Cory Spangenberg Injures Wrist During Workout

AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports San Diego Padres infielder Cory Spangenberg jammed his wrist and will be out a "short period of time." Spangenberg was expected to compete with second baseman Carlos Asuaje for playing time at second base. His absence will open more opportunities for Jose Pirela, who will see action at second due to the […]

Austin Hedges Focuses On Plate Discipline

San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges homered in his first spring training at-bat on Sunday but was equally excited about a walk he took later in the game. The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee reports the San Diego backstop worked on a more fluid swing and patience during the offseason to cut back on chasing […]

Franchy Cordero Hits Second Homer Of Spring Training

San Diego Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero hit an inside-the-park home run on Monday. The Padres 12th-ranked prospect showed his coveted pop and speed combination by hitting one off the fence and racing around the bases to easily score. Cordero also homered on Saturday and has started spring training 3-for-8. The reigning Dominican Winter League MVP […]

ADP Sleepers and Busts - AL Relief Pitchers

The early days of draft season typically result in volatile ADP data, as values adjust rapidly to a growing sample size. Eventually, players fall much closer to their intrinsic worth as fantasy owners become inundated with news, analysis and pundit commentary. So, I'm here today to serve as another voice to the copious reams of […]

Manuel Margot Balancing Fun And Persistence

San Diego Padres manager Andy Green is challenging outfielder Manuel Margot to improve his on-base percentage, score 100 runs and win a Gold Glove in 2018. A warm and fuzzy piece by Bryce Miller highlights Margot's simple upbringing and positive clubhouse energy. Green's benchmark is ambitious but fitting for the unquestioned leadoff man and center […]

Eric Hosmer May Move Around Batting Order

Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the San Diego Padres are not concerned where first baseman Eric Hosmer bats in the order. Hosmer brings a career .342 on-base percentage, including .385 last season, to one of the league's least-disciplined teams. The Padres had a miserable .299 OBP in 2017. Manager Andy Green hopes Hosmer's […]

Tyson Ross To Start Saturday

The San Diego Padres announced their starters for the first three spring training games this weekend. Brett Kennedy gets the nod Friday, followed by Tyson Ross on Saturday and Bryan Mitchell on Sunday. Ross signed a minor league deal after being a non-factor in 2016 and 2017. Ross is currently fantasy-irrelevant, but if he makes […]

Young Padres Infielders Learning From Freddy Galvis

San Diego Padres shortstop Freddy Galvis is embracing his role as a mentor for young San Diego ballplayers. Touted prospects like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Javier Guerra will soak in Galvis' tutelage as they plan to usurp his job. Galvis forecasts as the Friars opening day shortstop, but the rapid development of the next generation […]

Brad Hand Set To Be Unorthodox Closer

MLB.com reports the San Diego Padres will use closer Brad Hand in various situations rather than limiting him to the ninth inning. Hand's primary gig will still be slamming the door, but matchups and game circumstances may require his services earlier. A former starter, Hand appeared in several multi-inning outings last season and will still […]

Wil Myers Believes He's Stronger And Faster In 2018

Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports San Diego Padres outfielder Wil Myers put on over 20 pounds in the offseason, increasing his playing weight to 224. Despite the gain, Myers thinks he's both faster and stronger. This could be an iteration of the classic "best shape of my life" maxim, but fantasy owners could take […]

Franchy Cordero Continues Climbing Development Ladder

After debuting at 22 years old and logging 99 plate appearances in 2017, San Diego Padres outfield prospect Franchy Cordero spent his MLB offseason in the Dominican Winter League and won both Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, finishing in the top five in average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, home runs, RBI and runs. […]

Six Padres Outfielders Vying For One Position

Per Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Padres Manager Andy Green put a positive spin on the overcrowded outfield situation in San Diego. With Manuel Margot and Wil Myers occupying two spots, Hunter Renfroe, Jose Pirela, Alex Dickerson, Franchy Cordero, Travis Jankowski and Matt Szczur will all fight for playing time in […]

Should Fantasy Managers Swipe Left and Chase Steals?

Steals are an important statistic in fantasy baseball. They represent 10% of scoring categories in 5x5 leagues and earn an equivalent value or more to singles, runs and RBI in points leagues. Comparing runs and stolen bases, the fantasy significance of a steal is certainly overvalued versus its real baseball relevance. The Run Expectancy table […]

Judge or Bellinger - Goliath versus Goliath?

Let’s set the table before we dig in: choosing between Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger is like deciding between bacon or chicken wings. Both are delicious. And to put this analogy in overkill, let’s assume anyone that dislikes bacon and chicken wings just isn't a baseball fan. Judge and Bellinger are two faces of baseball’s […]

January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 16-23

From the middle rounds, we segue into the tail-end of our early bird mock draft. The 12-team draft was done by RotoBaller’s MLB writers with order as follows: Chris Zolli, Harris Yudin, Troy Klauder, Kevin Luchansky, Pierre Camus, Max Petrie, Nick Mariano, Max Brill, Connor McEleney, Kyle Bishop, Mario Hernandez, and Andrew Le. As mentioned […]

January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 10-15

Spring training is getting closer and the RotoBaller MLB team opened up our first bags of peanuts and cracker jacks with a 12-team mock draft last week. For consideration, this 23-round mock draft was a traditional 5x5 league consisting of nine pitcher spots and the rest starting offensive slots (including two catchers). The lack of […]

2018 Second Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

Aside from catcher, second base is amongst the shallowest positions heading into the 2018 season. Assuming a standard 10-12 team league, depending on the bench size it makes sense to roster only one 2B upon conclusion of your draft. If you can’t scoop up Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez or Anthony Rizzo, you may need to […]