I'm sure many of you are familiar with the concept of "TINSTAAPP". Spelled out it means "There's No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect" and it basically implies that it's impossible to predict which starting pitching prospects will pan out and which will flame out. There are plenty of examples in both directions; for example, Chris Sale was hyped coming up and has followed through on that. How about Chris Everts? If you're not familiar with the name, I don't blame you. He was selected one spot ah[...]

Fantasy experts are placing a bigger emphasis on drafting elite starters early this year. It is apparent this strategy is making its way across the fantasy community, as the high-end starters are being valued higher than before. In points leagues, this is a wise methodology, as an ace can serve as the backbone of a fantasy team. Seven different SPs tallied over 600 points in standard formats, whereas only six hitters reached that mark. Even Mike Trout failed to reach that level of production tha[...]

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cole Hamels' oblique injury in May of 2017 led to mechanical problems that persisted late into that season and carried over into 2018 when he was with the Rangers. The lefty was striding too far down the mound, flying open and his lower half and upper half were out of sync. The mechanical adjustments he made last year helped him post a 2.36 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 23 walks in 76 1/3 innings after being traded to the Cubs. Once he made the changes, the velocity o[...]

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When discussing fantasy baseball. An often neglected-but-entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both cumulative season-long and weekly head-to-head formats.[...]

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. The sun is still rising on 2019, but RotoBaller writers JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli and myself are here with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings are sure to change quite a bit over the coming weeks. [...]

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In my last piece, we took a look at some of the pitchers who made significant improvements to their ERA in 2018. Now it's time to take a look at the guys who went in the other direction, and see if it's time to panic on them.This list features two starters who were being drafted as top-30 starting pitchers last year, and two closers who were drafted as top-15 relievers. Of the four pitchers on this list, it's Cody Allen who has the shakiest fantasy value going forward, as he is the only one with[...]

The Chicago Cubs picked up starting pitcher Cole Hamels' $20 million option on Friday, according to sources. Chicago was hoping to instead sign him to a short-term contract extension, but that didn't work out. The left-hander struggled in the first half with Texas but was rejuvenated in the move to Wrigley, going 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA, 1.10 [...]

Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein said that the team would be interested in bringing starting pitcher Cole Hamels back for next season. Hes absolutely someone we want to be part of the mix going forward. Cole was such a breath of fresh air for us. He made an unbelievable impression. For a guy whos been here only 2 months hes as universally respected in that room as anyone Ive seen," Epstein said. The veteran southpaw was having a bad year in Texas before he was traded to Chicago, where he tur[...]