MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for BWS (Week 22)
Not long ago, Jordan Rosenblum analyzed a metric called BWS (Barrels, Walks, Strikeouts). As he stated, "A focus on just three metrics: barrels, walks, and strikeouts, cuts through the noise to get at a hitter’s true talent level." Of course, he went deeper and created his own weighted version using historical data to compare against... Read More
MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for ERA-FIP (Week 22)
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I 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. Comparing peripheral numbers to underlying metrics is a great approach to identifying buy-low... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 21
Welcome back to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. We probably only have one or two weeks left of this series after today, and I really appreciate RotoBaller for letting me putting it on, and I especially appreciate those of you who have read along with it all season! It's something we... Read More
MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for xSLG Rolling Windows (Week 21)
We're deep enough into the second half of the season that we can be a little pickier about our data sample sizes. Some hitters who came out of the All-Star break swinging a hot bat have started to cool down while others are just now picking up the pace. This week, I will look at... Read More
MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for Spin Rates (Week 21)
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I 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 are nearing the end of the season and I have yet to... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 20
Welcome back to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. We are running out of time to find true "breakouts", but we have seen plenty of interesting names... Read More
MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for Plate Discipline (Week 20)
Unless you play in a points league, you may not care enough about walks and strikeouts for hitters to dig into such metrics. I'm here to tell you that plate discipline is the foundation of a skilled hitter and it leads to fantasy baseball goodness. This week, we'll take a gander at the BB/K leaders... Read More
MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for CSW% (Week 20)
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I 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. I have written about several strikeout and strike-generating metrics this season. Strikeouts obviously... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 19
Welcome back to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. At times this year, I have gone away from the "breakout" term to just highlight hitters that have... Read More
MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for Barrel% (Week 19)
We're now three weeks removed from the All-Star break so there's enough data to glean something from one of the most prominent metrics that tells of power production - barrel rate. The usual suspects are represented on the leaderboard but more than half of the top 20 second-half barrel% leaders will make you do a... Read More
MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for ERA-xERA (Week 19)
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I 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. I wrote about expected ERA (xERA) in Week 10; xERA is a 1:1... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 18
Welcome back to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. At times this year, I have gone away from the "breakout" term to just highlight hitters that have... Read More
MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for CStr% (Week 18)
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I 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. Most fantasy managers tend to look at strikeout rate or swinging-strike rate, as... Read More
MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for xISO (Week 18)
You want power, or more specifically, you need power on your fantasy baseball team. If that is the case, you need to focus on a player who is capable of doing things that lead to extra-base hits, especially home runs. One of the sabermetrics that specifically focuses on pure power is ISO (Isolated Power). The... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 17
Welcome back to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. At times this year, I have gone away from the "breakout" term to just highlight hitters that have... Read More
MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for xwOBA (Week 17)
For this week's iteration of advanced metrics leaders, we're going to forego BaseballSavant and head straight to the best source for data - our own Jon Anderson (@JonPGH). Among many other things, he has created an MLB Tableau full of Statcast data that is available to the public. It's easy to filter and sort to... Read More
MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for xFIP (Week 17)
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! The second half of the season is now underway, and I will return to my standard format for this article series. Each week, I select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 16
Welcome back RotoBallers from the All-Star break, and to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. We'll get back to basics this week after going a little bit... Read More
Hitters To Have A Big Second Half? Strikeout Rate Improvements for Fantasy Baseball
One good way to find hitters to help your fantasy team during the stretch run is to see which hitters have been striking out less as the year has gone by. The strikeout rate is far from the only thing to consider with a hitter, and it's probably not even the most important statistic -... Read More
MLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for Expected Batting Average
With the first half of the season in the rearview mirror, when does regression start to hit some of the luckiest and unluckiest batters? Expected stats don't always mirror real-life results but at some point those on the extreme ends have to even out a little bit. Let's kick off the second half of Statcast... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - MLB Second-Half Preview
Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I normally 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. As we return from the All-Star break and dive back into fantasy... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising In The Second Half
Welcome back RotoBallers from the All-Star break, and to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. I want to do something different for this edition, we're going to... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - MLB First-Half Hits and Misses
Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I have selected one advanced metric, chosen two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyzed what those values may mean for future performance. I have covered a host of different metrics so far and have made plenty of... Read More
Breakout Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - MLB Batters Rising for Week 15
Welcome back RotoBallers to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. The idea is to find hitters that have made changes and/or really improved this season to find... Read More
Hitter Advanced Metrics Leaders - Hard Hit% for Week 14
The last time we examined hard-hit rate leaders was back in Week 3. A lot has changed since then, needless to say. Although diving into metrics like Barrel rate and exit velocity on fly balls & line drives provides similar insight, these all must be evaluated on their own accord and put into context. As... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Zone Swing & Miss % For Week 14
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. There are plenty of metrics to consider for the final full week before the All-Star... Read More
Breakout Hitters to Watch for Fantasy Baseball Week 14
Welcome back RotoBallers to another edition of my "Breakout Hitters To Watch" series. What we're doing here is taking a good, close look at the hitting data each week to see which hitters are standing out the most. The idea is to find hitters that have made changes and/or really improved this season to find... Read More
Hitter Advanced Metrics Leaders - Expected Home Runs for Week 13
Home runs, we all love 'em. We've been told long ago that a certain sub-population fancies them even more than expected. It's time to figure out which hitters have been outperforming their expected home run totals and who may be underachieving and potentially due for positive regression. This week, I'll look at the biggest differences... Read More
Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - WAR For Week 13
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. As we near the All-Star break, I decided it would be a good idea to... Read More