About Nick Mariano - RotoBaller
Starting Pitcher (Part 2): Updated March Rankings and Tiers
We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at part one of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have certainly seen some... Read More
Starting Pitcher (Part 1): Updated March Rankings and Tiers
We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at part one of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have certainly seen some... Read More
Shin-Soo Choo (OF, TEX) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers & Values
BALLER MOVE: Target ~227 CURRENT ADP: ~288 ANALYSIS: You might not know it by his innocent .242/.357/.399 triple slash from 2016, but Choo really smoked the ball – when he was on the field. In only 48 games, 210 plate appearances, the 34-year-old clubbed seven homers with six steals with a gaudy 43.2% hard-hit rate.... Read More
Domingo Santana (OF, MIL) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers & Values
BALLER MOVE: Target ~195 CURRENT ADP: ~263 ANALYSIS: Santana’s 43.7% hard-hit rate checked in as the 10th best in the MLB for the month of September, with the three names surrounding him being David Ortiz, Nolan Arenado and Nelson Cruz. His 27.3% line-drive rate wasn’t so bad either, though it actually was lower than his... Read More
Brandon Drury (2B/3B/OF, ARI) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Target ~225 CURRENT ADP: ~263 ANALYSIS: Drury opened the season with some flash by hitting four homers each in April and May with respective batting averages of .294 and .283, but then dealt with some injuries and didn’t have an everyday job in a crowded Arizona lineup. He will now hold down the keystone... Read More
Top Power-Metric Gainers - What to Expect in 2017
The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece caps off our short series looking at... Read More
Daniel Norris (SP, DET) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Target ~230 CURRENT ADP: ~287 ANALYSIS: When exploring September pitching numbers, Norris is a more surprising name. He posted a 24.6 percent K-BB rate, seventh best in the MLB, thanks to a 31.2 percent strikeout rate that came in fifth. Above Jose Fernandez (RIP), above Noah Syndergaard and above Corey Kluber. He only allowed... Read More
James Paxton (SP, SEA) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Target ~154 CURRENT ADP: ~175 ANALYSIS: You know him, you love him and you’re ready for him to truly break out. Paxton battled through a couple of injuries to come back and carry fantasy owners to championships with his 29.2% strikeout rate and minuscule 3.3 percent BB rate (25.8 percent K-BB rate was... Read More
Top Gainers in Fly Ball Rate - What to Expect in 2017
The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece continues the series where we explore some... Read More
Top Gainers in Pull Rate: What to Expect in 2017
The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece continues the series where we explore some... Read More
Outfield (Part 2): Updated March Rankings and Tiers
We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at part two of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have seen a bit... Read More
Top Gainers in Hard Hit Rate - What to Expect in 2017
The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece kicks off a series where we're going... Read More
Outfield (Part 1): Updated March Rankings and Tiers
We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at part one of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have certainly seen some... Read More
The Pitchers: Five September Surgers to Breakout in 2017
As the 2017 fantasy baseball season draws near, we are forced to look back at the 2016 numbers that were and decode what to buy into and what to ignore. How much should we write off that cold streak due to a potential lingering injury? Will this trade affect Player X in a positive or... Read More
The Hitters: Five September Surgers to Breakout in 2017
As the 2017 fantasy baseball season draws near, we are forced to look back at the 2016 numbers that were and decode what to buy into and what to ignore. How much should we write off that cold streak due to a potential lingering injury? Will this trade affect Player X in a positive or... Read More
Nick Mariano's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017
Howdy, folks. It's your favorite writer ever, Nick Mariano, here to join the battle against tempered expectations. Over the next two weeks, our writers will be offering their most audacious projections for the 2017 fantasy baseball season. This is my second time around the sun with this Bold Predictions series. If you listened to me last... Read More
Albert Pujols Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers
It's the fantasy baseball draft season. To us baseball nerds, few things are more exciting than arguing about player rankings. Today, we'll discuss and compare Albert Pujols' RotoBaller staff rankings. He was ranked No. 98 overall by Nick Mariano and No. 158 by Brad Johnson. Throughout this series, we'll be using our February Staff Rankings to debate where to... Read More
Relief Pitcher: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered relief pitcher rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance compared... Read More
Starting Pitcher: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered starting pitcher rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance... Read More
Outfield: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered outfield rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance compared... Read More
Third Base: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered third base rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance... Read More
Xander Bogaerts Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers
It's the fantasy baseball draft season. To us baseball nerds, few things are more exciting than arguing about player rankings. Today, we'll discuss and compare Xander Bogaerts' RotoBaller staff rankings. He was ranked No. 15 overall by Jeff Kahntroff, and No. 31 by Nick Mariano. Throughout this series, we'll be using our February Staff Rankings... Read More
Nick Mariano's Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)
It's everyone's favorite pre-draft word to throw around, and likely threatens to take the top spot on some Google Analytics the closer we get to that premier fantasy baseball draft season. Yup, we're talking about sleepers. But let's just get this out of the way: sleepers are not necessarily meant to be names that no one... Read More
Shortstop: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered shortstop rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance compared... Read More
Second Base: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered second base rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance... Read More
First Base: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Today we're taking a look at our tiered first base rankings for points leagues. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance... Read More
Catcher: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers
Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance compared to typical 5x5 leagues. It’s not as simple as that of course, but... Read More
Colorado Rockies: 2017 Team Preview and Fantasy Outlooks
Welcome back to our ongoing series of MLB team previews. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. For each team, we will take a look at their hitters, pitchers, prospects and offseason moves. Today we dive into the 2017 Colorado Rockies Team Outlook and preview their potential fantasy... Read More
Kyle Schwarber Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers
It's the fantasy baseball draft season. To us baseball nerds, few things are more exciting than arguing about player rankings. Today, we'll discuss and compare Kyle Schwarber's RotoBaller staff rankings. He was ranked No. 45 overall by Jeff Kahntroff, and No. 74 by Nick Mariano. Throughout this series, we'll be using our February Staff Rankings... Read More
Carlos Martinez Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers
It's the fantasy baseball draft season. To us baseball nerds, few things are more exciting than arguing about player rankings. Today, we'll discuss and compare Carlos Martinez's RotoBaller staff rankings. He was ranked No. 73 overall by Harris Yudin, and No. 105 by Nick Mariano. Throughout this series, we'll be using our February Staff Rankings... Read More