RADIO
Champ or Chump - Ian Kinsler and Marcell Ozuna
Champ or Chump - Brad Boxberger and Welington Castillo
The hot stove has been more of an ice box so far this season, as few moves have been made of any fantasy consequence. This seems poised to change in the near future, as both Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton should provide some clarity regarding their intentions before the new year. That said, the two... Read More
Champ or Chump - Ryon Healy and Doug Fister
Thanksgiving is over, meaning that it is officially time to start preparing for 2018 fantasy baseball drafts! This column usually uses sabermetrics to determine whether a given player is worth his current cost, but draft data isn't reliable this early in the offseason. Instead, we'll do a deep dive on the lesser offseason transactions. Players... Read More
Reviewing Kyle Bishop's Bold Predictions for 2017
What’s even more fun than making bold predictions? Looking back at the end of the season to see how good (or so, so hilariously bad) they were. Just like with the preseason pieces in March, I’m kicking off the review of our RotoBaller staff’s 2017 bold predictions. Let's get to it.Editor's Note: Our incredible team... Read More
Champ or Chump: Chris Archer and Justin Verlander
Way back in March, I wrote a multi-part tutorial on how to use all of the metrics cited in Champ or Chump. I concluded the series by introducing Barrels and Brls/BBE, arguing that the metrics could have been used to predict Chris Carter's 2016 HR title had they been available before the season started. Gary... Read More
Champ or Chump: Avisail Garcia and Andrew Benintendi
Owners in weekly formats have set their last lineup for the season. The transaction wire for daily formats has likely fallen silent with most of the teams settled into their final place in the standings as well. There are probably a few leagues out there with races going until the final day, but rooting for... Read More
Champ or Chump: Joe Mauer and Blake Snell
If you play in a weekly league, this weekend is likely your last opportunity to set a lineup before the winner is crowned. There is a widely held belief that you cannot move up in rate stats such as batting average or ERA this late in the season, but you actually can most of the... Read More
Week 26 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back, one last time in 2017, to the Cut List. With the season coming to a close next weekend, almost any player who isn’t helping your cause could justifiably be considered a cut in redraft leagues. That makes this final installment somewhat more challenging, and necessitates a minor tweak in format. Instead of spotlighting... Read More
Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 26
This is it - the final week of the baseball season (sheds single tear). For those trying to clinch a championship or just a better final position, here are some players that could warrant starting, sitting, adding, or dropping, depending on your league and team's circumstance. I'll focus on lightly owned players to add or... Read More
Champ or Chump: Jose Reyes and Jed Lowrie
With only two weeks left in the regular season, it is not an exaggeration to say that anything can happen. Power hitters could hit for a high batting average if the ball bounces their way. A pure speedster could win a league by hitting an unlikely pair of homers on the last day of the... Read More
Week 25 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. Now that we’re beyond most league’s trade deadlines, the only way to improve your team is via the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Yolmer Sanchez & Jeff Samardzija
While it's easy enough to target stats like SB or HR if you need them from the waiver wire, counting stats are a little more challenging to predict. Runs scored in the past are a poor indicator of future performance in the category, especially if a player's real life lineup slot has changed since April.... Read More
Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 25
We are nearing the home stretch, which means precious few days of baseball left! If you're still fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot, here are some players that could warrant starting, sitting, adding, or dropping, depending on your league and team's circumstance. Scouting players who may be undervalued and re-assessing players who may... Read More
Champ or Chump: Willie Calhoun & Tyler Glasnow
The minor league shuttle continues to deliver players of interest into the fantasy pool. The Rangers are taking a look at Willie Calhoun, a 22-year old bat-first prospect received in the Yu Darvish swap. Meanwhile, the Pirates summoned 24-year old Tyler Glasnow after a dominant stint at Triple-A. He was awful in his previous stint... Read More
Week 24 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. Now that we’re beyond most league’s trade deadlines, the only way to improve your team is via the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Michael A. Taylor & Matt Olson
If somebody with solid season numbers is available on waivers this time of year, you can almost assume that something is awry under the hood. Every team in your league has had to deal with injuries and poor performance at this point, plucking whoever they felt was the best fill-in at the time. How could... Read More
Champ or Chump: JP Crawford & Cameron Maybin
The list of top prospects given a taste of the major leagues expanded by one last Tuesday night, as the Phillies decided to take a look at shortstop JP Crawford. Anybody with his pedigree deserves fantasy consideration, but his numbers figure to be underwhelming at first. It seemed like we were done analyzing players who... Read More
Champ or Chump: Paul DeJong & Tommy Pham
September is always a challenging month for this column, as nearly anything can happen in a month-long sample. The production expected based on underlying metrics is still the most likely outcome, but it is impossible to say that it will be realized over the next 30 days. Trade deadlines have also passed in most leagues,... Read More
Week 23 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. Now that we’re beyond most league’s trade deadlines, the only way to improve your team is via the... Read More
Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 23
Trade deadlines have already passed in many fantasy leagues, so I'll focus more on lesser-owned players to assess their value, rather than potential buy-low or sell-high candidates. If your league doesn't cut off trading in August, remember that it's never too late to take advantage of a desperate owner trying to stay out of the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Luke Weaver & Byron Buxton
I frequently say that the minors are the only place to find impact players on the waiver wire this time of year. That's not entirely true, as a gifted player another owner gave up on may become available to you if he starts looking better. Luke Weaver is a perfect example of the first group:... Read More
Week 22 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. Now that we’re beyond most league’s trade deadlines, the only way to improve your team is via the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Mark Trumbo & Xander Bogaerts
Conventional wisdom says to stick with struggling stars early on in the season. This is sound advice, as most of them live up to the back of their baseball cards eventually. At this point in the season, however, you have to be willing to pull the plug, cut your losses, and accept that you are... Read More
Champ or Chump: Nick Delmonico & Lucas Giolito
It's easy to stop paying attention to the weaker teams this time of year, as the small portion of media coverage baseball gets with football starting up is devoted exclusively to the pennant races. The weakest teams are arguably the most interesting from a fantasy perspective, however, because they are trying to unearth the gems... Read More
Week 21 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. As we go deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Andrelton Simmons & Tim Beckham
The transactions fantasy owners make this time of year can appear odd in a vacuum, as significantly better players are sometimes dumped in favor of players who only contribute in a category or two. The roster moves make sense when you look at the standings and notice that the team in question only cares about... Read More
Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 21
Trade deadlines have already passed in many fantasy leagues, so I'll focus more on lesser-owned players to assess their value, rather than potential buy-low or sell-high candidates. If your league doesn't cut off trading in August, remember that it's never too late to take advantage of a desperate owner trying to stay out of the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Neil Walker & Jonathan Villar
Neil Walker's recent relocation to Milwaukee proves that fantasy relevant names can still be moved after the Trade Deadline. He debuted for his new team as a cleanup hitter playing third base, suggesting that the Brewers intend to shuffle their pieces around on a nightly basis to give their Cinderella season a fairy tale ending.... Read More
Champ or Chump: Dominic Smith & Rhys Hoskins
Owners looking for first base help were in luck this past week, as both the Mets and the Phillies called up highly regarded prospects. Dominic Smith, age 22, has generated a significant amount of buzz with his Triple-A performance. Rhys Hoskins is a little older (24), but his minor league stat lines would play in... Read More
Week 20 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. As we go deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the... Read More
