Early Deep Sleepers / Dynasty Stashes for 2017 (Part Two)

It's never too early to dream about next year. Whether you're looking for the perfect sneaky keeper or dynasty stash, or you're already eliminated from contention from your playoffs, there exists a smorgasbord of underowned players at every position ripe for the picking. The premise is simple: identify players with very low ownership rates who […]

Early Deep Sleepers / Dynasty Stashes for 2017 (Part One)

It's never too early to dream about next year. Whether you're looking for the perfect sneaky keeper or dynasty stash, or you're already eliminated from contention from your playoffs, there exists a smorgasbord of underowned players at every position ripe for the picking. The premise is simple: identify players with very low ownership rates who […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 21: Second Basemen

You made it. Or, you're close to making it. The playoffs are here, or they're almost here. Every roster decision matters. Whether it's daily or weekly, there's no longer a point to holding on to guys with microscopic chances of helping your fantasy team. Think Giancarlo Stanton, who may not return until the end of […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 20: Starting Pitchers

No matter the format of your league, now is a critical time for contenders. Your team is either vying for a playoff spot or, in year-long formats, making a push for the top of the rankings. From here on out, the remainder of the season is a small sample size. There's merit to throwing caution […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 18: First Basemen

The 2016 season will likely go down as one of the most powerful in all of Major League Baseball history. As of last night, hitters have collectively recorded the 6th-highest isolated power (.161 ISO) and 2nd-highest ratio of home runs in history. Alas, there's no excuse to keep sitting on sluggers that aren't living up […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 15: Shortstops

An analyst shouldn't be proud to make mistakes, but he should at least take some pride in owning up to them. Last time I discussed shortstops, back in Week 3, I declared Xander Bogaerts and Ian Desmond overrated. I jumped on bad trends that, in small samples, painted ugly portraits of what are now among […]

All-Star Break Overrated/Underrated: Third Basemen

This column has (generally) been published on a weekly basis since the season started, yet it hasn't covered third basemen. It's mostly because the third base position runs so deep and has provided so much value that it's hard to say anyone could be considered overrated and deserves lower rates of ownership. A quick glance, […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 14: Starting Pitchers

If you're playing in a full-season league, you just crossed the halfway point; in a playoff format, maybe closer to the two-thirds mark, depending on how the duration of your playoffs. And if you're in the top half of the standings or even just outside it, you have a great chance of contending until the […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 12: Pick Up Duvall, Davis, Taylor

The landscape among outfielders has changed quite a bit since the season started. Half the battle in fantasy baseball is navigating the waiver wire and surviving injuries the best you can. Some marquee outfielders have hit the disabled list recently. Jose Bautista, Hunter Pence, Yasiel Puig, Josh Reddick, Jorge Soler... the list goes on. Fortunately, […]

Beleaguered Dallas Keuchel May Be Onto Something, To Improve

Can He Return To Form? I won't say Dallas Keuchel is out of the woods just yet. I think it might be a bit of a hyperbolic characterization of his recent success. Even the word "success" is a bit hyperbolic here, but take note: in Keuchel's last five starts, he has struck out 34 hitters […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 9: Sell Martin, Buy Cervelli

Week 1 (OF/SP) | Week 2 (OF/SP) | Week 3 (SS) | Week 4 (1B) | Week 6 (SP) | Week 7 (2B) | Week 8 (SP) * * * We're about a third of the way through the season, which puts us at about the 40-percent mark for leagues with playoffs. The light at […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 8: Sell Shields, Buy Hendricks

Week 1 (OF/SP) | Week 2 (OF/SP) | Week 3 (SS) | Week 4 (1B) | Week 5 | Week 6 (SP) | Week 7 (2B) * * * Comin' atcha hot: this week's daily dose of player ownership discrepancies and misvaluations. Depending on the depth and settings of your league, there's a chance you […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 7: Second Basemen

Week 1 (OF/SP) | Week 2 (OF/SP) | Week 3 (SS) | Week 4 (1B) | Week 5 | Week 6 (SP) * * * We're a few weeks in so you know the drill by now. A big part of winning your fantasy baseball league is recognizing the market inefficiencies that arise during the […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 6: Time To Sell These Studs?

A huge part of succeeding in fantasy baseball is being able to spot market inefficiencies and knowing how to exploit them. Ownership rates are an excellent way to understand how other owners collectively value a particular player. They don't tell the whole story, of course, but if you're trying to establish a player's price, his […]

Overrated/Underrated Week 4: First Basemen

Week three has come and gone. Whatever dread you may have felt about your team's standing has either tapered off or multiplied, the latter of which feels especially horrible so early in the season. Remember that we all get off to slow starts sometimes. Anthony Rizzo is batting .185 thanks to a .128 batting average on […]

Overrated and Underrated Shortstops: Week Three

If you have not yet started fretting about your team's underperformance, good for you. But it'll likely sink in soon -- this sinking feeling that you're losing ground with no way to catch up. And the guys pulling you like quicksand, in a series panicked transactions, will be the first to go. Fortunately, some of […]

Overrated, Underrated: Week Two

Prior to the season's commencement, I offered up a pair of players who could have been selected later in drafts as cheaper, yet comparable, alternatives to more highly-touted players. To continue the same train of thought, I will provide, on a weekly basis, underrated alternatives to overrated players. Aside from the first week of baseball […]

Finding Cheaper, Better Alternatives by ADP

Hi, all. New guy here. Well, kind of -- new to RotoBaller, not new to fantasy baseball analysis. Maybe you have read my stuff at RotoGraphs (of the FanGraphs.com family). Maybe you haven't. It's all good either way. The RotoBaller staff has charitably offered me a slot on their MLB writing staff, which I graciously […]