Dodgers Acquire Craig Kimbrel From White Sox

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Chicago White Sox on Friday in exchange for outfielder AJ Pollock, according to a source. It's great news for Kimbrel's fantasy value, as he was set to open the season in a setup role in front of closer Liam Hendriks in Chicago. Now he'll be […]

ESPN H2H Points League Primer - Strategy, Bargains and Busts for Fantasy Baseball

Please, everyone just calm down. Don't worry! I'm not gonna do...what everyone thinks I'm gonna do...and FLIP OUT, man!!! I know that this is usually the space where I go on a big rant about ESPN point league coverage and how much they're failing the people by producing content that fails to match the realities […]

High-Upside Starting Pitchers: Swinging Strike Edition

Unlike the fantasy football world, there are not a lot of casual baseball fans playing the fantasy game. Have you ever heard of a friendly office fantasy baseball league? Probably not. If you're playing fantasy baseball for any actual stake, you are most likely competing against people who know what they're doing - at least […]

Pitcher Statcast: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is evidence […]

Adventures in Positional Scarcity - Catchers Edition for Fantasy Baseball Drafts

This question of how to handle the catcher position has taken on a new level of tough in 2022, at least in the opinion of this analyst. Catchers have always underperformed offensively relative to the rest of the positions, mainly because the first bullet point on their job description is not to hit the ball […]

Eric Samulski's Top 100 Starting Pitchers

I decided to publish a top-100 starting pitching rankings list! I have no idea why, though. These fantasy baseball rankings lists are often the most scrutinized and criticized of anything anybody publishes, so I'm not sure why I decided to open myself up to this. However, I've also been researching pitching all offseason and constantly […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers to some more preseason fantasy baseball rankings! RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats. Our MLB rankers, -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Relief Pitchers to Target for Holds in 2022 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Welcome back fellow RotoBallers. One area I implore you to explore is getting your butt into some leagues with Holds as a scoring category. There are far too many stud relievers (that don't get the last out of the game) that get ignored in standard leagues. It's too simple to Google fantasy baseball closer depth […]

JB's Bullpen Method for 2022 - Building FrankenAces with Relief Pitchers

Two years ago, I finally published an article breaking down my favorite fantasy baseball strategy I have been using for years. It's really less of a strategy and more a state of mind. No, the Bullpen Method is a lifestyle. I always speak about the importance of balance on a fantasy team. For your pitching staff, […]

Undervalued and Overvalued Players - Fantrax Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings

This year's RotoBaller Challenge is being hosted exclusively on Fantrax - The Home of Fantasy Sports. Whether you are competing against fellow RotoBallers, joining a public league, or creating your own custom league on Fantrax, you'll want to get familiar with the site's rankings and average draft position (ADP) before your league drafts. Each platform […]

Zach McKinstry Sent To Minor League Camp

The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned utility man Zach McKinstry and infielder Andy Burns to minor league camp on Tuesday. McKinstry slashed .286/.375/.357 over 16 plate appearances this spring. He saw a lot of action in the majors last year, appearing in 60 games and hitting .215/.263/.405 with seven home runs, 29 RBI and 19 runs. […]

Tommy Kahnle Won't Be Ready By Opening Day

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle (elbow) pitched live batting practice for the second time on Tuesday. He is now scheduled to pitch in the team's final Cactus League game on Saturday. While the 32-year-old is progressing in his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery, he won't be ready for Opening Day, according to Dodgers […]

Second Base Draft Busts for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

When it comes to successful fantasy baseball drafts, identifying risk is as important as identifying value. We focus so much on "sleepers" and "breakouts" but often forget to really think about the players we should be avoiding. If the goal for a good draft is to build a complete team but also to hit on […]

Breakout Infielders That Will Keep Improving in 2022 (Jonathan India, Bo Bichette, Ty France)

Breakouts are perhaps the most fun part of playing fantasy baseball. Being able to identify and grab guys as they reach their potential can often be the difference between winning it all and being lost in the shuffle. Breakouts come in all shapes in sizes. They can be guys that come out of nowhere or […]

Andrew Heaney, Tony Gonsolin Projected As Starters

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he projects pitchers Andrew Heaney and Tony Gonsolin as starters to begin the season. Left-hander Tyler Anderson will serve as a piggyback option out of the bullpen. Veteran southpaw David Price isn't an option as a starter because he's not built up enough. Heaney will fill in […]

Later-Round Fantasy Baseball Hitter Targets: Home Runs

Today, we will be highlighting some hitters that can help your team in the home runs category without costing you tons of your draft capital. We have gone through several categories already, so check out those posts if you've missed them. These analyses are vital to having a successful fantasy baseball draft in rotisserie-style leagues. […]

Michael Florio's Pitchers to Target in Points Leagues

Starting pitchers are important in all fantasy baseball formats, but perhaps none more so than fantasy baseball points leagues. It's easy to understand why so much emphasis is placed on this position once you understand the scoring system. You build your hitters and your pitchers, and while they are all apart of one team, they […]

Cody Bellinger Struggling In Spring Training

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger struck out four times in a Cactus League game on Saturday and has 14 strikeouts in 19 spring at-bats so far. "Tonight was the first time I felt like things sped up on him. We just got to go back to work and keep grinding," manager Dave Roberts said. […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

With Spring Training upon us, and the fantasy baseball draft season in full swing, it's time to look at the shortstop position and see who may or may not be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick this season. RotoBaller's lead MLB rankers - JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings for Roto Leagues - Ronald Acuna, Randal Grichuk, Luis Castillo, Dylan Floro, Shane Baz and More

Welcome back RotoBallers! Spring Training is upon us, and fantasy baseball drafts are about to get busy. Below are our updated 2022 fantasy baseball draft rankings and tiers for roto leagues. We will be updating these rankings constantly, and releasing updates every few days along with relevant injury updates to be aware of. Five of […]

Jon Anderson's 2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide

Baseball is happening in 2022, and it is happening in full force. With the excellent news of the lockout ending, we are ready to dive full steam ahead into the fantasy baseball draft season! I have had my head deep in baseball data since before Christmas, so I wanted to come out with a miniature […]

Blake Treinen Not A Lock For Closer Role

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wouldn't commit to using Blake Treinen as the team's closer this season, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Asked about the team's plans for a closer in the post-Kenley Jansen era, Roberts said, "I think the easy answer is Blake [Treinen]. But I don't know if […]

Michael Florio's Hitters to Target in Points Leagues

Points leagues are becoming more and more popular in fantasy baseball. They have long been my favorite format because they are great both for the newcomer and the seasoned vet. The thing about points leagues is that while the scoring can vary based on platform, they tend to reward more outcomes than traditional Roto leagues, […]

Mid-Round Catchers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place – and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

Prime-Age Infielders Set to Break Out for Fantasy Baseball

With baseball officially back, we can finally move on from worrying about whether the teams would actually be on the field and start worrying about the fake teams we're going to field this year in fantasy baseball. This article is going to break down three infielders in the age 26-29 range who are on the […]

Late-Round Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Targets: WHIP

This is the next part of a series reviewing standard rotisserie league categories to identify later-round draft options and sleepers to help your fantasy team in each spot. We've already covered SP targets to help with ERA. In this article, we're looking for starting pitchers that can help your fantasy team's WHIP. This is not […]

RotoBaller Staff Mock Draft Analysis: 12-Team Roto League Draft

Fantasy prep is never complete without mock drafts. So in doing our best to prepare for the 2022 season, my fellow RotoBaller writers and I got together for a 12-team 5X5 Roto mock draft. The only difference is that we used Quality Starts instead of Wins. I’ll be breaking down our draft round-by-round and highlighting […]

Mid-Round Shortstops - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

Justin Turner (3B, LAD) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 130 CURRENT ADP: ~154 overall ANALYSIS: Justin Turner projects to a tasteful .355 OBP to go with a noice .457 SLG that combines for the eighth-best OPS among 3B in Steamer's spreadsheets. I know the hammy has you worried, but JT gave us hope a few days ago talking about a very […]

Let's Overreact to Spring Training News and Tweets: Part Two

Baseball is back, spring training is here, and every tweet from every beat writer is getting scrutinized to an outrageous level. It's wacky season at its best, but instead of shying away from that, we're going to lean into it. I've found some bits of news that are interesting and also, at times, amusing, and […]