RADIO
Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings for Fantasy Baseball: The Top 101 Baller Ranks
Is Brandon Woodruff Still An Ace?
In all aspects of life, it can be very common to strive for immediate gratification. Sure, we would all love to play the long game and remain as responsible as possible, but, at some point, it's hard to pass up instant reward. I can't think of a better illustrator of this than sports, and specifically... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - BABIP For Week 6
Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. Over the last two weeks, I took a look at different components of pitchers' batted-ball... Read More
Is Mookie Betts Still A Superstar?
Are baseball players human? Based on the astonishing athletic achievements we see on a daily basis, this is a fair question to ask. I mean, Bryce Harper just hit multiple home runs with a torn UCL, while Charlie Morton threw 95 MPH in the World Series with a broken leg. These are not normal accomplishments!... Read More
Mining the Minors for Hot Prospect Pitchers - Max Meyer, Grayson Rodriguez, Ryan Pepiot and more
If you've played even one year of fantasy baseball, you know that predicting minor league call-ups can be a frustrating endeavor. We have to weigh not only the talent of the player and the potential lineup opening in his major league organization, but also the relative competitiveness of that organization and any financial or service... Read More
Starting Pitcher Standouts: MLB's Best Pitch Arsenals
After watching Shane McClanahan just absolutely dominate with all four of his pitches on Wednesday night, I got to thinking. I wanted to take a look at the full-pitch arsenals that the leagues' starting pitchers are throwing and try to identify the players that are doing the most to dominate hitters with multiple offerings. It's... Read More
Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings for Fantasy Baseball: The Top 101 Baller Ranks
Welcome to the middle of May, where all of those small-sample thoughts start to turn into "well, it's been a month" trends as we gaze once more into my weekly-updated top-101 starting pitcher rankings - looking at rest-of-season values. RotoBallers can once again peruse my notes regarding key movers and then scroll through the top-101... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Launch Angle For Week 5
Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. Last week I took a look at exit velocity, and this week I will analyze... Read More
Changes to the Baseball in 2022 (And What To Do About It In Fantasy)
Offensive production has been down quite a bit early on in the season, and there has been plenty of grumbling about the state of the baseball, including from some Major League players. At the time of this writing, the league triple-slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) sits at .232/.306/.370 and we have seen a significant reduction in homers... Read More
Finding Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball: Chase Rate Early-Season Metrics
In an earlier article on Blast Rate, I mentioned that this was the time of year that some hitting metrics start to stabilize. While many of us want to focus on exit velocity and hard-hit rate because they lead to more exciting outcomes, I think focusing on plate discipline metrics can be just as important.... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Exit Velocity Changes For Week 4
Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. Statcast has a cool year-to-year change feature for a host of metrics, and this week... Read More
Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings for Fantasy Baseball: The Top 101 Baller Ranks
With a shortened April now in the rearview mirror, let's move into May with a fresh stroll through my weekly-updated top 101 starting pitcher rankings - looking at rest-of-season values. RotoBallers can once again peruse my notes regarding key movers and then scroll through the top-101 in a table with tiers, ranks, earned value via... Read More
Homer Run Risers and Fallers: Batted-Ball Profile Changes for Fantasy Baseball
We are closing in on the end of April, which means we have a pretty decent-sized data sample for hitters now. The league leaders will clear 100 plate appearances in the next week or so, which gives us a lot of good stuff to look into. A lot of times we find a breakout or... Read More
Mining the Minors for Hot Prospect Hitters and Call-Ups - Nolan Gorman, Triston Casas, Luis Garcia, and more
If you've played even one year of fantasy baseball, you know that predicting minor league call-ups can be a frustrating endeavor. We have to weigh not only the talent of the player and the potential lineup opening in his major league organization but also the relative competitiveness of that organization and any financial or service... Read More
Early Pitching Outliers: Swinging-Strike Rate vs. Strikeout Rate
It is very early in the season, as the league leaders have made just four starts. Because of this, we have a lot of strangeness in the data that has been generated, especially with pitching, which is an inherently random exercise. One thing that can be a bit random over a small sample size is... Read More
Early-Season Small Sample Sizes And Slow Starters: Fantasy Baseball Insider Report
Welcome back to our annual Fantasy Baseball Insider series on RotoBaller.com, where we take you inside Major League Baseball clubhouses, press boxes, and front offices for exclusive insights that provide a completely unique edge on the competition. We give you an all-access pass to information and takes that simply won’t be found anywhere else, along... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Swinging-Strike Rate For Week 3
Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. We still have small sample sizes because the season is early, but a metric that... Read More
Baller Ranks: Starting Pitchers Top 101 Weekly Rankings
We have another week in the record books for our emerging 2022 MLB season, which yields another dose of my weekly top-101 SP Baller Ranks breakdown. RotoBallers can enjoy my rambling about key movers and then scroll through the top-101 in a table with tiers, ranks, earned value via Fangraphs, and even more notes! You... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - xwOBA For Week 2
Welcome to the first edition of RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series for the 2022 season! I am happy to be back at the helm for this series once again. Statcast provides a ton of insightful advanced metrics that can be used to better understand pitchers' performance and predict future fantasy performance. Each... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Rankings
Another week of matchups is upon us, so that means it's once again time for my weekly top-101 SP Baller Ranks breakdown. RotoBallers can find my thoughts on key movers and then the top-101 in a table with tiers, ranks, earned value via Fangraphs, and even more notes! We now ride with the second 2022... Read More
Early Lineup Trends for Fantasy Baseball
The month of April is fantastic because not only do we get baseball back into our lives, but we also get the overreactions that come with it. A player on one of our fantasy teams gets benched in Week One and all hell breaks loose. In reality most of these teams are still figuring out... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Rankings
Lovers of starting pitching unite, as it is once again time for my weekly top 101 SP Baller Ranks breakdown to hit the press. We fought through lockouts and a pandemic to get here, and we're going to get the gosh darn championships this year. Here we go with the first 2022 edition of my... Read More
MLB Opening Day 2022 First Impressions - Seiya Suzuki, Bobby Witt Jr., Seth Beer and more
I think we can all agree that MLB Opening Day should be a national holiday. Since half the clubs don't play until the following day, that means two days off and a four-day weekend of watching baseball while enjoying your favorite frosty beverage and grilled meat. Who says no? Now that every team has at... Read More
Shortstop Sleepers for 2022 Fantasy Baseball Drafts - NL Edition
Between the late bloomers or young risers, there’s some intriguing value outside the top options at the shortstop position this season. Here are five shortstop sleepers from the National League to consider in drafts this season. Prepare for your last-minute drafts with our complete breakdown of the top sleepers for 2022 fantasy baseball!Featured Promo: Get... Read More
Rookies Who Surged in September - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers
Each year in baseball, there’s always a handful of rookies who finally receive their call to the show. That was again the case this past season, as we saw more really impressive young talent take the league by storm. From the top prospects to the late-bloomers, so many youngsters took full advantage of the playing... Read More
Starting Pitching Sleepers for Fantasy Baseball Drafts - National League
Starting pitching is always one of the more fun positions to watch in fantasy drafts. You can grab an ace in the early rounds or wait around a bit longer and grab some value in the middle to later rounds. As we saw this past season with Logan Webb, Freddy Peralta, and Robbie Ray (amongst... Read More
Strong Septembers to Remember - 2022 Breakout Candidates
One of the most difficult things to do as a fantasy sports contributor is attempting to glean valuable information from small sample sizes. Small sample sizes represent a higher opportunity for variance, which can wreak havoc if not taken seriously or properly accounted for. However, variance isn't all bad and there are certain things to... Read More
Third Base Draft Sleepers for Fantasy Baseball
Outside of the top five or six studs, there’s really not too much to write home about at the hot corner when it comes to fantasy baseball. If you’re not going to grab a rock-solid option early, you’re probably better off waiting on a mid-to-late round steal. As we saw last season with Braves star... Read More
Second Base Draft Sleepers for Fantasy Baseball
Second base is one of the interesting positions when it comes to fantasy baseball. There’s really only a handful of top-tier star-caliber guys, but after that, it’s one of the deeper positions when it comes to middle-tier contributors. While there’s a bit more inconsistency after the stars, there are definitely some interesting options with second... Read More
Three Outfielders Set to Break Out in 2022 - American League
Each year in fantasy baseball, there’s a handful of players that truly come into their own and break out at the plate. We saw it yet again this past season. Just to name a few, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins came out of nowhere and turned himself into a star, and Toronto Blue Jays slugger... Read More
