Ryan Noda: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

This time of year, fantasy managers are chasing whatever categories they stand to gain (or lose) the most points in. If you're in a roto league where five SBs separate the third-place team from the ninth, optimizing for steals is the right strategy. Some fantasy managers assume that rate stats like batting average, OBP, ERA, […]

Jasson Dominguez: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

September call-ups aren't as crazy as they once were. Some teams used to call up their entire 40-man rosters! However, the 2023 version still includes several interesting rookies fantasy managers should be paying attention to. No name has as much buzz as Jasson Dominguez. The 20-year-old Yankees prospect has otherworldly tools that earned him the […]

Parker Meadows: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

September is approaching, so it's crunch time in fantasy baseball. Writing a column like this becomes challenging this time of year since your place in the standings page dictates who you should pick up and every manager has a different standings page. Do you need average? Power? Speed? It's rare for a waiver wire option […]

Noelvi Marte: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

It's hard to believe that shortstop was a weakness for the Cincinnati Reds coming into the season. Granted, nothing good is going to happen when Kevin Newman is Plan A and a bounceback from Jose Barrero is Plan B. Both of those plans predictably failed, but Plans C and D have been great. First, Matt […]

Zack Littell: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Most fantasy managers think they do a good job following news around the league. We know who has an everyday job, most of the players on terrible teams, and each club's bullpen situation. We're also constantly looking for breaking news that might be actionable in our fantasy leagues. In this author's experience, the Tampa Bay […]

Kutter Crawford: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

We are officially deep into August now, meaning that generic waiver wire adds are no longer possible. If your team is dominating the power categories and a rival drops Pete Alonso for some reason, you couldn't gain any points by picking him up. Likewise, Jorge Mateo could be a prudent add if a couple of […]

Gavin Williams: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

When a top prospect gets called up, his roster rate typically climbs into the stratosphere. If that prospect is a pitcher with a 3.35 ERA through 37 2/3 IP and an elite pedigree, we'd expect it to approach 100%. Yet Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians is only rostered in 25% of Yahoo! leagues. What […]

Sal Frelick: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

MLB debuts are always exciting, and fantasy managers dream about memorable performances. Unfortunately, we get a lot of 0-for-4s for our trouble. Sal Frelick had other ideas when he made his big league debut against Atlanta on national TV though, going a perfect 3-for-3 with game-tying and game-winning RBIs. Frelick has considerable prospect pedigree, being […]

Zack Gelof: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Sometimes, you see something that restores your faith in humanity. This author felt that way when Oakland called up top prospect Tyler Soderstrom and the fantasy community barely reacted. Soderstrom has elite raw power, but there's significant swing-and-miss in his game, his plate discipline is abysmal, and his swing needs more loft. In short, he's […]

Bryce Elder: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

The All-Star Break has arrived, giving fantasy managers a much-needed break from setting daily lineups. Of course, the most diligent fantasy managers will use this found time to negotiate trades, scour waivers, and look for ways to improve their roster for the second half. One of the most important things to do is review your […]

Seiya Suzuki: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Every fantasy manager enters the season with a list of "sleepers," or players they believe will outperform expectations. Sometimes, they pan out. Occasionally, we banish them to waivers in favor of the hot new thing. All too frequently, we deal with mediocrity on our rosters for far too long. That third category is the one […]

Jordan Westburg: Champ Or Chump For Fantasy Baseball?

Big league teams enjoy having top prospects debut on Mondays, huh? Jordan Westburg, a 24-year-old selected 30th overall in the 2020 amateur draft, made his debut at SS for the Orioles last night. Westburg begins his MLB career as the third-best prospect in Baltimore's system and 34th overall per MLB Pipeline, and fantasy managers are […]

Henry Davis: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Another day, another top prospect making his big league debut. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a realistic shot at the postseason and very little offensive production from their catchers, so Henry Davis has been called up to provide the same spark that Adley Rutschman provided the upstart Orioles last season. Davis was selected first overall in […]

Anthony Volpe: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Fantasy managers love when a top prospect breaks camp with the big league team, but it doesn't always work out the way we hope. For example, the fantasy community was thrilled when 22-year-old Anthony Volpe was named the Yankees shortstop for Opening Day. Through 250 PAs, he's hitting .186/.260/.345. The bright side is his nine […]

Jordan Walker: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

To say that the 2023 season has been a roller coaster for Jordan Walker and his fantasy managers would be an understatement. Largely drafted for his upside after an eventual call-up, the Cardinals included Walker on their Opening Day roster. The fantasy community rejoiced! The good times continued when Walker began his MLB career with […]

Shane Bieber: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

So far this season, this column has focused exclusively on potential waiver wire adds. However, that's not our sole focus. Sometimes, we look at established stars who aren't performing as expected and try to figure out whether a turnaround is in the works. On the surface, Shane Bieber has been solid: 4-3 with a 3.04 […]

Edouard Julien: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

For the second time this season, Edouard Julien has been summoned to MLB by the Minnesota Twins. His first call-up wasn't great, as he currently sports a .219/.286/.406 line with two homers in 36 MLB PAs. However, his MiLB resume, peripheral stats, and prospect pedigree all suggest a guy capable of making a difference in […]

Matt McLain: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Fantasy managers love guys who hit home runs. We also love guys who steal bases. Our favorite players can do both, and guys who project to run and hit for power rarely stay on waivers very long. If you want them, you have to act quickly. Matt McLain made his big league debut last night, […]

Matt Mervis: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Finally! A big league team called up a prospect who isn't a pitcher! The Chicago Cubs have summoned Matt Mervis to play first base and hopefully spare them from starting both Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini. Fantasy managers searching for offensive upside are likely checking him out. To be fair, Mervis doesn't check many of […]

Gavin Stone: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

This column isn't intended to look at young pitchers exclusively, but big league clubs keep calling up intriguing arms that leave us no choice. The latest is Gavin Stone, a well-regarded prospect in the Dodgers organization who is expected to start against the Phillies on May 3. The 24-year-old wasn't a huge prospect at the […]

Mason Miller: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Starting pitchers with electrifying stuff keep getting called up, with Mason Miller and Logan Allen the most recent examples. Miller has been somewhat polarizing in the fantasy community, with some drooling over his raw stuff while others don't want an Oakland (Las Vegas?) Athletic under any circumstances. Miller hasn't thrown more than 7 IP at […]

Taj Bradley: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

Exciting names for fantasy baseball have been coming up rapidly lately, with Brett Baty, Zach Neto, Edouard Julien, and Taj Bradley all generating buzz. Bradley is the only pitcher of the bunch, so he merits further attention. Bradley has a 5.40 ERA after his MLB debut, but the surface stats mask an outstanding 8:1 K/BB […]

Francisco Alvarez: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball?

When mega-hyped prospects fail to make the Opening Day roster, fantasy managers have grown accustomed to waiting for service time shenanigans before seeing what they can do at the big league level. That appeared to be the case when the Mets left Francisco Alvarez off of the Opening Day roster, but that has changed. Omar […]

Mitch Garver: Champ or Chump for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back for another exciting fantasy baseball season! For anyone unfamiliar, this weekly column takes a deep dive into a single player, using all of the tools at our disposal to determine his fantasy viability. We focus on waiver wire guys you could likely add, but occasionally explore more established names as trade possibilities. The […]

3 Potential Shortstop Busts For 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Once upon a time, the shortstop position was comparable to catchers in fantasy baseball in that nobody wanted to roster them, but the rules said you had to. Things couldn't be more different in 2023, as the shortstop position is filled with a blend of established stars and young guns that are literally oozing upside. […]

Statcast xStats: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Statcast is a valuable tool for fantasy baseball analysis, and it can be easy to look at a stat called "Expected Batting Average" and blindly use it as your projection moving forward. Of course, proper use of these metrics is a little bit more nuanced than that. First, a disclaimer: This article is about the […]

Statcast Pitch Tracking: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

When you're evaluating a pitcher by Pitch Info on FanGraphs, sometimes you see pitches that don't seem to accomplish anything. If Pitch X is seldom a strike, rarely chased outside of the zone, and not generating whiffs or a favorable batted line against, why doesn't the pitcher scrap it entirely? Some pitchers could improve by […]

Spin Rate: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 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 due to allegations of pitchers using foreign substances to increase their spin. Unfortunately, the baseball world has done a lousy job of conveying what spin […]

Pitcher Statcast: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a fantasy baseball batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet, there […]

Barrels and Brls/BBE: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Previously, we looked at how the exit velocity is only one piece of the fantasy baseball 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 […]