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Sam Chinitz has written 81 articles so far, you can find them below.
Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 2
Only three days’ worth of games separate last week’s waiver wire from this week’s, but there are still new players worth picking up this week. In addition to players making their first appearance on this list, some players still aren’t close as highly rostered as they should be after last week. With that in mind,... Read More
Zach Britton Gets His First Save
New York Yankees closer Zach Britton picked up his first save of the season on Sunday with a scoreless inning against the Nationals. In typical Britton fashion, two of the three batted balls he allowed came on the ground, and only one had an exit velocity north of 87 mph. Britton is slated to continue... Read More
Luke Voit Hits His First Home Run Of The Season
New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit made his first hit of the 2020 season count with a 387 ft shot against the Nationals on Sunday. Although the home run was the only damage that Voit did on Sunday, he also smoked a 95.1 mph line drive with a .910 xBA that was caught at... Read More
Gleyber Torres Has A Three-Hit Game
New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres broke a two-game hitless streak with two singles and a home run against the Nationals on Sunday. Torres was red-hot on Sunday, with all three of his batted balls leaving the bat at over 100 mph. With two All-Star appearances and a .849 OPS over his first two major... Read More
Jonathan Loaisiga Starting On Sunday
New York Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga will start for the team and throw around 50 pitches against the Nationals on Sunday. Loaisiga is starting in place of the recovering Masahiro Tanaka and is expected to return to the bullpen following Sunday’s start. Given his fairly restrictive best-case scenario pitch count, Loiaisiga isn’t much of a... Read More
James Paxton Struggles With Mechanics And Velocity In First Start
New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton struggled in his first start of the season, lasting only one inning and allowing three runs. Concerningly, Paxton’s fastball velocity topped out at 93.8 mph and averaged less than 92 mph for the night. Paxton mentioned that he was struggling to find his velocity during simulated games, and... Read More
DJ LeMahieu Back In The Yankees Lineup
New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu is back in the lineup and leading off after missing Thursday’s game. The Yankees wanted LeMahieu to get more live at-bats in before rejoining the lineup after the 32-year-old missed time due to a positive coronavirus test. LeMahieu took batting practice against Jordan Montgomery on the team’s off-day... Read More
Giancarlo Stanton Opens The Season With A Home Run
New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton homered in his first at-bat against Max Scherzer as part of a 2-for-3 night with three RBI on Thursday. Any concerns about Stanton's calf bothering him we're quickly alleviated, though he did DH and is unlikely to play defense for most of this season. Fantasy owners should expect Stanton... Read More
Gerrit Cole Looks Good In First Start Of The Season
New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole cruised through five innings against the Nationals on Thursday, allowing just one run and two baserunners on 75 pitches. Cole would likely have pitched closer to 100 pitches as long as he continued to pitch well, but a rain delay ended his start prematurely. Cole’s fastball sat around... Read More
DJ LeMahieu Could Start On Saturday
New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu could start at second base for Saturday’s game against the Nationals, according to manager Aaron Boone. LeMahieu is available off of the bench on Thursday, but the Yankees want the 32-year-old to get more live at-bats in before rejoining the lineup after he missed time with a positive... Read More
Tyler Wade Starting At Second Base Over DJ LeMahieu
New York Yankees infielder Tyler Wade is starting at second base for the team over DJ LeMahieu on Thursday. LeMahieu is still getting back into game shape after a relatively brief coronavirus-related absence, but the 32-year-old is likely to return to the Yankee lineup within the next week. Until LeMahieu returns, Wade will start at... Read More
Aroldis Chapman Still Testing Positive For Coronavirus
New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is still testing positive for coronavirus as of Wednesday. Chapman is now mostly symptom-free according to manager Aaron Boone, but Chapman is ineligible to rejoin the team until he tests negative twice over a 24-hour period. Given that Chapman will likely need time to get back into game... Read More
Gerrit Cole Could Throw 100 Pitches On Thursday
New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole may through 90 to 100 pitches against the Nationals on Thursday, according to manager Aaron Boone. The Yankees don’t appear to want to get too creative or cautious with their star pitcher, and for good reason. Fresh off of a season with a sparkling 2.50 ERA and 34%... Read More
DJ LeMahieu Uncertain For Opening Day
New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu may not play on Thursday as he continues to get back into game shape after isolating with coronavirus. LeMahieu rejoined the Yankees last Friday after testing negative for coronavirus twice over a 24-hour period, but manager Aaron Boone doesn’t want to rush the 32-year-old back into games. Even... Read More
Jordan Montgomery To Start On July 29
New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery is in line to start on July 29 against the Phillies, according to manager Aaron Boone. Montgomery was optioned to the team’s alternate site on Tuesday as a means to add relievers for a bullpen game on July 26, but the 27-year-old will be the team’s fifth starter... Read More
Yankees Option Jordan Montgomery
New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery was optioned to the team’s alternate training site on Tuesday. This was likely a short-term move to open up spots for relievers early in the season, as manager Aaron Boone announced that the team will have a bullpen day on July 26 to fill in for the recovering... Read More
Masahiro Tanaka On Pace For July 31 Start
New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (head) threw 20 pitches from the mound on Tuesday. Barring any setbacks, Tanaka is scheduled to throw around 40 pitches on Sunday, putting him in line to start on July 31 against the Red Sox. Tanaka is slated to miss one start with that timeline, giving the Yankees... Read More
Updated Third Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues (July)
Opening Day is quickly approaching, and we’ve got some updated fantasy baseball rankings here at Rotoballer. The 2020 season will be unusually uncertain, with even minor injuries potentially forcing players to miss significant portions of the season and a short season creating small samples of key stats. Certainty should be a little easier to find... Read More
James Paxton Still Trying To Find Velocity
New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton threw 84 pitches over five innings in a simulated game on Monday, and although manager Aaron Boone came away comfortable with Paxton’s performance, Paxton indicated that he’s still unsatisfied with his velocity. Paxton’s exact velocity from Monday’s game is unclear, but his fastball was sitting around 93 mph... Read More
Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 1
The first week of waiver wire pickups for the 2020 season is here and Opening Day is approaching quickly. Some teams have endured a lengthy period between draft day and the start of the season, making Week 1 waiver pickups unusually important this season. In the same vein, many of the players worth picking up... Read More
Masahiro Tanaka Could Face Live Hitting On Tuesday
New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (head) threw another bullpen session on Sunday, his second bullpen session since suffering a concussion on July 4. Manager Aaron Boone said that Tanaka could start facing live hitters as soon as Tuesday, putting him in line to miss no more than one start at the beginning of... Read More
Domingo German Not Retiring
New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German announced on Saturday that he is not retiring. German posted a picture on Instagram suggesting that he may retire on Friday, but later made it clear that he intends to return to the Yankees for the 2021 season. German will miss the entire 2020 season while serving a... Read More
DJ LeMahieu May Be Ready For Opening Day
New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu may be ready for the start of the season after rejoining the team on Friday from a coronavirus related absence. LeMahieu is scheduled to face live pitching this week and is optimistic that he’ll be prepared to start the season at second base for the Yankees. If LeMahieu... Read More
Six-Man Rotations: Who's Doing It and Why It Matters
With only 60 games making up the 2020 regular season, it appears likely some unconventional pitching strategies will be featured. One strategy that is likely to be somewhat popular is the six-man rotation. So far, two teams have already committed to using six starters for at least the beginning of the season. Others could follow... Read More
Rethinking DFS Strategies for a 60-Game MLB Season
The 2020 MLB season is going to be weird. In a 60-game season, previous in-season game performance holds limited value, making game-to-game projections unusually difficult across the entire season. Consider what some player production looked like 60 games into last season: David Dahl had a .457 BABIP Jose Ramirez had a .202/.303/.307 slash line Jake... Read More
Domingo German May Retire
New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German may retire after posting a message on his Instagram that suggested he's done with baseball. German was slated to miss the entire 2020 season while serving a domestic violence suspension, but his apparently potential retirement comes as a surprise. Manager Aaron Boone wasn't aware of any additional details... Read More
Is Aaron Judge Worth The Draft Risk?
On September 18, 2019, Aaron Judge suffered a stress fracture in his rib while attempting to make a catch in right field. Judge played through the injury, but he was forced to take a break from hitting in early March thanks to shoulder and pectoral discomfort. Judge recently began swinging again, and GM Brian Cashman... Read More
DJ LeMahieu Back With The Yankees
New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu is back with the team, as expected, on Friday after testing negative for coronavirus twice over a 24-hour period. LeMahieu had been isolating after testing positive for coronavirus on July 4, but the 32-year-old was asymptomatic and able to return to the team in a relatively short period... Read More
Masahiro Tanaka Likely To Miss One Start
New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (head) is likely to miss his first turn through the rotation, according to manager Aaron Boone. Boone hasn't ruled Tanaka out for his first start yet, but fantasy owners should plan for the 31-year-old missing his first scheduled start. Even so, Tanaka has already thrown a bullpen session... Read More
Masahiro Tanaka Throws Bullpen Session
New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (head) threw a bullpen session on Thursday. Pitching coach Matt Blake was encouraged by Tanaka’s session, and the 31-year-old continues to recover well from the concussion he suffered on July 4. Tanaka is scheduled for an additional bullpen session on Sunday and is likely to face live hitters... Read More
