The Bigger Picture - Where We've Gone Wrong This Year

Expectations are a dangerous thing. They can dictate our decision-making processes well into the future and prevent us from seeing things as they truly are. The baseball season is the longest of any professional team sport, spanning eight full months including spring training. That means a lot will change throughout the course of the season […]

Dynasty Tiered Rankings and Analysis - Wide Receivers

Wide receivers are the staple of any good dynasty team. Attrition keeps attacking the running back position more and more each year. Those in non-Superflex leagues can get by with one good quarterback. At wide receiver, you'll need at least three solid players to form the core of your squad for years to come. Below […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - xBA Analysis for Week 14

It's been a while since we delved into xBA. We're now halfway through the season so it's a good time to see whose batting average is due for course correction, whether it be positive or negative. Often, although not always, players with sizeable discrepancies in BA-xBA are due for regression. Identifying these outliers can be […]

1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 14

The dog days of summer are here. Fewer prospects are being called up these days and the trade deadline is still far off. That doesn't mean there aren't interesting names on the waiver wire, though. You simply have to know where to look. In this column, we will evaluate corner infielders (1B/3B) who are rostered […]

Quarterback Best Ball Tiered Rankings and Analysis

On the field, quarterbacks are the most crucial position of all. In fantasy football, not so much. This may be especially true in best-ball leagues where the highest win rates don't usually associate with the best passers. This seems counterintuitive since there is no possibility to stream QB or pick up an injury replacement off […]

The Bigger Picture - It Isn't Really a Marathon

"It's a marathon, not a sprint." This axiom is one of the most tired expressions in all of baseball and is often used to prevent us from ascribing significance to a slump. The baseball season is the longest among all professional sports, spanning 162 games and six months, not including spring training and postseason action. […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Fastball Run Values (Week 13)

The news regarding MLB's unexpected crackdown on foreign substances has been well-documented by now. It will surely have a negative impact on pitchers, but the effect on hitters may largely depend on their batted-ball profile. The pitch that has seen the biggest discrepancy for the top aces due to increased spin rates is the good […]

The Bigger Picture - Substance Ban Makes Things Worse (For Now)

It only took 118 years, but Major League Baseball is finally taking a hard stance on the illegal use of foreign substances by pitchers. Better late than never! The ethical issues surrounding both sides of the debate will be left for another space. The intention here is to get into the logistics of the on-field […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - xSLG Analysis for Week 12

Slugging is a fairly simple metric by baseball standards but once Statcast gets into the mix, it's a bit more complicated. According to MLB.com, "Expected Slugging Percentage (xSLG) is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed." Base hits are still weighted with home runs being four times […]

The Bigger Picture - Sizing Up 60 Games

We did it. We got through 60 games of the Major League season and yet, it isn't nearly over. Of all the trials and tribulations the abbreviated 2020 season brought, one of the greatest difficulties is having to invoke the caveat of the shortened season when conducting statistical analysis. Although we could take the current […]

Tight End Best Ball Tiered Rankings and Analysis

Tight end isn't everyone's favorite position in fantasy football. Beyond the top tier, we encounter uncertainty, frustration, and the need to stream. There is no such option in best-ball leagues, though. Securing a high-end TE, especially in an FFPC format that uses TE-Premium scoring, is very appealing but not everyone can have Travis Kelce, nor […]

Dynasty Baseball Risers and Fallers - Pitchers

Now that we are about one-third of the way into the 2021 MLB season, it would be prudent to revisit the dynasty rankings and identify the biggest risers and fallers. I previously went through every offensive position to find hitters on the rise and fall. This time, we'll focus on starting pitchers. To determine this […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Barrel Rate Analysis for Week 11

Believe it or not, this will be our first foray into barrels this season. Certain statistics take longer to become significant, so it made sense to accumulate more data before digging into barrels. Those familiar with this series already know that the obvious names like Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Nelson Cruz won't be […]

The Bigger Picture - Glittery Prospects Aren't Always Fantasy Gold

Jarred Kelenic, welcome to The Show. The next über-prospect that had fantasy managers chomping at the bit for a call-up got his first taste of the majors at age 21. It was fantastic... for about two days. Now, he is on the bench and/or chopping block in redraft leagues while many GMs wish they would […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - xBA Analysis for Week 10

Death, taxes, regression. These are inevitable. Eschewing the first two topics, fantasy baseball managers may be interested in identifying batters who are experiencing regerssion, both positive and negative. Once summer hits, we have enough data that season-long stats can be deceptive on the surface. That said, let's dive back into expected statistics with a look […]

Take Advantage of Preseason Panic! FFPC Best-Ball Value Picks

With several weeks to go before NFL training camps are underway, all we have is speculation as to how things will shake out in the 2021 season. That said, we have plenty of drama because of a couple of high-profile players making headlines off the field. Then there are the smaller stories that also impact […]

The Bigger Picture - Late-Age Breakouts Taking Center Stage

As astute fantasy managers, we are always scouting the next player ready to break out as he approaches his prime. Some phenoms like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Rafael Devers don't bother waiting until they are of legal drinking age before they announce their arrival as a Major League star but they are clearly […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Sweet Spot Analysis for Week 9

Barrel rate is one of the best measures of a hitter's power. In order to earn a barrel, a player needs to have enough exit velocity, which we measured last week, and the proper launch angle. Specifically, a ball can travel anywhere between 8-50 degrees depending on how high an exit velocity was produced. Although […]

Video: xwOBA Risers & Fallers (wPC+)

Pierre Camus and Nick Gaut review Statcast underachievers and overachievers for xwOBA. Which hitters are worthy waiver wire adds and who should fantasy baseball managers be concerned about? Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to […]

Video: Waiver Wire Must-Adds (wPC+)

Pierre Camus and Nick Gaut evaluate players they consider must-adds on the waiver wire in many leagues. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - […]

NFL Rookie Spotlight - Jaylen Waddle

As a wide receiver drafted out of the University of Alabama, Jaylen Waddle is looking to carry on quite a tradition. Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Amari Cooper, and Henry Ruggs III are all former Tide receivers to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft over the past decade. What is […]

Updated Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings

What's up RotoBallers. Today we are bringing you our updated fantasy baseball dynasty rankings for May and the 2021 MLB season, courtesy of lead analyst and senior editor editor Pierre Camus. Dynasty leagues, or keeper formats, continue to become more and more popular in the fantasy sports landscape. For those of you who are playing in […]

Dynasty Tiered Rankings and Analysis - Running Backs

This time last year, Josh Jacobs was ranked eighth, Derrius Guice was 20 spots ahead of Antonio Gibson, and James Robinson checked in at 126th among our dynasty running back rankings. Things change quickly in the Not For Long league. One thing that will never change is our constant quest to bring you the latest […]

The Bigger Picture - The Miseducation of Park Factors

Another no-hitter in the books. Something's in the water or, more accurately, in the baseballs. We already covered that topic last time so let's figure out how to extract more offense from our daily or weekly lineups. Home/road splits seem like a good place to start and we know certain stadiums play friendlier to offense […]

Dynasty Baseball Risers and Fallers - Hitters

Baseball is a game where patience is rewarded. Identifying prospects with fantasy potential and seeing them develop over the course of years is the most rewarding feeling there is. Dynasty leagues provide fantasy baseball managers with this very sense of gratification. Of course, many times a player doesn't ever pan out. Aging stars on the […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Exit Velocity Analysis for Week 8

Exit velocity is all the rage these days, but how meaningful is it really? It depends. A high exit velocity is worthless if it's smashed into the ground right at a defender. Increasing the miles per hour rate on line drives and fly balls typically result in better outcomes and are more predictive of power. […]

NFL Draft Winners - Dynasty League Risers

After countless mocks, rampant speculation, and media smokescreens, the 2021 NFL Draft proved unpredictable as ever. Several teams got what they hope is their eventual franchise quarterback. Running backs continue to be devalued while wide receivers flew off the board early and often. The subsequent domino effect on veteran players will shake things up for […]

The Bigger Picture - Complete Games Are En Vogue Again

Headlines in the baseball world recently have by and large pertained to the multiple instances of no-hitters early in the 2021 season. This is usually accompanied by a lamentation of how offense is down and batters are struggling to generate excitement in this new live-ball era. But what's the fantasy spin? Face it, no-hitters are […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - xwOBA Analysis for Week 7

With many hitters finally passing the 100-plate appearance threshold for 2021, we can begin to dig into expected statistics to see who is underperforming or overachieving. A good place to start is xwOBA, or expected weighted on-base average. For those unfamiliar with the term, BaseballSavant describes it thusly: "xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch […]

The Big Picture - Injuries Aren't Just Increasing, They're Hitting Harder

Coming off the heels of Injurypocalypse™ weekend, baseball fans and fantasy managers are commiserating about the proliferation of injuries in Major League Baseball. Reactions run the gamut from "What did we do to deserve this?" to "It's just part of the game" to "Fire the whole training staff!" It's not just the sheer number of […]