RADIO
Cavan Biggio: 2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
Biggest Risers and Fallers of 2019 - Relief Pitchers
Welcome back, RotoBallers. I have to admit, I just wrote 3000 words on relief pitchers so forgive me if I get a little brief with the intro and just allow you to jump into the meat. In this article, I look at 10 relievers whose value skyrocketed or plummeted in the 2019 fantasy season, spend... Read More
Nick Castellanos to Reds - Fantasy Impact
The winter of the Cincinnati Reds keeps rolling on. They already added some pitching in Wade Miley, a journeyman to play shortstop in Freddy Galvis, a power-hitting monster in Mike Moustakas, and a Japanese leadoff man in Shogo Akiyama. Now, they have secured one of the top outfield targets on the market in Nick Castellanos.... Read More
2019 Season in Review: Noah Syndergaard
The 2019 season was very uncharacteristic for Noah Syndergaard. Not only was it the worst overall season of his career, but it was markedly different from his performance just one season previously. Syndergaard performed well within his career numbers in 2018, going 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 24.1% strikeout rate. His record... Read More
Miguel Sano - 2019 Year in Review
Heading into the 2019 season, Miguel Sano’s career was defined by injuries and disappointment mixed with glimpses of potential. What was once one of the top prospects in baseball (Fangraphs ranked him #15 in their 2015 Top-200 list), had become an after-thought in fantasy drafts. He finished the 2018 season slashing .199/.281/.398, with just 13... Read More
Jeff McNeil - 2019 Season in Review
Jeff McNeil had quite the 2019 season for the Mets and, more importantly, for fantasy baseball owners. Never a major prospect in the Mets system, McNeil quietly joined the big club in 2018 and then blew up in 2019. Now, he is a major fantasy baseball draft riser in 2020 drafts, and there are a... Read More
J.D. Davis - 2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
It's that time of year again to start touting this year's fantasy baseball draft sleepers for the upcoming 2020 season. While the term "sleeper" is generally overused, it's the simplest way for us analysts to tell you which players are a sneaky option to return value at their current draft-day price tags. With that said,... Read More
K-BB% Risers: Five Undervalued Draft Targets
Before I dive into the purpose of this article, I would first like to introduce myself. My name is Michael Simione, also known as @SPStreamer, and this is my first article over here at RotoBaller. For those who don’t know me, my favorite aspect of baseball is, without a doubt, pitching. Most of my articles... Read More
2019 Season in Review: Sonny Gray
2019 was a pivotal season for starting pitcher Sonny Gray, both from a real-game and fantasy perspective. The 2018 season turned out to be a complete dud for Gray, who, in his first full season with the Yankees, posted a poor 4.90 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 130 ⅓ innings pitched. With a move to... Read More
Using xwOBA to Identify Breakout Pitchers
Heading into a new baseball season, fantasy owners are looking for any leg up on our competition. We turn over stones looking for any stat or training report that might suggest a breakout that few others can see coming. I’m not here to promise some groundbreaking stat, but I do believe that Expected Weighted On-base Average... Read More
Biggest Outfield Risers/Fallers of 2020
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season as well as the beginning of Fantasy Baseball Prep season! It may seem like the 2020 fantasy baseball season just ended, but the 2021 season will be here before we know it. Now is as good a time as ever to start thinking about your new draft... Read More
How To Win Your Fantasy Baseball Leagues on Draft Day
I hate intros. Nobody takes the time to read these things. I could say whatever I wanted and it would literally pass zero sets of eyes. Watch.... I have hemorrhoids! See? No one. But in the rare occasion that one of you sad saps does in fact read this paragraph before jumping to the meat... Read More
Exit Velocity Pitching Leaders - Statcast 2019 Review
Ah, winter, the true dead zone of baseball coverage. The new champs have been crowned, vacation plans are made, the awards are being handed out and the winter meetings getting underway. Sounds like the perfect time to review some Statcast data in preparation of 2020 fantasy drafts. Exit velocity has become one of the more... Read More
SP Strikeout Risers: 2019 Season Review
For the last four seasons, MLB has seen an increase in strikeout rate (K%). Since 2015, K% has increased from 20.4% to 23.0%. We’ve also seen an increase in walk rates and a poorer league-wide ERA. Those trends can make it difficult to assess whether a pitcher is actually better at inducing swings and misses.... Read More
Barrel and Exit Velocity Batting Leaders: Statcast 2019 Review
The 2019 season saw more home runs hit than ever before in Major League history as 6,776 balls left ballparks across the league. The top-hitting club of them all was the Minnesota Twins with 307 big flies. Chief among them was none other than 39-year-old Nelson Cruz, who finished in a tie for seventh in... Read More
2019 RotoBaller MLB Challenge - And The RT Sports Winner Is...
What a season, RotoBallers. Fantasy baseball is always a fun, interesting, and long season - filled with injuries, breakout players, and different strategies. It takes stamina and endurance to win the six month marathon, and we're here today to recognize those who pulled it off. With 132 teams competing to be crowned champ of the... Read More
Champ or Chump: Shed Long and Tommy Edman
With 2019 basically in the books, a lot of fantasy baseball content is starting to focus on 2020: namely early picks in 2020. While a lot of owners agonize over whether to take Christian Yelich or Ronald Acuna Jr. with the second overall pick, the truth is that the decision isn't likely to matter so... Read More
Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 25 - Buy or Sell?
Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 25! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Tim Anderson and Jorge Soler
With only a week and a half left to go in the regular season, most fantasy owners either have their leagues won, have moved onto other things, or are finishing up their H2H playoffs. If you're one of the lucky few who still has a reason to care if your starting SS is getting a... Read More
Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 24 - Buy or Sell?
Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 24! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Nico Hoerner and Ketel Marte
Is it just me, or are an unusual number of superstars missing time due to injury down the stretch? If you're looking for a Christian Yelich replacement, Trent Grisham was previously covered in the column as an intriguing add with playing time concerns. Those playing time concerns have now evaporated, so Grisham is an astute... Read More
Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 23 - Buy or Sell?
Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 23! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Kevin Cron and Gavin Lux
While September callups are typically associated with Quad-A guys that fantasy owners are never going to hear from again, there were quite a few interesting names summoned this year. Kevin Cron of the Arizona Diamondbacks (and younger brother of C.J. Cron) could produce big power numbers if he gets a chance to play, making him... Read More
Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 22 - Buy or Sell?
Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 22! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Ryan McMahon and Victor Robles
Every draft season, it seems like somebody who had a hot September the previous season ends up overdrafted and ruining their fantasy owner's chances. One of the hallmarks of a successful fantasy season is avoiding these pitfalls, but it can be tough to distinguish legitimate breakouts from flashes in the pan. It's still early, but... Read More
Exit Velocity Risers/Fallers - Statcast Hitter Analysis (Week 22)
Exit velocity isn't everything. For example, even though we are looking strictly at data from the past month to identify late-season risers or fallers, Aristides Aquino comes in ranked 250th out of 393 batters on this list with an 87.2 MPH exit velocity. He's done OK for himself despite that shortcoming. As always, this is... Read More
Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 21 - Buy or Sell?
Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 21! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Will Smith and Rafael Devers
The end of August is always something of a turning point for this column. Many roto leagues are basically over, while owners in H2H formats are either waiting for their playoffs to start or looking ahead to next season. Waiver wires tend to be fairly barren even if your league is still competitive, and your... Read More
Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 20 - Buy or Sell?
Welcome to Contact Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 20! Our premium tools allow us to get out ahead of trends in player performance, including contact rate. Every Wednesday, we'll be looking at some players that have seen an increase in contact rate and some that have seen it decline. Contact rate can foretell a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Josh Rojas and Aristides Aquino
While the top prospects likely to debut in 2019 have largely dried up, players coming up from the minors are probably still the best way to add a new dimension to your roster. The Arizona Diamondbacks have summoned Josh Rojas from the minors to play a utility role, and he has a chance to be... Read More
