Tyler Skaggs To Throw In Minors Game On Friday

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs (forearm) made it through his bullpen session on Wednesday without issue, so he will start in a minor-league game on Friday. He has been on the shelf with some left forearm fatigue, but appears to have mended well. The health of Skaggs is very important, especially during the […]

Justin Upton Plays In Minor-League Game Thursday

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Justin Upton (knee) was scheduled to play in a minor-league game Thursday, his first game action since being diagnosed with tendinitis in his knee. It's a small step, as he was serving as the designated hitter while going 0-for-6 with a pair of strikeouts. There is still no definitive timetable on when […]

Jaime Barria The Favorite For Fifth Starter Spot

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jaime Barria is expected to make the starting rotation and is the favorite for the fifth spot to open the season, especially with Andrew Heaney (elbow) in question for Opening Day. Barria was a pleasant surprise in his first year in the big leagues, going 10-9 with a 3.41 ERA, […]

Tyler Skaggs Throws Bullpen Wednesday

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who has been dealing with left forearm fatigue, threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is likely to make his next spring start in a minor league game. Skaggs' fatigue came from working on a new pitch in his last start, so it's not believed to be very […]

Justin Upton Could Play In Game This Weekend

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Justin Upton, who has been out all spring with right knee tendinitis, took fly balls in the outfield and ran the bases on Wednesday. He could make his Cactus League debut as early as this weekend. The veteran slugger has plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day. He managed […]

Andrelton Simmons Scratched Wednesday

Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons was scratched from Wednesday's lineup with minor right elbow pain, but he said it's not serious and thinks he'll be back in there on Thursday. “I was only a little sore a couple days ago, but I feel fine,” Simmons said. The 29-year-old impressed with the bat in 2018, […]

Shohei Ohtani Progressing In Throwing Program

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (elbow) moved up to 55 throws from up to 50 feet on Wednesday as he progresses with his throwing program that he started last Friday. He didn't take any swings on Wednesday, but he'll ease his hitting drills the days he throws. Ohtani is doing soft toss […]

Andrew Heaney Shut Down Again

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Andrew Heaney has been shut down from throwing for a second time this spring due to left elbow pain, and there's now a chance he could miss the start of the regular season, according to manager Brad Ausmus. Heaney was scratched on March 3 but made another start last Friday. […]

Tyler Skaggs Has Forearm Fatigue

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs was scratched from his Cactus League start on Sunday due to forearm fatigue. His injury isn't considered serious and an MRI exam already came back clean. "We’re just gonna push him back a couple days," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. "You will more than likely see him soon. […]

Jo Adell Out 10-12 Weeks

Los Angeles Angels outfield prospect Jo Adell, the team's top prospect and No. 14 in baseball, will be out 10 to 12 weeks after an MRI confirmed a Grade 2 right ankle sprain and a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. He suffered the injuries while running the bases in a game last Saturday. He will […]

Nick Mariano's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019

2018 was a banner season for baseball's Marianos, as Mariano Rivera was headed full steam ahead towards a unanimous Hall of Fame entry and yours truly was cruising with the most accurate fantasy baseball ranks of the season per FantasyPros, unbeknownst to me until recently. I'm still riding high off of that and you're all […]

Five Hitters Whose Barrels Rate Makes Them Undervalued

Baseball is back! The nostalgic diamond traditions of cracker jacks, oat sodas and intricately-designed grass patterns have finally returned. Most importantly, the boys of summer are once again fine-tuning their five tools for the upcoming season. In 2016, Major League Baseball expanded its research on exit velocity and launch angle by introducing Barrels. Barrels not […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019

2018 was a season to forget for yours truly, both in terms of fantasy performance and hit rate on bold predictions. In the first three years as a participant in this feature, I connected on three per article, with a few others in the realm of respectable. Last year? An 0-fer, and most of them […]

Matt Harvey's Line From Monday Is Deceiving

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting pitcher Matt Harvey was charged with four runs, five hits and a walk with one strikeout over 1 1/3 innings in his Cactus League spring start against the Texas Rangers. While he did uncork a wild pitch, and that's on him. The defense committed an error behind him and […]

Justin Bour Scratched Due To Sore Knee

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim first baseman Justin Bour (knee) was scratched from the Cactus League spring game lineup on Sunday due to soreness in his right knee. It doesn't sound to be too serious, and was likely a precaution. Bour is expected to serve as the team's starting first baseman, and he'll likely see […]

Angels Ship Jahmai Jones, Three Others To Minors

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim reassigned infielder Jahmai Jones, catcher Julian Leon, outfielder Brandon Marsh and catcher Keinner Pina to their minor-league camp on Sunday. The biggest news for fantasy purposes is Jones, who was named one of the organization's prospects of the year in 2017, transitioned from the outfield to second base last […]

Prospect Jo Adell To Miss At Least 10 Weeks

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim prospect outfielder Jo Adell (ankle, hamstring) is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks due to the two injuries he suffered in Sunday's Cactus League spring training game against the Chicago Cubs. Adell was injured when he slipped on the bag while rounding second base. He suffered a sprained left […]

JB's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019

It is such an honor to have been selected to hit lead-off for the 2019 RotoBaller staff Bold Predictions. Sure, I asked for it due to time constraints but that's not how I will tell my story to the grand-kids. Bold predictions are everyone's favorite articles. They are fun, not always entirely plausible, while still […]

Predicting the Top 10 Home Run Hitters of 2019

Last year 14 players hit over 35 or more home runs; the year before that it was 18. The point is, narrowing such an impressive pool of players down to 10 is challenging. The list is realistic but I wanted to be slightly bold as well. It wouldn’t be much of a prediction if we […]

Nick Mariano's Early-Round Avoids in H2H Points Leagues (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. There's insight out there for most anything, but coverage of points leagues […]

Nick Mariano's Players to Target in H2H Points Leagues (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 […]

Shohei Ohtani Throwing On Friday

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (elbow) is throwing on Friday, according to manager Brad Ausmus. Ohtani will be brought along slowly after having Tommy John surgery last October and won't pitch at all in 2019. The Angels are hoping he can still be their primary DH, though, beginning sometime in May. He […]

RotoBaller H2H Draft Strategy Primer

Fantasy baseball, much like the sport itself, it is one of the more complex to follow closely. Compared to fantasy football, in which nearly every league was head-to-head before the advent of best-ball, fantasy baseball comes in a variety of formats. Many leagues are roto-style, 5x5 category-scoring, with cumulative season-long stats. While that is the […]

The King's Insider Report - Boston Red Sox

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues with a trip inside the Boston Red Sox spring training press box. The King spoke to a long-time Red Sox media member about individual outlooks for members of the defending champions. As always, the quotes were provided […]

Later-Round Closer Candidates - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]

Shohei Ohtani To Resume Throwing Soon

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (elbow) will soon be medically cleared to start his rehab as a pitcher, according to manager Brad Ausmus. Ohtani hasn't thrown since having Tommy John surgery Oct. 1 of last year. Ausmus said Ohtani's workload as a hitter will be scaled back when he is cleared to […]

Expert Mock Draft Reactions - RotoBaller Friends & Family

On February 13, 2019, we assembled a group of industry experts to take part in the second annual RotoBaller Friends and Family Expert Mock Draft. Our participants represented multiple sites, including: CBS Sports (Heath Cummings) The Athletic (Nando Di Fino) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) RotoWire (Tim Heaney) Mastersball/ESPN (Todd Zola) GuruElite (Ray […]

Shohei Ohtani Hitting In Cages

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (elbow) took soft tosses in the indoor cages again on Wednesday for the fifth time. The soft-toss regimen will continue for a while, and the plan beyond that has yet to be revealed. The Japanese two-way star won't pitch at all this year after having Tommy John surgery, […]

Andrew Heaney To Start On Friday

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (elbow) is set to make his next Cactus League start on Friday, according to manager Brad Ausmus. Heaney felt good after Tuesday's bullpen session after he missed a start with elbow inflammation. The 27-year-old left-hander had a decent season in 2018, going 9-10 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.20 […]

Justin Upton On Track To Play In Games Soon

Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus said outfielder Justin Upton (knee) is on track to get into a game "sooner than later." The knee tendonitis that Upton has been dealing with shouldn't hurt his chances of being ready for Opening Day. The slugging left fielder hit 30 home runs and 85 RBI in 145 games […]