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K-BB% Gainers: Starting Pitchers to Watch in 2022
Carlos Rodon Signs With the San Francisco Giants - Fantasy Baseball Impact
Man, how good does it feel to have baseball back to normal? With players heading to Spring Training, free agents signing deals and some significant trades going down, this past week has been quite a spectacle to witness after the complete silence of the past few months. One of the first major pitching acquisitions to... Read More
2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Starting Pitchers
Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year, I thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing.... Read More
Best Fantasy Baseball Fits For Baltimore’s Trade Chips
Just how much trading the Baltimore Orioles do before the regular season begins, and to an extent before the trade deadline, remains to be seen. Of course, that’s entirely speculative, but the argument can certainly be made that the Orioles should hang on to some of their younger players given where they are in their... Read More
Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings (Part 2) - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues
Earlier, we broke down the first few tiers of starting pitcher rankings for 2022 fantasy baseball drafts. It's time to look at the rest of the starting pitchers that may be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano, have updated our 2022... Read More
Late-Round Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Targets - NFBC Draft and Hold Leagues
Even as the Major League Baseball lockout drags on, fantasy baseball managers have begun diving into draft season. In these early months before Spring Training begins, the most common draft formats are draft and hold leagues in which managers will draft large teams (usually 50 players) and then make no waiver claims during the year.... Read More
Barrels and Brls/BBE: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball
We've previously looked at how exit velocity is only one piece of the fantasy analysis puzzle. Baseball broadcasts will commonly cite Launch Angle (LA) to complement their EV figures, but it is given in terms of degrees. LA is basically a fancy way of saying things that the fantasy community has used for years. Am... Read More
Mid-Round Starting Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets
Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide... Read More
FaBIO Analysis: Flyballer Starting Pitcher Prospects, Right-Handed Edition
I developed the Fielding- and Ballpark-Independent Outcomes (FaBIO) pitcher evaluation system circa 2013 as a tool for quantifying non-batted-ball and batted-ball fundamentals of individual pro pitchers versus batters of both and either handedness type. Since the model was first applied to affiliated 2013 MiLB play, its reach has been extended to MLB, NCAA Division 1,... Read More
Jesse Winker & Eugenio Suarez to Mariners - Fantasy Impact
The Seattle Mariners started the offseason with guns ablazin’ as they signed 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115 million deal in November. Fast forward to the post-lockout offseason and the team is at it again, showing that the franchise is all in on competing in 2022. On Monday, the Mariners... Read More
Chris Bassitt to Mets - Fantasy Baseball Impact
The Oakland Athletics and New York Mets have clearly been on opposite sides of the offseason from the beginning. The A's are in sell mode and the Mets are seemingly buying any player they can get their hands on as they aim to make a playoff push in 2022. More evidence of this was given... Read More
Yusei Kikuchi to Blue Jays - Fantasy Impact
The Toronto Blue Jays led the league in home runs hit last year, and it was not particularly close. Despite that, they still failed to make the playoffs. The main reason for that failure was the tough division they played in, as well as just some rotten luck. They were actually a pretty good pitching... Read More
Sonny Gray Traded to the Twins - Fantasy Impact
While the CBA was agreed upon last week, we all knew that the MLB Hot Stove would fire up, and it is heating up. The Reds have been rumored to be seeking suitors for some of their starting pitchers and found a match with the Twins on Sunday. They agreed to send Sonny Gray and... Read More
Let's Overreact to Spring Training News and Tweets
Baseball is back, spring training is here, and every tweet from every beat writer is getting scrutinized to an outrageous level. It's wacky season at its best, but instead of shying away from that, we're going to lean into it. I've found some bits of news that are interesting and also, at times, amusing, and... Read More
Spin Rate: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball
Spin rate has become one of the most recognizable Statcast metrics, with supporters of a given pitcher highlighting his spin rates to make their case. It has also become controversial as of late due to allegations of pitchers using foreign substances to increase their spin. Unfortunately, the baseball world has done a lousy job conveying... Read More
2022 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings - Prospects #1-25 (Part 2)
Welcome back RotoBallers. Today is an exciting day for MLB and fantasy baseball fans everywhere, as we finally got some good news about the labor discussions. Spring training will start immediately, and there will be a full 162-game season. Baseball is back! Below you will find our top 2022 redraft fantasy baseball prospects, and projected... Read More
Starting Pitching Sleepers for Fantasy Baseball Drafts - National League
Starting pitching is always one of the more fun positions to watch in fantasy drafts. You can grab an ace in the early rounds or wait around a bit longer and grab some value in the middle to later rounds. As we saw this past season with Logan Webb, Freddy Peralta, and Robbie Ray (amongst... Read More
Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues
Fantasy baseball draft prep never stops, lockout or not. As we all anticipate the start of spring training, many fantasy baseball drafts are already underway. To prepare our readers, RotoBaller's rankers -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano -- have updated their 2022 fantasy baseball mixed league rankings. This article... Read More
Four Pitchers Who Changed Teams - What Will It Mean for Fantasy Baseball?
For those who have been living under a rock, we are currently in the middle of a lockout between the owners and the MLB Players Association. As a result, we are left stuck in waiting mode. Will a full season be played? When will a deal be made? The future of this season is in... Read More
High-Upside Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball: "Stuff" Edition
In the first analysis of my "finding high-upside starting pitchers" series, I looked in depth at swinging-strike rate. You can read that here. That analysis looked at overall SwStr% for every pitcher, taking into account all of their pitch types to one SwStr% number. In this article, I want to go a step further and... Read More
Tylor Megill (SP, NYM) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 285 CURRENT ADP: ~308 overall ANALYSIS: Megill offers sneaky strikeouts in a pitcher-friendly park, but even Citi Field couldn’t save him from an overall 1.91 HR/9 in 2021. We start with the good, as Megill posted a 3.92 xFIP and 3.85 SIERA underneath the 4.52 ERA in 89 ⅔ IP. ... Read More
Strong Septembers to Remember - 2022 Breakout Candidates
One of the most difficult things to do as a fantasy sports contributor is attempting to glean valuable information from small sample sizes. Small sample sizes represent a higher opportunity for variance, which can wreak havoc if not taken seriously or properly accounted for. However, variance isn't all bad and there are certain things to... Read More
2022 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings - Prospects #26-51 (Part 1)
We've seen quite a few challenges thrown at fantasy baseball managers over the past couple of years and the 2022 season is going to be no different. Labor discourse will delay and shorten the 162-game schedule, which will, in turn, have repercussions on fantasy baseball. One of the biggest unknowns heading into the 2022 season... Read More
Take Out the Trash: Pitchers Who Should Junk Their Worst Pitch
Just throw the ball over the plate- it's that easy, right? Unfortunately, pitching is much more than that. In fact, it's a science. What are your best pitches? What's the optimal pitch usage for each pitch? How do they play off each other? There are so many variables that can be difficult to pin down. In... Read More
How Will the MLB Lockout Impact Top AL Central Prospects?
In part two of this ongoing series, I will cover the top prospects from the American League Central that may be impacted by the lockout imposed by MLB ownership. You can read about AL East Prospects here. As fantasy baseball managers, we must consider the ramifications of this lockout for minor leaguers. Remember that this... Read More
Three Post-Hype Pitchers Set To Break Out
Once upon a time, prospects were seen as unproven commodities that we asset in trades for established big-league players. Now, they're the exciting new kid on the block that we center our attention around. As we look for the "next big thing," it's easy to look towards prospects, and embrace the concept of the unknown-... Read More
Top-Five Strategies for Winning NFBC Best Ball Leagues
Best-ball leagues have become more popular in recent years in fantasy baseball. Dedicated players have made fantasy baseball a year-round game, and nothing prepares us better than to participate in drafts. Many of us have learned the hard way that overloading on leagues that require FAAB or setting lineups can hurt our overall results. One... Read More
Bubba's 2022 Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap
Even though Rob Manfred and the MLB owners decided to prolong the lockout and already cancel some regular-season games, we are drafting. I had the pleasure of partaking in the 12-team mixed league draft for Tout Wars on Tuesday. It is my second year in the league, and it is the second year for this... Read More
Jon Anderson's SP Tiered Rankings and Projections, Part 2
We're back to finish out my starting pitcher tiers! In Part One, we covered my top-38 starters, you can check that out here! We'll reveal and review the rest of my top-75 starters in this post. I admit that things got a little sloppy for me near the end, but when I encounter a pitcher... Read More
How Will the MLB Lockout Impact Top AL East Prospects?
As every baseball fan knows, the sport has been mired in a lockout this offseason. While we don't need to get into all the specifics here, I highly recommend following Evan Drellich for easy-to-digest information on the lockout and also reading this interesting tidbit on the tax laws and their implications for the owners. As... Read More
