We're creeping closer and closer to Fantasy Baseball season even if your drafts (and mine as well) are still almost a month (and some even more than that) away. Some of the most comprehensive pre-draft analysis is already live on the site at CBSSports.com/Fantasy ranging from in-depth position previews from Chris Towers, mock drafts and analysis from Scott White, 55 stats you need to know that could change your outlook on a few dozen players and more. We will start to feature this content and more analysis in the newsletters leading up to the start of your draft season and then every day through the season.

Let's start today by catching up with baseball and checking in on a few of the notable player developments over the past few days.

One thing I love about the way Scott analyzes Fantasy Baseball is that his strategy and approach are ever-evolving and he's always trying to get ahead of what the next trend will be. For example, this year he believes the rule changes will lead to more stolen bases league-wide. He states his case and always then comes up with a strategy for how to adjust to this. He hasn't always been right, but he's pretty much always sold me. His recent deep dive into how position scarcity is back and how it should impact the way you craft your 2023 rosters is a must read for your draft prep. You can find it here.

Key takeaways that will change how I draft

• The reign of the juiced ball is over and the result was the lowest league-wide home run total in 2022 since 2015.
• Home runs were down by 1,461 from the 2019 season to the 2022 season. 1,461!
• All of those home run stats matter because the home runs that were available to high-threshold defensive players (we know them as middle infielders; specifically second basemen) are not as available.
• This graph shows how the home run totals have changed at each position:

Scott's analysis on the impact of the juiced ball era stood out as well.

From Scott: "You can see that not all positions were equally impacted by the elimination of the juiced ball. The positions that require more mobility and less bulk -- like second base, shortstop and the outfield -- all lost part of their 20-homer share while the positions that require less -- catcher, first base and third base -- all gained. And the trend lines are just as clear if you use 25 or 30 as the cutoff rather than 20."

Scott's piece provides further evidence that position scarcity is actually a thing again and then addresses how to build advantages based on that -- once again I can't stress enough that this is an absolute must-read for your draft prep. 

• Tyler O'Neill and Dylan Carlson will compete this spring for the starting job in center field, per Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. And I can't imagine that not sending O'Neill to everyone's draft avoid list fast.
• New pitch alert: Twins SP Joe Ryan has added a split-changeup to his arsenal this season. He has also reportedly revamped his slider and it looks impressive per Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, via the Athletic. Ryan makes for an interesting option in drafts right now after somewhat quietly posting a nice 2022 with a 3.55 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 151 strikeouts over 147 innings.
• 1B Luke Voit signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training and that probably wouldn't be very interesting at all except for the fact that he signed with the Brewers. Want to find your power stroke again? Subscribe to playing your home games at American Family Field and you may just find it.
• White Sox OF Luis Robert told The Athletic that he's feeling fully healthy entering spring training. A wrist injury that bothered him in 2022 during the stretch run is now behind him. A healthy and productive spring will move him up draft boards.
• Remember Braves SP Mike Soroka? Well, if you're buying low for the post-hype bounceback, you might be concerned about his chances of opening the season in the Braves rotation. He told reporters that the team hasn't yet determined when he'll be cleared to begin running or throwing off the mound. 
• Felix Bautista told reporters that he felt healthy after a bullpen session on Tuesday. If he progresses this spring, it should put him in line to be ready for Opening Day.
• Rangers SP Dane Dunning will begin the season at Triple-A, according to Levi Weaver of the Athletic. Dunning flashed at times in 2022 and was on some deep sleeper lists. His ADP will fall with the news.
• Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that OF Jason Heyward was "absolutely" a favorite to secure an Opening Day roster spot on the Dodgers. Heyward isn't Fantasy relevant now but it's the Dodgers so.. nah probably not.

Today's FBT episode was dedicated to the starting pitchers and it was the second part of a jam-packed pair of episodes. For full analysis from Scott, Frank and Chris, don't miss an episode. If you catch up now, you can knock out every position preview, an episode dedicated to the players they love and a lot more. You can find it on iTunes, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts by searching for Fantasy Baseball Today.

While we're on the topic of starting pitchers, let's preview the position a bit. That's exactly what Chris did this week on the site and his article is a comprehensive primer that can get you immediately caught up on the position.

• Chris prefers a Hero-SP build this year with the objective of acquiring an ace who he can reasonably project for 200 innings or so. Some of my favorite targets so far who fit his build are Aaron Nola and Sandy Alcantara -- both of whom would require fairly significant draft capital. The Hero strategy lands on spending big (or moderately big) for one SP and then abandoning the pitcher position altogether for a string of rounds as you look to gain an edge in the hitting categories.
• Pitchers Chris is probably higher on than consensus: Marlins SP Edward Cabrera , Dodgers SP Dustin May, Phillies SP Nola
• Pitchers Chris is probably lower on than consensus: Braves SP Spencer Strider, Guardians SP Triston McKenzie, Rays SP Tyler Glasnow, Mariners SP Logan Gilbert,