Closers and Saves Report for 2022 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

We're back! Baseball is back and we're still getting all 162 games, so there can be good news in 2022! While there are still some big-name relievers looming in free agency and likely some trades left to come, it's never too early to take a look at where each team's bullpen stands. Once the season gets […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings (Part 2) - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Earlier, we broke down the first few tiers of starting pitcher rankings for 2022 fantasy baseball drafts. It's time to look at the rest of the starting pitchers that may be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano, have updated our 2022 […]

Late-Round Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Targets - NFBC Draft and Hold Leagues

Even as the Major League Baseball lockout drags on, fantasy baseball managers have begun diving into draft season. In these early months before Spring Training begins, the most common draft formats are draft and hold leagues in which managers will draft large teams (usually 50 players) and then make no waiver claims during the year. […]

Mid-Round First Basemen - 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 […]

Mid-Round Starting Pitchers - 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 […]

Royals Trying To Acquire Frankie Montas

The Kansas City Royals are one of the teams trying to acquire Oakland Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas, according to sources. The Royals freed up $8.5 million in the trade Wednesday that sent left-hander Mike Minor to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for lefty reliever Amir Garrett. The A's, on the other hand, have already traded […]

Yankees Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas

The New York Yankees are among the teams talking to the Oakland Athletics about star young pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, according to sources familiar with the situation. In addition to the Yankees, the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox have discussed the two starting pitchers. The A's are clearly rebuilding after already trading […]

Matt Chapman Traded To The Blue Jays

The Oakland Athletics traded third baseman Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays for Kevin Smith, Gunnar Hoglund, Zach Logue and Kirby Snead. He is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball. He now joins a loaded Toronto Blue Jays lineup, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer, and Teoscar Hernandez. The 28-year-old […]

Where to Draft Injured Hitters in Fantasy Baseball

After a stressful few months where seemingly everybody became an expert on the economics of baseball and traded spin rate analysis for PR spin analysis, we can get back to digging into the game itself. It's wonderful news without a doubt. Except possibly for those injured players who were hoping for another few weeks of […]

White Sox Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas

Along with the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox are among many teams talking to the Oakland Athletics about trading for starting pitchers Sean Manaea and/or Frankie Montas. The A's already have traded starting pitcher Chris Bassitt to the New York Mets and first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves, so their full rebuild […]

A's Acquire Cristian Pache, Shea Langeliers

The Oakland Athletics acquired outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher Shea Langeliers and starting pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes from the Atlanta Braves on Monday in exchange for first baseman Matt Olson, according to a source. The A's are clearly rebuilding heading into 2022, but it's a big prospect haul for them. Pache and Langeliers were […]

Braves Acquire Matt Olson From A's

The Atlanta Braves are acquiring first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics on Monday in exchange for starting pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes, outfielder Cristian Pache and catcher Shea Langeliers, according to a source. Another blockbuster in what should be a crazy week. It also means that former Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman […]

Let's Overreact to Spring Training News and Tweets

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 […]

Twins Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas

The Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics have discussed trade proposals in recent days that would include a starting pitcher going to Minnesota, and pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are the top candidates to be included in a deal, according to sources. The Twins are dealing fast and furious now that MLB is back in […]

Athletics Claim Sam Selman Off Waivers

The Oakland Athletics have claimed relief pitcher Sam Selman off of waivers, according to A's beat writer Matt Kawahara. Selman split the 2021 season with the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Angels. He pitched a total of 25 innings, posting a 5.76 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The 31-year-old southpaw likely won't land […]

Chris Bassitt Traded To Mets

The New York Mets have traded for right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt, according to ESPN. Minor league pitchers J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller will head to Oakland in exchange for the 2021 All- Star. Bassitt was having a strong season for the A's before his season was derailed by facial fractures after being hit with a […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball First Base 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, […]

Finding Clones of Stud Hitters at Cheaper Draft Day Costs

Fantasy baseball is, most of the time, a category-centered game. Unlike fantasy football, where all you want are raw points, the roto category format of baseball really separates certain players in terms of how they can help your fantasy team. Some hitters will boost your team's batting average while bringing down your home run pace, […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Fantasy baseball draft prep never stops, lockout or not. As we all anticipate the start of spring training, many fantasy baseball drafts are already underway. To prepare our readers, RotoBaller's rankers -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano -- have updated their 2022 fantasy baseball mixed league rankings. This article […]

Ramon Laureano Participating In Spring Training

Oakland Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano (suspension) can work out with the team during Spring Training. In 2021, he was suspended 80 games for violating MLB's PED policy and has 27 games remaining on his suspension. The 27-year-old will stay in Arizona and continue to work out when the team leaves for Opening Day. He underwent […]

Elvis Andrus Should Be Ready For Camp

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said that he thinks shortstop Elvis Andrus (leg), who fractured his left fibula last September and had surgery, will be "ready to come to camp and hit the ground running." Andrus should be able to work out early in spring training, but the A's could ease him into game action […]

Braves Have Been In Touch With Matt Olson

The Atlanta Braves have been in touch with Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, who is an Atlanta native, in the event that free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman signs with another team. The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers have also been interested in trading for the rising left-handed slugger, but no deals are close. […]

ADP Review - February Risers and Fallers

The fine people over at NFBC have really put together an awesome fantasy sports product. You can participate in fantasy drafts all year long, and the platform is just great. One of the coolest things they do is keep detailed ADP data. You can even select custom date ranges to limit the drafts you want […]

Building an Offense After Pick 100 - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

There are basically three large categories of players you'll draft in a fantasy baseball league: Hitters Pitchers Relief Pitcher One of the tougher things to nail down in a draft is when to dive into each of those groups. There are good arguments for going heavy at hitting early on, good arguments for quickly grabbing […]

Manufacturing a Stud: Late-Round Hitter Combos

Fantasy baseball is most often a category-centered game. You compete in five or six offensive categories every week with your final season finished depending on how well you perform in each category. This opens up the opportunity to deploy certain draft strategies that help your team become more well-rounded all throughout the draft. The best […]

High-Upside Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - Deeper Leagues Analysis

If you are drafting this early in the fantasy baseball season, you are probably playing in some pretty serious leagues. That means there is a good chance your draft is stretching past 300 picks. It is very tough to keep a large player pool sorted out in your head, and it's not hard to get […]

High-Upside Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball: "Stuff" Edition

In the first analysis of my "finding high-upside starting pitchers" series, I looked in depth at swinging-strike rate. You can read that here. That analysis looked at overall SwStr% for every pitcher, taking into account all of their pitch types to one SwStr% number. In this article, I want to go a step further and […]

Yankees Targeting Matt Olson

The New York Yankees are looking to add a first baseman prior to the start of the 2022 season. According to a report from Yankees beat writer Erik Boland, Athletics first baseman Matt Olson is their preference at the position. However, the Athletics will have a high asking price in return for Olson, targeting prospects […]

Strong Septembers to Remember - 2022 Breakout Candidates

One of the most difficult things to do as a fantasy sports contributor is attempting to glean valuable information from small sample sizes. Small sample sizes represent a higher opportunity for variance, which can wreak havoc if not taken seriously or properly accounted for. However, variance isn't all bad and there are certain things to […]

Contact Rate Gainers - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

As the MLB and MLBPA keep working towards ending the lockout and getting baseball back into our lives, we've been keeping the offseason content going by digging into some 2021 stats. While we all obviously want the lockout to end, this is a useful time to do your research and have a better understanding of […]