Orioles Designate Jose Mesa Jr. For Assignment After Signing Alex Cobb

There's almost always a roster casualty after a big signing. Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Jose Mesa Jr. was it after Baltimore signed starter Alex Cobb on Wednesday. Mesa had a 3-1 record but an ugly 5.87 ERA this spring. It's a rough time, since teams are largely locking down their rosters, but Mesa might latch on […]

Alex Cobb Is Now Officially An Oriole

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Alex Cobb passed a physical on Wednesday and that cemented the four-year deal that he had signed. He's reportedly going to be sent to the minors for a brief time to allow himself to get stretched out before joining the team during the regular season. When he does, where he lands […]

Approaching Rookies and Prospects in Redraft Leagues for Success

Everyone wants to be the guy to say they hopped on the bandwagon of the next up-and-comer before he comes up and breaks out. This often causes younger players to be overvalued, particularly in single-season leagues where some youngsters may not even see meaningful playing time. Identifying the rookies that will actually get playing time, […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - Closers

Where an owner drafts closers comes down to personal strategy and philosophy. Some owners are willing spend up for high-end closers like Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel, while others are content to let closers fly off the board deep into the draft and scrounge for saves late. For those of us unwilling to invest in […]

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - AL Outfielders

Everyone knows that in fantasy baseball, values are king. Any of the different terms you might see bandied about - bargain, sleeper, flier, lotto ticket - are all driving at that same basic idea. Obviously, finding the players who can provide a huge return on a modest investment goes a long way toward winning your league. […]

Mallex Smith Looks Good After First Minor League Start Tuesday

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Mallex Smith (hamstring) played his first minor league game on Tuesday in his comeback from a hamstring issue that had kept him from game action since March 8. He would bat five times and even steal a base. He was relieved when there was no hesitation or second thought on any […]

Alex Cobb Agrees To Four-Year Deal With The Orioles

Updating an ongoing story, free-agent starting pitcher Alex Cobb and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $60 million. This was tweeted by Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and was also quoted by Orioles writer Roch Kubatko. Of course, the question is: How fast Cobb will be able to […]

Top Shortstop 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 shortstops - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. As expected, shortstop is far and away the deepest list of infield prospects. This tends to be the trend every season given that it is typically […]

Blake Snell Is More Focused

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell is more focused this season. Snell had a rocky 2017 that included bad starts and being demoted. In an article, the personal issues that likely contributed are explored. The relevant part for fantasy is the suggestion that his new focus will lead to better results this season. Snell […]

Brad Miller Done With Second Base In Spring Training

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller is done playing second base for the rest of the preseason. Where Miller plays the most often is a matter of what sources you listen to. At first, it sounded like he would be the primary first baseman, but then the Rays acquired C.J. Cron, which created doubt. Some […]

Mallex Smith To Make Minor League Start Tuesday

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Mallex Smith (hamstring) will make a minor league start on Tuesday. It will be his first game action since March 8. He is still expected to be ready for Opening Day. Smith is all about speed, and he's stolen exactly 16 bases each of the last two seasons. He played in […]

Matt Andriese In The Mix For Role In Bullpen Day Starts

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Andriese is in the running to fill one of the multi-inning roles that will play a key part of the strategies the Rays hope to employ during the games where they will go with a bullpen approach rather than a traditional starting pitcher. Speculation suggests they will have at least […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 14 - Statcast For Pitchers

Previously, we looked at Barrels, a stat combining exit velocity and launch angle to measure how often a batter makes quality hard contact. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is some evidence that pitchers do not have the same influence […]

Deeper Shortstop Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

After catcher, shortstop is generally considered the weakest offensive position in fantasy baseball. While an influx of young talent has bolstered the top end of the position, it can still be hard to find appealing options after the studs are gone. In deeper leagues, especially AL or NL-only leagues, getting value out of late round […]

Carlos Gomez (OF, TB) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~310 CURRENT ADP: 351 ANALYSIS: After back-to-back seasons of declining numbers, Gomez quietly had somewhat of a bounce-back season in 2017 with the Rangers — putting up numbers close to those from his 2014 All-Star season. In 105 games last season, 17 home runs, 13 stolen bases and an .802 on-base plus […]

Blake Snell (SP, TB) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~190 CURRENT ADP: 218 By just glancing at his overall 2017 numbers, you probably wouldn’t be interested in drafting Snell this year. From 2016 to 2017, Snell’s ERA jumped from 3.54 to 4.04, while his K% dropped from 24.4% to 21.8%. While these numbers look bad, if we use the second half […]

Overvalued - Second Basemen Set to Bust in 2018

Predicting busts is surprisingly easy if you really think about it. Looking at a player’s age is a good starting point, but their recent season performances are even more telling. The guys listed below are players who I think will underwhelm expectations in 2018. You won’t be seeing fantasy studs like Jose Ramirez or Brian […]

Mallex Smith To Get Minor League Game Before Return

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Mallex Smith (hamstring) will perform drills this weekend and then get a minor league game either Monday or Tuesday. He is still expected to be ready for Opening Day. Smith is all about speed, and he's stolen exactly 16 bases each of the last two seasons. He played in just 81 […]

Brad Miller To Play Saturday

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller (toe) will play in a Grapefruit League game Saturday against the Red Sox. Miller played in a minor league game on Thursday and went hitless, but he's progressing and expects to be ready for Opening Day. After surprisingly hitting 30 homers in 2016, Miller predictably fell back down to […]

Top Third 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 third basemen - MLB prospect rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Third base this season is a particularly interesting class of prospects. There are so many like Nick Senzel, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Gleyber Torres who […]

Chris Archer To Start On Opening Day

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer will start on Opening Day. Archer remains the clear ace of this four-man rotation, although fantasy owners may be a bit hesitant to invest after he posted a 7.48 ERA and five home runs to close out last year in September. He's still a low-end fantasy ace after […]

Mallex Smith Will Be Ready For Opening Day

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Mallex Smith (hamstring) said his sore right hamstring is feeling better, and he is not concerned about missing Opening Day. Smith is all about speed, and he's stolen exactly 16 bases each of the last two seasons. He played in just 81 games with the Rays in 2017 due to their […]

Brad Miller To Play Thursday

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller (toe) will play in a minor league game Thursday, and he is fully confident that he will be ready for Opening Day. Miller dealt with injuries last year as well, playing in just 110 games and disappointing with a .201 average and nine home runs. That's after he surprisingly […]

Updated Relief Pitcher 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 one of the shallower positions - relief pitcher. As usual, there are a few elite options at the top, and it gets much […]

Brad Miller Out Another 4-5 Days

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller (toe) will miss another four to five days before he's able to play in a game, but his availability for Opening Day shouldn't be impacted, according to manager Kevin Cash. The left-handed hitter slugged a whopping 30 home runs in 2016 but fell back to earth dramatically in 2017, […]

Deeper First Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to discuss everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers”. Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the first base position. That means no Jose Martinez cop-out blurbs because that dude has already woken up and then some! With draft season officially underway, it's […]

Third Base H2H Points Rankings - March Update

We are getting closer and closer to the first pitch of the 2018 MLB season. Spring training is in full swing which means we are right in the thick of draft season. If you have a draft coming up soon, make sure to use our rankings for all league types. Regardless of the platform or […]

Updated Shortstop Rankings - 2018 Fantasy Baseball

With the regular season only a few weeks away, the esteemed RotoBaller staff has updated their rankings one last time. We continue our review of the March update with a look at the glorious shortstop position. There's a bevy of talented bats ready to be penciled in at the "6" this season, but the sure things draw […]

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 […]

Jake Faria Gets Roughed Up Sunday

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jake Faria only lasted 1 2/3 innings Sunday versus Minnesota despite the plan calling for him to go four innings. He allowed five runs, with four being earned. Observers said he labored with his tempo. There was an element of bad luck, as three hits bounced off fielder's gloves and […]