RADIO
![By Keith Allison on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://cdn.rotoballer.com/2015/01/MLB-Fantasy-Baseball-Advice-Analysis-Brandon-Moss.png)
Champ or Chump - Brandon Moss and Todd Frazier
Using xwOBA for Predictive Purposes in Pitchers
When it comes to predictive metrics, MLB's statcast has afforded the baseball community a wealth of data since its league-wide installation in 2015. One of the more intriguing metrics is expected wOBA, or xwOBA. This statistic gives us the expected wOBA for a player based on the hit probability of batted balls, calculated using exit... Read More
2018 First Basemen - Dynasty Tiered Rankings
We continue our fantasy baseball dynasty rankings analysis with the first base position. RotoBaller writers Kyle Richardson, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our pre-season rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. In a dynasty league, it can be tough to decide between a proven veteran or a high-upside... Read More
Domingo Santana Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers
We continue our series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2018 baseball season with a player that may be on the move soon. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana is an early pick sure to garner a lot of attention after his breakout season. RotoBaller's expert writers... Read More
Judge or Bellinger - Goliath versus Goliath?
Let’s set the table before we dig in: choosing between Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger is like deciding between bacon or chicken wings. Both are delicious. And to put this analogy in overkill, let’s assume anyone that dislikes bacon and chicken wings just isn't a baseball fan. Judge and Bellinger are two faces of baseball’s... Read More
Clayton Kershaw Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers
This is the first in a long-running series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2018 baseball season. RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings for mixed leagues, but that doesn't mean we agreed on everything. In this space, we'll hear from rankers with... Read More
Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 4 - Batted Ball Distribution
Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy owners want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution and the manner in which batters make contact. In... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 3 - Statcast for Batters
If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the so-called Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP and HR/FB figures.... Read More
Champ or Chump - Alcides Escobar and Alex Avila
Fantasy owners hope that every selection they make turns into a stud, but this isn't that realistic. In more practical terms, you want as many strong performers as possible while avoiding roster slots with zero (or less) value. Some positions are easier to find "non-zero" production in than others, giving birth to the concept of... Read More
Three Up, Three Down - 2018 Third Base Prospects
We’ve been spoiled with some outstanding, young, talented third basemen in recent history. Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, Jose Ramirez, and Miguel Sano (just to name a few) are all 26 years old or younger. All five of those players produced at least 28 home runs and 73 RBI in 2017. Now, it’s time to... Read More
2018 Early Bullpen Outlooks - American League Central
The American League Central comes second in our series of 2018 Early Bullpen Outlooks. Check out the first of the series, on the American League East, right here. The AL Central doesn't have bullpens with anywhere near the firepower of the AL East, but there are still some solid arms that can contribute to fantasy... Read More
Three Up, Three Down - 2018 Catcher Prospects
It's time to do some catching up with catcher prospects. Every year it seems that catcher prospects have the most dramatic changes — both positive and negative — in their perceived value and potential out of any other position player prospects. This year is no different, as some former first-round picks now teeter on the... Read More
Champ or Chump - Jesse Hahn and Lewis Brinson
The Kansas City Royals and Oakland A's recently completed a trade that boils down to intriguing arm (Jesse Hahn) for slugging first baseman (Brandon Moss) for our purposes. Hahn is discussed below, while Moss will receive a closer look in a future column. Speaking of trades, much has been made of Miami's inability to get... Read More
Kill the Quality Start?
“Kill the win” entered the baseball lexicon years ago. It originally referred to the disproportionate attention a pitcher victory got from the casual fan, and it was one of the major arguments advanced during the rise of analytics. The phrase has been adopted by fantasy owners as well, as more and more leagues ditch –... Read More
2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - Discovering Closers
When looking to develop talent in a dynasty league, there are two paths to follow. The first is to select prospects. The depth of your league will determine how far you have to reach into the minors. In a 12-team league, you're probably looking to find the next Fernando Tatis Jr. In a 20-team league,... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 2 - HR/FB for Hitters
Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most owners find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. Many owners... Read More
January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Best of the Rest
Here at RotoBaller, 12 of our expert writers recently took part in an early mock draft for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. We've already shared those draft results, including our big board from RT Sports, accompanied by a series of articles analyzing each round. Here's the complete list of recaps, in case you missed it: Round 1... Read More
Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 1 - BABIP for Hitters
Hello fellow RotoBallers! Sabermetrics have become an integral tool for fantasy baseball draft prep, but a concise resource for understanding the basics can be difficult to find. This series attempts to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy owners may find useful, citing examples of how to use them in the process. Twenty degrees... Read More
Champ or Chump - Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich
Milwaukee's outfield has improved significantly with the additions of Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, but it muddies the waters a little from a fantasy perspective. Domingo Santana should beat out Ryan Braun for the last OF slot, but Eric Thames also offers owners more upside at first base. One report suggests that Braun might play... Read More
January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 16-23
From the middle rounds, we segue into the tail-end of our early bird mock draft. The 12-team draft was done by RotoBaller’s MLB writers with order as follows: Chris Zolli, Harris Yudin, Troy Klauder, Kevin Luchansky, Pierre Camus, Max Petrie, Nick Mariano, Max Brill, Connor McEleney, Kyle Bishop, Mario Hernandez, and Andrew Le. As mentioned... Read More
2018 Home Run Risers and Fallers - What We Learned
Drafting sluggers is absolutely imperative in fantasy baseball. With homers on the rise, fantasy owners must be sure to prioritize the long ball this season. It seemed like every other fantasy-viable batter hit over 25 HR last year, didn’t it? At the same time, however, sluggers like Mark Trumbo (23 HR), Miguel Cabrera (16 HR),... Read More
NL Rookies Ready to Leap into Starting Lineups in 2018
Drafting rookies is always a tricky proposition. There are usually several first-year players who make a huge impact on fantasy teams, but they aren't always the ones we expect. Last year's NL rookie class featured studs like Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins, as well as solid producers such as Josh Bell and Ian Happ. On... Read More
2018 Early Bullpen Outlooks - American League East
Baseball season is almost back, but before that comes fantasy baseball draft season. In this series of articles to be published over the next several weeks, we will look into the bullpens of all 30 teams, taking a look at closers, setup men, and other bullpen arms in the process. Some teams have roles already... Read More
January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 10-15
Spring training is getting closer and the RotoBaller MLB team opened up our first bags of peanuts and cracker jacks with a 12-team mock draft last week. For consideration, this 23-round mock draft was a traditional 5x5 league consisting of nine pitcher spots and the rest starting offensive slots (including two catchers). The lack of... Read More
2018 Relief Pitchers - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
It's time to round out our early points league rankings with a look at the bullpen. Relief pitcher values will fluctuate greatly throughout the season, so choosing wisely on draft day can save you a lot of grief. Here are the first round of RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball points league rankings for relief pitcher in the month... Read More
January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Rounds 5-9
The 2018 MLB season is approaching ever faster and draft season is already here! RotoBaller recently gathered 12 of our baseball writers to conduct a 23-round mock draft in order to evaluate current ADP values. We will break down those draft results in detail throughout the week. This article will take a look at rounds 5-9... Read More
2018 Catchers - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
If you play in a head-to-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense... Read More
Champ or Chump - Felipe Rivero and Colin Moran
The Milwaukee Brewers bought all of the available outfielders, so let's continue to discuss the Gerrit Cole deal. This column previously concluded that Cole may disappoint owners in Houston, while Joe Musgrove has considerable upside. Both of the articles linked above noted that Pittsburgh's infield defense is superior to Houston's, thanks in part to the... Read More
AL Rookies Ready to Leap into Starting Lineups in 2018
Conventional wisdom dictates that you can't win your league at the draft. You definitely can't, but good drafting of under-the-radar guys and youngsters can put you streets ahead of your competition. Last season gave us rookies in the American League such as Aaron Judge, Matt Olson and his teammate Matt Chapman, Mitch Haniger (until he... Read More
January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Round 1
We at RotoBaller love to draft. In fact, we love it so much we couldn't wait until March or even February to start drafting! So we decided to share the results of our latest fantasy baseball mock draft, taking place on RT Sports, accompanied by a series of articles analyzing each round. Here's the complete... Read More
