Daniel Robertson Has Edge For Second Utility Spot

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Daniel Robertson apparently has edged out Michael Brosseau and Nate Lowe for the second utility infielder spot, with his ability to play shortstop a benefit. Brosseau has the ability to play the outfield, and that could factor in with the Rays using newcomer Yoshitomo Tsutsugo at third on occasion. Tampa is […]

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo Back In U.S.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder/first baseman Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who traveled back home to his native Japan during the MLB shutdown, has arrived back in the United States ahead of the July 1 reporting date for spring training 2.0, according to general manager Erik Neander. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter will bring some power and versatility to the […]

Brendan McKay, Vidal Brujan Make Rays Player Pool

Along with Tampa Bay Rays top prospect Wander Franco, who is the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, starting pitcher/designated hitter Brendan McKay and infielder Vidal Brujan also made the team's player pool for the upcoming 60-game season. McKay and Brujan are the team's No. 2 and 3 prospects, respectively, per MLB Pipeline. McKay, […]

Draft Season 2.0 Strategy Discussion - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland), Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) and Zach Braff (@braffz) all get in on this one as they dive into fantasy baseball draft season strategy. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes […]

Brent Honeywell Jr. Recovering Nicely

Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander said that starting pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr.'s (elbow) recovery is going "really well." However, Honeywell isn't on the team's 60-man player pool for the shortened 2020 season because the Rays wanted to go with active players. The team's No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, the 25-year-old right-hander has […]

Wander Franco Expected To Be On Taxi Squad

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, the top prospect in baseball in 2020 per MLB Pipeline, is expected to be on the team's taxi squad when the roster is officially announced, according to a source. Franco should already be owned in dynasty/keeper leagues, but it might still be a long shot for him to see […]

How To Draft Saves In A Shortened Season

Now that Major League Baseball and the MLBPA have finally come to an agreement and locked in a plan for the upcoming season, the RotoBaller staff is churning out content to try and get you ready for the 2020 fantasy baseball season. A lot of us have questions about how the shortened season, new league […]

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo Plans To Head Back To The States

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is planning to head back to the U.S. after going back to Japan during the coronavirus pandemic, according to general manager Erik Neander. Players that spent their down time overseas during the shutdown will now need to make their way back to the States with players expected to report […]

Fantasy Value In a 50-Game Season: Starting Pitchers

Having now passed the ides of June, there is still no start date for the 2020 season and no guarantee that we'll even ever get one. MLB and the MLBPA continue to pass proposals back and forth, with each side taking their turn at rejection. This puts baseball in a situation where Commissioner Rob Manfred is […]

Rays Sign Top Pick Nick Bitsko

The Tampa Bay Rays signed right-handed pitcher Nick Bitsko, the No. 24 pick of the first round, to a $3 million signing bonus on Tuesday, slightly above the $2.831 million slot value. Bitsko recently turned 18 years old and said he has cut back on his throwing, not knowing when he will next need to […]

Off-The-Radar MLB Prospects and Dynasty Assets

Dynasty leagues are always a lot of foresight and mental math. Are you competing this year or in the future? Are you trying to stockpile pitching assets to balance against their heightened risk or take a lot of hitters because of their relative safety? What skills project the best for you? All of these questions […]

MLB Draft Review and More with Chris Welsh - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Chris Welsh (@IsItTheWelsh) and they dive into the MLB draft. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

Rays Agree With Alika Williams

The Tampa Bay Rays officially signed shortstop Alika Williams, the 37th overall pick in the competitive-balance portion of the first round, on Thursday. The slot value for the No. 37 pick is $1.993 million, but the financial details of Williams' deal were not disclosed. The Arizona State shortstop stands at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds and had […]

Overvalued and Undervalued First Basemen for Points Leagues

First base is bottom-heavy for fantasy purposes this year, with just one player drafted in the top-30 picks on average. As a result, there are relatively few first basemen who are excessively overvalued and several who can provide solid value in late rounds. Below are first basemen who are particularly poorly valued in drafts. These […]

Rays Take Two Righties Among Final Three Picks

The Tampa Bay Rays selected St. Joseph High School pitcher Hunter Barnhart with the 96th overall pick in the third round in the 2020 MLB draft on Thursday. The Rays added to their roster by taking University of California - Davis shortstop Tanner Murray in the fourth round and Central Florida pitcher Jeff Hakanson in […]

Does James Paxton's Spin-Rate Adjustment Matter?

Players frequently enter spring training in, "the best shape of their lives," but offseason programs rarely seem to pay significant dividends. The extended offseason may have provided some players with the opportunity to make unusually significant adjustments this year, though. One example of such an adjustment is Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton, who recently announced that […]

Blake Snell Resumes Bullpen Sessions

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (elbow) threw a bullpen session on Friday that consisted of 15 fastballs. It was Snell's first time throwing off a mound since spring training was canceled in mid-March. The left-hander had a cortisone injection on Feb. 28 but has used the stoppage to rest his body and arm […]

Stock Your Dynasty Farm: AL West Sleeper Prospects

If you've been following my series on sleeper prospects, you probably correctly noted that there are actually more than the four divisions I've already written about. Who knew?! No worries Rotoballers, a six-week gap isn't enough to keep me from tucking my tail firmly between my legs and returning to finish what we started. I […]

ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Underachievers with SIERA (Part 2)

Welcome back RotoBallers to my Lie Detector mini-series (you can read part one here). Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin […]

Ian Seymour Taken By Rays In Late Second Round

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Virginia Tech pitcher Ian Seymour with the 57th overall pick in the second round in the 2020 MLB draft on Thursday. Seymour, a left-hander, isn't very big (6-foot, 210 pounds), but his stuff was playing up this spring before baseball was shut down. His fastball improved in velocity this spring […]

Rays Conclude First Round By Taking Alika Williams

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Arizona State shortstop Alika Williams with the 37th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft on Wednesday. This year's first round started and ended with Arizona State players in Spencer Torkelson (first overall) and Williams. Williams was taken by the Yankees in the 32nd round in 2017 out of high […]

Hard-Throwing Nick Bitsko Lands With Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Central Bucks High School East pitcher Nick Bitsko with the 24th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft on Wednesday. The big right-hander (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) from Pennsylvania announced he'd be graduating early, which made him a top prep arm in 2020 instead of next year. While scouts haven't seen […]

Major League Baseball 2020 Mock Draft

The 2020 MLB amateur draft takes place later tonight and it will be unlike any draft we’ve seen. With owners crying poor and minor league systems set to be permanently compressed, the draft has been slashed from the normal 40 rounds to just five — although teams will be able to sign undrafted players as […]

How to Approach MLB Rookies in 2020 Re-draft Leagues

While the players and owners continue to trade demands for getting the 2020 season on its feet, we're going to turn our attention to fantasy. This article will specifically look at players who have yet to make their major league debut (or come up for more than the proverbial cup of coffee) and how fantasy […]

Talking Pitching With Nicklaus Gaut - Benched with Bubba (Episode 292)

Bubba (@bdentrek) is joined by RotoBaller's own Nicklaus Gaut (@NT_BurtReynolds). The guys chat about the Chris Archer injury, some pitchers that have over/under achieved when looking at ERA and SIERA, and then hit some listener questions. Be sure to subscribe to the Benched With Bubba Podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel […]

Mike Zunino (C, TB) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~500s CURRENT ADP: ~629 overall ANALYSIS: There is no hidden meaning to find in his .165/.232/.312 slash line; Mike Zunino was very bad at the plate last year. However, two things are working heavily in his favor in 2020, with the first being that 2019 seemed more like an aberration for the […]

Fantasy Baseball ADP Risers - Head-Scratching Trends?

Welcome to Part Two of the ADP Risers and Fallers series, where I will examine key changes from March to the present day. If you missed Part One, where I evaluated injured players and prospects, you can read it right here. Those were the easy risers and fallers. In this article, we will delve into […]

ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Overachievers With SIERA (Part 2)

Welcome back RotoBallers to my Lie Detector mini-series (you can read part one here). Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin […]

Outfield Draft Values - Later Round Fliers

Host Michael Florio of RotoBaller Radio discusses the 2020 fantasy baseball season. In this episode, he brings you his fantasy baseball draft sleepers at the outfield position. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune into […]

ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 ERA Underachievers With SIERA

Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin a pitcher's ERA, albeit in a different manner. Although technically a backward-looking evaluator,  SIERA […]