch roster spots immediately, and 2020 is no exception. Earlier this week […]

Joining the Launch Angle Revolution: Potential Power Risers

Launch angle has become perhaps the trendiest stat in all of fantasy baseball. If you turn on any podcast, you hear analysts mentioning that "if a player could only increase his launch angle, he could be a stud" (cough - Yandy Diaz - cough). Often, I think this analysis is oversimplified. Launch angle is obviously […]

2020 Shortstop Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

As the season draws near, we realize suddenly that it's draft season. There is a large portion of fantasy baseball busy with mock drafts, rankings, sleepers, and more mock drafts. The Dynasty community, on the other hand, is looking to continue their dominance, rebuild, or in a worst-case scenario, stick their hands up in frustration. […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As you prepare for fantasy baseball drafts in 2020, it's crucial that you avoid the dreaded bust who could sink your team. As we did with sleepers, our staff came together to share their thoughts on preseason ADP values, this time on their least favorite picks. While you've likely heard some of these names already […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - Injuries, Risers, Position Battles (3/6/20)

Welcome to the first edition of our Spring Training Notebook, where we'll dive into a few of the bigger stories around Major League Baseball's Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. As we head through the thick of Spring Training 2020, players are starting to separate themselves in the eyes of their organizations with hopes of making the […]

Late-Round Values and Fliers for Stolen Bases (Premium Content)

There is so much more of a fantasy baseball focus on stolen bases over the past few seasons. Specialists in the category such as Billy Hamilton and Mallex Smith have become highly sought after, only to burn owners because they didn’t do much in other categories. More to the point, there is much speculation whether […]

WPC+ Videocast: TGFBI Expert League Analysis

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut review their draft boards and ADP for The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) expert league. They share their strategies, discuss which picks were most surprising, and explain how this information can help you in your home league draft! Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all […]

Adalberto Mondesi Hoping To Play Next Week

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder) still isn't ready to play in spring training games, but he said that he's hoping to make his Cactus League debut next week. Mondesi is recovering from shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready for Opening Day as long as he doesn't have any setbacks. The 24-year-old […]

Shortstop & Third Base ADP Debates: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET and Saturday nights from 9-11 PM […]

Breakouts Relievers Due for Regression in 2020

The closer role is one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball. They can lose their fantasy value with a couple of blow-up performances. Teams are also electing to utilize a committee approach, often using their best reliever in high-leverage situations rather than cementing them to the ninth inning.  This makes it imperative to […]

Eric Skoglund Dealing With Arm Tenderness

Kansas City Royals pitcher Eric Skoglund (arm) hasn't seen any action since Feb. 21, and manager Mike Matheny told reporters that Skoglund is still dealing with some arm tenderness. There is no timeline at this point, but obviously pitchers with arm issues are not something fantasy owners should be chasing. Skoglund was limited to just […]

Jakob Junis' Back Injury Not Serious

Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny said that starting pitcher Jakob Junis' (back) tightness is not a serious concern. Junis may throw on the side in a day or two, but the team is just being cautious at this time. The 27-year-old righty went 9-14 with a 5.24 ERA and 1.43 WHIP while striking out […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Catcher

I've already revealed the 2020 Keeper Value Rankings throughout the infield: First Base, Second Base, Third Base and Shortstop. Now let's go behind the plate. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Power Hitters Using Expected Draft Values

A couple weeks ago, 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 "power" hitters, as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

Stephen Woods Jr. Sprains Ankle

Kansas City Royals Rule 5 pitcher Stephen Woods Jr. turned his ankle while attempting to cover first base on a groundout on Saturday, and he was lifted from the game after he promptly walked the next two hitters. Woods was acquired through the Rule 5 draft this offseason, and he was considered a long shot […]

Adalberto Mondesi Nearing Return to Action

Kansas City Royals star shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder) is finally getting close to making his spring debut. Following surgery this fall to repair his shoulder after it was violently dislocated last season, Mondesi has been doing some light drills with the team so far. Manager Mike Matheny told reporters that he's already pushing to get […]

Danny Duffy Throwing Harder This Spring

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy made his spring debut on Sunday, and he welcomed an impressive bit of good news afterward. Duffy was informed by reporters that he was already hitting 93 MPH on his fastball and touched 87 MPH on his slider. That's faster than ever for his slider, and Duffy averaged […]

2020 Third Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

The pool of third basemen for the 2020 dynasty season is jam-packed with talent. From budding stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rafael Devers, to productive veterans like Justin Turner and Mike Moustakas, no one should have trouble finding a useful bat to hold down the hot corner. That said, depth can breed confusion and […]

WPC+ Videocast: Win Your H2H Points League in 2020!

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut reveal the right way to rank players for fantasy baseball points leagues. Don't use the same old rankings and tools as everyone else and don't treat it the same as roto 5x5 leagues! Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch […]

Alex Gordon Likely To See Playing Time Reduction

Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon has returned to the team for another year, but management is already discussing how to handle his workload this year. Gordon got off to a hot start last year, but he faded dramatically as the season wore on. The 36-year-old told reporters that he doesn't think it was due […]

Trevor Rosenthal Returns To Spring Action

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (calf) returned to action on Friday after taking a couple extra days of rest due to some calf tightness. Rosenthal has been brilliant so far for Kansas City, racking up four strikeouts and zero walks in two scoreless innings this spring. Five years removed from his two seasons […]

Ian Kennedy Gives Up Homer In First Appearance

Kansas City Royals closer Ian Kennedy was hit hard in his first appearance of the spring, surrendering two runs in his short stint. Kennedy was a surprise reclamation project last season when he converted from being one of the worst starters in the league to being a solid a closer. In his first full season […]

Salvador Perez Catches First Game Without Issue

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (elbow) finally got his chance to get back behind home plate, catching his first game since September of 2018 on Friday. Perez was able to block pitches in the dirt and throw down to second without issue, and he told reporters afterward that he felt great and was excited […]

Elite Starters and Pitching Trends Revisited

Last year I wrote a series [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] on whether we were properly valuing elite starting pitchers. The basic premise was that we were likely to see fantasy-relevant starters (not openers) throw fewer innings again in 2019. I hypothesized that if there were fewer and fewer starting pitchers providing 200 innings […]

Bubba Starling Homers Again

Kansas City Royals outfielder/forever prospect Bubba Starling is off to a quick start this spring, hitting his second homer of the season on Wednesday. Starling is out of minor league options, and so he's in a tight battle to find a roster spot. He's got an uphill battle, and he'll likely need someone like Nicky […]