Jamie Steed's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021
Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. With that in mind, I do think that each of these predictions has a legitimate chance of occurring... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: HR/FB
Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Batting average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI.... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Batter BABIP
The most accessible of the fantasy-relevant advanced stats is BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls In Play. It simply measures a player's batting average on balls in play, with outcomes such as strikeouts and home runs removed from consideration. In general, the league average hovers around .300, a nice round number to remember. Many know... Read More
Reviewing Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2020
My bold predictions for the 2020 season were published on March 4, or roughly a week before everything went to hell. At the time, nobody knew that we'd be left with a 60-game sprint as opposed to the usual marathon of 162. The shortened season obviously changed the calculus a great deal, but it can... Read More
Closers and Saves Report: Summer Camp Edition 2 - Handcuffs
It's a whole new ball game. Literally. Baseball is going to be weird this season, folks. Only 60 games. (Almost?) all in the same time zone. Tons of games against the same teams. The DH everywhere. Empty stadiums. Cardboard cutouts. Artificial crowd noise. 30-man rosters for a while. Then 28-man rosters for another while. It's... Read More
Closers and Saves Report: Summer Camp Edition
In a normal year, we'd be talking about the upcoming trade deadline and how this team needs that player but that team needs this player but then that guy got hurt. During a normal baseball season, we'd be discussing the All-Star Game and how this player definitely didn't deserve a spot and that player was certainly robbed of his... Read More
Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: More Insights From an MLB Scout
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with more takes from a longtime Major League scout. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, media members and others... Read More
The King's Insider Report: Views From an MLB Scout
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with the takes of a longtime Major League scout. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, media members and others... Read More
The King's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Exclusive Scouting Reports From an MLB Veteran
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with the seasoned input of a current Major League Player. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, media members and... Read More
The King's Insider Report: Negative Effects Of Opening Day Delay?
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with a look at how the Coronavirus pandemic has delayed the opening of the 2020 season, and if there will be any adverse effects. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information.... Read More
The King's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Dodgers, Rockies, Giants
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with a look at the NL West. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts and media members provide their unfiltered... Read More
Slow-Starting Hitters to Avoid in 2020
This fantasy baseball season is going to be strange, and there is nothing you can do to change that. What you can do is try to come up with a strategy that best sets your team up for success in this world of the unknown that currently exists. While we do not know when the... Read More
Connelly Doan's Bold Predictions for 2020
Welcome to the 2020 fantasy baseball season everybody! While we will not have actual baseball for a while, we can still prep for when that time does come. One of the most satisfying things throughout the season (and in life in general) is to call a long shot. To get something right while acting as... Read More
Engel's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Diamondbacks, Padres
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with a look at the NL West. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts and media members provide their unfiltered... Read More
Pitchers Who Changed Scenes - Risers and Fallers for 2020
Projecting pitching performance is a never-ending cycle that is constantly changing due to a variety of factors. Pitchers are often tinkering with their pitch mix, which can sometimes unlock a new level in performance. Their velocity can go up, which adds some intrigue to their profile; or it could go down, which usually makes them... Read More
The King's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Marlins, Mets
Each year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, and media members provide their unfiltered insights on key players and situations, and Scott provides his fantasy baseball viewpoints on the commentaries. These reports... Read More
Rick Lucks's Bold Predictions for 2020
While the coronavirus has delayed the start of the MLB season, Bold Prediction season is in full-swing here at Rotoballer. Not knowing how many games will actually be played makes numerical positions difficult, as 30 HR are a lot more impressive over 100 games than 162. That said, I've tried to base the predictions below... Read More
Jamie Steed's Bold Predictions for 2020
Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. With that in mind, I do think that each of these predictions has a legitimate chance of occurring... Read More
2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts? Eduardo Escobar
The Arizona Diamondbacks finished the 2019 season with a record of 85-77, which was good enough for a second-place finish in the NL West but was not quite good enough to receive a Wild Card spot in the postseason. The strong finish came as a surprise to many fans, especially on the heels of what... Read More
The King's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Phillies, Braves
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with a look at the NL East. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts and media members provide their unfiltered... Read More
2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts: Trevor Bauer
Following an offseason that saw them add Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama, and Wade Miley, the Reds are expected to be right in the thick of a wide-open race for the National League Central crown. The imported bats should provide a significant boost to a squad that finished 25th in the majors in runs... Read More
JB's Bold Predictions for 2020
I'm going to let you in on a little secret... JB stands for "JUST BOLDNESS". Okay that's a lie... it's actually not a secret because I use that every year in my bold predictions intro. Nevertheless welcome to the latest rendition of RotoBaller's 2020 Bold Predictions. You have now come to the stop where you... Read More
The King's Insider Report: New York Yankees
The Fantasy Sports Writers Association award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series returns on RotoBaller.com! Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information from top baseball sources. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts and media members provide their unfiltered insights... Read More
2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts? Danny Santana
The Texas Rangers finished the 2019 season with a record 0f 78-84, which was good for a third-place finish in the American League West. The finish was actually above preseason expectations and now has the team looking to make a push forward in 2020. The Rangers have plenty of youth and have brought in the... Read More
MLB Spring Training Notebook - Risers, Fallers, and Injuries (3/12/20)
Welcome to the Spring Training Notebook for March 12, 2020, where we'll dive into a few of the bigger stories around Major League Baseball's Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. We're in the deep of spring training, and while there is so much uncertainty surrounding the rest of camp and even the beginning of the regular season... Read More
Roto Strategy - Is Punting Steals a Good Idea?
In fantasy baseball, there are two scoring categories that are somewhat exclusive to a certain type of player: stolen bases and saves. Saves are obvious; only closers can earn them. As such, fantasy owners must decide how important that category is to the overall construction of their roster. If we value the stat, we'll draft... Read More
Breakout Infielders Who Will Keep Improving in 2020
Fantasy owners are always searching for a leg up on the competition. They are trying to find the down player who is due to bounce back or the breakout to avoid, who is due to regress. But the opposite is equally as valuable. Finding 2019 breakouts who will continue to improve brings an unexpected aspect... Read More
Pierre Camus' 10 Bold Predictions for 2020
A wise man once said, "Bold predictions are the lifeblood of fantasy sports analysis." I consider myself pretty wise after all, so there you have it. You've undoubtedly read my past predictions columns where I declared that all predictions can be considered bold since we dare to presume that we can forecast the future. Projection... Read More
Breakout Relievers Who Will Keep Improving in 2020
The closer role is one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball. They can lose their fantasy value with a couple of blow-up performances. Teams are also electing to utilize a committee approach, often using their best reliever in high-leverage situations rather than cementing them to the ninth inning. This makes it imperative to... Read More