Eric Thames Dealing With Tight Calf

Washington Nationals first baseman Eric Thames has been dealing with a tight left calf this spring, but is expected to play this weekend. This season, Thames will split time at first base with Ryan Zimmerman and Howie Kendrick at first base. At 33 years old, Thames is actually the youngest of the three. Right now […]

Adam Eaton Leaves With Tight Hamstring

Washington Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton left Tuesday's spring training game with a tight left hamstring. Manager Davey Martinez said that Eaton would like have stayed in a regular season game, but the team is playing things cautiously. Thus, this injury is unlikely to turn into anything major. Eaton should hit near the top of the […]

ADP Reflections - National League Starting Pitchers

The draft season is in full swing. The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) has commenced on the NFBC site, and more and more draft data is filtering through to the masses. We’re now at the point where draft data is shaping draft strategies as people look for value against ADP. There are lots of great […]

Brian Dozier Collects Two Hits Monday

San Diego Padres second baseman Brian Dozier went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Monday's 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Signed to a minor-league deal late in the offseason, Dozier is looking to play his way into a role with his new club. His main competition at second base is presumed starter Jurickson Profar. […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2020 Redraft Leagues (March Update)

The sun is shining in Florida and Arizona, and spring training games are underway. That means it’s time to update our redraft prospect rankings for 2020. We last looked at the key prospects for the coming season back in January when there was a lot of uncertainty around players' roles and potential playing time. As […]

Juan Soto Showing Off Plate Discipline in Early Spring

Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto walked two more times Monday, bringing his spring total to six against only three strikeouts. That has meant a .533 OBP despite a .222 batting average. It's just confirmation that the youngster continues to have a precocious batter's eye for his age--he is still just 21 as he enters his […]

Daniel Hudson Makes Spring Debut

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Daniel Hudson made his 2020 spring training debut on Monday, one day after team closer Sean Doolittle. Hudson allowed three runs. The team is now waiting on Will Harris to complete the spring debuts of their main bullpen trio; Harris, who has a minor abdominal injury, should throw a bullpen session […]

Welington Castillo Throws To Bases

Washington Nationals catcher Welington Castillo (shoulder) threw to the bases on Sunday and should return to Grapefruit League action on Tuesday. Castillo should be just fine for Opening Day as long as he doesn't have any setbacks. The 32-year-old (33 in April) Dominican slumped to a .209/.267/.417 slash line with 12 home runs and 41 […]

Will Harris Could Throw Bullpen This Weekend

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Will Harris (abdomen) could throw a bullpen session this weekend. Harris still has time to be ready for the start of the regular season. He posted a pristine 1.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 62 K's in 60 innings while saving four games for the Astros last season. The 35-year-old right-hander will […]

2020 Third Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

The pool of third basemen for the 2020 dynasty season is jam-packed with talent. From budding stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rafael Devers, to productive veterans like Justin Turner and Mike Moustakas, no one should have trouble finding a useful bat to hold down the hot corner. That said, depth can breed confusion and […]

FOMO and the Hype Machine

We’ve officially entered one of my favorite parts of the fantasy baseball season, the cavalcade of articles on sleepers, upcoming prospects, and breakout players. It’s a time of fresh starts, opportunity, and hope, but I’ve also come to wonder if it isn’t potentially distortive and misleading. Case in point: When Luis Robert signed a long-term contract […]

Ryan Zimmerman to Have Active Spring

Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman will hit about 40 times this spring training if Davey Martinez has his way. It would be Zimmerman's most in spring since 2017. The Nationals will also target about 110 games for Zimmerman this year, according to Martinez. With Howie Kendrick and Eric Thames also slated to spend time […]

Sean Doolittle Makes Spring Debut

Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle made his spring debut against the New York Mets on Sunday, pitching a scoreless fourth inning. He said after that he feels "like I'm in a better tempo and a better position mechanically," compared to what was a rough 2019. He set a career high with a 4.05 ERA with […]

Evaluating OAA for Pitchers Changing Teams (AL and NL-Only)

Earlier this preseason, I looked deeper into Statcast’s new Outs Above Average (OAA) leaderboard, which identifies the best defensive infielders in the league. I used 2019 OAA to look at how a pitcher's new defense will affect his value in the 2020 season. The first article evaluated pitchers drafted inside the top 300 picks, so this […]

ADP Showdown: Keston Hiura vs. Ketel Marte

Heading into 2020 drafts, we see that second base is a relatively deep position. Of course, in terms of elite options, there are roughly seven choices at second base at the top of draft boards. As a result, you want to make sure you choose correctly to get the best value for one of your […]

Victor Robles Gets MRI on Oblique

Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles had an MRI on his left oblique some time in late February. The results were negative and he is day-to-day as of Saturday. Nationals manager Davey Martinez alluded to it still being very early in the baseball year, hence the caution. Unless there is news of an aggravation or setback, […]

When and How Do You Target Sleepers on Draft Day?

A popular buzzword this time of year is "sleeper." Every fantasy baseball writer, podcaster, and radio analyst wants you to know why their sleeper is the one you should be targeting on draft day. Conversely, your league mates hope you've never even heard of their sleeper. As I prepared to write this article, I found […]

Mike Soroka Will Not Live Up to Draft Price Expectations

Every year there are polarizing players in fantasy baseball. These polarizing players leave no room for middle ground. They are the catalyst for Twitter debates, articles, videos, podcasts, and by the end of it you are forced to chose a side: are you in or are you out? For those of you thinking, surely there […]

Elite Starters and Pitching Trends Revisited

Last year I wrote a series [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] on whether we were properly valuing elite starting pitchers. The basic premise was that we were likely to see fantasy-relevant starters (not openers) throw fewer innings again in 2019. I hypothesized that if there were fewer and fewer starting pitchers providing 200 innings […]

Evaluating OAA for Pitchers Changing Teams (12-Team Leagues)

Last week, I looked at Statcast’s new Outs Above Average (OAA) leaderboard, which they’ve used to identify the best defensive infielders in the league. My initial exploration of the metric was designed to identify pitchers who might have been lucky or unlucky last year as a way of mining for bounceback value or avoiding potential […]

Will Harris Dealing With Abdominal Issue

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Will Harris will be re-evaluated in three to four days after tweaking his abdomen recently. Harris was slated to make his spring debut before the injury popped up. For now, it appears to be a minor issue. Harris will be a relief ace for the Nationals this year, but Sean Doolittle […]

Starlin Castro (2B, WAS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~260s CURRENT ADP: ~286 overall ANALYSIS: Oftentimes we hear the word "sleeper" in fantasy sports and think of a younger player who is primed to catch most owners off-guard with surprising success. In reality, we should simply be thinking about players who are being overlooked based on their role and opportunity. Basically, […]

RotoBaller Friends & Family Industry Mock Draft: What the Experts Were Thinking

The RotoBaller Friends & Family Mock Draft has become an annual tradition where we gather some of the biggest names from the fantasy baseball world and put together a mock draft just as spring training has commenced. Thanks to RT Sports for once again hosting and providing a custom draft site where readers could follow […]

H2H Points League Draft Strategy

Points leagues are essentially the rawest version of fantasy baseball. These are not players, these are stat-lines and you want to put up as many points per week as possible. Do not get too attached to underperforming players who have name-value and potential. There is a stark difference in draft strategy when it comes to […]

2020 Catcher Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

Spring Training is upon us! Pitchers and catchers have reported and we finally have some box scores to desperately over-analyze. The catcher position can really be a headache for dynasty owners trying to plan for the future. Needless to say, it is not a position that many MLB teams count on for offense, leaving fantasy players […]

Questionable Closers: An Early Look at Some Unsettled Bullpens

As anyone who has played fantasy baseball for even five minutes knows, bullpens around the league are always in flux. There are fewer and fewer closers who are no doubt, always in for the ninth inning, always healthy, never slumping, and always celebrating wins for their team. We're seeing more and more teams go with […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Shortstop

If you're keeping up with the Keeper Value Rankings, you know we've already covered First Base, Second Base, and Third Base. Today, we will address Shortstop. These rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based […]

Platoon Watch: Part-Time Infielders Worth Rostering

It seems that platooning in major league baseball has become increasingly popular every year. This strategy benefits teams by protecting aging veterans from injury and by getting the most advantageous lineup versus a specifically-handed pitcher. While platooning is smart for major league clubs, it gives us fantasy managers headaches when our player rides the pine […]

2020 Outfield Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

We've been breaking down rankings for points leagues over the last couple of weeks in order to prepare fantasy owners for draft day. To check out previous analysis articles by position, click the following links: first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher, starting pitcher, relief pitcher. Outfield is obviously the deepest of all positions […]

Brian Dozier Joining Padres Camp

The San Diego Padres have signed second baseman Brian Dozier to a minor league deal. He’ll be invited to big league camp. The 32-year-old played for the defending champion Washington Nationals last season, registering a .771 OPS with 20 homers in 482 plate appearances. The former All-Star and Gold Glove winner further crowds the competition […]