RADIO
Deeper Shortstop Draft Sleepers
Hitters Primed for Comebacks After Injury-Plagued Seasons
Injuries can be tough to manage for fantasy managers, especially coming off of a 2020 season that saw coronavirus have a significant effect. Additionally, injuries can sometimes be freak accidents, and it can be difficult to separate concerning injuries from noise. Still, there are general truths about injuries that can help fantasy managers properly value... Read More
2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Yusei Kikuchi
Eric Samulski of RotoBaller analyzes Yusei Kikuchi as a 2021 fantasy baseball sleeper and undervalued draft pick. He breaks down Kikuchi's pitches, improvements from 2020, and other factors that could make him a sneaky late-round starting pitcher breakout candidate. Fantasy players should consider drafting Kikuchi for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to also... Read More
National League Outfield Draft Sleepers
The outfield position is deep in fantasy baseball. However, if you play in an NL-only league, or draft a team in a league where you need to start five outfielders the position can thin out rather quickly in the later rounds of deep league drafts. Traditionally, some of baseball’s best all-time sluggers have been outfielders.... Read More
Which Batters Are Being Overlooked in 2021?
Pre-season analysis has achieved peak velocity, and at this point, we've started to hear certain names mentioned again and again: Jarred Kelenic, Andrew Vaughn, Randy Arozarena. Those three examples follow the expected pattern: young, exciting players whose potential outstrips the established knowledge. Put more simply, there are interesting things to say about Kelenic, Vaughn, and Arozarena. But... Read More
Second Base Draft Sleepers
As you probably know by now, second base is not a loaded position this year. It’s top-heavy with D.J. LeMahieu, Ozzie Albies, and Whit Merrifield but gets pretty dicey after that. I think it’s deeper than the casual observer may think, though. You can find batting average, OBP, stolen bases, and some pop down the... Read More
Finding Breakout Power Hitters Using Barrel Rates
In part one of this article, I explained how important Statcast is to determining surface stats and the usefulness of barrel rates. Before continuing, I would recommend checking out that article if you're interested in learning how Statcast metrics affect surface stats and player outcomes, and which Statcast metrics are the best predictors of success (hint:... Read More
Seattle Mariners Sleepers to Watch in 2021
In a division with the star-studded Angels and Astros and the ever-consistent Athletics, it's easy to overlook the Mariners and Rangers in the American League West. And while you may have good reasons to look past the Rangers, the Mariners have several intriguing fantasy players for the 2021 season that could be going a bit... Read More
ATC Projections Volatility for Multi-Category Players
One year ago, I penned my very first article on RotoBaller. I am truly honored that the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) awarded the piece as the 2020 Baseball Article of the Year. “Finding Combo-Player Values Using Z-Scores and ATC Projections” provided a new perspective on how to find helpful multi-category players to fill out... Read More
2021 ATC Projections: Hitter Surprises
By their nature, projection systems don’t typically offer many big surprises. Outside of Lucas Giolito’s ZiPS projection, there aren’t many player projections that jump off of the page this season. Still, even seemingly small surprises can have significant fantasy implications, and it’s worth exploring those surprises. To add an element of objectivity to this analysis,... Read More
2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks
As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to once again reveal their favorite preseason draft sleepers. We recently asked some of our top fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely... Read More
Finding Over/Undervalued Outfielders Using Expected Draft Values
Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We're onto the outfield now as we make our way through our 2021 draft prep. Today,... Read More
NL-Only Starting Pitchers: Late-Round Draft Fliers
This year more than ever, starting pitchers are a sought-after position in fantasy drafts. Understandably, with uncertainty about innings limits in 2021, fantasy managers are keen to bolster their rotations with the defacto top-tier starting pitchers available. As important as it is for your top starting pitchers to perform at an elite level, success in... Read More
Must-Have Pitchers for 2021: WPC+
Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut name the pitchers they are targeting most in 2021 fantasy baseball drafts and explain why they could break out. 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 into RotoBaller Radio... Read More
Must-Have Hitters for 2021: WPC+
Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut name the hitters they are targeting most in 2021 fantasy baseball drafts and explain why they could break out. 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 into RotoBaller Radio... Read More
Overcoming Recency Bias on Draft Day
With all the draft analysis and sabermetrics being thrown at fantasy managers these days, I think it's time we take a step back and focus on the most important thing to dissect before your draft - YOU. A few months ago, I covered some of these cognitive biases for fantasy football season. Now, I believe... Read More
Correlating Statcast to Outcomes (Why You Should Pay Attention to Barrels)
Barrels are the keeper of life’s finer things. Beer, pickles, monkeys, the list is endless. Barrels don’t just hold fermented vegetables and unruly simians these days, barrels may also hold the key to identifying the game’s best hitters and struggling hitters who may be due for brighter days. In my mission to find just how... Read More
First Basemen Set to Break Out in 2021
First base is typically one of the biggest sources of power in a fantasy lineup. First basemen hit more home runs than any other position in 2020, with their combined total of 342 homers accounting for nearly 15 percent of MLB's total. Power comes aplenty at first base, which often means managers will look to... Read More
Jon Anderson's "My Guys" For 2021
My name is Jon Anderson and I am a nobody in the fantasy baseball industry. I have no credentials, no huge following on social media. However, I was given a log-in to this website and now I can freely put my words out there for you to read. That's more than nothing, which has given... Read More
Which Pitchers With New Pitches Should We Care About?
There are few things more exciting in Spring Training than learning that a pitcher developed a new pitch. It's a little bit like waking up to find that you've been given a new toy. We're blinded by the possibilities of this new toy. Think of the fun we can have with it. Think of the... Read More
NL Starting Pitcher Sleepers
Looking at early mock and seasonal drafts results, we see the huge trend of starting pitchers falling off of draft boards at a furious pace in the early rounds. As a result, managers who miss out on rostering the top-tier starters must identify value sleepers they can target in the mid-to-late rounds of drafts. Below... Read More
AL Starting Pitcher Sleepers
Today I'm bringing you five American League Starting Pitcher sleepers to consider late in fantasy baseball drafts. These players are all being drafted well outside the top 200 picks in recent drafts. Check out other sleeper articles at the bottom of this page or look for my favorite discount draft targets for strikeouts and wins.Featured... Read More
AL-Only Starting Pitchers: Late-Round Draft Fliers
This year more than ever, starting pitchers are a sought-after position in fantasy drafts. Understandably, with uncertainty about innings limits in 2021, fantasy managers are keen to bolster their rotations with the defacto top-tier starting pitchers available. As important as it is for your top starting pitchers to perform at an elite level, success in... Read More
Pitcher Targets Under $5 - Salary Cap League Values
It's a cliché to say that those managers who finally dip their toe into salary cap leagues never go back to snake drafts. Snake drafts have their own charm. There is simply more going on, and thus, more fun to have when participating in a salary cap draft. There become no bounds on how one... Read More
Dollar-Day Targets - Salary Cap League Values
Players who go for just $1 in salary cap leagues are guys who lack outside confidence. Not a lot of managers trust that they will be useful on a roster. In standard leagues, many of these players will go entirely undrafted and float around the waiver wire until they produce enough to be picked up... Read More
Finding Hitter Clones At Cheaper ADPs
One of the most useful algorithms in the machine learning world is that of data clustering. Clustering, in this case, is defined as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups... Read More
Late-Round Fliers for RBI Production
RBI production is a valuable stat in all fantasy baseball formats, but it is not always an easy stat to predict. Locating solid RBI production late in drafts becomes even more difficult. Ideally, you want players who will hit in the middle of lineups, which are expected to score plenty of runs. Now, this may... Read More
Using Data Analysis To Spot Strikeout Risers
The key to winning a fantasy league is to spot things that are to come before they happen. This is what we try to do here every day at RotoBaller. As the years have gone by, more data about the game has been made available to us, and we can use that data to make... Read More
Hidden Gems To Watch - Starting Pitching Prospects (Part Two)
With pitchers and catchers reporting, Major League Baseball is bearing down on a return to normalcy for the 2021 season. With the MLBPA rejecting MLB’s offer of a delayed start to the 2021 season, opening day is now officially scheduled for Thursday, April 1. When analyzing the pool of pitching prospects for 2021, there are... Read More
Multi-Position Assets For All Fantasy Leagues
With such a short season in 2020, many starting pitchers weren't able to throw more than 60 innings, so it's unlikely that they take the massive jump this season that would allow them to get to the 170-180 innings we usually expect. To work around this, many teams have discussed implementing six-man rotations and even... Read More
