First Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series for points league and head-to-head (H2H) formats with the hard-hitting first base position. Traditionally a power haven, first base has a fairly clear top three tiers and then the floor starts to […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Danny Jansen and Ozzie Albies

With fewer data points to go off of, younger players have always been more challenging to project than their more veteran counterparts. Unfortunately, the game is getting younger. Fantasy owners need to roster at least a few young studs if they hope to compete. Danny Jansen may not have impressed in his brief MLB debut […]

Padres Interested In Face-To-Face Meeting With Manny Machado

The San Diego Padres are showing interest in setting up a meeting with free-agent shortstop Manny Machado, possibly in Miami, according to sources. Now that Machado's price has come down drastically from the 10 years and $300 million he was initially requesting, the Padres have entered the mix along with the White Sox, Phillies and […]

Kenley Jansen Throws Bullpen Session

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen (heart) said he threw his first bullpen session on Thursday since he underwent heart surgery. He has also dropped 25 pounds by cutting out carbohydrates and sugar this offseason. Jansen had a heart scare during the season and missed a short amount of time, but he should be good […]

Padres The Mystery Team In Manny Machado Sweepstakes

The San Diego Padres have been identified as the "mystery team" in pursuit of free-agent shortstop Manny Machado, according to multiple sources aware of talks between the sides. The Padres would use Machado at third base if they were to sign him. San Diego started pursuing Machado last week when reports surfaced of a price […]

Yankees Offer To Manny Machado Is Low

While an exact years/dollar amount hasn't been confirmed, the New York Yankees offer to free-agent shortstop Manny Machado is "low," according to sources. Machado initially was asking for 10 years and at least $300 million at the start of free agency, but it appears no team is willing to that high in both years and […]

A.J. Pollock to the Dodgers - Fantasy Impact

The merry-go-round that is the Dodgers' offseason continued on Thursday, as it was announced that A.J. Pollock is signing in Los Angeles on a four-year $55-million dollar contract. It always seemed likely the Dodgers could add another outfielder, but the thought was that it was more likely to be Bryce Harper who signed in Los […]

2019 Bullpen Outlooks - National League West

The East and Central have already been covered, so let's head out west. It's time to see what's going on in the bullpens of the National League West division. There are still too many significant relief pitchers on the free agent market to believe that any bullpen is "set" for Opening Day, but there are […]

Dodgers Moving Focus To J.T. Realmuto

The Los Angeles Dodgers are focusing on a potential trade for Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, with intensive talks on-going. The Dodgers have been one of a handful of teams interested in the backstop all offseason, but things may be getting more serious. Realmuto hit .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI last year […]

Dodgers Agree With A.J. Pollock

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to an undisclosed deal with free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock on Thursday, according to sources. Pollock is a big addition for the Dodgers even if they already have a somewhat stacked outfield despite trading Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp this offseason. The 31-year-old helps bring more balance to a left-handed heavy […]

RotoBaller MLB Radio - Fantasy Baseball Rankings and News with Brian Kenny

RotoBaller fantasy baseball experts Mike the Roto Cop, Anthony Aniano, and Danny Baseball take a look at the at latest fantasy baseball free agent news, and dig deep into second and third base rankings with MLB's Brian Kenny. In this podcast you will hear about: Manny Machado, Jose Altuve Adam Ottavino, Whit Merrifield Javier Baez, Matt […]

Brian Dozier to Nationals - Fantasy Impact

In mid-January, the Nationals inked Brian Dozier to a one-year, $9M contract. Following a disappointing season in which he was hobbled by a knee injury, the veteran second baseman will try to re-establish himself in the pursuit of a long-term contract next off-season as he heads into his age-32 season. It is worth noting that […]

Top 420: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers. Today we are here to start looking at points leagues and head-to-head (H2H) formats. In this column, you will find our staff's preliminary 2019 fantasy baseball points league rankings for January and the top 420 players. Over the next few days, we will also be publishing individual tiered rankings analysis columns for each […]

Dodgers Have Increasing Interest In A.J. Pollock

The Los Angeles Dodgers have increasing interest in signing free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock, but there is no indication that any deal is close at this time. Pollock has the ability to play center field and would help balance a lefty-heavy Dodgers lineup. The 31-year-old would be a top-of-the-order hitter for the Blue and provides fantasy […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Early-Round Overvalued List (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. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

Ross Stripling - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

As fantasy baseball managers, we all love the sleeper. There’s always that gratifying feeling at season's end where you can go back and say “I told you so!” Every year there are endless amounts of articles and debates on who will emerge as a top-tier player from out of the shadows and into the limelight. […]

Lourdes Gurriel - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

There are a multitude of reasons to like what Lourdes Gurriel has to offer at his currently very low draft price. The 25-year-old shortstop from Cuba is entering just his second MLB season after spending 2017 and about half of 2018 accelerating through Toronto’s minor league system. He definitely impressed in his brief taste of […]

White Sox Make $125 Million Offer To Manny Machado

The Chicago White Sox's offer to free-agent shortstop Manny Machado was for $175 million over seven years. With just the White Sox and Phillies believed to be interested in Machado, the White Sox decided to take a low-ball approach and go from there. One of the best shortstops both offensively and defensively was seeking $300 […]

AL Rookies to Target in 2019 Mixed Redraft Leagues

As the New Year has finally come, and fantasy football is over, at last, fantasy baseball draft season is right around the corner. With that comes mock drafts, draft previews, ADP analysis, and of course, player recommendations. This article will help owners get ready by looking to the American League All-Star team of rookies to […]

NL Rookies to Target in 2019 Mixed Redraft Leagues

As the New Year has finally come, and fantasy football is over, at last, fantasy baseball draft season is right around the corner. With that comes mock drafts, draft previews, ADP analysis, and of course, player recommendations. This article will help owners get ready by looking to the National League All-Star team of rookies to […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 3 - Statcast for Hitters

If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the so-called Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP and HR/FB figures. […]

2019 Outfielders - Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Outfield is a unique position in the fantasy world. The best of the best reside in the outfield, with our consensus top two picks and nine of the top 25 overall players making this list. On the other hand, it is by far the deepest and easiest to gain late-round value if you choose to […]

DJ LeMahieu to Yankees - Fantasy Impact

The Yankees needed to fill a void in their infield with Didi Gregorius likely to miss the first four months of the season and Troy Tulowitzki being unreliable to say the least. New York was (and still is?) heavily linked to superstar Manny Machado, but it was another former All-Star that the Yankees inked on Jan. […]

2019 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

A tough position to evaluate is that of relief pitchers, as a lot of success for closers comes from success from teams. There are also a lot of bullpens by committee these days, further stifling the value of closers. That being said, only four of the pitchers that ranked in the top-10 in saves in […]

White Sox Offer Manny Machado An Eight-Year Deal

The Chicago White Sox offered free-agent shortstop Manny Machado an eight-year deal on Sunday and could be compelled to give him more years, according to league sources. The Phillies are also engaged with Machado, but at this point it appears they are more interested in trying to land superstar outfielder Bryce Harper. While the White […]

2019 Third Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the third base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

2019 Starting Pitcher - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. The sun is still rising on 2019, but RotoBaller writers JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli and myself are here with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these […]

Yasmani Grandal to Brewers - Fantasy Impact

The news broke on Thursday that Yasmani Grandal is headed to the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year, $18 million contract. This is evidence of yet another move from the Brewers to go all in on their current squad. This trade takes one of the Brewers' two weakest offensive positions and turns it into a legitimate strength […]

Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Chris Taylor, Others

The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided salary arbitration on Friday with infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor, outfielders Kike Hernandez and Joc Pederson and relief pitchers Pedro Baez, Josh Fields and Yimi Garcia by signing them to undisclosed one-year deals. Taylor is the most attractive fantasy piece of the bunch because of his ability to player almost anywhere on […]

Corey Seager To Make $4 Million In 2019

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $4 million deal, according to a source. It was his first year of arbitration eligibility after making $605,000 last season. Coming off a lost season because of Tommy John surgery, RotoBaller currently has Seager ranked just outside the top […]