2019 Catchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

Catcher is a tough position to evaluate, as many teams utilize multiple catchers and it is rare for one to play 140 or more games in a season. Wear and tear as a backstop limits offensive value for sure, but there are still a group of solid catchers that can contribute in multiple categories. Beyond […]

2019 Second Base - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. Even though we are just coming off ringing in the new year, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, and Chris Zolli have wasted to time coming up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values […]

2019 First Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

2019 Shortstops - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series with the ever-so-glamorous shortstop position. Shortstop is rich at the top and while it boasts intriguing depth, this is not a position to wait on, especially if you also have a middle-infield […]

Brewers Most Likely Landing Spot For Madison Bumgarner?

In the opinion of MLB Network's Jon Paul Morosi, the Milwaukee Brewers are the most likely destination for San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner if he's traded. MadBum has missed considerable time the last two years due to injuries and is due a $12 million salary in 2019. The Giants may wait until midseason […]

Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Top 10 Dynasty First Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

It might seem like I drew the short straw among the prospect analysts here at RotoBaller, but I actually picked this assignment! You won’t see many of these names on top 100 lists. Despite being one of the positions from which teams expect to get the most offensive production, first base gets the least amount […]

Statcast Review 2018 - Noteworthy SP Launch Angle Leaders

Fret not fantasy baseball fans, Winter Meetings have come and gone, big deals are getting struck, and we are continuing our quest to find value for next season! In this edition of Statcast Review, I take a look at some of 2018’s pitching leaders in launch angle. Launch angle alone is not all that telling […]

Please Let Brandon Belt Get Traded

A report recently came to light that the San Francisco Giants were making first baseman and owner of a genuine super-beard, Brandon Belt, available in trades. Apparently, there are teams interested in the oft-injured slugger, despite the whopping $48 million due to him over the next three years. It’s not terribly surprising that Belt is available, […]

Giants Discussing Kevin Pillar

The San Francisco Giants front office has discussed trading for Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar, according to multiple sources. Pillar is 29 years old and is a Gold Glove center fielder that could potentially platoon with Steven Duggar against left-handed pitchers. San Fran is also interested in the idea of having two center fielders […]

2018 Baseball Winter Meetings - Wednesday/Thursday Recap

MLB Winter Meetings are ending in Las Vegas, Nevada and the headline-grabbing moves have come from relatively unknown places. Players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, J.T. Realmuto, and Noah Syndergaard were rumored to be traded or signed, yet none of those moves materialized. What did occur over the last two days, though, were some solid […]

Buster Posey Expected To Resume Running In January

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (hip) is expected to resume running at full speed in mid-January. Posey had surgery in August to fix a labrum tear in his right hip. It limited him to 105 games in 2018, and he hit .284/.359/.382 with only five home runs and 41 RBI. The All-Star catcher has […]

Johnny Cueto Could Pitch Late Next Year

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto's (elbow) agent, Bryce Dixon, said he's optimistic that his client will make a full recovery and potentially return late next season. Either way, Cueto won't be on the fantasy map in redraft leagues for the 2019 season. He had a 3.23 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 6.5 K/9 over […]

Derek Holland Wants To Stay In National League

Free-agent starting pitcher Derek Holland's preference is to re-sign with the San Francisco Giants or at least stay in the National League. The 32-year-old southpaw had a bounce-back year with San Fran in 2018, going 7-9 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 169 K's in 171 1/3 innings across 36 outings (30 starts). The […]

2018 Baseball Winter Meetings Recap (Monday/Tuesday)

MLB Winter Meetings have started in Las Vegas, Nevada and the headlines thus far have been more about what has been rumored to happen rather than what has happened. There have been some relatively minor moves thus far (including the signing of a former stolen base leader), but most of the stories have revolved around […]

Cardinals Pursuing Will Smith

The St. Louis Cardinals have been among the most aggressive suitors in a potential trade for San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Will Smith, according to a source. However, it won't be easy, as the Giants aren't really looking to move him. With the Cardinals expected to move Carlos Martinez back to a rotation post next […]

Teams Showing Interest In Brandon Belt

Several teams have shown interest in trading for San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt, who is available on the trade market. Belt dealt with multiple injuries yet again in 2018 and hit a mediocre .253/.342/.414 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI in 112 games for San Fran. He has never reached the 20-homer […]

Giants Not Close To Trading Madison Bumgarner

The San Francisco Giants are not close to trading starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner with the winter meetings set to begin on Monday, according to a source. The Phillies, Brewers, Yankees and Braves are among the possible landing spots for Bumgarner if he winds up being traded. MadBum has a year left on his deal and […]

Top 10 Dynasty Catchers - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

In 2018, the average catcher in fantasy baseball posted a WRC+ of 90. That means that, on average, a catcher in the Majors was ten percent worse than any other position. If this does not show the dearth of talent right now for fantasy owners at the position than nothing will. This, in fact, keeps […]

Angels Sign Jarrett Parker to Minor League Deal

The Los Angeles Angels have inked outfielder Jarrett Parker to a minor league deal with a foreign team inquiry clause. Parker did not appear in the majors in 2018, but hit .247 with four home runs and two stolen bases back in 2017 with the Giants. He is likely going to serve as extra outfield […]

Hunter Pence Open To Returning To Giants

Free-agent outfielder Hunter Pence said he is open to re-signing with the San Francisco Giants this offseason. "Yeah, a couple teams have reached out," Pence said Tuesday. "I’m not going to really discuss who, but I’m really open -- I want a chance to play, a chance to win." Not much went right for Pence, […]

Phillies Discussing Madison Bumgarner

The Philadelphia Phillies have spoken to the San Francisco Giants about trading for starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner. The Phils have a greater need for a left-handed starter after losing out on Patrick Corbin. The Brewers are another possible destination for MadBum. While the southpaw is a postseason legend and remains a strong starter, he'll be […]

2018 Pitching Leaders - ERA

It was an impressive year for ERA in 2018, as MLB's combined 4.14 ERA was the lowest since league pitching recorded a 3.95 ERA in 2015. Just to give you an idea of how much pitching improved this year, all four of the pitchers that will be mentioned in this list finished in the top-10 […]

Buy Low(er) - Dynasty Baseball Players Due For A Rebound

Dynasty teams are great to own and develop; they are my favorite teams to manage actually. In real life and fantasy, there are managers who find happiness by having a finished organization that can run itself with very little decision-making on their part. There are other people who find pleasure building an organization up and […]

Hunter Strickland, Gorkys Hernandez Not Offered Contracts

The San Francisco Giants non-tendered relief pitcher Hunter Strickland and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez on Friday, making them free agents. Strickland served as the closer for a bit in 2018 and also broke his hand punching a door in June after a blown save. Overall, he went 3-5 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 14 saves […]

Giants Settle With Joe Panik, Sam Dyson

The San Francisco Giants avoided salary arbitration with second baseman Joe Panik and relief pitcher Sam Dyson on Friday. Panik reached an agreement on a one-year, $3.85 million deal, while Dyson agreed for one year and $5 million. Panik hit .254 with four home runs and 24 RBI in 2018 in 102 games while dealing […]

Hunter Pence Makes Changes To Swing

Free-agent outfielder Hunter Pence made some swing changes already in the offseason and is eager to test them out in winter ball. He also made changes to the way he runs as he tries to stay healthy in 2019 for a new team. Pence will play in the Dominican winter league for the Toros del […]

Madison Bumgarner Unlikely To Be Traded

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner is unlikely to be traded, according to a team source. The veteran southpaw has been injured in each of the last two seasons and has one year left on his current deal with San Fran. While he was still solid with a 3.26 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 7.6 […]

Giants Willing To Trade Madison Bumgarner

The San Francisco Giants and new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi are willing to listen to trade offers for starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner this winter, according to multiple sources. The Brewers and Phillies are among the teams that have had preliminary talks about Bumgarner. The Braves also checked in earlier in the offseason. Bumgarner […]

Buster Posey No Longer Using Crutches

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (hip) is walking normal without crutches. Posey played in his fewest amount of games (105) since the 2011 season this year and hit .284/.359/.382 with only five home runs and 41 RBI. His home run totals have declined each of the last four years, and his 41 RBI were […]