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Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: An Introduction
2019 Season in Review: Aristides Aquino
On August 1, 2019, Aristides Aquino was called up by the Cincinnati Reds. Shortly thereafter, bedlam broke out. He hit 11 home runs in his first 63 at-bats, drove in 22 runs, and caused the internet to flood with The Punisher GIFs and newly made t-shirts. When the month of August came to a close,... Read More
Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Second Base
When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes... Read More
Madison Bumgarner to Diamondbacks - Fantasy Impact
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed three-time World Series champion Madison Bumgarner to a five-year, $85 million contract in the middle of December. This will be the first time in 11 seasons that Bumgarner will not take the hill for the San Francisco Giants, but instead will head the rotation of their division rivals. The Diamondbacks finished the... Read More
2019 Season in Review - Matt Carpenter
Matt Carpenter had a down year in 2019, which came on the heels of a 2018 season that saw him finish ninth in NL MVP voting. He struggled to get in a groove at any point in 2019 and often found himself out of the lineup late in the season. This was exemplified by his... Read More
Early 2020 ADP Reflections - First Base
When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes... Read More
Mike Moustakas to Reds - Fantasy Impact
At the start of December, the Cincinnati Reds signed All-Star infielder Mike Moustakas to a four-year, $64 million contract. It serves as the largest free-agent contract in Reds history. While it may be an overly rich deal for a 31-year-old power hitter, it was a necessary investment for a team that desperately needed to revamp their... Read More
Anthony Rendon to the Angels - Fantasy Impact
Anthony Rendon's seven-year, $245 million contract may not match that of newest Yankee Gerrit Cole but it does equal former teammate Stephen Strasburg's deal and includes a full no-trade clause with no opt-outs, options, or deferred money. Regardless of results, the new marriage between the Halos and Rendon is set in stone until 2026. Rendon's contract... Read More
Exit Velocity Pitching Leaders - Statcast 2019 Review
Ah, winter, the true dead zone of baseball coverage. The new champs have been crowned, vacation plans are made, the awards are being handed out and the winter meetings getting underway. Sounds like the perfect time to review some Statcast data in preparation of 2020 fantasy drafts. Exit velocity has become one of the more... Read More
Gerrit Cole To Yankees - Fantasy Impact
Cue up the Star Wars music, the Evil Empire landed their man. The biggest free agent of the MLB offseason is officially off the board, as first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees are in agreement on a nine-year $324 million contract. Cole's contract is the largest... Read More
SP Strikeout Risers: 2019 Season Review
For the last four seasons, MLB has seen an increase in strikeout rate (K%). Since 2015, K% has increased from 20.4% to 23.0%. We’ve also seen an increase in walk rates and a poorer league-wide ERA. Those trends can make it difficult to assess whether a pitcher is actually better at inducing swings and misses.... Read More
Barrel and Exit Velocity Batting Leaders: Statcast 2019 Review
The 2019 season saw more home runs hit than ever before in Major League history as 6,776 balls left ballparks across the league. The top-hitting club of them all was the Minnesota Twins with 307 big flies. Chief among them was none other than 39-year-old Nelson Cruz, who finished in a tie for seventh in... Read More
Luis Urias to Brewers, Trent Grisham to Padres - Fantasy Impact
It's hot stove time and there's already been more activity on the market than we've seen in the past couple of offseasons, with more big signings on the horizon. One of the first and more surprising offseason deals to get done was a trade between the Brewers and Padres that sent infielder Luis Urias and... Read More
Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Catcher
When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospect candidates. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This... Read More
Jurickson Profar to Padres - Fantasy Impact
The Oakland Athletics recently sent infielder Jurickson Profar to the San Diego Padres in exchange for catcher Austin Allen and a player to be named later. Upon making the trade, San Diego and Profar immediately agreed on a deal for $5.7 million for this upcoming season to avoid arbitration. The Padres finished 70-92 in 2019... Read More
2019 Season in Review - Shane Bieber
In each of the past three seasons, MLB has held a "Player's Weekend" where one of the promotions is players having the ability to wear a nickname on the back of their jersey. For both of his MLB seasons, Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber has worn "Not Justin" on the back of his uniform. After... Read More
Jonathan Villar to Marlins - Fantasy Impact
The low-budget Marlins made a splash (pun intended) on the free-agent front in their typically cost-prohibitive way by picking up recently waived infield Jonathan Villar in exchange for minor leaguer Easton Lucas. They also claimed first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who is one year removed from a 35-HR, 108-RBI season but struggled mightily last year between... Read More
2019 Season in Review - Edwin Diaz
After a lights-out 2018 campaign, Edwin Diaz emerged into the elite class of closers heading into the 2019 season. He wrapped up his historic year with the second-most saves in a single season (57) to go along with a sparkling 1.96 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and 44.3% K-rate. The Mariners sold high on their young hurler... Read More
Is Mike Trout Still the #1 Pick in 2020?
Is it time to talk ADP already? Affectionately known as Mike Trout Doubting-Season, this is the time of year when some touts stick out sorely in declaring that the best player of this - and possibly any - generation should not be chosen first overall in fantasy. Instead, they have declared that it should be... Read More
2019 Season-In-Review - Gary Sanchez
There's an old saying that goes, "You can't predict baseball." In general, that statement is true. The game has been played for well over a century and even with all that time to learn and all the advanced stats available to us in 2019, the game is still as unpredictable as ever. That being said,... Read More
2019 Season in Review - Trevor Bauer
Trevor Bauer disappointed fantasy managers everywhere in 2019 after a dominant 2018 campaign where he finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting. Setting career-bests with a 2.21 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 221 strikeouts in 175.1 IP (30.8% K%), the 28-year-old entered the 2019 draft season as a top-10 pitcher with an ADP of 31. His... Read More
2019 Season in Review - Blake Snell
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell had an excellent 2019 season for someone that was considered to be a bust. Sure, the 2018 AL Cy Young award winner didn't live up to his 28th overall average draft position, but he wasn't the one who said to draft him that high... Throw in some time missed... Read More
Champ or Chump: Shed Long and Tommy Edman
With 2019 basically in the books, a lot of fantasy baseball content is starting to focus on 2020: namely early picks in 2020. While a lot of owners agonize over whether to take Christian Yelich or Ronald Acuna Jr. with the second overall pick, the truth is that the decision isn't likely to matter so... Read More
Champ or Chump: Tim Anderson and Jorge Soler
With only a week and a half left to go in the regular season, most fantasy owners either have their leagues won, have moved onto other things, or are finishing up their H2H playoffs. If you're one of the lucky few who still has a reason to care if your starting SS is getting a... Read More
Champ or Chump: Nico Hoerner and Ketel Marte
Is it just me, or are an unusual number of superstars missing time due to injury down the stretch? If you're looking for a Christian Yelich replacement, Trent Grisham was previously covered in the column as an intriguing add with playing time concerns. Those playing time concerns have now evaporated, so Grisham is an astute... Read More
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Risers/Fallers (Week 23)
Well, the Major League season nearly done. Some owners think that they are on their way to victory while others are patiently waiting for things to turn around. Still, while all the victory laps are being taken, the smart owner is looking forward to the rest of the year and finding what value can still... Read More
Champ or Chump: Kevin Cron and Gavin Lux
While September callups are typically associated with Quad-A guys that fantasy owners are never going to hear from again, there were quite a few interesting names summoned this year. Kevin Cron of the Arizona Diamondbacks (and younger brother of C.J. Cron) could produce big power numbers if he gets a chance to play, making him... Read More
Champ or Chump: Ryan McMahon and Victor Robles
Every draft season, it seems like somebody who had a hot September the previous season ends up overdrafted and ruining their fantasy owner's chances. One of the hallmarks of a successful fantasy season is avoiding these pitfalls, but it can be tough to distinguish legitimate breakouts from flashes in the pan. It's still early, but... Read More
Champ or Chump: Will Smith and Rafael Devers
The end of August is always something of a turning point for this column. Many roto leagues are basically over, while owners in H2H formats are either waiting for their playoffs to start or looking ahead to next season. Waiver wires tend to be fairly barren even if your league is still competitive, and your... Read More
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Risers/Fallers (Week 20)
Well, the Major League season is already 47% of the way done. Some owners think that they are on their way to victory while others are patiently waiting for things to turn around. Still, while all the victory laps are being taken, the smart owner is looking forward to the rest of the year and... Read More
