Justin Bour (1B, LAA) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: In 2017, Justin Bour had a .902 OPS, 25 home runs, and 83 RBI in just 108 games with Miami in 2017 before injuries cut his season short. One of the secrets to his success that season was improved performance against left-handed pitchers. That […]

Jorge Polanco (SS, MIN) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 20% of leagues ANALYSIS: A late-season surge in 2017 had Polanco rising in the estimation of many fantasy owners last spring. Unfortunately for those who invested in his services, late in spring training it was announced that the Twins' shortstop had tested positive for a banned substance and would […]

Jung Ho Kang (3B, PIT) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: Spring training stats may be more noise than signal, but extreme performances are still worth noting. Jung Ho Kang's work in camp certainly qualifies, as he led all hitters with seven home runs in just 45 plate appearances. Two of his other three hits were […]

The Friday Meta - How Many Teams is Too Many?

This existential question has plagued perhaps dozens of people since time immemorial (otherwise known as the 80’s). When I posed it on Twitter and Reddit earlier this week, the answers ran the gamut from, “According to my wife, one” to a perhaps-rueful “17.” About 400 votes came in on the poll. Several commenters pointed out […]

What's In Your Wallet? My Most-Owned Players in 2019

After a difficult 2018 season, I took stock of what had gone wrong and identified one potential source of trouble: Too many leagues across too many platforms. So, naturally, this is how I responded to that revelation this year: Me in January: Remember not to do too many leagues on too many different sites again, […]

Five Starting Pitcher Sleepers: National League

With Opening Day now close enough at hand that we can count the hours instead of the days, weeks, or months, the majority of fantasy baseball drafts have already taken place. Still drafting your teams? This column was meant to be ready a week earlier, but the great and unknowable forces of the universe conspired […]

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 […]

Second Base Draft Sleepers for 2019

I've written before about my qualms with the term "sleeper." In an age where more information is available than ever before, the odds that you'll catch any of your rivals napping on a particular player are fairly low. Having said that, it's still useful to consider players whose average draft position comes in well below […]

Five Shortstop Sleepers for 2019

The shortstop position is arguably deeper than it's ever been, which means there's no shortage of playable options for fantasy owners. The days of glove-first shortstops being the rule, rather than the exception, are long gone at this point. In fact, shortstops are being drafted in the top 100 this spring more often than any […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019

2018 was a season to forget for yours truly, both in terms of fantasy performance and hit rate on bold predictions. In the first three years as a participant in this feature, I connected on three per article, with a few others in the realm of respectable. Last year? An 0-fer, and most of them […]

Aaron Hicks Is a Cheaper Version of Tommy Pham

Tommy Pham and Aaron Hicks have a lot in common. Both didn't truly break out until their late 20s. Neither has ever logged 600 plate appearances in a season, thanks to checkered injury histories. They also produced remarkably similar numbers last season. With all that in mind, it's a bit surprising to see such a […]

Bryce Harper to Phillies - Fantasy Impact

Folks...it's about damn time. I've been waiting for almost four agonizing months to write these words: Bryce Harper is a Philadelphia Phillie. When it becomes official, his 13-year, $330 million deal will be the largest in MLB history. The signing puts an exclamation point on a busy winter for the Phillies, who also signed Andrew McCutchen […]

ADP Cost Analysis - Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Joey Lucchesi

Going into this season as with last, there is little separation between starting pitchers in the middle tiers. Some fantasy analysts have taken to referring to this bunching of talent outside of the elite as "The Glob." One's mileage may vary from the next in terms of which arms are included in this group, but […]

Ramon Laureano (OF, OAK) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 175 CURRENT ADP: ~195 overall ANALYSIS: A 16th-round pick by the Houston Astros back in 2014, Ramon Laureano went largely overlooked as a prospect, rarely featuring in lists of notable farmhands. The Astros didn't bother to protect him on the 40-man roster after a disappointing 2017 season in the minors, and […]

J.T. Realmuto to Phillies - Fantasy Impact

While Manny Machado and Bryce Harper remain on the free agent market as spring training approaches, the Phillies have continued to improve their 2019 roster via other means. After trading for Jean Segura and inking Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson to three-year deals in free agency, Philadelphia brought star catcher J.T. Realmuto into the fold […]

Ramon Laureano - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

A source of consistent consternation for anyone who runs a fantasy baseball league is the exodus of cellar-dwelling owners in the dog days of summer. No matter what structures or incentives are put in place, at least a couple of owners whose championship dreams have been dashed are typically lured away by the siren songs […]

Andrew McCutchen to Phillies - Fantasy Impact

A former MVP outfielder has signed with the Phillies, but it isn't the one their fans have been dreaming of since the season ended. Andrew McCutchen is headed back to the Keystone State. The free agent outfielder signed a reported three-year, $50 million contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday. The deal marks the first high-profile free […]

Jean Segura to Phillies - Fantasy Impact

The Mariners' teardown continued apace on Monday as the rumors were finally announced as fact: Jean Segura is on his way to Philadelphia. Joining him in the better half of the state of Pennsylvania will be relievers Juan Nicasio and James Pazos. Meanwhile, Carlos "Smooth" Santana and former top prospect J.P. Crawford have been sent […]

Kris Bryant: Fantasy Baseball Year-in-Review

After capturing National League MVP honors and helping the Cubs end their 108-year championship drought in 2016, there was really nowhere to go but down for Kris Bryant. Indeed, his 2017 performance fell a bit short of the lofty heights he'd reached the prior year as all of his counting stats decreased, but he remained […]

Eugenio Suarez: Fantasy Baseball Year-in-Review

In life, it’s important to take your victories where you can find them. Though 2018 wound up being a largely forgettable season for yours truly, the ascension of Eugenio Suarez is a feather in the ol’ cap. Suarez entered 2018 coming off the best performance of his career, having set career highs in home runs […]

Adrian Beltre Was The Best

You may have noticed that this is my first article in nearly two months. Much more likely, you didn't, but either way it's true. While I usually take the month of October off to recharge after the long slog of the regular season to kick back and watch postseason action without having to consider fantasy […]

Fantasy Baseball: #2EarlyMock, Rounds 11 - 20

As I mentioned last week, I'm one of more than 100 fantasy analysts participating in this year's #2EarlyMock. It’s been a fun way to run out the clock on a 2018 season that has been forgettable for me in terms of both my personal fantasy performance and the IRL collapse of my preferred team. As […]

Lourdes Gurriel (2B/SS/OF, TOR) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 37% of leagues ANALYSIS: Though a leg injury robbed Toronto Blue Jays infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of a few weeks and perhaps a bit of momentum (recall that at the time of the injury, he had recorded multiple hits in 11 straight games), Gurriel has had […]

Amed Rosario (SS, NYM) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 42% of leagues ANALYSIS: New York Mets shortstop Amed Rosario has been a regular presence in this space down the stretch. His ownership rate has risen substantially during that time, but he still comes in well below the cutoff. Since August 1, the 22-year-old has hit […]

Johan Camargo (2B/3B/SS, ATL) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 38% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Braves clinched their first division title since 2005 on Saturday. Credit for that is due to many players, and Johan Camargo is one of them. Seemingly an afterthought in Atlanta’s initial plans (remember that they opened the year with Jose Bautista penciled in […]

Week 26 Waiver Wire - Second Base (2B) and Shortstop (SS)

Last MI waiver wire pickups column of the year, Brent, can’t hold anything back now. After almost six months, it all comes down to this week. As we have every Sunday thus far, we'll look at the best middle infielders available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. These are based on standard 5x5 […]

Ty Buttrey (RP, LAA) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 37% of leagues ANALYSIS: It's rare, but there are still times when a player emerges on the fantasy landscape and my response is, "Who?" Such is the case with Ty Buttrey. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Red Sox back in 2012, he washed out as a starter […]

Reynaldo Lopez (SP, CHW) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 43% of leagues ANALYSIS: I've spent most of the year warning fantasy owners against relying on Reynaldo Lopez. His early-season success did not reflect his peripherals and it was clear that a correction was imminent. That correction arrived near the end of the first half, as Lopez […]

Franmil Reyes (OF, SDP) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS: Franmil Reyes showcased some impressive pop in his first taste of MLB action, but also an allergy to contact that made him a batting average anchor. Since returning to the big leagues after a brief midseason demotion, however, Reyes has drastically cut down on the […]

Luke Voit (1B, NYY) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: Remember when everyone thought Greg Bird was going to be a fantasy stud? He's battled injury as usual, and been pretty terrible when he has played. Enter Luke Voit, a little-known 27-year-old who entered the season with 62 plate appearances in the majors. Since […]