Hello again, Rotoballers, welcome back to another round-up of the week’s headlines. In the last week, we witnessed another long-awaited debut of a heralded prospect, saw some fireworks in college ball, and said goodbye to a broadcasting great. On Thursday, Jack Leiter saw his first action in the major leagues when he drew a start […]

Paul Sewald has been one of the more bankable relievers in fantasy baseball for the last couple of years. In 2021, Sewald earned 10 wins, 11 saves, and 104 strikeouts in 62 appearances. He parlayed that effort into a larger share of Seattle’s closer role in 2022 and achieved his first 20-save season. Sewald held […]

Hello, RotoBallers, and welcome to the first rankings check-in of the season. Specifically, this column will be focused on finding the biggest risers and fallers in Nick Mariano’s updated fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for roto (5x5 mixed) leagues. With all of the action from the last three weeks, it’s time to see where players […]

Spencer Strider’s rise to fantasy baseball ace territory was about as fast as they come. In his 2022 rookie season, Strider started out in the bullpen, but by the end of May, the Braves saw fit to promote him to the rotation. There were some bumps along the way, but by the season’s end, he […]

Coming into the 2024 season White Sox manager Pedro Grifol made it clear that his plan for save chances would be the closer-by-committee approach. In comments to the media, he invoked the name of Dennis Eckersley when stating the caliber of reliever he would need in his bullpen to nominate a clear-cut closer. Necessitating a […]

Following baseball news over the last week was pretty grim. The promotion of Jackson Holliday was cause for excitement but the other top stories carried an air of pessimism. Stretching back to last week, a rash of pitchers succumbed to the dreaded elbow or forearm discomfort that so often precludes extended stints on the injured […]

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ team leagues ROSTERED IN: 61% of leagues ANALYSIS: Jared Jones was a surprise late add to the Pirates’ Opening Day roster. Their move quickly paid off. In his first start on March 30, Jones went 5.2 innings and racked up 10 strikeouts. The rookie was tagged for three earned runs […]

The first two weeks of the new season are in the book and already we have seen some thrilling highs. Week 2 was ushered in by the first no-hitter of the season. Wednesday night saw the stars of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides shine in a 26-run explosion, begging the question of how much longer can […]

BALLER MOVE: Add in 15+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 7% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Harold Ramirez started the 2024 season in a slump, going 1-for-17 in the Rays' opening series against the Toronto Blue Jays. After getting a day off on April 1, Ramirez returned to the lineup the following day and recorded two hits and […]

Clayton Kershaw has spent the better part of the last two decades dominating Major League Baseball. Over the last 16 years, he finished with an ERA under 3.00 in all but three seasons, amassed 2,944 strikeouts, and won three Cy Young Awards. In his peak years from 2011 to 2014, he led the majors in […]

Royce Lewis's major league debut was delayed thanks to his unfortunate injury history.  A twice-torn ACL in his right knee caused him to miss all of 2021 and most of 2022. His breakout in 2023 was interrupted by injuries twice. While his knee held up, an oblique strain in July and a sore hamstring in […]

Max Scherzer has been a fantasy asset for nearly a decade and a half. After making his bones as a workhorse starter in his first few years, he unlocked another gear in 2013, earning the first of his three Cy Young Awards. Thus began a nine-year stretch where the righty dominated the league and made […]

Welcome back to another season, baseball fans. The Dodgers and Padres got things kicked off on March 20 and 21 with a two-game set played in South Korea but the rest of the league had to wait another week for Opening Day. Now that the first full weekend of baseball is in the books, it’s […]

The long wait is over and Major League Baseball’s opening weekend is finally here! Rosters have been whittled down but some positional battles are still being worked out. Several teams’ bullpen roles, in particular, are still up in the air. A handful of teams are entering the season employing the closer-by-committee approach to finishing games. […]

The 2024 Major League Baseball season is almost here. Technically, it’s already underway with the Dodgers and Padres having played the two-game “Seoul Series.” It’s not too late to join a fantasy baseball league, though. If you are new to fantasy baseball, or trying to figure out if it’s your cup of tea, this is […]

A couple of weeks ago, I gave a rundown of our third base rankings and tiers. Player by player, I went down the list and briefly touched on what they accomplished in 2023 and what might be in store for the season ahead. For the most part, there were no big surprises, but as I […]

Spring training is underway, March has arrived, and the fantasy baseball draft season is upon us. Wrestling with the thought of when to select a closer is a shared struggle among fantasy managers. A common misstep in drafts is to reach for the elite closers in a misguided effort to “lock down” the saves category. […]

Hey there, baseball fans. In this era of fantasy baseball, there is not much of an offseason to speak of. Even though the game we love goes on an annual hiatus, fantasy analysis is published year-round, meaning that once one season starts, preparations for the next one begin right away. While it is great to […]

Spring training is underway, which means fantasy baseball draft season is going to reach a fever pitch very soon. In my last article, I walked you through RotoBaller's first base rankings. This time around, we will take a look at who is available at the hot corner in 2024. The elite talent is concentrated on […]

Spring training is finally here, so there is no better time than now to prep for your fantasy draft. First base has long been relied on to contribute more than their fair share to a team’s statistics. This year, the field is loaded at the top, but there is some great value to be found […]

It’s February! And even though most of us are dealing with dreary winter weather, the calendar turning over to the shortest month of the year is cause for celebration. Why? Pitchers and catchers report this month! And then come full-squad workouts! And finally, at long last, the resumption of real live baseball with the first […]

One of the more satisfying elements of fantasy baseball is finding players in the middle and late rounds and seeing them turn into big-time producers. Players who miss time in a previous season, unsung producers on bad teams, and platoon bats are often underappreciated and fall in drafts. Not every lottery ticket will be a […]

Spring training is still a couple of months away but preparation for fantasy baseball in 2024 is already underway in some circles. The most committed managers are already drafting for the season ahead, giving the rest of us a preview of what to expect once fantasy drafts are in full swing come spring.  Studying early […]

The 2023 Major League Baseball season has been in the books for over a month. New champions were crowned and all the major awards have been doled out. For many fantasy baseball enthusiasts, the end of one season marks the beginning of the next, meaning preparations for 2024 are already underway. The first step in […]

BALLER MOVE: Start in 10+ Team Leagues POSITIONAL VALUE: TE1 ANALYSIS: Tight end Cole Kmet’s team target share of 19.7% is second-best on the Chicago Bears and puts him in the top ten in the league at his position. His 28.2% share of the Bears’ red zone targets is behind only David Njoku among active […]

BALLER MOVE: Start in 12+ Team Leagues POSITIONAL VALUE: RB3 ANALYSIS: De'Von Achane exploded onto the fantasy football scene back in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos. In that infamous thrashing, the rookie had 22 total touches for 233 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns, two rushing and two receiving. In the next two games, he […]

BALLER MOVE: Start in 12+ Team Leagues POSITIONAL VALUE: Top-12 ANALYSIS: Matt Gay has provided fantasy managers with reliable, though perhaps not week-winning, production this season. Gay lands in the middle of the pack among NFL kickers with 19 field goals made in 2023 and has been perfect on all 28 of his extra-point attempts. […]

BALLER MOVE: Start in 12+ Team Leagues POSITIONAL VALUE: Top-12 D/ST ANALYSIS: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not the defensive juggernaut that they have been in years past. The team has allowed 24 or more points in four of their last five games and has dropped six of their last seven games. On the plus […]

Bobby Witt Jr. came into the 2023 season as one of the most coveted draft picks in fantasy baseball. In 2022, he demonstrated the highly sought-after power-speed combination, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 30 bases as a highly touted rookie. After seeing the phenom’s first-year success, fantasy managers were optimistic about Witt’s potential in […]

BALLER MOVE: Start in 12+ Team Leagues POSITIONAL VALUE: QB1 ANALYSIS: Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud passed for 300 yards for the fifth time this season in Week 11. He finished the day against the Arizona Cardinals with 336 passing yards and two touchdowns. Stroud has been on a tear as of late, starting with […]