Chad Pinder (2B/3B, OAK) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 440 CURRENT ADP: ~542 overall ANALYSIS: Pinder took clear steps he took to improve his plate discipline leading up to the 2020 season last February, and those improvements showed up in his performance. Although Pinder’s O-Swing rate was up slightly from 2019 at 33.3%, his swing rate at pitches in […]

Adrian Houser Leaves Early With Thumb Discomfort

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Adrian Houser exited Sunday's Cactus League start vs. the Seattle Mariners with right thumb discomfort. The 28-year-old right-hander worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings on Sunday with one strikeout and two walks before exiting the game. Houser was having a solid spring so far as he's only allowed one run over his […]

Lorenzo Cain Should See Game Action This Weekend

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain, who's been dealing with a nagging quadriceps injury, should be ready to play in Cactus League games this coming weekend, according to manager Craig Counsell. Cain's quad issue has been described as "very minor" in the past but it's kept him out all month. If he's able to get some […]

Top 20 Outfielders - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

If you’ve played fantasy baseball for a while, you know how hard it can be to find enough quality outfielders to field a competitive team all year long. The good news for fantasy managers is that there are some big names on the way, thanks in part to the 2020 amateur draft which had a […]

Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers

With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]

Top 10 Tips for Fantasy Baseball Snake Drafts

Before I begin, let me caveat everything I say with this: I don't consider myself to be some sort of expert master fantasy player. I've only been playing fantasy baseball for a little under a decade. But as soon as I started to immerse myself into this game we all love, my main focus was […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends

Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]

Devin Williams Throws 25 Pitches in Live BP

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams threw 25 pitches in a live batting practice session Saturday. The reigning NL Rookie of The Year missed Milwaukee's Wild Card series last season due to a shoulder issue. The Brewers are rightfully taking a measured approach with the 26-year-old's throwing program this spring. He told reporters after his bullpen […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Second Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Jackie Bradley Jr. Set For Cactus League Debut Saturday

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is on track to serve as the leadoff hitter for Saturday's Cactus League matchup versus the Rangers. Bradley made his unofficial team debut Friday during an intrasquad contest, logging four plate appearances. After being a late signee, Milwaukee is attempting to ramp Bradley up in time to be ready […]

Brent Suter Gets Hit By Line Drive, Avoids Serious Injury

Milwaukee Brewers left-handed pitcher Brent Suter (hand) was hit by a line drive in the left hand during an intrasquad game Friday, but the injury does not appear serious. Suter is set to undergo further evaluation Saturday before Milwaukee makes any decision about his status moving forward. Set to be one of the anchors of […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/12) - Severino Beginning Build Up

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]

2021 Outfielder Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

We now move on to the outfielder position in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base and Shortstop. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on early spring training action. […]

Avisail Garcia Off To Strong Start This Spring

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Avisail Garcia has been swinging a hot bat this spring. He's gone 8-for-17 with two home runs. Garcia entered camp this spring weighing 235 pounds, nearly 40 pounds less than his average weight. He believes the weight loss has helped both his speed and energy. With the Brewers' acquisition of Jackie Bradley […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/11) - Hiura Endures Spring Struggles

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Second Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We now head to second base as we make our way around the diamond for 2021. […]

Later-Round Outfielders - Targets and Avoids in 2021

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, everyone wants to draft some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have playing time concerns. […]

Keston Hiura Continues Spring Struggles

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 9-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics. The 0-for-3 day marked yet another tough day for the highly-touted second baseman as he is now just 1-for-14 with a home run and three RBI across his first six spring games. Hiura had mixed results in 2020 after […]

Josh Hader Hit Hard In Spring Debut

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader made his spring debut on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics and had an outing to forget. He pitched just 2/3 of an inning and allowed two home runs as well as a walk. He also recorded two strikeouts. After the game, Hader said that he had been working on […]

Top 10 Shortstops - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

The shortstop position is a bountiful one for fantasy players. In a 12-team league, most fantasy managers should have the opportunity to be happy with their starter at the position thanks to the depth and variety of skills available. In 2019, 16 shortstops that had at least 350 plate appearances produced a 100 wRC+ or […]

JB's Bullpen Method Redux - Building FrankenAces

Last year, 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, I […]

Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap

The 2021 Tout Wars season kicked off this week with the 15-team Draft and Hold starting on Monday and then the NEW 12-team Mixed draft on Tuesday. The Draft and Hold is a slow draft, while the 12 team Mixed was live and rocking. I was fortunate enough to take part in the 12-team draft.  […]

Tim Lopes Lands On 60-Day Injured List

Milwaukee Brewers utilityman Tim Lopes (oblique) has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to an oblique injury, putting him out for the foreseeable future. Lopes had been a long shot to make the Brewers' Opening Day roster, with the injury sealing that fate. Over the past two years with Seattle, Lopes compiled a […]

Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups

Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and […]

Christian Yelich Excited For "Fresh Start" After Down Season

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich is excited to get a fresh start in 2021 after struggling for most of the pandemic-shortened campaign. Fantasy managers that used a top-five pick were let down as Yelich limped to a .205 batting average and a .430 slugging percentage, a far cry from his league-leading .671 mark in 2019. […]

Jon Anderson's Outfield Tiered Rankings and Projections

I continue to press forward on my own personal rankings series. Today we tackle the beast that is the outfield. Check out the rest of the series at the links below if you haven't already! First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Starting at the top, here's that juicy tier one full of first-round talent.Be […]

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot% Risers

While the 2020 season may not have given us much of a sample to evaluate outcomes (home runs, doubles, flyouts, etc.), the core events of exit velocity and launch angle stabilize more quickly and can be stickier than combination statistics like ISO or BB%. Two of our FSWA Writer-of-the-Year Finalists, Eric Samulski and Nicklaus Gaut, […]

2021 Relief Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

We continue to move past the chaos of 2020 and onto a new baseball season full of promise. For fantasy baseball managers, draft season is already upon us. RotoBaller's rankers, Pierre Camus, Big Pick Nick Mariano, Ariel Cohen and I have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings as we now move on to evaluate the […]

Luis Urias Exits With Hamstring Tightness

Milwaukee Brewers infielder Luis Urias (hamstring) was removed from Friday's spring game against the Rockies as a precaution due to left hamstring discomfort. The 23-year-old appeared to tweak his hamstring running out a groundout during the third inning, and the Brewers aren't taking any chances by leaving him in the game. Urias received the start […]

Corbin Burnes Fires Two Scoreless Frames On Friday

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes threw two shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk in a Cactus League game versus the Rockies. Burnes was one of baseball's breakout hurlers last year posting a 2.11 ERA with 88 strikeouts in only 59 2/3 innings. Burnes' improvements are supported by a pitch-mix adjustment as he […]