Catcher Draft Targets for All Leagues

Enough with the catcher slander! As fantasy baseball drafts heat up, all I keep reading about is how we're "forced" to draft catchers and how they can tank your roster. Catchers are people too! I could use thousands of words writing about the value of catchers and how the grind of their defensive job and […]

Deeper League Sleepers at Second Base

When focusing on sleepers for deeper leagues, playing time really matters the most. You also might want to pair playing time with certain stats as you get deeper into the player pool. Below are five names that offer secure playing time and many come with a stat that helps them stand out from others at […]

Anthony DeSclafani, Giants Hoping For Bounce-Back 2021

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani could be the latest bounce-back pitcher for the team in recent seasons. DeSclafani pitched 3 2/3 innings in Thursday's game against the Mariners, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The 30-year-old has had several successful seasons throughout his career, but he posted […]

Tommy La Stella (1B/2B/3B, SF) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 290 CURRENT ADP: ~306 overall ANALYSIS: Finally signing with the San Francisco Giants, La Stella should play just about every day and hit atop the Giants Lineup. Tommy La Stella is what I categorize as a roster stabilizer. His production is not flashy, but you can write it in pen. […]

San Francisco Nabs Ashton Goudeau Off Waivers

Right-handed pitcher Ashton Goudeau was claimed off of the waiver wire by the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, following his departure from Baltimore. Goudeau made two appearances in Grapefruit League action and struck out five batters over four innings. Goudeau, who was electric during the Arizona Fall League in 2019, made his big league debut […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 2)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Outfield, and of course, Starting Pitcher Part One. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on […]

Alex Dickerson Has Three-Hit Game Wednesday

San Francisco Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson continued his strong spring performance in Wednesday's 11-8 win over the Rockies, going 3-for-5 with two singles, a solo home run, and two RBI. Dickerson's first HR of the spring was a blast to straightaway center off of Chad Smith. The 30-year-old is now hitting .300 this spring with […]

Jason Vosler Vying For Opening Day Roster Spot

San Francisco Giants utility player Jason Vosler continued to impress in Wednesday's 11-8 win over the Rockies, batting 2-for-4 with a single, a double, and an RBI. The 27-year-old, who has never played in the big leagues, currently has a batting average of .333 and an OPS above .900 for the spring . Further, he […]

Kevin Gausman Saving Splitter For Regular Season

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kevin Gausman said that he is hardly going to throw his splitter, one of his best pitches, during spring training because it puts a lot of stress on his fingers, per Mercury News' Kerry Crowley. As such, the Giants aren't necessarily worried about Gausman's numbers during his spring training outings. […]

2020 Breakout Infielders Who'll Keep Improving

In a recent article, I outlined a methodology to determine which breakout 2020 seasons from hitters would be built off of into 2021. Upon further reflection, however, I’m unconvinced that that methodology the best way to spot breakouts that will continue to improve, in large part because of its reliance on evaluating the stickiness of […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Third 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 […]

Buster Posey Scratched From Lineup Tuesday

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey was scheduled to be in the lineup on Tuesday against the Rangers, but he will instead be held out due to tightness in his right hip, according to NBCSports' Alex Pavlovic. Pavlovic adds that Posey's hip issue is described as minor, and manager Gabe Kapler said that he expects […]

Alex Wood To Have Ablation Procedure On Spine

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Wood will undergo an ablation procedure on his spine, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Wood has missed time this spring with what was described as back tightness, and Baggarly reports that manager Gabe Kapler said the procedure won't necessarily mean he misses starting the season in the […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Injury Updates

Injury updates tend to change often during Spring Training. "Soreness" is a common theme as players get back into game shape. I will be giving the most recent available injury updates from the offseason. These updates will undoubtedly change as Spring Training continues. As we get closer to Opening Day, some injuries are much more […]

Later-Round First Basemen - Targets and Avoids

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. […]

Heliot Ramos Avoids First Spring Cuts Monday

San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, one of the team's top prospects, was notably not optioned to Triple-A Sacramento Monday, per NBC Sport's Alex Pavlovic. The team unsurprisingly cut most of their top prospects in this first round, including Joey Bart, Marco Luciano, Hunter Bishop, and Patrick Bailey. However, the 21-year-old, who has nine hits […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 1)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, and Outfield. 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. You can […]

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, […]

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 […]

Brandon Belt Had COVID-19 In January

San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt told reporters on Saturday that he had COVID-19 back in January and also contracted mononucleosis a few weeks ago. "It's a long ordeal and obviously wasn't that fun, but right now I feel I'm getting back on track," the 32-year-old first baseman said. Belt has had quite the […]

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 […]

Luis Alexander Basabe To Miss 6-8 Weeks

San Francisco Giants outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe (wrist) will miss six to eight weeks with a wrist sprain, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Basabe suffered the injury in Tuesday's game while diving for a ball in right field. He was only 1-for-9 this spring, but he did show some speed with two […]

Brandon Belt Logs Batting Practice Session Friday

San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (heel, illness) got back into the swing of spring camp Friday, taking batting practice on the field. Belt has yet to appear in a Cactus League contest as he attempts to ramp up in time for Opening Day. The left-handed hitter is coming off a career year in […]

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. […]

Kevin Gausman To Make Spring Debut On Friday

San Francisco Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman is slated to make his spring debut on Friday against the Colorado Rockies. The Giants have been taking their time easing their veterans into spring play. The team's full starting rotation is in position to open the season intact. Gausman had a strong season in 2020. He made 12 […]

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 […]

Mike Yastrzemski goes 1-for-3 Monday

San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski went 1-for-3 in Cactus League action on Monday. Yastrzemski is now 2-for-8 with a run scored through his first four spring games. Yastrzemski broke out in the shortened 2020 season by slashing .297/.400/.568 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. He also showed a great ability to get on […]

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 […]

Top 10 Third Basemen - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

Third base is traditionally a place to find offense. It can be a goldmine for fantasy managers in need of some power. Third basemen are also known for providing strong on-base numbers and, in some cases, batting average. The 2019 season met the offensive expectations with 28 hitters managing a 100 wRC+ or better (350 […]