Tyler Wade Earns Major League Roster Spot

Infielder Tyler Wade has been rewarded for his strong Spring Training by earning a spot on the New York Yankees’ Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old hit .318 this spring, scoring six runs, driving in two and swiping a pair of bases. Additionally, he was stellar with the glove, playing a position that had been voided […]

Second-Year Hitters Set To Breakout In 2018

We were blessed with two huge fantasy baseball stars emerging from the rookie class in 2017. Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger burst onto the scene and owned the AL and NL, respectively, Rookie of the Year honors. Now, it’s time to examine the 2017 rookies and determine who will learn from their inaugural campaign and […]

Top Shortstop Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 shortstops - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. As expected, shortstop is far and away the deepest list of infield prospects. This tends to be the trend every season given that it is typically […]

Estevan Florial Assigned To Minors

Like fellow New York Yankees Dominican prospect Miguel Andujar, Estevan Florial has been cut from the major league roster this spring training, being reassigned to the minor leagues. The 20-year-old was always a long shot to make the squad, especially considering his position of outfielder and how stacked the Yankees are there. Florial got off […]

Miguel Andujar Optioned To Minors

Exciting third base prospect Miguel Andujar was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre by the New York Yankees on Sunday. The 23-year-old had a monster start to spring training this year, posting a .429 average with four home runs through the first five games. Since then, however, he cooled down, hitting .219 in 10 games this month. […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 14 - Statcast For Pitchers

Previously, we looked at Barrels, a stat combining exit velocity and launch angle to measure how often a batter makes quality hard contact. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is some evidence that pitchers do not have the same influence […]

ADP Rankings Debate - Cody Bellinger vs. Freddie Freeman

As with a number of ADP debates, Cody Bellinger and Freddie Freeman both offer the skills for success in 2018. Each first baseman is going in the first two or three rounds of fantasy baseball drafts, but chances are you'll only be able to snag one. Which young slugger will deliver better value in 2018? […]

Deeper Shortstop Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

After catcher, shortstop is generally considered the weakest offensive position in fantasy baseball. While an influx of young talent has bolstered the top end of the position, it can still be hard to find appealing options after the studs are gone. In deeper leagues, especially AL or NL-only leagues, getting value out of late round […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2018

Every day from now until Opening Day, our writers will be offering their most audacious projections for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. This is my fourth go-round with this series. I've had some great successes and some equally terrible calls in both previous attempts, and this year should be no different. Hopefully the former outweigh […]

Luis Severino Named Opening Day Starter

In a move that was widely expected, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Saturday that starting pitcher Luis Severino will be the club’s Opening Day starting pitcher. The 24-year-old took a major leap forward in his third professional season last year, going 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA. Severino was envisioned as an ace when he made […]

Blue Jays Sign Danny Espinosa

The Toronto Blue Jays signed free-agent second baseman Danny Espinosa to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training on Saturday. Espinosa appeared in 12 spring games for the Yankees but was released on March 12. The 30-year-old had his best years with the Nationals from 2010 to 2016, but he's hit just […]

Greg Bird Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

As we move closer and closer to the start of the regular season, our writers are still vigorously debating each other's preseason rankings. In this space, we'll hear from rankers with the biggest differences of opinion on a well-known player and have them defend their position against each other. Today, the subject of discussion is […]

Champ or Chump - Brett Gardner and Whit Merrifield

Many fantasy owners avoid players such as Billy Hamilton because his lopsided production puts you at a disadvantage in four out of five categories. The obvious solution is to roster balanced players who contribute in all of the categories, but players who can realistically do that are often expensive. Heck, Alex Bregman is commanding a […]

Top Third Base Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 third basemen - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Third base this season is a particularly interesting class of prospects. There are so many like Nick Senzel, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Gleyber Torres who […]

Chance Adams Sent To Minor Leagues

The day after suffering another rough outing with the major league team in Spring Training, the New York Yankees sent pitcher Chance Adams to minor league camp. The 23-year-old, one of the Yankees’ highest-rated prospects, made three appearances this Spring Training, two of them being starts. In his first two appearances, he allowed one run […]

Dellin Betances (RP, NYY) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~230 CURRENT ADP: 278 ANALYSIS: At his current ADP, Dellin Betances is going undrafted in many standard leagues. While not currently a closer, Betances contributes meaningfully in strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. Since 2014, he ranks fourth with a 14.44 K/9 amongst all pitchers. He's been flat-out dominant out of the bullpen with […]

Updated Relief Pitcher Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

One final time before regular season baseball returns and our lives are, at last, complete, RotoBaller's staff writers are updating their 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Today, we'll be taking a look at one of the shallower positions - relief pitcher. As usual, there are a few elite options at the top, and it gets much […]

Deeper Third Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

Hooray! Another sleeper article! The RotoBaller team recently updated our third base rankings and commented on the depth of third base this year. Today, we'll go deeper, and deeper into the well. Waaaayy, way down. No argument, there's plenty to like about the upper crop of third basemen. If you're in standard-sized leagues, you should […]

Adam Lind Released By Yankees

After signing a minor league contract with the New York Yankees in an attempt to win the backup first baseman job, Adam Lind has been released with two weeks left in Spring Training. The 34-year-old took part in five games with the Yanks this spring, hitting .200 with just three hits in 15 plate appearances. […]

Top Second Base Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 second basemen - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Second base is not a particularly strong position for prospects. It suffers from the same issue as first base: it is used as the position […]

Brad Ziegler (RP, Mia) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target end of your draft or ~275, whichever comes first CURRENT ADP: 344 ANALYSIS: Miami Marlins closer Brad Ziegler is not a flashy pickup. He is not going to overwhelm anyone with strikeouts like Craig Kimbrel, induce a ridiculous amount of ground balls like Zach Britton, or blow teams away with a triple-digit fastball like Aroldis […]

Gleyber Torres Sent To Minors

In a move that seemed inevitable, the New York Yankees officially reassigned top prospect Gleyber Torres to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 21-year-old appeared unlikely to break the major league roster with an extra year of control over him in play should he remain in the minors through mid-April. Additionally, acquisitions of Brandon Drury and most recently Neil […]

Third Base H2H Points Rankings - March Update

We are getting closer and closer to the first pitch of the 2018 MLB season. Spring training is in full swing which means we are right in the thick of draft season. If you have a draft coming up soon, make sure to use our rankings for all league types. Regardless of the platform or […]

Updated Shortstop Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season only a few weeks away, the esteemed RotoBaller staff has updated their rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the glorious shortstop position. There's a bevy of talented bats ready to be penciled in at the "6" this season, but the sure things draw […]

Post Hype First Basemen Set to Breakout in 2018

A true breakout isn’t hard to predict. Luckily for us, the breakout formula is rather simple: opportunity + talent + efficiency = breakout. The first basemen listed below are players who I think will have top-100 draft stock in 2019 drafts, or, at the very least, will be drafted higher next year because they check […]

Jacoby Ellsbury Unlikely To Be Ready For Season Opener

Still dealing with an oblique injury, there was some bad news and good news Monday for New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. While positive news emerged Monday that he could see action in exhibition games soon, it may not be enough for Ellsbury to be deemed fit in time for Opening Day. The 34-year-old, who will be […]

Danny Espinosa Released By Yankees

Signed during the offseason to battle for one of the New York Yankees voided infield spots, second baseman Danny Espinosa has been released by the club. The 30-year-old’s chances of earning one of those spots gradually slimmed with the rises of Miguel Andujar and Tyler Wade, alongside the acquisitions of Brandon Drury and Neil Walker. In […]

Updated Catcher Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

One final time before regular season baseball returns and our lives are, at last, complete, RotoBaller's staff writers are updating their 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Today, we'll be taking a look at the shallowest position - catcher. As usual, after the few elite options are off the board, it's probably best to leave filling this […]

Leading Indicators - First Pitch Strikes and Strikeout Risers

Conventional baseball wisdom harps on the importance of the first-pitch strike (F-strike%). As pitchers get ahead in counts, they gain an advantage on hitters and have more pitch choices at their disposal. However, smart people discovered a hitter's average with a 0-1 count (.321) is only marginally worse than a 1-0 count (.337). The pitch […]

Trey Mancini (1B/OF, BAL) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~142 CURRENT ADP: 151 ANALYSIS: Baltimore Orioles 1B/OF Trey Mancini turned heads last season by hitting .293 with 24 HR, 78 RBI, and 65 R. Still only 25-years-old, Mancini is poised to take his game to the next level in 2018. Sporting a ground ball-heavy profile, Mancini still managed to pop 24 […]