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ADP Comparison: Biggest Fallers from March to May
Fantasy Baseball Impact of the Universal DH
With each passing day, we are receiving more news that points to Major Leauge Baseball starting sooner rather than later. Most of the news hints at an 80-100 game season, with the locations of the games still up for debate. There are also some roster changes that are being proposed for this shortened season, one... Read More
Eliminating 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,... Read More
Eliminating 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,... Read More
Using 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... Read More
Infielder Busts Set to Bounce Back in 2020
Fantasy baseball owners tend to put too much emphasis on the previous season when it comes to valuing players. There is a reason projection systems use three years of data, because while last year's numbers are typically the most important thing to consider, what a player has done in the past matters as well. Each... Read More
Mid-Round Third Base Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have... Read More
Mid-Round Shortstops - Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have... Read More
NL Players Who Could Benefit From Extended Rosters
Although we still don't have baseball, we're starting to get a lot of proposals on how we COULD have baseball this summer. The plans may wind up just being a fantasy, but, hey, this is a fantasy site, so it makes sense for us to take a look at it. One of the facets of... Read More
Introducing 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... Read More
Dynasty League Buy/Sell
With the uncertainty of opening day, there is no better time to play in an MLB Fantasy Dynasty League. Due to the league format, it by far the most unaffected by the delay of Opening Day. Drafting and trading can proceed in full force as the value assigned to these players go long beyond this... Read More
How a Revamped MLB Season will Impact Fantasy Baseball
No matter how this MLB season plays out it will look like something we have never seen before. Not only is the start of the season already delayed, but there is no definitive end in sight. If we do see baseball this season, the game is going to look very different. First, there will be... Read More
Second Basemen Likely to Return a Loss in 2020
As mentioned in my article covering 1B that we might be over-drafting, my goal in these articles is to point out players who might "bust" at their current ADP. The definition of a bust that I'm using is when you invest a large amount of draft capital in a player who doesn't hit the production... Read More
OPS 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... Read More
Fantasy Baseball ADP Reflections - Relief Pitchers
We’re still awaiting concrete news on how a 2020 baseball season will look like (if it does exist). Different possibilities have surfaced in recent days which includes an option of multiple doubleheaders being played every week. It’s still far too early to tell how serious or plausible this is but should it come to fruition,... Read More
OPS 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... Read More
Stock Your Dynasty Farm: AL East Sleeper Prospects
The AL East features the top farm system in baseball, two uber-prospects, the only Canadian team, as well as two of sports’ most prestigious franchises. Needless to say, there are some storylines to mine for content here. And yet, what may be the richest and most influential division in baseball is, in my humble opinion,... Read More
AL Players Who Could Benefit From Expanded Rosters
Although we still don't have baseball, we're starting to get a lot of proposals on how we COULD have baseball this summer. The plans may wind up just being a fantasy, but, hey, this is a fantasy site, so it makes sense for us to take a look at it. One of the facets of... Read More
The King's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Exclusive Scouting Reports From an MLB Veteran
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with the seasoned input of a current Major League Player. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, media members and... Read More
Man vs. Machine: Nick Mariano and ATC's Over/Undervalued Players
Welcome to Round 2 of Man vs. Machine, where one fantasy analyst goes toe-to-toe with one projection system for ranking supremacy. We here at RotoBaller are fortunate enough to have FantasyPros’ Most Accurate Fantasy Baseball Draft Ranker from both 2018 and 2019 on our roster in Nick Mariano and Ariel Cohen, respectively. Ariel also created... Read More
JB's Bullpen Method - Building Aces out of Relief Pitchers
If you read my Top 10 Draft Tips piece, you got a preview of the method I have been using for many years in fantasy baseball. It's really less of a method or strategy, and more a state of mind. The Bullpen Method is a lifestyle! I always speak about the importance of balance on... Read More
First Basemen Likely to Return A Loss in 2020
We all dream of drafting the sleeper pick who vastly outproduce his draft-day value and carries our team to victory. However, the truth is that those types of selections are few and far between. Often a player will give you more value than you would normally expect from his draft slot, but it's likely only... Read More
Relief Pitchers Set to Break Out in 2020
We continue to wait on a start date for the 2020 MLB season. The extra time we have allows us to dig deeper into the player pool, looking for breakout players. We have seen the relief pitching position evolve over recent seasons, allowing for more and more draftable players. In this article, we will take... Read More
Mid-Round Second Base - Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have... Read More
Closers Due for Regression in 2020
Finding reliable closers is always a challenge. There is a high turnover rate in the role every season, and in today's game, a lot of teams are going to a closer-by-committee approach, which adds a layer of confusion to the saves category. In each of the last three seasons, exactly 11 relievers have saved 30... Read More
Sizing Up the Boston Red Sox Rotation
The Red Sox got an ugly 4.95 ERA out of their starting pitchers last season, good for the 11th-worst mark in the league. An optimist might look at the Red Sox’s above-average 4.40 FIP, attribute much of the team’s pitching struggles to bad luck, and expect a rebound in 2020. Combined with a potential rebound... Read More
The King's Insider Report: Negative Effects Of Opening Day Delay?
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with a look at how the Coronavirus pandemic has delayed the opening of the 2020 season, and if there will be any adverse effects. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information.... Read More
Can Freddy Peralta Succeed as a Starter?
There is some uncertainty at the back of the Milwaukee rotation heading into 2020, with three candidates likely battling it out for one spot. Brandon Woodruff and Adrian Houser are locked into the starting five, while newcomers Brett Anderson and Josh Lindblom appear to have an inside track at two of the remaining spots. Given... Read More
Finding Value in Points Leagues: Outfield Edition
Welcome back RotoBallers to my Finding Value in Points League Series! Points leagues have become more and more popular in recent years, but there is still an emphasis placed on roto leagues. That leads towards analysis and often player values skewed by something I have dubbed roto bias. Due to that, I decided to start... Read More
Pitchers Whose Value Increases In a Delayed Season
Unfortunately, we all know by now that the MLB season will be delayed or maybe even worse, canceled. There are without a doubt more important things in life than sports and one of them is health. The decision the MLB commissioner made was certainly the right one. But why do we all love baseball and... Read More
