Incorporating a Shift Ban into Hitter Projections
With the announcement of a likely shift ban in 2023, fantasy baseball analysts ought to prepare. Many good articles have been written about the shift ban recently, with most echoing the sentiment that the leaguewide impact will be modest. Further, it is conventional wisdom that pull-heavy lefthanders would benefit the most. However, the size of... Read More
Finding Clones of Stud Hitters at Cheaper Draft Day Costs
Fantasy baseball is, most of the time, a category-centered game. Unlike fantasy football, where all you want are raw points, the roto category format of baseball really separates certain players in terms of how they can help your fantasy team. Some hitters will boost your team's batting average while bringing down your home run pace,... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
The final week of the 2020 fantasy baseball season means the Week 10 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks are here to help analyze where the top 101 SPs stand for the final sprint. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 9)
Last week I wrote that the schedule had begun to have an outsized impact on value. At this point, it's not impacting projected value even more than recent performance. There are exceptions to that, but that's the overarching rule this week. Paul Goldschmidt's value has been buoyed by this aspect for much of the season.... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
We're already on the back nine of September, barreling towards the end of fantasy baseball, which means the Week 9 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks are here for a weekly dive into how the top 101 RPs stand for the home stretch. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well.... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
The penultimate week of the 2020 fantasy baseball season is here, meaning you need the Week 9 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks to help analyze where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 8)
Welcome to the homestretch. The past week seems to have reversed some of the trends and shifts that we were seeing earlier in the season. Edwin Encarnacion appears resurgent. Brandon Lowe looks like he is scuffling. And Tommy Pham might be coming back. The first two are more complex than they seem, but if Pham... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
We're into the meat of September and that means the Week 8 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks are here for a weekly dive into how the top 101 RPs stand moving forward. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
The final month of the 2020 fantasy baseball season is here and that means we're supplying those Week 8 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks to help analyze where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 7)
The past week brought us one of the coolest trade deadlines in recent memory. It's always a good time when the GM of an MLB franchise starts making trades like a fantasy manager. The changes for Austin Nola, Mitch Moreland, Jonathan Villar, Starling Marte, and Jon Berti are meaningful, but not with clear fantasy implications.... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
It's now September and in this shortened 2020 season, that means it's time for the Week 7 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks and our weekly dive into where the top 101 RPs stand moving forward. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. I've updated this piece through Sept. 1st.... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
With September around the corner, the Week 7 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks are here to help analyze where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward in this chaotic season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here -- I suggest... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 6)
The Baller Ranks have a new player at number two, and his name is not Tatis, Yellich, or Acuna. While all three of those players have their claims to the second spot, the change is primarily based on volume. With that hint, can you guess which superstar has more remaining games than any other player... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
With September on the horizon, it's time for the Week 6 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks. Let's take our a weekly dive into where the top 101 RPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. I've updated this piece through Aug. 25.... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
It's time for the Week 6 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we analyze where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward in this chaotic season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here -- I suggest you read for a... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 5)
When I started writing up the column for this week, it was going to focus on the esteemed gentlemen of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Bo Bichette as well as the broader shortstop landscape. Then I started looking at first base and DH and got fixated on what was happening with Cody Bellinger and Shohei Ohtani,... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
It's already time for the Week 5 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a weekly dive into where the top 101 RPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. I've updated this piece through Aug. 18. David Emerick rolled out... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
Welcome to the Week 5 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a look weekly at where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here -- I suggest... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
Welcome to the Week 4 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a look weekly at where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here -- I suggest... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
Welcome to the Week 4 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a look weekly at where the top 101 RPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here -- I suggest... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 4)
Last week's full launch of The Baller Ranks was one of the most gratifying things I've done with fantasy baseball, and I want to thank everyone who reached out with support, suggestions, and questions. To that end, I got some questions about why guys moved or didn't. Early in the season, projection systems struggle to... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 101 Starting Pitchers Weekly Rankings
Welcome to the Week 3 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a look weekly at where the top 101 SPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 65 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here, and also... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 65 Relief Pitchers Weekly Rankings
Welcome to the Week 3 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a look weekly at where the top 65 RPs stand moving forward in this strange sprint season. You can check out my weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks as well. David Emerick rolled out an introduction to our Baller Ranks here, and also... Read More
The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 3)
Welcome to fantasy baseball if MLB's season were more like the XFL. Between injuries, illness, and inexplicable flukes, this season has already shown the potentially disastrous consequences of an otherwise quiet road-trip to Atlanta. This weeks' news about the Miami-Philadelphia and St. Louis-Milwaukee situations has provided new variables, and managers are scrambling to keep up... Read More
Introducing the MLB Baller Ranks
It’s my extraordinary pleasure to introduce The Baller Ranks, an up-to-date rankings sheet for player values. We wanted to roll this out back in March, but 2020 has had other ideas... Ideally, The Baller Ranks are not a set of pre-season rankings or draft recommendations. They are designed to be an in-season set of data-based... Read More