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Daily Fantasy Baseball (DFS) Cheat Sheet and Lineup Picks for July 28th, 2020
MLB DFS Premium Cheatsheet for 7/27 All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. RotoBaller Sample DFS Lineups Sample FanDuel Lineup Sample DraftKings Lineup Please note that these are sample lineups designed only to show how you might use the above lineup picks in your own lineup. You should […]
Nicklaus Gaut PREMIUM 4 years agoDraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (7/27/20): MLB DFS Lineups
We made it, everyone! A full weekend of baseball was played and so far no calamities have come crashing down. Well, besides late-scratches for COVID issues and ace pitchers going down left and right. Everything is awesome! I'm back today and going position by position to give you some of the best plays to start […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoPoints League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 2
There is no getting around that playing head-to-head points with weekly matchups is a difficult proposition in a 60-game season. There are only 10 weeks to play so that makes for a regular-season made up of just five or six matchups. Obviously, that will be a roller coaster of insanity for any leagues keeping the […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoDraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (7/26/20): MLB DFS Lineups
The first weekend of Major League Baseball is coming to a close and we have an 11-game Main slate on DraftKings to send us out with. There are no weather issues, plenty of pricey offense, and just as many suspect pitchers to help fill your lineups out with today. I'll be going position by position […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoDaily MLB DFS Value Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings - July 26, 2020
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Below you will find our Premium DFS value plays for 07/26/2020. These picks will target low-priced players in the main slate. After a four-month wait, it's finally time for a full slate of Sunday baseball. We have an 11-game slate of games starting at noon, […]
Nicklaus Gaut PREMIUM 4 years agoDaily MLB DFS Value Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings - July 25th, 2020
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Below you will find our Premium DFS value plays for 07/25/2020. These picks will target low-priced players in the main slate. It's a full slate of daytime baseball, with games starting at noon and plenty of pricey options available. If you want to bust out […]
Nicklaus Gaut PREMIUM 4 years agoUpdated Second Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues (July)
With Opening Day of the 2020 MLB season just a few weeks away, we have a new batch of updated fantasy baseball rankings for you here at RotoBaller. The unpredictable effects of COVID-19 and the implementation of the 60-game season will make the upcoming fantasy campaign the most unique we have ever seen. Not only […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoUnderpriced Hitters According to ATC Projections
While nothing is guaranteed, we can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. Baseball is back, baby! Summer camp (I refuse to call it Spring Training 2.0) has now begun and Opening Day is set for July 23/24. Coming with the return are seismic changes; a universal DH, limited opponents, a […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoUpdated First Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues (July)
With Opening Day of the 2020 MLB season just a few weeks away, we have a new batch of updated fantasy baseball rankings for you here at RotoBaller. The unpredictable effects of COVID-19 and the implementation of the 60-game season will make the upcoming fantasy campaign the most unique we have ever seen. Not only […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoOverpriced Hitters According to ATC Projections
RotoBaller is fortunate to have 2019's most accurate ranker, Ariel Cohen, to give us his updated ATC projections. I have taken those projections and turned them into fantasy dollars, ranking them accordingly. By comparing these rankings to the latest NFBC ADP data, we can see which players ATC likes at their draft price, and who should […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoUnderpriced Pitchers According to ATC Projections
While nothing is guaranteed, we can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. Baseball is back, baby! Summer camp (I refuse to call it Spring Training 2.0) has now begun and Opening Day is set for July 23/24. Coming with the return are seismic changes; a universal DH, limited opponents, a […]
Nicklaus Gaut 4 years agoFantasy Value In a 50-Game Season: Starting Pitchers
Having now passed the ides of June, there is still no start date for the 2020 season and no guarantee that we'll even ever get one. MLB and the MLBPA continue to pass proposals back and forth, with each side taking their turn at rejection. This puts baseball in a situation where Commissioner Rob Manfred is […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Underachievers with SIERA (Part 2)
Welcome back RotoBallers to my Lie Detector mini-series (you can read part one here). Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoChris Archer to Miss 2020 Season
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chris Archer (neck, shoulder) will miss the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery to relieve symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. This is a surprise announcement, as Archer wasn't reported to be having any issues before spring training was canceled in March. However, he did finish the 2019 season on the injured […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Overachievers With SIERA (Part 2)
Welcome back RotoBallers to my Lie Detector mini-series (you can read part one here). Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 ERA Underachievers With SIERA
Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin a pitcher's ERA, albeit in a different manner. Although technically a backward-looking evaluator, SIERA […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Overachievers With SIERA (Part 1)
Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin a pitcher's ERA, albeit in a different manner. Although technically a backward-looking evaluator, SIERA […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoEliminating Park Factors: Which Pitchers Will Suffer the Most
After weeks of half-baked proposals cribbed from rejected "BioDome" scripts, there now seems to be a scrape of light at the end of the no-baseball tunnel. MLB seems to be increasingly confident that a 2020 season will be played, whether it's playing all games in one location (the Arizona plan), playing in multiple warm-weather hubs (Arizona, […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoEliminating Park Factors: Which Pitchers Will Benefit Most
After weeks of half-baked proposals cribbed from rejected "BioDome" scripts, there now seems to be a scrape of light at the end of the no-baseball tunnel. MLB seems to be increasingly confident that a 2020 season will be played, whether it's playing all games in one location (the Arizona plan), playing in multiple warm-weather hubs (Arizona, […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoUsing xPA to Evaluate Lineup Movers: Victor Robles
We don't need to talk about how much a player's lineup spot matters. The higher you are, the more times a game you'll bat. Plus, you'll almost necessarily be surrounded by better players. That simply means more opportunities to pile up fantasy stats. Consider Ronald Acuna Jr., who was on pace for 658 plate appearances […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoIntroducing xPA to Project Plate Appearances
I like big rates and I cannot lie. You other readers can't deny. When a rate walks in with an itty PA and an integer in my face, I get sprung...Whoa! Wait just one second, Sir-Mix-A-Nick. Before I go full-Rhymenoceros on everyone, maybe we oughta back the track up a little bit. What I like […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoOPS Overachievers: Using xOPS to Judge Performance
We've already dug into xOPS by looking at the biggest underachievers from last year. Now, it's time to examine the other side of the coin - the less shiny side. Many might believe that wOBA is the stat you should be looking for and people much smarter than I have been duking out this debate […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoHowie Kendrick (1B/2B/3B, WAS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~230 CURRENT ADP: ~250 overall ANALYSIS: A lot has changed for Howie Kendrick in this new baseball landscape. For one, Kendrick may be a full-time player now with Ryan Zimmerman opting out and the presence of the universal DH. That's great news because he just had the best fantasy year of […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoOPS Underachievers: Using Differences in xOPS to Judge Performance
Add a player's on-base-percentage to his slugging-percentage and you wind up with OPS. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy. But some things don't need to be complicated to be useful and descriptive. There are a hundred ways to judge a baseball player's performance but OPS remains one of the best proxies for quickly judging a player's overall offensive […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoBreak the League: Fantrax Points League Ranker
I never thought I'd ever say this but it looks like I'm going vegetarian for this article because there's no real beef here. Those that have been reading along with this series know that I've had some harsh words for ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS, as I think they often do a disservice to their points […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoBreak the League: CBS Points League Ranker
Much like their milquetoast television lineup, CBS points leagues are like a warm bath of mediocrity. Are they great? No-oooo, but are they awful? Also, no. I mean, you're never really going to want to watch a Chuck Lorre sitcom or the latest chapter in naval policing, but they can still serve a purpose. Because sometimes […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoBreak the League: Yahoo Points League Ranker
A hot mess...Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't someone just ask how I would describe Yahoo point leagues in three words or less? No? Oh. Well for the record, if anyone ever wants to know how I would describe Yahoo point leagues in three words or less, my official answer is, "a hot mess". The system was […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoBreak the League: The ESPN Points League Ranker
It might always be in fashion to go after the worldwide leader but this not just some critique de rigueur of their points game and coverage. I actually have a soft spot for ESPN as they were home to my original league for years and our scoring is somewhat similar to their default settings. When […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years agoIntroducing the RotoBaller Points League Ranker Tool
Its time to shine some love down on point league players and help you crush your leagues with easy to understand and easy to leverage information that will put you streets ahead of the average competition. That's right, you over there who was thrilled last year to draft Ronald Acuna Jr. in the first round […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years ago2020 Second Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues
Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues but you must approach draft day with a different strategy if you wish to truly compete. Rankings themselves are a different beast altogether, as category specialists like Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon (stolen bases), Kyle Schwarber and Franmil Reyes (home runs), […]
Nicklaus Gaut 5 years ago