Rays Place Yonny Chirinos On 60-Day Injured List

The Tampa Bay Rays placed right-hander Yonny Chirinos (elbow) on the 60-day injured list on Friday to make room for outfielder Luke Raley, whom the Rays acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chirinos had Tommy John surgery in August of 2020 and is also recovering from surgery last September to fix a […]

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 […]

Rays Acquire Luke Raley From Dodgers

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired outfielder Luke Raley from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday in exchange for Double-A relief pitcher Tanner Dodson, according to sources. Raley made his major league debut with the Dodgers last year and hit .182/.250/.288 with two home runs and four RBI in 72 plate appearances over 33 games. The […]

Phillies Have Discussed Austin Meadows

The Philadelphia Phillies have talked to the Tampa Bay Rays about left fielder Austin Meadows, according to a major league source. It was reported earlier that the Phillies are also making a push to sign free-agent outfielder Nick Castellanos. Any additional move for an outfielder in Philadelphia figures to push the recently signed Kyle Schwarber […]

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. […]

FaBIO Analysis: Flyballer Starting Pitcher Prospects, Right-Handed Edition

I developed the Fielding- and Ballpark-Independent Outcomes (FaBIO) pitcher evaluation system circa 2013 as a tool for quantifying non-batted-ball and batted-ball fundamentals of individual pro pitchers versus batters of both and either handedness type. Since the model was first applied to affiliated 2013 MiLB play, its reach has been extended to MLB, NCAA Division 1, […]

Rays Being Aggressive In Freddie Freeman Talks

The Tampa Bay Rays are being aggressive in talks for free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman, according to sources. It's hard to believe that they are one of the finalists for Freeman's services, as they are currently bidding against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. Freeman would be a huge upgrade over Ji-Man Choi […]

Rays Bringing Back Cody Reed

The Tampa Bay Rays have re-signed relief pitcher Cody Reed to a minor league contract. The club also invited the left-handed pitcher to Spring Training. Reed pitched just 9.2 innings for the Rays last year and posted a 3.72 ERA and a 1.448 WHIP with seven strikeouts. The 28-year-old will likely be one of many […]

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 […]

2022 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings - Prospects #1-25 (Part 2)

Welcome back RotoBallers. Today is an exciting day for MLB and fantasy baseball fans everywhere, as we finally got some good news about the labor discussions. Spring training will start immediately, and there will be a full 162-game season. Baseball is back! Below you will find our top 2022 redraft fantasy baseball prospects, and projected […]

Second Base: Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Sleepers

Anthony Aniano's 2022 fantasy baseball second base rankings and 2B draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of four different MLB players at the second base position. Fantasy baseball players should consider drafting these players in the middle and later rounds of their drafts this MLB Season. […]

Second Baseman Busts for 2022 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Second base has a lot of question marks and is home to some of the biggest boom or bust players in baseball.  Don’t let the scarcity at the position trick you into taking unnecessary risks. Sometimes all it takes is a few bad picks to completely derail a fantasy baseball season.  Avoiding major busts is […]

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, […]

The MLB RotoBaller Challenge - Join Free Leagues, Win Cash Prizes

  Who will be crowned champ of the RotoBaller Challenge? We are happy to announce the fourth annual RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Challenge 🍾 Fight for the title in 12-team rotisserie leagues. Also compete for the crown against all teams and leagues for a chance to win $500 in cash prizes. Drafts will take place from March 10th through Opening Day. Reserve […]

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 […]

2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Outfield

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Relief Pitchers

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, I 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. […]

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 […]

Late-Round Stolen Base Targets for Fantasy Baseball

Ah, stolen bases. It's a real love/hate relationship. They're fun, but they also seem to be dying out, which means fantasy baseball managers are hunting for them like Nicholas Cage hunting for his precious truffle pig. (Side note: "Pig" is such a gem. Forget whatever you think it's about and just watch it. It's so […]

How Will the MLB Lockout Impact Top AL Central Prospects?

In part two of this ongoing series, I will cover the top prospects from the American League Central that may be impacted by the lockout imposed by MLB ownership. You can read about AL East Prospects here. As fantasy baseball managers, we must consider the ramifications of this lockout for minor leaguers. Remember that this […]

Colin Poche Chomping At The Bit

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Colin Poche (elbow) completed his rehab in the last couple of months and was cleared to return in the fall instructional league after not pitching in a game since the 2019 playoffs. Poche injured his left elbow during spring workouts leading up to the shortened 2020 season and spent last […]

Rays Made An Offer To Freddie Freeman

The Tampa Bay Rays made an offer to superstar free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman before the lockout in December, according to sources. The New York Yankees remain very interested, and the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers could be good fits. The Atlanta Braves remain in the mix to bring Freeman back, but it […]

Jarren Duran: 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

While Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas, and Nick Yorke are regularly ranked as the top-hitting prospects for the Boston Red Sox, there’s only one hitting prospect on the team who warrants your attention going into drafts for season-long leagues this year, and that’s 25-year-old outfielder Jarren Duran. Casas will likely find his way to the majors […]

Top-Five Strategies for Winning NFBC Best Ball Leagues

Best-ball leagues have become more popular in recent years in fantasy baseball. Dedicated players have made fantasy baseball a year-round game, and nothing prepares us better than to participate in drafts. Many of us have learned the hard way that overloading on leagues that require FAAB or setting lineups can hurt our overall results. One […]