Dynasty First Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball
As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. That includes our constantly-updated dynasty rankings. We will take an early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into next season. Today, we start with first... Read More
Biggest Fallers of 2020 - Starting Pitchers
We recently took a look at some starting pitcher risers, those who have seen their stock jump significantly since this time a year ago. Now, we'll analyze some pitchers who have gone the other way following a down year in 2020. Last season consisted of just 60 games, so we're obviously looking at a much... Read More
A Year to Forget: Players Who Will Rebound in 2021
Happy Holidays everyone! Needless to say, 2020 was quite the crazy year — for any number of reasons. There was a lot that many of us will want to forget, and for quite a few baseball players, the 2020 season is one they'll want everyone to pretend never happened. But hey, it's almost 2021. As... Read More
Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings
Once again, I'll start by saying the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. Join me for my position-by-position... Read More
Biggest Brl/BBE% Fallers from 2020
Last week, I discussed the importance of the Brl/BBE% and examined some players who had improved the most in the shortened 2019 season. If you haven't yet taken a look at that, I would encourage you to because I also gave a detailed breakdown of why I like this particular stat. However, if you simply... Read More
Projecting Power in 2021: Late ADP Options
Like a sitcom catchphrase from a bygone era, we all want more power. We'll take it early and we'll take it late but it always feels extra sweet when one of your final picks suddenly becomes one of the mayors of dong city. Looking at a player's exit velocities can tell us a lot about... Read More
Squaring It Up: 2020's Biggest Brl/BBE% Gainers
Often when it comes to fantasy baseball, we get overloaded with statistics and it becomes hard to sort out what's useful from what's misleading. Many experts can write pages about why they swear by certain stats as being the most predictive for future success or accurate in reflecting who had a good season. In the... Read More
Biggest Risers of 2020 - Starting Pitcher
With just 60 games worth of data to draw from during the 2020 season, it's going to be a challenge for fantasy owners to determine how much to weigh those numbers when projecting 2021 performance. We see hot and cold two-month stretches all the time in a normal season, and there's plenty of time to... Read More
Statcast Review - Noteworthy xBA/xSLG Hitting Leaders
Thanks to its abbreviated schedule, the 2020 MLB season resulted in some unusual outcomes. Michael Conforto posted the highest full-season BABIP since Ty Cobb in 1913, Luke Voit was on pace for 60 home runs, and Robbie Ray walked a ridiculous 18% of the batters he faced. xStats were not immune to that weirdness, xBA... Read More
Nate Lowe to Rangers - Fantasy Impact
Nate Lowe has been FREED!!!!! The Tampa Bay Rays have traded their talented slugging first baseman as well as first baseman Jake Guenther to the Texas Rangers for catcher Heriberto Hernandez, infielder Osleivis Basabe, and outfielder Alexander Ovalles. This is the moment many fantasy baseball players have been waiting for, the chance for Nate Lowe... Read More
Yasiel Puig: Ready to Rise in 2021
Yasiel Puig signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2020 but due to having COVID, the signing never went through and he never got his chance to play. Now we enter 2021 and we get to play this waiting game again as we hope to see him sign sooner rather than later. We tend to look... Read More
Year-In-Review: Framber Valdez
Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez has been one of the team's many intriguing prospects over the past several seasons. He first got consistent playing time (mostly in relief) in 2019 and put forth poor results with a 4-7 record, 5.86 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, and 20.7% strikeout rate over 70 2/3 inning pitched. He also pitched... Read More
Statcast Review - Hard Hit/Exit Velocity Pitching Leaders
Pitcher contact quality can be a tricky attribute for fantasy managers to incorporate into their analysis. On one hand, pitchers are more at the whim of hitters when it comes to contact quality than the other way around. On the other hand, it certainly seems as though pitchers can exert meaningful control over their contact... Read More
Projecting Power in 2021: Early ADP Air% Exit Velocity
Looking at average exit velocity to project future power is not very useful compared to looking only at balls hit in the air. Because who cares how hard ground balls are hit? However, it can be even more useful to parse out those velocities into more refined bins and cast a more critical eye to... Read More
Year-In-Review: Sixto Sanchez
The 2020 season presented numerous challenges and is one that most teams, Dodgers aside, are ready to move on from. In the case of the Miami Marlins, it represented a major step forward for a perennially-rebuilding franchise. The Marlins made the playoffs for the first time since their 2003 championship season, mostly on the strength... Read More
A Year to Remember: Players with Career Years in 2020
The 2020 baseball season was a short one, but still a season where some players could jump onto the scene and give fantasy players something to look forward to in the coming years. Some will say 60 games are not enough for a "career season," but I beg to differ, and so do the four... Read More
Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings
The 2021 MLB season isn't guaranteed to be normal but I have hope that next spring will be much healthier. As such, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking series for the 2021 fantasy baseball season. How much weight do we give 2020? How... Read More
Starting Pitcher K-BB% Fallers: Who to Worry About
In part one of this mini-series, Sam Chinitz covered K-BB% risers from 2021. You can check that post out here. This article will take a look at the pitchers that went in the wrong direction. Strikeout to walk rate is so important to be mindful of when evaluating pitchers. No matter how you slice it,... Read More
Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings
The upcoming 2021 season may not be normal -- going from 2020 to 2021 doesn't wave a magic wand -- but there's still comfort in baseball. As such, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking series for the 2021 fantasy baseball season. How much... Read More
Year-in-Review: Dylan Bundy
“Just when I thought I was out, he pulls me back in!” –That’s what fantasy managers found themselves saying about Dylan Bundy this year, as the longtime sleeper finally woke up with career-best numbers across the board, highlighted by a 3.29 ERA, 2.95 FIP, and 4.24 K/BB ratio. Going into 2020 Bundy’s NFBC ADP was... Read More
Year-In-Review: Jesse Winker
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker had a 2020 season that, in many ways, reflected the arc of his career. His excellent approach allows him to get on base while also hitting for average and power. However, he also experiences stretches of unproductivity and has battled injuries and inconsistent playing time. This makes him a difficult player... Read More
Is Hard-Hit Rate Predictive?
Over the last 10 or so years, baseball fans have seen all kinds of new statistics pop in front of their faces. Some people really like these new metrics, and some people really do not. Judging by the fact that you are reading this article, I am guessing that you fall into that first grouping.... Read More
Projecting Power in 2021: Elite Levels of Air% Exit Velocity
Everyone wants more power, even more so when it comes relatively cheap. But even when pricey, you're going to need to draft a bomber or two. One of the best ways to see how a player's power is trending is to sift through their exit-velocities to see what they're saying. Most know by now that... Read More
Year-in-Review: Lance McCullers Jr.
It had been a while since we saw Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound. He has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his career, and he dealt with his most severe in 2019 when he lost the entire season to Tommy John surgery. The shutdown and the subsequent delayed start to the season... Read More
Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings
I think most of us would agree that looking forward to 2021 is a good idea. For me, that means immersing myself in the upcoming baseball season. While there's no guarantee COVID-19 won't affect the '21 season, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking... Read More
Year-In-Review: Christian Yelich
After having won the NL MVP award in 2018, Christian Yelich was well on his way to potentially winning a second consecutive award in 2019. However, he broke his kneecap in September of that year and that put a premature end to his monster season. There were some fantasy baseball managers who shied away from selecting... Read More
Faster and Furious: Pitchers With Rising Velocity
The shortened 2020 season resulted in some small sample size related caveats surrounding analysis heading into 2021, but fastball velocity is largely immune from that issue. Fastball velocity is extremely quick to stabilize, and even a few pitches can provide fantasy managers with a reasonably clear understanding of a pitcher’s velocity. Further supporting that notion... Read More
Year-In-Review: Javier Baez
Javier Baez was one of the bigger disappointments in the league during the shortened 2020 season. He had established himself as a five-category contributor over the last several seasons and was coming off a 2019 campaign in which he hit .281 with 29 home runs and 11 steals in 561 plate appearances. Therefore, Baez was... Read More
Year-in-Review: Shane Bieber
2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber was just simply remarkable in every definition of the word this past season. He led the majors in a number of statistics such as ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122) and tied for the major league lead in wins (8) and quality starts (10). The deeper you look into... Read More