Chad Pinder Playing Second Base, Batting Sixth Thursday

Oakland Athletics infielder/outfielder Chad Pinder is playing second base on Thursday and bats sixth. Pinder started in left field twice during the Japan series, but now moves to second base as Jurickson Profar (batting fifth) takes the injured Matt Olson's place at first. Pinder posted strong Statcast numbers last year and could provide solid power […]

Jurickson Profar Starting At First Base Against The Angels

Oakland Athletics first baseman Jurickson Profar will bat fifth on Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels and Trevor Cahill. With Matt Olson (hand) sidelined for six-to-eight weeks, Profar was expected to be the in-house replacement. That plan changed on Wednesday night as the Athletics traded for slugger Kendrys Morales. It is unclear how the team […]

Franklin Barreto Likely To Be Optioned

Oakland Athletics shortstop Franklin Barreto is likely to start the year in the minors after the team acquired first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales on Wednesday night. The 23-year-old still has time to develop into a decent major league player and should be back with Oakland eventually, but he's hit only .215/.252/.424 with seven home runs […]

Kendrys Morales Traded To The Athletics

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Kendrys Morales has been traded to the Oakland Athletics for infield prospect Jesus Lopez and international signing bonus-pool space. Morales had a .249 average for the Jays last season to go along with 21 home runs and 57 RBI. The 35-year-old slugger has hit at least 20 HRs in each […]

Matt Olson Placed On Injured List

The Oakland Athletics placed first baseman Matt Olson (hand) and starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (leg) on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday. They also optioned relief pitcher Ryan Dull to Triple-A Las Vegas. Olson had surgery to fix a fractured hamate bone that he suffered in the two-game series in Japan last week and will […]

Aaron Brooks Makes Team As Fifth Starter

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Aaron Brooks made the Opening Day roster as the fifth starter. Chris Bassitt (shin) will go on the injured list to start. It could be a very short stay for the 28-year-old right-hander in the A's rotation, so he's not very attractive in any fantasy leagues. Brooks has an 8.01 ERA, […]

What's In Your Wallet? My Most-Owned Players in 2019

After a difficult 2018 season, I took stock of what had gone wrong and identified one potential source of trouble: Too many leagues across too many platforms. So, naturally, this is how I responded to that revelation this year: Me in January: Remember not to do too many leagues on too many different sites again, […]

Four Sleepers At First Base to Target Late

First base was once the most loaded position in fantasy baseball. All the best hitters played the position, and if you didn't have an elite one on your team, you were in trouble. That's changed a bit over the past few seasons, as younger, more athletic players have emerged at positions like shortstop, third base, […]

Finding Under and Overvalued SS Using Expected Draft Values

We've been rolling out our Expected Draft Values series, starting with Nick Mariano's look into some undervalued players and overvalued players.As draft season winds down today, we're going to give you some undervalued and overvalued players who qualify at shortstop. As a quick primer, Expected Draft Value is the value you would historically expect, on average, from […]

Updated Relief Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Roto (Mixed Leagues)

We're back up on the bump for this edition of our mixed rankings analysis, and not a moment too soon. The 2019 baseball season is already here! RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Bill Dubiel, Pierre Camus, and Scott Engel want to make sure you are prepared for last-minute drafts, so they have given their […]

Updated Catcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

As we enter the final stretch for drafting it is time to take a look at the latest iteration of points leagues rankings from our amazing hard working rankings staff. Few things in fantasy baseball are more miserable for many than discussing catchers, with perhaps just injuries and suspensions taking the crown. However, getting the […]

Updated First Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

The RotoBaller Head-to-Head rankings review series winds down with a view of first base through the lens of our three-man expert panel of fantasy accuracy champ Nick Mariano and premier staffers JB Branson and Bill Dubiel. The top tier could conceivably have a new kingpin at any point, and not all of our experts believe […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (3/28/19): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

The 2019 MLB season is finally upon us as opening day is Thurday. Luckily, FanDuel kept this one full slate, and we have 14 games. The games start between 1 and 4 PM EST, and we should have the majority of lineups out by the time the first game begins. With this being such a […]

Three NL Pitchers Set To Break Out in 2019

We're always looking for the next breakout. Cody Bellinger or Chris Taylor in 2017. Trevor Bauer or Aldaberto Mondesi in 2018. These are the kind of guys who can make a good fantasy team great or boost an average team into a playoff spot. How do we find these players before they break out? They […]

Updated Shortstop Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

The RotoBaller Head-to-Head rankings review series continues with a view of shortstop through the lens of our three-man expert panel of fantasy accuracy champ Nick Mariano and premier staffers JB Branson and Bill Dubiel. The position is well-stocked with useful starters, but as you get deeper, the H2H negatives will get exposed more. Near the […]

Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

We are continuing our updated analysis of points league tiered rankings with a final look at starting pitchers. In H2H points leagues, starting pitchers are the lifeblood of a fantasy team. The more innings and strikeouts a starter can rack up, the further it carries your team toward a championship. There is a solid core […]

Starting Pitcher Busts Due to Bounce Back In 2019

Every fantasy team needs starting pitching to compete, and this year’s crop offers an exciting mix. There is a clear top-three in a tier alone, with 12-15 more names claiming to be “fantasy aces.” Past the top few tiers, the pitching pool turns into a mixture of similar options, with small differences that could amount […]

Man vs. Machine: Nick Mariano and THE BAT's Undervalued and Overvalued Players

What do I, Nick Mariano, have in common with great minds such as Ken Jennings, Gary Kasparov, and Lee Sedot? Before, I wouldn’t have had an answer, but now I can say that we’ve all had the honor of challenging incredible Artificial Intelligence minds! Nevermind that those other three guys got crushed in their “Man […]

Young Hitters Set To Break Out in 2019

The hunt for the next breakout player is a never-ending quest for fantasy players. Identifying and acquiring even one of those players can pay huge dividends throughout the course of a single-season league and even more so in dynasty and keeper leagues. Unfortunately, this quest is shared by all fantasy players, so the window of […]

Sophomores Who Have Fallen Between the Cracks?

Baseball prospects and rookies get covered extensively around baseball, whether we’re referring to just fantasy baseball or the sport in general. What we don’t do overly well, is cover the players that fall between the cracks. What I mean by that is the players that play long enough to lose their rookie eligibility but not […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

We are continuing our updated analysis of points league tiered rankings with the hot corner. Third base has a treasure trove of fantasy stars in the making, if things break right of course. If you are relatively new to points leagues, you need to pay close attention to the difference between these rankings and that […]

Updated Outfield Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

As we enter the final stretch for drafting it is time to take a look at the latest iteration of points leagues rankings from our amazing hard working rankings staff. Starting with the outfield is always fun because there is so much depth at the position, especially if you only require three of them, as […]

March ADP Musings - Overvalued / Undervalued Shortstops

It's full steam ahead for fantasy baseball draft season before Opening Day hits. Depending on how many leagues you are in, you may already have a pretty good handle on what to expect as far as where and when certain players or position groups are going in drafts. On the other hand, maybe you're only […]

Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Roto (Mixed Leagues)

We're back up on the bump for this edition of our mixed rankings analysis, and not a moment too soon. The 2019 baseball season is already here! RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Bill Dubiel, Pierre Camus, and Scott Engel want to make sure you are prepared for last-minute drafts, so they have given their […]

Updated Second Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Continuing on our points league tiered rankings analysis we move over to the keystone position. Second base has the deepest talent pool that it's seen in recent years as it’s full of elite bats at the top and high-upside youngsters in the lower tiers. With two games in the regular season already in the books, […]

Infielders Who'll Continue to Break Out In 2019

2018 was a fantastic year for a number of MLB players. Breaking out and either surprising people or reaching your true potential must be a fantastic feeling for players who have put in years of work to get to where they are. Those breakout players are also a lot of fun for fantasy baseball owners. […]

Matt Olson Undergoes Hand Surgery

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson suffered an injury to his right hand after fouling a ball off of it in Thursday's game in Japan. He had to undergo surgery on his hamate and will be out an extended period of time. The A's haven't specified an exact timetable for his return yet, but these […]

March ADP Musings - Overvalued / Undervalued Relief Pitchers

If you've played fantasy baseball long enough, you've heard some variation of the phrase "don't pay for saves" before. If you're new to the fantasy baseball community, you'll get used to it soon enough. The long-form version, for those of you who are indeed trying out fantasy baseball for the first time, is this: bullpen […]

2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As we get set for the 2019 MLB season, it's time for our crack staff to reveal their favorite preseason sleepers. We recently polled some of our fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the mid-to-late rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely heard […]

Intro: Finding Undervalued Players Using Expected Draft Values

At RotoBaller, we are all about bringing you the best analysis in the fantasy sports universe. We’re proud to unveil a draft-season project that looks at the past 10 years of draft data to find undervalued and overvalued players based on Expected Draft Values.  This series introduction will briefly break down our methodology and then […]