What Does It Mean To Win A Trade?

I hold a pair of college degrees, one of which is in English, specifically the writing thereof. In addition to being a poor life choice, it reflects my interest in words and how we use them. That it also makes me more pedantic about this topic than your average bear is de rigueur, especially at […]

Your Most Ridiculous Fantasy Baseball League Rules

Earlier this month, I wrote about the madness of league commissioners who believe that one IL slot in enough in the year of our lord 2019. The end of that post included a link to a Twitter thread wherein I solicited from the commentariat the worst, dumbest, and/or most inexplicable rules they had ever encountered […]

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

As regular readers may already be aware, in addition to this and my other weekly columns, I manage RotoBaller's Waiver Wire List. During the construction of this week's edition, it hit me: We're at the point of the season where the number of quality pitchers on the waiver wire is at one of its lowest […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

This point of the season is a rough one for reinforcements on the waiver wire. Pretty much everyone is still trying to win, and with early breakouts long since snapped up and injuries taking their toll as usual, it can be tough to find help that doesn't require a trade partner. Tough - but not […]

Nicky Lopez (SS, KC) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 14% of leagues ANALYSIS: Less heralded than many of the other prospects who debuted this week, Nicky Lopez is nonetheless an intriguing addition for fantasy owners. The 24-year-old's calling card throughout his minor league career has been excellent contact ability and plate discipline. He cranked those attributes to […]

Jarrod Dyson (OF, ARI) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jarrod Dyson has never been a great hitter, as evidence by both his career .669 OPS and the fact that he's logged only 2,276 plate appearances in 10 seasons (never more than 390 in a single year). What he brings to the table is […]

Yordan Alvarez (OF, HOU) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: Yordan Alvarez continues to demolish Triple-A. With another two-homer game on Thursday (he also doubled), the 21-year-old now has a ridiculous 17 bombs in 36 games. He's hitting .410/.497/.903. We're running out of superlatives for his performance at this point. The question now is when […]

Keston Hiura (2B, MIL) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 47% of leagues ANALYSIS: In most competitive leagues with daily moves, with the possible exception of extremely shallow formats, you may well have already missed your chance to add Keston Hiura. If not, however, he's worthy of strong consideration. The top prospect in the Brewers' system - and one […]

Brendan Rodgers (SS, COL) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more prospects called up to the majors this week, here comes Brendan Rodgers. The Rockies' newest rookie has hit a blistering .356/.421/.644 at Triple-A this year, with nine home runs and 55 R+BI in 35 games. […]

The Unkindest Cut (or Trade) of All

Every season presents plenty of dilemmas for fantasy baseball owners, perhaps none more challenging than what to do about a player's early-season struggles. We're still in the first third of the year, after all. A lot can and will change between now and October, and while reliability may have already been achieved for some metrics, […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 7

With roughly a quarter of the season in the books, you may be running out of patience with your current fantasy squad. That's okay! While huge, season-altering transactions may not yet be merited, that doesn't necessarily mean that sitting on your hands is advisable either. Perhaps you just need to find a little help on […]

Hunter Renfroe (OF, SD) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 33% of leagues ANALYSIS: Regular readers will recall that I entered the year with high expectations for Hunter Renfroe. Playing time has been somewhat of an issue thus far in the Padres' crowded outfield, but when he has suited up, Renfroe has performed. The 27-year-old is hitting .240/.286/.587 with […]

Ronny Rodriguez (1B/2B/3B/SS, DET) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 11% of leagues ANALYSIS: Is Ronny Rodriguez's true talent level reflected in his current .305/.344/.644 line? Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean he can't be useful to your fantasy squad. Even after this hot streak peters out, the 27-year-old may have some sneaky value in deep and AL-only […]

Hunter Pence (OF, TEX) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Hunter Pence just turned 36 years old. He hit just .249/.297/.368 over the previous two seasons, during which he logged only 787 plate appearances. It was fair to wonder if any team would offer him a contract this winter and indeed, he only signed […]

Alex Verdugo (OF, LAD) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: One of the top prospects in the Dodgers' system, Alex Verdugo had failed to impress in brief MLB cameos in each of the last two Septembers. Over the course of 111 plate appearances, the 22-year-old hit a pedestrian .240/.309/.360 with two home runs and was […]

Roenis Elias (RP, SEA) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 38% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Mariners' bullpen has been pretty terrible this season, ranking toward the bottom of MLB in home runs, walks, and ERA. An early-season injury to Hunter Strickland has left them mostly employing a committee approach to the late innings. However, Roenis Elias has been […]

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 7

We're about a quarter of the way through the 2019 season. That means that while there's a lot of time for things to change, outlooks are beginning to come into greater focus. Do you like what you see? If not, perhaps it's time to call in some reinforcements from the waiver wire. That's precisely what […]

Keep Calm and Play On

I spend an inordinate amount of time preaching patience to restless fantasy owners in the early weeks of every fantasy baseball season. This is borne out of a genuine belief that more often than not, resisting the urge to make drastic decisions in April will play out to your benefit. Rising above the roil of […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6

As the calendar flips into May, you might find yourself struggling to remain patient with underperforming players on your fantasy teams. Some of those players may not deserve the benefit of the doubt, but many do. There's always room for improvement, and if you've determined that a player falls into the former category RE: doubts […]

Anthony DeSclafani (SP, CIN) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 17% of leagues ANALYSIS: Always in possession of an 80-grade nickname, the man they call Tony Disco hasn't had much to boogie about in recent years. After a breakout 2016, the lanky right-hander missed all of the following season with injury and then posted a middling 4.93 ERA […]

Yordan Alvarez (OF, HOU) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Yordan Alvarez has yet to reach the major leagues, but he's generating a ton of buzz in fantasy circles. The Astros' prospect entered 2019 with a career .301/.381/.507 minor league line and is absolutely laying waste to Triple-A right now, hitting an absurd .402/.490/.931 […]

Shawn Kelley (RP, TEX) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS: With Jose Leclerc's early season struggles showing no signs of abatement, the Rangers officially removed him from the closer role earlier this week. Shawn Kelley is one of the front-runners for saves in the aftermath of that decision. The 35-year-old has pitched 12 innings thus […]

Josh Reddick (OF, HOU) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS: 2018 was a mixed bag for Josh Reddick, as he posted the third-highest home run total of his career but also saw his average plummet to .242, over 70 points lower than the season before. Thus far this season, the modest pop has remained and […]

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6

It is now May, so you may now panic. Kidding. There's still a lot of season left to be played. But things are starting to take shape, and if that shape isn't to your liking, perhaps it's time to call in some reinforcements from the waiver wire. That's precisely what this column is designed to […]

One IL Spot Isn't Enough

Let me preface this by saying that which should not need to be said: There is no single right way to play fantasy baseball. It's only natural, being the sort of person who is invested enough in the game to spend a chunk of his time writing about it, that I would develop strong opinions […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5

We may be coming to the end of April, but there remains an overwhelming majority of the season left to play. In most cases, you are still advised not to make drastic decisions regarding your fantasy roster. Of course, that isn't to say you should do nothing. There's always room for improvement. Whether you're patching […]

Carter Kieboom (SS, WAS) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of leagues ANALYSIS: Judging by the sharp upward movement of his ownership rate since news of his promotion broke, the number above will almost certainly be different by the time you read this. Hell, it might change before I finish writing at this rate. The Nationals have […]

Sergio Romo (RP, MIA) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sergio Romo - not trendier upside plays like Adam Conley, Drew Steckenrider, Nick Anderson, or Taysom Guerrero - has emerged as the primary ninth-inning option for Miami. He's locked down their last three save situations, with clean innings in all of those games. […]

Franmil Reyes (OF, SD) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 34% of leagues ANALYSIS: Obviously nobody's happy with a batting average hovering around the Mendoza line, but fantasy owners ought to remain patient with Franmil Reyes. The 23-year-old slugger is clearly the favored option over Hunter Renfroe in right field and continues to regularly man the cleanup spot in […]

Cole Tucker (SS, PIT) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 13% of leagues ANALYSIS: Quickly forgotten by many fantasy owners after Carter Kieboom's promotion a few days ago, Cole Tucker is an intriguing shortstop prospect in his own right. The 22-year-old has always had plus speed, but four home runs in 21 games between Triple-A and the majors […]