Giants Won’t Make Move For Greg Holland

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports that the San Francisco Giants won’t be going after free-agent closer Greg Holland. It’s no surprise, as there has never been much talk about Holland being an option for the Giants. Baggarly also notes the Giants preference to keep compensatory picks as well as staying below the competitive-balance act. […]

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 […]

First Base H2H Points Rankings - March Update

Welcome back RotoBallers. With the MLB season just a few short weeks a way, it's time to update our rankings and analysis to account for injuries, free agent signings, spring training risers/fallers and more. We kick off our updated March rankings today with the first base position. Bill Dubiel breaks down each tier and provides analysis […]

Evan Longoria Doesn’t Expect To Miss Time With Ankle Soreness

San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria (ankle) said on Saturday that he is day-to-day with left ankle joint soreness. Longoria was a last minute scratch prior to Friday’s game. Longoria said that he’s dealt with plantar fasciitis in the same foot but does not know if it’s related to his current issue. The good […]

2018 Bullpen Outlooks - National League West

The National League West wraps up our 2018 Bullpen Outlooks series. Check out all of the American League divisions here: AL East, AL Central, AL West, and the rest of the National League here: NL East, NL Central. Stick with Rotoballer all season long for weekly Closer Reports including recaps of the week that passed, outlooks for […]

Best Ball Sleepers and Late Round Targets for Fantasy Baseball

Best ball leagues are one of the latest variations of fantasy baseball that are quickly growing in popularity. Draft day is the only day of the year where owners will have control over their roster. There is no waiver wire and there are no trades. Owners won't even set daily lineups, as they will instead […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season blessedly just a few weeks away, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to update our rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the third base position. There's a ton of talent at the hot corner this season, with the usual elites at […]

Buster Posey Gets Cortisone Shot

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (ankle) received a cortisone shot, which helped calm down inflammation in his ankle. Posey also took an MRI exam, which ruled out anything serious. Posey is hoping he is good to go now and was in Friday’s lineup, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored.

Evan Longoria Dealing With Sore Heel

San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria (heel) was scratched from Friday’s lineup. There is no update yet on how he suffered the injury and how long he will be sidelined. For the first time in his career, Longoria will be wearing a uniform that isn’t a Tampa Bay Rays one, and he should put […]

Points League Primer - Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy

When discussing fantasy baseball, an often neglected but entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both season-long cumulative and weekly head-to-head leagues. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a […]

ADP Myth Busters - Debunking Myths in the AL East

This series will attempt to help fantasy baseball owners make informed opinions on players whose ADP may not be in line with their value for the 2018 season. As fantasy owners, we can fall into a "group think" mentality and start to overlook certain teams and players. If we aren't careful, those ideas can turn […]

Top First 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 first basemen - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. First base is always a challenging position to find rookie stars. It’s not every year a Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins reach the majors. Most […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - NL Starting Pitchers

With the inherent injury risk to pitchers and innings management becoming more prevalent in baseball, nailing starting pitchers becomes even more important on draft day. After the big four of Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, and Corey Kluber are off the board, seemingly every pitcher has some sort flaw or concern going into 2018. […]

Updated First Base Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers. With the MLB season just a few short weeks a way, it's time to update our rankings and analysis to account for injuries, free agent signings, spring training risers/fallers and more. We kick off our updated March rankings today with the first base position. Harris breaks down each tier and provides analysis […]

Mark Melancon Still Feeling Discomfort

San Francisco Giants closer Mark Melancon (forearm) told reporters after his debut on Wednesday that he's still feeling discomfort but is still progressing. Melancon pitched in his first game since September after undergoing an operation to release pressure on the pronator muscle in his arm. Melancon initially was considered a bounce-back candidate heading into 2018, […]

Buster Posey To Start Friday

San Francisco Giants catcher/first baseman Buster Posey (ankle) will start on Friday. Posey has been out with a left ankle injury since February 25. Posey should be good to go for Opening Day and remains one of the best options at the catcher position in 2018.

Buster Posey Continues To Deal With Ankle Injury

San Francisco Giants catcher/first baseman Buster Posey (ankle) remains out of the Giants lineup on Wednesday. Posey hasn’t appeared in a game since Feb. 25. He’s been dealing with a left ankle injury. Henry Schulman reports that the ankle has been affecting his swing. The good news is that Posey has been working out with the […]

Turning Two - Beware the Trending Six-Man Rotation

A six-man starting rotation? "That's just not what MLB is to me," Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels said recently. As someone accustomed to being at the forefront of a pitching staff and who's logged 362 starts over 12 Major League seasons, it's only logical that Hamels would expect to keep trotting out there as much as […]

Best-Ball Draft Strategy Overview for Fantasy Baseball

It's finally March, which can only mean two things: Spring Training and fantasy drafts. All the effort spent on rankings and draft prep finally come to fruition. Once your draft is completed, you then get to spend every day of the rest of the season analyzing player performances, scouring waiver wires and setting the best […]

Points Leagues Starting Pitchers - Overvalued and Undervalued

As we’ve discussed before, points leagues are a bit of a different animal from the more popular head-to-head and rotisserie formats. One of the most obvious differences between them is how pitchers are valued. In a points league, the top pitchers routinely outearn the top hitters. Most analysis will tell you to favor bats in […]

Top Catcher Prospect Rankings - 2018 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down my top impact prospects for fantasy baseball by position. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 catcher prospect rankings - rookies that have the best chance to make fantasy baseball impacts for the 2018 season. Catcher is a vital spot for owners in redraft leagues. […]

Brandon Crawford To Play Shortstop On Monday

San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (finger) will return to the field on Monday. Crawford got some at-bats over the weekend after jamming his right index finger and is ready to put the glove back on. Crawford is more likely to help the Giants than fantasy owners in 2018, but he should be looked at […]

Hitters Who Changed Scenes for 2018

We are just weeks away from the start of the 2018 baseball regular season, which makes it a good time to look back at the big roster moves made in this most recent offseason. I already provided a group of four pitchers who changed scenes. Now, here are four hitters who moved to different teams. For […]

Champ or Chump - Kevin Kiermaier and Alex Bregman

Our friends at FantasyPros have added ESPN and CBS to their composite ADP rankings, drawing from a total of six sources (those two plus Yahoo!, Fantrax, NFBC, and RT Sports). The vast majority of you probably use at least one of those services, making the compiled ADP data a fairly reliable predictor of what might […]

Brandon Belt (1B, SF) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~240 CURRENT ADP: 299 ANALYSIS: San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt missed the final two months of the 2017 season with a concussion, his fourth of his career, yet still remains a solid option in 2018. Belt was on his way to a nice season before landing on the disabled list, posting 18 home runs […]

Johnny Cueto Hopes To Pitch 200 Innings in 2018

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto said on Saturday that he would like to pitch 200 innings in 2018. Injuries limited the 32-year-old to 147 1/3 innings in 2017, a season in which he struggled. With a career 3.33 ERA and being healthy coming into 2018, Cueto remains a strong bounce-back candidate.

RotoBaller Industry Expert Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

On Thursday, February 15th, we brought together an illustrious group of industry experts to take part in the RotoBaller Friends and Family mock draft. We'll be playing this out as a best ball league. Our participants represented sites like: Creative Sports (Lawr Michaels) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) GuruElite (Ray Flowers) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) CBS (Heath […]

Hunter Pence To Play Saturday

San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence (neck) will be in Saturday’s lineup, says Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Pence dealt with neck issues earlier in spring training and then battled the flu. He is 1-for-3 so far this spring and will be the Giants everyday right fielder in 2018. Pence has been hurt by injuries the past […]

Joe Panik (2B, SF) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~295 CURRENT ADP: 385 ANALYSIS: Over the past two seasons, Joe Panik has put up eerily similar numbers, averaging 10 homers, 64 runs and 58 RBI. The only fluctuation was his batting average, where an unlucky .245 BABIP in 2016 resulted in a significantly lower .239 BA versus his career .282. Now […]