2018 Outfield - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
I have the honor of tackling the ever-so-deep class of outfielders for you, the esteemed points-league owner. We realize that many sites tailor their analysis toward the standard rotisserie league, but we love everyone equally. That said, we have to recognize that standard 5x5 categories are also much easier to create white-label rankings that anyone... Read More
2018 Shortstop - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
If you play in a head-t0-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
Snake Drafts and the Subtle Art of the Snipe
For the last several years, I’ve played almost exclusively in auction leagues. It’s a personal preference that isn’t unique or “correct.” I have a lot of reasons for this preference. That’s not what we’re going to talk about today, though. Instead, let’s spend some time touting one of the virtues of traditional snake drafts –... Read More
Baltimore Orioles Top MLB Prospects for 2018 Dynasty Leagues
Howdy fellow RotoBallers! Fresh off the release of the final dynasty positional rankings list, I am publishing my rankings for each individual team in baseball, starting with the American League East. Instead of giving full briefs of each prospect, I will just give the prospects' superlatives and then issue smaller descriptions for each player in the... Read More
2018 Third Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
If you play in a head-t0-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 - Joe Musgrove and Randal Grichuk
Baseball's offseason continues to trickle in moves as opposed to flooding us with them, but the latest batch seem interesting from a fantasy perspective. Joe Musgrove's 4.77 ERA last year may be a big reason prognosticators don't love Pittsburgh's side of the Gerrit Cole trade, but he may have the talent to replace Cole himself.... Read More
2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - Basic Asset Valuation
Dynasty baseball is a beautiful thing. In a redraft league, everybody is trying to win now. You all have the same goal. Dynasty formats allow for long-term planning. If your team is competitive, you'll value players differently than a rebuilding owner. This discrepancy makes it much easier to find mutually beneficial trades. Unfortunately, this same... Read More
2018 Saves Risers and Fallers - What We Learned
For the fourth straight season we have a new No. 1 at the top of the closer leaderboard. Alex Colome concluded the 2017 regular season with 47 saves, six more than the second-place finisher, Kenley Jansen. No one has repeated as the top save-earner since Jim Johnson (2012-2013). As for consistency, Jansen slammed the door shut 41 times... Read More
2018 Strikeout Risers and Fallers - What We Learned
For the second straight season, we witnessed the highest strikeout totals in MLB history. There was an average of 8.25 strikeouts per MLB game in 2017, up from 8.03 strikeouts per game in 2016. Strikeouts have increased in baseball every year since 2005, and there is no indication that this trend will reverse any time... Read More
Using xwOBA as a Predictive Tool for Hitters
With spring training on the horizon, fantasy baseball draft season is in sight, as well. That means it’s time to pore over rankings, go through countless mock drafts, and do plenty of research trying to find that diamond in the rough other owners are undervaluing. Luckily, more statistics are available than ever before to determine... Read More
Dynasty American League Starting Pitchers - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball
Welcome back, RotoBallers. I have covered impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks, and have already coveredcatchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, both AL and NL outfielders and National League starting pitchers. Today I'm bringing you my top 20 American League starting pitchers - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. As discussed in the... Read More
2018 Second Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
Aside from catcher, second base is amongst the shallowest positions heading into the 2018 season. Assuming a standard 10-12 team league, depending on the bench size it makes sense to roster only one 2B upon conclusion of your draft. If you can’t scoop up Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez or Anthony Rizzo, you may need to... Read More
2018 First Base - 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 - Curtis Granderson and Andrew McCutchen
Five-tool players are among the most sought after commodities in all of fantasy baseball. This is a great thing if they are performing the way you expected them to, but most owners give ex-five tool guys a much longer leash than anyone else on their roster. They end up dropping points in the standings as... Read More
Champ or Chump - Brad Hand and Gerrit Cole
Pitching is the name of the game in both real life and fantasy baseball. Rostering the wrong arms can put any team into a hole it's difficult to dig out from under, but overpaying for the right ones can leave your team exposed on the offensive side. What's a fantasy owner to do? The best... Read More
Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Buy or Sell - Pitchers
The dust has finally settled on 2017 and many of us are fully immersed in winter, which means it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our dynasty squads. Last season featured plenty of breakouts and many head-scratching performances, so where to go from here? The old adage of buying low and selling high is just as... Read More
Three Up, Three Down - 2018 Outfield Prospects
For most minor league outfield prospects, 2017 was generally a good year across the board for them all. Many prospects continued to trend upward in their fantasy value, with some putting up very impressive numbers. Some outfielders though stumbled slightly on their journey to the majors, and because of the success of other players, their failings... Read More
Willie Calhoun is Coming...
Last season, the Rangers surprised the baseball world by trading superstar Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a return that, at the time, was deemed pretty sparse. The centerpiece was a little known, and maybe lesser-appreciated infielder named Willie Calhoun. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB draft, Calhoun started his... Read More
2018 Stolen Base Risers and Fallers - What We Learned
He did it again! For the third time in four seasons, Dee Gordon held the top spot of the steals leaderboard. He concluded the 2017 season with 60 swipes. Gordon is averaging 53 SB over the past four years. That includes the 2016 season where Gordon missed 80 games due to a suspension. The Seattle Mariners had... Read More
Fixing A Broken Fantasy Baseball League
Coming into last season, my home league of 13 years had a problem. Since becoming a rotisserie league, adopting an auction draft, and instituting a new keeper system six years earlier, only one person had won it: Me. Let me state up front and unequivocally that I don’t intend or want for this article to... Read More
2018 Batting Average Risers and Fallers - What We Learned
The great thing about batting average is that it’s a great starting metric for building a strong fantasy team. It’s one of those rare stats that, when correctly targeted and prioritized, sets the foundation for a season of nearly guaranteed success. In fantasy football, it’s a good idea to acquire players who get red zone... Read More
Champ or Chump - Freddy Galvis and Jay Bruce
Baseball's hot stove is finally starting to heat up a bit, with names like Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole headed to new addresses in 2018. It's late in coming, but now is the time some fantasy owners begin overlooking the smaller moves to concentrate on the biggest names. Don't make that mistake. This doesn't mean that... Read More
Top 100: MLB Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball
Prospects. For any fantasy baseball enthusiast, it's all about knowing about the prospects, rookies and call-ups. More than any other sport, baseball offers a fresh influx of rookie talent every year, both before and during the MLB season. And adding the right guy at the right time can be a league winner (see Aaron Judge and... Read More
Fantasy Implications - Carlos Santana to Phillies
After spending the first eight years of his career in Cleveland, Carlos Santana is finally getting a change in scenery as he joins the Philadelphia Phillies. The signing comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the Phillies finished with the third-worst record in MLB in 2017 and are clearly in a rebuilding mode. Santana will take... Read More
Top 450: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)
In case you haven't noticed, we've already been cranking out all sorts of 2018 fantasy baseball rankings at RotoBaller HQ. It's only mid-January but you can already find preliminary staff rankings for mixed leagues, points leagues, AL/NL only leagues, dynasty leagues, top 2018 prospects, dynasty prospects and more. Today we are here to start looking... Read More
Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Buy or Sell - Hitters
The dust has finally settled on 2017 and many of us are fully immersed in winter, which means it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our dynasty squads. Last season featured plenty of breakouts and many head-scratching performances, so where to go from here? The old adage of buying low and selling high is just as... Read More
Champ or Chump - Yangervis Solarte and Mitch Moreland
Much is made of a team's projected batting order early on in the offseason, but the discussions quickly become moot as the realities of the regular season alter every team's plans. Slumping players move down the batting order, replaced by their more productive teammates. A utility guy could escape the bench and become a fixture... Read More
Fantasy Implications - Gerrit Cole to the Astros
The Gerrit Cole sweepstakes have finally come to an end and the Houston Astros are the new home of the 27-year-old former first round pick. Houston traded third baseman Colin Moran, outfielder Jason Martin and pitchers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz to Pittsburgh in order to add Cole to an already formidable Astros rotation. With... Read More
#TrendingNow - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Risers and Fallers
We are just under 30 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting! Just under 30 days from the smell of pine tar and freshly cut grass. Just under 30 days from the sounds of fastballs hitting catcher’s mitts and the crack of a wood bat. Just under 30 days until another summer full of memories.... Read More