RotoAuthority Rumors

Latest At RotoAuthority.com

The outdated $8 magazines are in stores now, which can only mean one thing: fantasy baseball is around the corner.  Our crack team at RotoAuthority will guide you to certain victory, with such recent articles as:

• Top 61 Outfielders, by Alex Steers McCrum
• Alex Rios vs. Hunter Pence, by Mark Polishuk
• Finding This Year's Starting Pitching Sleepers, by Tim Dierkes
• Ninth Inning Sleepers and Busts, by Steve Adams
• NL West Closer Analysis, by Bryan Grosnick

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RotoAuthority.com Returns

Did you finish last in your fantasy baseball league last year?  Maybe it's because your leaguemates started preparing in January, and you didn't!  Redeem yourself by checking out our fantasy baseball site RotoAuthority, which is already up and running with tons of great stuff:

• In the new Go Bold or Go Home series, Alex Steers McCrum tells us why you should draft Mike Trout first overall and Stephen Strasburg in the first round.
• Mike Axisa tries to find this year's Trout with a look at top prospects who could have an immediate impact.
• See which former Twins center fielder is labeled a sleeper in Steve Adams' latest column.
• Safe closers are hard to find, but Bryan Grosnick tries to identify five.
• You can keep up with all the latest RotoAuthority articles via Twitter.

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Latest At RotoAuthority.com

Now is the time for fantasy baseball drafts, and perhaps our fantasy site RotoAuthority.com can you give a few sleeper ideas.  Catch the latest articles via Twitter and Facebook; here are a few examples:

• Here are nine players Edwin Van Bibber-Orr would rather not draft.
• Dan Mennella looks at the ramifications of Ryan Madson's unfortunate season-ending injury.
• Mark Polishuk analyzes the Royals' closer situation.
• Tom Warman has pitching sleepers for Yahoo and ESPN leagues, and Alex Steers McCrum has late-round pitchers to target.
• Last week Steve Adams conducted an online chat at RotoAuthority and appeared on The Fantasy Fix podcast with Brett Talley.

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Latest At RotoAuthority

It's time to start preparing for fantasy baseball drafts, at the expense of your friends and loved ones.  Instead of throwing down $8 on a magazine that was written in December, why not check out the latest at our sister site RotoAuthority?

• Fantasy baseball's most disappointing players from 2011 offer all kinds of bargains this year.  Check out my list of unpopular names you should consider.
• Ryan Braun is a first-round pick again, writes Alex Steers McCrum.
• I explain that if you're thinking about drafting Elvis Andrus, consider Derek Jeter instead.
• Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, and Jose Bautista top Mike Axisa's outfielder rankings.
• My wife will tell you that the only thing nerdier than a fantasy draft is a practice fantasy draft.  Nonetheless, much of the RotoAuthority crew participated in a mock draft last week, and here is Dan Mennella's analysis.

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Latest At RotoAuthority.com

Our newly-relaunched fantasy baseball website RotoAuthority is always fresh and free.  The latest:

• Edwin Van Bibber-Orr lets us in on the best-kept fantasy baseball secret of 2012.
• If you like Buster Posey, try drafting Miguel Montero as your catcher instead, I explain.
• Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, and Ian Kinsler top Mike Axisa's second baseman rankings.
• Frank Francisco is a sleeper and Alex Gordon might be overvalued, writes Dan Mennella.
• Mike Napoli, Mark Teixeira, Dustin Ackley, Derek Jeter, David Freese, and Michael Bourn are overrated in fantasy drafts this year, declares Tom Warman.     
• Alex Steers McCrum analyzes the recent Edwin Jackson and Casey Kotchman signings.
• Mark Polishuk looks at the battle for the Reds' left field job.
• Steve Adams answered fantasy questions in a live chat; check out the transcript.

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Latest At RotoAuthority.com

The already-outdated fantasy baseball magazines are hitting shelves at $8 a pop, but the newly-relaunched RotoAuthority is fresh and free.  The latest:

• Albert Pujols takes the #3 spot in Mike Axisa's first baseman rankings.
• Mike also analyzes the fantasy baseball impact of the Tigers signing Prince Fielder.
• Tom Warman brings us a bunch of underrated starting pitchers.
• Mark Polishuk looks at the Cubs' first base situation.
• Alex Steers McCrum examines the signings of Juan Pierre, Brad Lidge, and Jeff Francis.
• Here's a transcript of Thursday's chat with Steve Adams.

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Odds & Ends: Duncan, Mets, Dodgers, Baylor

Four years ago today, the Cubs signed Starlin Castro as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic.  He became the team's starting shortstop in May at the age of 20, debuting with a .300/.347/.408 performance.  Links for Monday:

• Dave Duncan's new deal with the Cards will make him the game's highest paid pitching coach, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 
• ESPN's Keith Law (via Twitter) believes that Sandy Alderson would be a better choice for Mets GM than Josh Byrnes.  Roughly 78% of MLBTR readers feel the same way.
• After being bumped from consideration for the Brewers' managerial vacancy, Tim Wallach will almost certainly become the Dodgers' third-base coach, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. 
• Rick Honeycutt has agreed to stay on with the Dodgers as pitching coach, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
• For you fantasy baseball junkies, I took a look at Brandon Morrow at RotoAuthority.
• Don Baylor will receive a two-year deal to be the Diamondbacks' new hitting coach, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds that former Indians hurler Charles Nagy is the leading candidate to become the team's new pitching coach.
• Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reveals quotes from Mariners president Chuck Armstrong from six weeks after the Cliff Lee trade.  Armstrong said that when talks with the Yankees stalled, the White Sox, Twins, and Rangers were among the teams to get involved.
• Yahoo's Tim Brown previews the hot stove season with ten names to watch.

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Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Nationals, Cardinals

Links for Monday, as impending free agent lefties Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte prepare to duel in New York...

• Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) doesn't think that Dana Brown, an "[Omar] Minaya disciple", has a good chance of landing the Mets GM job.  Brown will reportedly meet with the club on Wednesday.
• RotoAuthority attempts to find the next Carlos Gonzalez for fantasy players.
• Cody Ross is expected to be tendered a contract this winter by the Giants, and he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, "I'd like to stay for my career."  Ross also revealed that he's been pushing former teammate Dan Uggla to sign with the Giants after next season.
• Forget about the Reds signing Carl Crawford, suggests MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.  Sheldon sees the Reds attempting to find a more affordable leadoff hitter.
• Patrick Newman of FanGraphs looks at the repertoire of starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles.  The righty, 30 in April, excels at limiting home runs.  Newman estimates a posting fee in the $10MM range plus a contract of four years and $20MM.
• Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider examines Washington's 2011 payroll commitments and finds that they will have less than $50MM committed.  He doesn't know if they'll bump payroll to the $80MM range, but if so they could be big offseason spenders.  For MLBTR's look at the Nationals' twelve arbitration eligible players, click here.
• MLB.com's Matthew Leach spoke to Jake Westbrook about the future, shortly before the season ended.
• Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlines the battle for Cardinals 40-man roster spots.
• The Yankees' Jesus Montero is the best hitting prospect left in the minors, writes Baseball America's Jim Callis.

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Experts Predict Jose Bautista's 2011 Home Run Total

Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote a compelling piece yesterday for MLBTR examining Jose Bautista's upcoming arbitration case.  Today at RotoAuthority.com, we attempt to predict Bautista's 2011 home run total through the wisdom of ten top baseball writers, including Peter Gammons, Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman, and Buster Olney.  Click here to see their predictions.

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Odds & Ends: Hahn, Daniels, Edmonds

Links for Wednesday, in the lull before the Yankees and Rangers face off in Texas on Friday...

• White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn interviewed for the Mets GM position yesterday, and Kenny Williams told Dan Martin of the New York Post, "I know I'm gonna lose him, and it's gonna be a heavy blow."  Williams explained that Hahn has been picky with previous opportunities.  Josh Byrnes was scheduled to interview for the Mets job today.
• The Mets won't be plucking Jon Daniels from the Rangers.  Owner Chuck Greenberg told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, "He's not going anywhere" (Twitter links).  Greenberg also spoke to ESPN's Richard Durrett about his desire to retain Cliff Lee, after the lefty's dominant start last night gave the Rangers their first playoff series win.
• Jim Edmonds told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "I'm kind of in wait-and-see mode right now" in terms of playing next year.  Edmonds expressed his desire to land a backup first baseman gig for 2011.
• Talking about his next contract, Jose Bautista told Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star, "The differences of $50,000 or $100,000 may not seem huge but it’s actually really stressful when you’re about to commit."  For much more on Bautista's arbitration case, check out Ben Nicholson-Smith's article from earlier today.
• RotoAuthority explains why Homer Bailey is a fantasy baseball sleeper for next year.

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