Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Statcast Review - Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xSLG)

xSLG isn’t a stat you’ll find on the back of a baseball card or one you’d find on a baseball reference page. However, as far as advanced stats go, xSLG is pretty straightforward. It is the expected slugging percentage of a hitter based on hit probability his batted balls in play, regardless of outcome. So if […]

Trevor Story Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

For the RotoBaller baseball crew, it's our favorite time of the entire year. It's time to revive our signature series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2019 baseball season. That's right, it's Ranker vs Ranker time! RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings […]

Teoscar Hernandez - Promising or Pretender?

Every new beginning signifies an end elsewhere. This was the case for Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez last season. The hard-hitting righty broke through in more ways than one in his first full year in the big leagues, finishing with a .239/.302/.468 line, and most importantly 22 home runs. The path to the plate […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 1 - BABIP for Hitters

Hello fellow RotoBallers! Sabermetrics have become an integral tool for fantasy baseball draft prep, but a concise resource for understanding the basics can be difficult to find. This series attempts to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy owners may find useful, citing examples of how to use them in the process. Twenty degrees […]

Yusei Kikuchi to the Mariners - Fantasy Outlook

The Mariners rang in the new year with yet another move, as news broke in the final hours of 2018 that Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher Yusei Kikuchi had signed a four-year deal with Seattle. Kikuchi will be joining the Mariners after a "down" season in which he only went 14-4 with a 3.08 ERA — […]

Jonathan Lucroy Agrees With Angels

The Los Angeles Angels agreed with free-agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy on a one-year, $3.35 million deal on Friday, according to league sources. He can make $4 million total with performance bonuses. An All-Star backstop as recently as 2016 with the Brewers, Lucroy has fallen on hard times with the bat the last two years with […]

Matt Shoemaker Agrees With Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a one-year deal in the range of $3 million to $3.5 million with free-agent starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker on Friday, according to MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi. Due to injuries, the right-hander made only 21 starts the last two injuries. He went 9-13 with 143 strikeouts over 160 […]

Top 10 Dynasty First Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

It might seem like I drew the short straw among the prospect analysts here at RotoBaller, but I actually picked this assignment! You won’t see many of these names on top 100 lists. Despite being one of the positions from which teams expect to get the most offensive production, first base gets the least amount […]

Top 10 Dynasty Second Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Hey, RotoBallers. We have already started breaking down prospects in dynasty leagues, by position, beginning with catcher, outfield, and starting pitcher. Today I'm writing about my top-10 second basemen prospect rankings for 2019 dynasty baseball leagues. The second base position is a difficult spot to find natural players raised in the position. Most are positional migrants, kicked off their position to a […]

2018 Pitching Fallers - ERA

In my last piece, we took a look at some of the pitchers who made significant improvements to their ERA in 2018. Now it's time to take a look at the guys who went in the other direction, and see if it's time to panic on them. This list features two starters who were being […]

Top 10 Dynasty Outfielders - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Outfield prospects are fascinating right now, as with the graduation of Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto, there are new names near the top of the rankings to learn. This does not mean a drop in talent though, as the current crop of players is easy to dream on for fantasy owners with a mix of […]

Is it Legit? German Marquez's 2018 Breakout

We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players […]

Albert Pujols Taking Batting Practice

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (elbow) started taking batting practice last Monday, and general manager Billy Eppler said that Pujols feels good. Knee and elbow injuries limited Pujols to 117 games last season, and he hit .245/.289/.411 with 19 home runs and 64 RBI. He'll turn 39 next month and is an extreme […]

Angels Sign Trevor Cahill

The Los Angeles Angels signed free-agent starting pitcher Trevor Cahill to a one-year, $9 million deal on Thursday, according to a source. Incentives could push the total to $10.5 million. Cahill will stay in the west, where he went 7-4 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 100 strikeouts in 110 innings (20 starts) for […]

Matt Harvey Agrees With Angels

Free-agent starting pitcher Matt Harvey agreed to an undisclosed deal with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, according to a source. The Halos can certainly use some pitching help with Shohei Ohtani (elbow) out for the 2019 season and Matt Shoemaker now a free agent. Harvey, once known as the Dark Knight when he was […]

2018 Baseball Winter Meetings - Wednesday/Thursday Recap

MLB Winter Meetings are ending in Las Vegas, Nevada and the headline-grabbing moves have come from relatively unknown places. Players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, J.T. Realmuto, and Noah Syndergaard were rumored to be traded or signed, yet none of those moves materialized. What did occur over the last two days, though, were some solid […]

Wilson Ramos A Top Target For Angels

Free-agent catcher Wilson Ramos is the Los Angeles Angels "primary target" right now, according to a source. Ramos is attracting plenty of interest from other teams as well, as he is one of the better hitting backstop options in baseball aside from his injury concerns. Ramos hit .306/.358/.487 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI […]

Justin Bour Agrees With Angels

The Los Angeles Angels agreed to an undisclosed deal with free-agent first baseman Justin Bour on Wednesday, according to a source. Bour will turn 31 next May and ended his 2018 season as a bench player for the Phillies, seeing just 49 at-bats with them in 29 games. He hit only .227/.347/.412 with 19 home […]

Shohei Ohtani Could Be Everyday DH

Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus said that designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (elbow) probably doesn't need to sit against left-handed pitchers going into next season. While Ohtani still will need to be cleared to regular serve as the DH in 2019, the expectation is that he'll be able to swing despite undergoing Tommy John surgery […]

Mike Trout To Hit Second In 2019

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is likely to hit second next season, according to new manager Brad Ausmus. While it won't afford Trout as many opportunities to drive in runs as it would if he was hitting third, it won't dissuade fantasy owners from taking him as one of the first overall picks in […]

Albert Pujols Cleared For Lower-Body Workouts

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (elbow, knee) has been cleared for light lower-body workouts after his season-ending knee surgery, according to general manager Billy Eppler. Pujols is also already doing full upper-body work after having right elbow surgery in 2018. The Machine is not aging gracefully and seems to have at least one […]

Shohei Ohtani Has Full Range Of Motion

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (elbow) is doing well in his rehab from Tommy John surgery and has full range of motion with his arm. He will come back to the United States in January for a checkup, but it's too early for the team to set up a hitting plan for […]

Luis Valbuena Dies In Car Crash

Free-agent infielder Luis Valbuena and former major leaguer Jose Castillo were both killed in a car accident in Venezuela on Thursday. Both players were leaving the stadium after playing in a game in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Authorities said their car went to the opposite side of the road while trying to avoid a […]

Angels Interested In Marwin Gonzalez

The Los Angeles Angels are believed to be interested in free-agent infielder/outfielder Marwin Gonzalez. Gonzalez had a career-high 23 home runs in 2017 and hit .303, but he fell back to Earth last season by hitting .247/.324/.409 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI in 145 games with the Astros. He still has some notable […]

Angels Trade Jose Alvarez to Phillies for Luis Garcia

The Los Angeles Angels have traded left-handed reliever Jose Alvarez to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for right-hander Luis Garcia. Alvarez was one of LA's steadiest relievers, posting a 2.71 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 63 innings last season. Garcia is a flame-throwing right-hander who posted an excellent 10.0 K/9 last season, but struggled […]

Angels Sign Jarrett Parker to Minor League Deal

The Los Angeles Angels have inked outfielder Jarrett Parker to a minor league deal with a foreign team inquiry clause. Parker did not appear in the majors in 2018, but hit .247 with four home runs and two stolen bases back in 2017 with the Giants. He is likely going to serve as extra outfield […]

Jabari Blash to Play In Japan Next Season

Former Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jabari Blash has reportedly signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, a Japanese baseball team. Blash was up and down Triple-A last season, hitting just .103 with 24 strikeouts in 39 at-bats with the Angels. He was not fantasy relevant and will look to regain some value overseas.

Jean Segura to Phillies - Fantasy Impact

The Mariners' teardown continued apace on Monday as the rumors were finally announced as fact: Jean Segura is on his way to Philadelphia. Joining him in the better half of the state of Pennsylvania will be relievers Juan Nicasio and James Pazos. Meanwhile, Carlos "Smooth" Santana and former top prospect J.P. Crawford have been sent […]

Angels Interested in Joakim Soria

The Los Angeles Angels have showed interest in veteran right-hander Joakim Soria. They are one of five teams, including the Reds, Yankees, Braves and Diamondbacks, that are showing interest in the 34-year-old free agent. Soria had a 3.11 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP with 16 saves last season. His 11.1 K/9 and 2.44 FIP make […]