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The Cut List (Week 3) - Time to Let Go?
Early Week 1 Exit Velocity Hitter Studs and Duds
We're off and running on our Statcast Hitter Analysis! Each week, I will select a different metric to evaluate unexpected names at the top and bottom of the Statcast Leaderboards. Even if you aren't well-versed in Statcast, you know exit velocity. Even the crustiest of old-school baseball announcers has incorporated this term in his vernacular... Read More
Exit Velocity Hitter Studs and Duds Heading Into 2020
Welcome to this year's first iteration of Statcast Hitter Analysis. Each week, I will select a different metric to evaluate unexpected names at the top and bottom of the Statcast Leaderboards. Even if you aren't well-versed in Statcast, you know exit velocity. Even the crustiest of old-school baseball announcers have incorporated this term in his... Read More
The Early Cut List (Week 2) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List. Writing this column at this exact moment is an interesting exercise because most cuts are either: really obvious, on account of a player opting out of the season or an injury that will cost several weeks; or the opposite of obvious, on account of no one has played more... Read More
First Impressions - MLB Opening Day 2020 Fantasy Notes
I can't remember being more excited for an Opening Day than this one. Although Thursday, July 23 was technically the first day of the 2020 MLB season, Friday is when 28 of the 32 teams took the field for the first time for regular-season play. Never have I been happier to fire up MLB Extra Innings... Read More
Fantasy Baseball: Category Deflation - Pitchers
Calling all roto players! As you all prepare for the shortened season, I'm sure you are wondering how your strategies may change and how to approach certain categories, particularly for pitching staffs. Well, I have been thinking about the same things as you and will lay out some of my thoughts on how you can... Read More
Platoon Situations to Avoid in a Shortened Season
Fantasy baseball fans, the 2020 season is finally almost upon us, which means it’s time to start thinking about drafting and valuing players all over again! As I am sure you are all aware, the shortened season and rule changes will impact aspects of your fantasy baseball strategies, some more than others. One of the... Read More
Schedule Factors - Hitters on the Decline
Earlier this week, we took a look at which hitters have been helped the most by the recently announced 60-game schedule. Now it's time to take a look at the hitters who might be hurt the most by it. Remember that in order to fully break down the way in which a schedule may impact... Read More
Divisional Adjustments: Pitching Fallers
With summer camp officially underway, the beginning of the 2020 MLB season is fast approaching on its coattails with Opening Day coming later this month. The upcoming fantasy baseball campaign will be unlike any other we have seen before, with one of the reasons being the unorthodox schedule to help limit travel during this pandemic.... Read More
Overpriced 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... Read More
Historically Slow Starters to Avoid on Draft Day?
There is no telling how this 60-game jumble of a 2020 season will affect each MLB player individually. Some may relish the opportunity to have an outsized impact on the season. Others may feel uncomfortable playing at all, let alone be at full game speed in time for Opening Day. Regardless of the unknowns, however,... Read More
Is Aaron Judge Worth The Draft Risk?
On September 18, 2019, Aaron Judge suffered a stress fracture in his rib while attempting to make a catch in right field. Judge played through the injury, but he was forced to take a break from hitting in early March thanks to shoulder and pectoral discomfort. Judge recently began swinging again, and GM Brian Cashman... Read More
Nick Mariano's 2020 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average... Read More
Short-Season Draft Risers and Fallers: RotoBaller Staff Picks
Recently, the RotoBaller MLB staff provided their thoughts on the best draft strategies for a shortened season. You can read that article right here. The fantasy baseball season is ready to kick up (finally) but things won't be the same as usual. Some players may be more appealing now that they've had time to work... Read More
Three NL Outfielders Set To Bust in 2020?
A good portion of busts each year are the result of freak injuries, but some players are particularly risky. Spotting those bust candidates and avoiding them early in drafts can be a difference-maker for fantasy teams. Although a delayed and shortened season has helped some players recover from injuries and boost their fantasy values, it’s... Read More
Fantasy 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... Read More
Overvalued and Undervalued Shortstops in 2020
In the last few seasons, the shortstop position has improved tremendously with the emergence of All-Stars like Alex Bregman, Trea Turner, and Trevor Story. The position has four potential first-round picks, and a staggering ten picks in the top 40 according to NFBC. By comparison, second base and third base have five players each in... Read More
Overvalued and Undervalued First Basemen for Points Leagues
First base is bottom-heavy for fantasy purposes this year, with just one player drafted in the top-30 picks on average. As a result, there are relatively few first basemen who are excessively overvalued and several who can provide solid value in late rounds. Below are first basemen who are particularly poorly valued in drafts. These... Read More
Zack Wheeler - 2020 Fantasy Baseball Bust
The Philadelphia Phillies finished the 2019 season with a record of 81-81, which was only good enough for a fourth-place finish in the NL East and was nowhere near good enough for a postseason birth. The team was not pleased with the finish and subsequently made a change at the helm with the addition of... Read More
Point League Busts - Players to Fade
Points leagues can be a whole different ball game from your average roto leagues. When prepping for a points league, whether you're looking at ADP or online rankings, you're likely looking at data that is skewed by standard roto leagues. While it's good as a general starting point, some players simply perform better in one... Read More
Fantasy Baseball ADP Risers - Head-Scratching Trends?
Welcome to Part Two of the ADP Risers and Fallers series, where I will examine key changes from March to the present day. If you missed Part One, where I evaluated injured players and prospects, you can read it right here. Those were the easy risers and fallers. In this article, we will delve into... Read More
Eliminating Park Factors: Hitters That Will Suffer Most
While optimism continues to grow surrounding the likelihood we will have baseball in 2020, there are still a few hurdles to clear, and plenty of unknowns regarding the parameters. While the universal DH seems like a near-certainty at this point, other important factors- like how many games will be played and where they will take... Read More
Overvalued and Undervalued Starting Pitchers
Spring training is often the time when players start climbing up or freefalling down draft boards. This year, however, without a full spring training to draw from, there is less talk of a pitcher with a new and improved change-up, and fewer managers blowing smoke, influencing fantasy owners. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of value... Read More
ERA 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... Read More
WPC+ Videocast: SIERA Overachievers and SP Busts
Pierre Camus (@Roto_Chef) and Nicklaus Gaut (@Nt_BurtReynolds) discuss how to use SIERA when evaluating starting pitchers and review SP who overachieved on their ERA in 2019. 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... Read More
ADP Champ or Chump Spotlight: Bo Bichette
It's easy to joke that the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays will have the last names of a 1990's All-Star team, but the kids have a realistic shot at surpassing their fathers. This author isn't as high on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as most, but Cavan Biggio looks like an advanced hitter with the potential to blend... Read More
Mock Draft Review: ADP Risers and Fallers
It's Memorial Day weekend, which means it's time to pick some flowers, fire up the BBQ, and do fantasy baseball mock drafts. Well, one of those things doesn't quite belong, but in these uncertain times, it's never a bad idea to do another draft and see how things stand. With MLB owners and the Player's... Read More
ERA 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... Read More
Third Basemen Likely to Return a Loss in 2020
So far we've covered some possible players to avoid at both 1B and 2B, so now we'll finish up by looking at 3B. Just as a refresher, my goal is these articles is to point out players who I believe won't match the value necessary for their current ADP. We frequently want to label these players... Read More
Starting Pitchers Who Could Bust Your Season
Every season there are countless players who do not live up to expectations. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they had a bad season or that they were not an asset to their fantasy team. Simply, it means that they did not return the expected value based on how high they were drafted. For example, J.D.... Read More
