Points Leagues Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 4
It’s Week 4 of RotoBaller’s points league waiver wire extravaganza and we’re back after a one-week hiatus to discuss the thrills of fantasy free agency. If your teams are scuffling in the cellar after the opening weeks, it’s turnover time. By now the bottom of any squad is subject to intense scrutiny and available players... Read More
Shortstop - The Under-Appreciated Glamour Boys of '19
Shortstop has long been a position comprised of the nobles and the bastards. People would flock towards the highborn and turn a frigidly cold shoulder to anyone else. Fantasy managers were basically elitists in the purest definition of the word in regard to shortstops. It is time to start spreading the love and realize that... Read More
Champ or Chump - Fernando Tatis Jr. and Yoan Moncada
It can be incredibly easy to overreact to your team's performance thus far, but remember that it is still very early. You shouldn't even be thinking about dropping big names like Aaron Nola or Mookie Betts, nor should you count on Daniel Vogelbach or Jay Bruce continuing their home run binge. That said, you don't... Read More
The Mystery of Aaron Nola's 2019 Campaign
As we creep towards the end of the first month of the season, questions are starting to arise for fantasy baseball owners. Hitters are getting closer to having 100 plate appearances, and pitchers are now making their fourth starts of the season. We now have enough data where we can start looking for signs of... Read More
Engel's Angles - Pivotal Starts Coming for Paxton, Peacock, Velasquez
The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry resumes Tuesday with the teams not playing to the usual levels of success that fuel the hype. Both squads are under .500, and even the pitching matchup does not seem as outstanding as expected on paper. The struggles of Chris Sale and his 9.00 ERA are well documented. For the Yankees,... Read More
Prospect Stock Watch with Fantasy Implications - Week 2
Well, the Major League season is already 6% 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
Waiver Wire Strategy - Recycling Post-Hype Draft Sleepers
Fantasy baseball is very much a “what have you done for me lately” environment. If players are playing poorly, fantasy managers will give up on them. All too often players are getting dropped that have no business being on the waiver wire. Some guys are just down on their luck and end up tossed into... Read More
Champ or Chump - Corbin Burnes and Trent Thornton
By this point of the season, you probably have some injuries, under-performances, or squandered sleeper picks cluttering your roster. You're also probably intrigued by a few potential breakouts on the waiver wire. Who should you keep moving forward, and who should you pick up with any newfound roster spots? This column seeks to answer that... Read More
Buxton, Kepler Have Something to Prove - The King's Insider Report
The Minnesota Twins are going to be a fun team to watch this season, whether it’s for real or fantasy purposes. They could sneak up and win the American League Central, and help fantasy owners a lot in the process if three key offensive players continue to perform well. Byron Buxton is the true cornerstone... Read More
Power Hitting Risers & Fallers for Week 2 - Buy or Sell?
Power is perhaps the best fantasy baseball attribute (and is all the better in OPS leagues) because it's also the best way to pick up runs and RBI--a home run guarantees at least one of each, naturally. So you will want to be on top of power trends throughout the season. For this first 2019 edition,... Read More
Points Leagues Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 2
Happy baseball season to all our diamond-dwelling RotoBallers! For the past five months, we’ve settled for pass interferences, technical fouls and busted brackets but now it’s time to pull up our stirrups for summer’s pastime. One week into the season, the clouds of Opening Day fireworks are starting to subside, and it’s time to begin... Read More
Closers and Saves Report - Week 1 Waiver Wire
Welcome back, baseball. We missed you. Your offseason was mostly boring, so here's hoping you make up for it with a great season. So far, you're off to a good start. Okay, enough. Closers and Saves Report is back for another year of looking over all of the important bullpen news of the week. With... Read More
Top 20 Impact Prospects for 2020 Dynasty Leagues
Prospect ranking is similar to picking stocks to invest in. With both areas of focus, you have to consider a number of variables, including overall long-term value, as well as how quickly you want or need a return. Investment advisors will often analyze an investor’s risk appetite to help choose the right investments. If you have... Read More
Is Pete Alonso for Real? The Verdict Is Yes
After hearing what I did in the preseason about Pete Alonso, it’s great for his fantasy outlook that he made the Mets roster out of spring training. Each year, I write the Fantasy Baseball Insider series, which consists of exclusive anonymous interviews with former and current players on key fantasy baseball targets. The FBIS won... Read More
Engel's Angles - Darvish's Struggles, Alcantara's Breakout and More
Each week, I will be bringing you my latest insights from around the Fantasy world. For now, I will be gathering storylines from around Major League Baseball. This week, we look at very early results and how some intangibles and health issues can factor in overall outlooks for spotlighted players. Is it too early to... Read More
Points Leagues Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 1
It’s here, it’s finally here! Happy baseball season to all our diamond-dwelling RotoBallers. For the past five months, we’ve settled for touchdowns, goals and brackets but now it’s time to bust out our stirrups for summer’s pastime. With Opening Day in the books, it’s only reasonable to look ahead to the waiver wire for rest-of-season... Read More
Top 30 Impact Rookies for Redraft Fantasy Leagues (Preseason)
It’s no secret that teams are relying more and more heavily on young hitters and pitchers to not only fill out the 25-man rosters but to be key, impactful members of the club. That, in turn, means that prospect watching and analysis plays an increasingly important part of fantasy baseball. Jumping on the promising, raw... Read More
Kev's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019
That's GOLD, Jerry! GOLD! RotoSurgeon here with my first ever "gold predictions" piece. Many of you may not be familiar with my work because I have not been with RotoBaller as long as some of my esteemed colleagues. It is reasonable to not trust nor care about what I say because of my lack of... Read More
Predicting the Top 10 Finishers in Stolen Bases in 2019
Predicting the leaders in steals for the upcoming season may sound like a straightforward task, but it’s not as easy as it seems. There is quite a bit of variance involved, and the league as a whole has seen a sharp decline in stolen base attempts since the 2012 season (about 700 fewer attempts). Past... Read More
What to Expect from the Marlins' Young Rotation
In the days leading up to the start of the 2019 season, the Miami Marlins made it clear that the youth movement has completely taken over. Veteran Dan Straily was released and Wei-Yin Chen was sent to the bullpen, paving the way for a pitching rotation that doesn't boast a player over the age of... Read More
Three National League Outfielders Set To Break Out in 2019
Before listing the three National League outfielders destined for breakout seasons, it’s best to define what I classified as a “breakout” candidate. I decided to choose players that fantasy owners have seen on the waiver wire over the past few seasons. Perhaps these players have even found their way onto a roster or two. However,... Read More
Three NL Pitchers Set To Break Out in 2019
We're always looking for the next breakout. Cody Bellinger or Chris Taylor in 2017. Trevor Bauer or Aldaberto Mondesi in 2018. These are the kind of guys who can make a good fantasy team great or boost an average team into a playoff spot. How do we find these players before they break out? They... Read More
Starting Pitcher Busts Due to Bounce Back In 2019
Every fantasy team needs starting pitching to compete, and this year’s crop offers an exciting mix. There is a clear top-three in a tier alone, with 12-15 more names claiming to be “fantasy aces.” Past the top few tiers, the pitching pool turns into a mixture of similar options, with small differences that could amount... Read More
Why You Should Target Injury-Prone Pitchers (Sometimes)
To some fantasy owners, there’s nothing more frustrating than the good but oft-injured starting pitcher. It makes owners just want to wash their hands entirely of pitchers like Rich Hill, James Paxton, and Stephen Strasburg in favor of sub-par innings-eaters and often pushes these fragile hurlers down draft boards. However, in certain league formats, targeting these... Read More
Man vs. Machine: Nick Mariano and THE BAT's Undervalued and Overvalued Players
What do I, Nick Mariano, have in common with great minds such as Ken Jennings, Gary Kasparov, and Lee Sedot? Before, I wouldn’t have had an answer, but now I can say that we’ve all had the honor of challenging incredible Artificial Intelligence minds! Nevermind that those other three guys got crushed in their “Man... Read More
Young Hitters Set To Break Out in 2019
The hunt for the next breakout player is a never-ending quest for fantasy players. Identifying and acquiring even one of those players can pay huge dividends throughout the course of a single-season league and even more so in dynasty and keeper leagues. Unfortunately, this quest is shared by all fantasy players, so the window of... Read More
Five National League Outfield Sleepers for 2019
Sleepers, draft values, ADP bargains...whatever you want to call them, every fantasy owner is looking for them at this time of year. Identifying and acquiring players whose production will outstrip the investment required to land their services is the crux of the game. It's often what separates the winners and losers, and it's arguably the... Read More
H2H Points Leagues First Basemen - Overvalued & Undervalued
For those fantasy enthusiasts that love the head-to-head competition and being able to trash talk their friends every week, the points league is the ideal setup. For the casual player in this format, it’s common to unknowingly draft using a standard top-300 list from a magazine or website. These lists base themselves on roto formats,... Read More
Rick Lucks' Bold Predictions for 2019
Our series of Bold Predictions continue with my piece. I've had success with this exercise in the past, but last year was easily my worst performance to date. That said, I am traditionally one of the boldest authors on this series, and I think you'll agree that the predictions below will at least let me... Read More