Is it Legit? Luke Voit's Breakout Season
We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players... Read More
Is it Legit? Tyler Skaggs' Breakout Season
We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players... Read More
Is it Legit? Max Muncy's Breakout Season
Welcome to the third edition of our new weekly column "Is It Legit?" that will discuss breakout performers from the 2018 MLB season and how they should be valued heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine... Read More
Is it Legit? Miles Mikolas' Breakout Season
Welcome to the second edition of our new weekly column "Is It Legit?" that will discuss breakout performers from the 2018 MLB season and how they should be valued heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine... Read More
Is It Legit? Adalberto Mondesi's Breakout Season
Welcome to the first edition of our new weekly column "Is It Legit?" that will discuss breakout performers from the 2018 MLB season and how they should be valued heading into 2019. First up will be Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, son of former Major League player Raul Mondesi. Mondesi Jr. burst onto the scene in... Read More
Outfield Busts Who Won’t Improve in 2018
The list of outfielders who will bust again in 2018 is rather short. Most of the players who fell short of expectations last year are poised for a bounce back season. You can see it in their profiles. It’s a whole different story for these four guys, however. Their fantasy values are almost non-existent, but... Read More
Predicting the Top 10 Finishers for Saves in 2018
Predicting the top 10 of anything is usually an exercise in futility. Trying to predict the top 10 finishers in saves is just silly because there is so much turnover at the back of every MLB bullpen every season. Last season, at least half of the teams in baseball had their Opening Day closer displaced... Read More
Predicting the Top 10 Finishers for Stolen Bases in 2018
Predicting the top 10 of anything is usually an exercise in futility. No matter how much research one does, how many numbers are crunched, or how much time is put into compiling a top ten list like the one below, there will always be injuries, breakouts, and other surprises to throw everything off. Who would... Read More
JB's 10 Bold Predictions for 2018
Opening Day is rapidly approaching and our experienced writers will be offering their most daring predictions for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Nick Mariano, Rick Lucks, Pierre Camus, and Kyle Bishop all have given it their best shot at being bold so far. But it's all been child's play up to this point. Many people don't... Read More
Harris Yudin's 10 Bold Predictions for 2018
With Opening Day rapidly approaching, our experienced writers will be offering their most daring predictions for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Many of my predictions over the years have been laughable at season’s end, but there have been several success stories, as well. Regardless, all predictions are based in trends and patterns, with just a... Read More
Nick Mariano's 10 Bold Predictions for 2018
As we steamroll toward Opening Day, our experienced writers will be offering their most bold predictions for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. These are always a fun exercise that allows us to really trumpet our more outlandish stances heading into 2017. I promise it comes from an educated place, but these are far from "probable"... Read More
Pierre Camus' 10 Bold Predictions for 2018
As we steamroll toward Opening Day, our experienced writers will be offering their most bold predictions for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. Although I will never be able to replicate last year's successes in calling Giancarlo Stanton's mammoth season, I will do my best. Feel free to ignore the majority of those other predictions from 2017.... Read More
Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2018
Every day from now until Opening Day, our writers will be offering their most audacious projections for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. This is my fourth go-round with this series. I've had some great successes and some equally terrible calls in both previous attempts, and this year should be no different. Hopefully the former outweigh... Read More
Champ or Chump - Brett Gardner and Whit Merrifield
Many fantasy owners avoid players such as Billy Hamilton because his lopsided production puts you at a disadvantage in four out of five categories. The obvious solution is to roster balanced players who contribute in all of the categories, but players who can realistically do that are often expensive. Heck, Alex Bregman is commanding a... Read More
Champ or Chump - Robbie Ray and Rhys Hoskins
This column usually places a strong emphasis on regression, or why you shouldn't expect last year's production from a given player. Sometimes a player breaks out in a sustainable manner, however, making them a good investment even if you need to pay a premium based on the previous year's performance. Robbie Ray provides an excellent... Read More
Leading Indicators - First Pitch Strikes and Strikeout Risers
Conventional baseball wisdom harps on the importance of the first-pitch strike (F-strike%). As pitchers get ahead in counts, they gain an advantage on hitters and have more pitch choices at their disposal. However, smart people discovered a hitter's average with a 0-1 count (.321) is only marginally worse than a 1-0 count (.337). The pitch... Read More
Champ or Chump - J.T. Realmuto and Andrew Benintendi
Some fantasy owners prioritize upside over everything else in their draft. Upside wins leagues! Upside makes your team more exciting to follow! Upside encourages you to draft Byron Buxton and hold onto him until his lack of production has doomed you to the second division of your league! Upside doesn't win leagues, profit potential does.... Read More
ADP Myth Busters - Debunking Myths in the AL East
This series will attempt to help fantasy baseball owners make informed opinions on players whose ADP may not be in line with their value for the 2018 season. As fantasy owners, we can fall into a "group think" mentality and start to overlook certain teams and players. If we aren't careful, those ideas can turn... Read More
Turning Two - Beware the Trending Six-Man Rotation
A six-man starting rotation? "That's just not what MLB is to me," Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels said recently. As someone accustomed to being at the forefront of a pitching staff and who's logged 362 starts over 12 Major League seasons, it's only logical that Hamels would expect to keep trotting out there as much as... Read More
Champ or Chump - Garrett Richards and Xander Bogaerts
Sometimes, you look at fantasy baseball ADP data and ask yourself, "why?" A deeper dive might reveal that your opinion on a given player has become outdated, or maybe you can see an argument that fails to convince you but might move the needle for somebody else. In either case, the price is justifiable. However,... Read More
Champ or Chump - Kevin Kiermaier and Alex Bregman
Our friends at FantasyPros have added ESPN and CBS to their composite ADP rankings, drawing from a total of six sources (those two plus Yahoo!, Fantrax, NFBC, and RT Sports). The vast majority of you probably use at least one of those services, making the compiled ADP data a fairly reliable predictor of what might... Read More
2017 Breakouts Due for Regression - Starting Pitchers
The 2017 season saw a number of starting pitchers emerge and become studs for both their real and fantasy teams. Aaron Nola and James Paxton finally matched their prospect hype. Alex Wood finally stayed (mostly) healthy and earned his first All-Star appearance. Trevor Bauer finally seemed to put his inconsistency behind him with a dominant second... Read More
Outfielders Who’ll Continue to Improve in 2018
While the other managers in your league are drafting redundant assets and fretting over which volatile closer they’re going to draft, you’ll be targeting up-and-coming outfielders with skyrocketing value. Winning the late rounds on draft day is the most you can do to put yourself in the best position to win a fantasy title. All... Read More
ADP Myth Busters - Debunking Myths in the NL West
This series will attempt to help fantasy baseball owners make informed opinions on players whose ADP may not be in line with their value for the 2018 season. As fantasy owners, we can fall into a "group think" mentality and start to overlook certain teams and players. If we aren't careful, those ideas can turn... Read More
Champ or Chump - Corey Dickerson and Steven Souza Jr.
Traditionally, the Tampa Bay Rays operate in relative obscurity. That has changed this offseason, as trading away Evan Longoria, Jake Odorizzi, Corey Dickerson, and Steven Souza Jr. has led to allegations of "tanking" comparable to the Miami Marlins. The news that Brent Honeywell may require Tommy John surgery certainly doesn't help either. Despite appearances, the... Read More
2017 Breakouts Due for Regression - Relief Pitchers
2017 was a great season for those who follow the "Don't Pay for Saves" strategy. Actually, it's more than a strategy, it's a lifestyle. Corey Knebel blossomed into an elite closer, Fernando Rodney almost matched his age in saves, Brandon Kintzler/Sean Doolittle/Brandon Maurer/Felipe Rivero/Brad Hand all had over 20 saves, and even Bud Norris was... Read More
ADP Myth Busters - Debunking Myths in the NL Central
This series will attempt to help fantasy baseball owners make informed opinions on players whose ADP may not be in line with their value for the 2018 season. As fantasy owners, we can fall into a "group think" mentality and start to overlook certain teams and players. If we aren't careful, those ideas can turn... Read More
Champ or Chump - Jarrod Dyson and J.D. Martinez
Major League GMs are making up for lost time, as the moves have been fast and furious over the past few days. The Arizona Diamondbacks completely remodeled their outfield by signing free agent Jarrod Dyson and trading for Steven Souza Jr. Dyson is discussed below, and Souza's fantasy prospects will be considered in a future... Read More
Champ or Chump - Jake Odorizzi and Eric Hosmer
It took the better part of four months, but baseball's offseason is finally starting! Eric Hosmer signed a massive contract to vacation play baseball in San Diego, while Jake Odorizzi was traded to the Minnesota Twins for a ham sandwich and a few extra baseballs. One of these players is capable of turning a substantial... Read More