Yermin Mercedes (DH, CHW) - Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 6% of leagues ANALYSIS: Yermin Mercedes is getting all the hype right now after starting off the year with eight straight hits. The 28 year old journey man has bounced around three different clubs before finally sticking with the White Sox. He has always flashed good plate discipline... 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
RotoBaller Friends & Family Industry Mock Draft Recap
The 2021 RotoBaller Friends & Family Mock Draft is the continuation of an annual tradition where we gather some of the biggest names from the fantasy baseball world and put together a mock draft just as spring training has commenced. Thanks to RT Sports for once again hosting and providing a custom draft site where... Read More
Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 3 Lineup Trends
We are entering week four of Spring Training and week three gave us a lot to watch down the stretch. But of course, you can catch up by talking a look at week one and week two recaps. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes... Read More
Jon Anderson's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021
Today, I am honored to take my turn giving you my 10 bold predictions for the 2021 season here at RotoBaller. It's a thrill to be featured on this site, and I look forward to continuing to put out content for you all over the 2021 season and beyond. This was not an easy post... Read More
Later-Round Category Targets - Home Runs
Welcome back to my series of posts where I take us through a standard fantasy baseball category, break it down statistically and then locate some targets for 2021 to help you out in that category. We've already examined how to get an advantage in batting average. Today we will talk about home runs. You can also... Read More
Yordan Alvarez (DH, HOU) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 60 CURRENT ADP: ~79 overall ANALYSIS: Alvarez only appeared in two games in all of 2020 before having his season cut short due to knee surgery. A lot went wrong for the Houston Astros in 2020, but Alvarez missing basically the entire season was at the top of the list.... Read More
Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends
Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and... Read More
J.D. Martinez: Bounce-Back or Fantasy Bust?
It's easy to forget that just three short years ago, J.D Martinez was considered the best hitter in baseball. He slashed an incredible .330/.402/.629 with 43 home runs and 130 RBI, taking home the AL Hank Aaron Award. Martinez followed up that season with a very solid 2019, but his production completely fell off in... Read More
Finding Over/Undervalued Shortstops 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'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021... Read More
Franmil Reyes (DH, CLE) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 125 CURRENT ADP: ~147 overall ANALYSIS: While Franmil Reyes AKA Franimal did not technically break out in the shortened 2020 season, he did find some success as he slashed .275/.344/.450 with nine HR, 35 RBI, and 27 R across 211 AB. The power with Franmil is very real as he smacked 37... Read More
Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups
Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and... Read More
Finding Over/Undervalued First Basemen 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'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021... Read More
KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Avoids (Premium Content)
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! For those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues, Best Ball formats are a great way to get a head start on the competition. By jumping in best ball leagues, fantasy players can get... Read More
Lineup Takeaways - An Early Look at Spring Training Trends
As many of you know, tracking lineups is what I am all in on this 2021 season and with it comes an influx of data and information right away. Going forward, a weekly article will occur - especially as we get into more tangible information and data. However, I wanted to get ahead of the... Read More
ESPN ADP Advantages - Overvalued / Undervalued Players
A quick way to get ahead in your league is to take advantage of bad pre-rankings. In every online draft room, the pool of players is ranked for players to choose from. These pre-ranks have a huge influence on how drafts go. Lots of managers choose when to pull the trigger on the players they... Read More
No Universal DH - 2021 Playing Time Fallers
Major League Baseball introduced the DH to the National League in 2020, but the rule change may not stick in 2021. MLB recently advised teams to assume that the universal DH will not be implemented for the 2021 season, and although that doesn’t mean that the door is closed on the rule for the year... Read More
Top 680: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)
Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2021 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 680) for 5x5 mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Three our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus and JB Branson - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and are ready to... Read More
Stat-Based Tips To Build a Strong Fantasy Baseball Roster
As we lead up to the 2021 season, fantasy baseball enthusiasts are sure to read thousands of words about players themselves: who overperformed last year and who is primed for a breakout. All of that is good stuff, and it's very helpful in starting your journey towards winning your league, but it's only half the... Read More
You Paid What?! Overvalued Players in Auctions
Assuming the 2021 MLB season starts on time, we are on the precipice of fantasy baseball draft season. Spring Training will get underway next month, at which point, drafts roll out in full force. We aren't there quite yet, which makes sense. Many of the biggest free agents remain unsigned; the league is unsure of... Read More
Early One-Man Mock (Round 1) - 2022 Fantasy Baseball
There is no such thing as too early when it comes to draft prep. The calendar won't flip to 2022 for another few weeks but we at RotoBaller aren't ones to sit around and wait. Mock drafts take time, so I took matters into my own hands to complete a one-man mock. For the most... Read More
A Year to Forget: Players Who Will Rebound in 2021
Happy Holidays everyone! Needless to say, 2020 was quite the crazy year — for any number of reasons. There was a lot that many of us will want to forget, and for quite a few baseball players, the 2020 season is one they'll want everyone to pretend never happened. But hey, it's almost 2021. As... Read More
Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings
I think most of us would agree that looking forward to 2021 is a good idea. For me, that means immersing myself in the upcoming baseball season. While there's no guarantee COVID-19 won't affect the '21 season, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking... Read More
Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft - ADP Surprises
Of course, there are many changes to be made throughout the offseason. It feels as if the dust is still settling on the 2020 World Series yet baseball fans are more ready for the upcoming season than ever. We have no idea whether a full schedule can be played, what games will look like, and... Read More
Fantasy Baseball Applications of zxwOBAcon Analysis
In part one of this series, I established that zxwOBAcon is the primary driver of season-to-season changes in xwOBAcon and that the biggest risers in zxwOBAcon each season tend to be rebound candidates. Furthermore, rebound candidates recover all of their zxwOBAcon losses more often than not and frequently outperform their season x zxwOBAcon in season... Read More
Randy Arozarena's 2021 Fantasy Value: WPC+ Videocast
Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut look back at the amazing rookie season and postseason run by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in order to project his fantasy baseball value and ADP for 2021. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and... Read More
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values Based On Contact Quality
In part one of this series, I established that zxwOBAcon is the primary driver of season-to-season changes in xwOBAcon and that the biggest risers in zxwOBAcon each season tend to be rebound candidates. Furthermore, rebound candidates recover all of their zxwOBAcon losses more often than not and frequently outperform their season x zxwOBAcon in season... Read More
Dissecting Contact Quality In Search Of Fantasy Bargains
Of the 1,015 hitters sampled(1) between 2015 and 2019, there were only 14 instances of hitters making more productive contact against pitches outside of the strike zone than against pitches inside of the strike zone based on xwOBAcon. Based on the same sample, the average hitter was a whopping .116 points better against pitches inside... Read More
Lineup Order Risers and Fallers: AL West 2020 Review
It’s the offseason and there are about to be a bunch of moving parts. This allows for speculation in terms of players gaining or losing playing time, moving up or down a batting order and much more. The idea here is to highlight some lineup situations for each team and some potential winners or losers... Read More