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Todd Salem - RotoBaller has written 76 articles so far, you can find them below.
Players for $1: Salary Cap League Draft Targets for Fantasy Baseball - Dinelson Lamet, Brandon Nimmo, and more
We've already identified hitters and pitchers under $10 to target in salary cap league drafts. For this exercise, we're aiming lower and targeting players for just $1. That rules out roughly the top 350 players in drafts! From this vantage point, some managers may look for high-risk, high-reward plays to strike big with a small... Read More
Pitchers Under $10: Salary Cap League Draft Targets for Fantasy Baseball - Luis Severino, Ian Anderson, Camilo Doval, and more
We've already identified hitters under $10 to target in salary cap league drafts. For this exercise, we're targeting pitchers under $10. That rules out roughly the top-150 players in drafts. From this vantage point, some managers may look for high-risk, high-reward plays to strike big with a small investment. There are plenty of safer guys... Read More
Hitters Under $10: Salary Cap League Draft Targets for Fantasy Baseball - Yoan Moncada, Josh Donaldson, Brandon Belt, and more
It's a cliché to say that those managers who finally dip their toe into salary cap leagues never go back to snake drafts. Snake drafts have their own charm. There is simply more going on, and thus, more fun to have when participating in a salary cap draft. There become no bounds on how one... Read More
Yoan Moncada (3B, CWS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~130 pick CURRENT ADP: ~149 overall ANALYSIS: The Chicago White Sox have it all on paper: multiple aces in their starting rotation, an elite bullpen headlined by multiple closer-caliber arms, and a lineup filled with premier hitters. After a breakout in 2019, Moncada was supposed to be one of those premier... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 27
The final week of the regular season is here. With it, comes fantasy championships. Those playing in head-to-head leagues are looking at their matchup to determine which stats are needed to come out victorious. Managers in roto leagues are approaching the final stretch slightly differently. They are looking to find individual stat edges that can... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 26
Just two weeks remain in the 2021 Major League Baseball season. That puts fantasy baseball managers in only two spots: those still competing for a championship and those waiting for next year. For the latter, keeper leagues obviously add a totally different dimension for what to do with a roster in these final weeks. It... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 25
We are entering the final stretch of the 2021 MLB season. Fantasy champions will be crowned in the next few weeks. Not everyone's season was a success though. That goes for fantasy managers, as well as real-life counterparts. Poor Cody Bellinger is still rostered in 81 percent of leagues right now. DJ LeMahieu, a first... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 24
The first full week of September means rosters have expanded for MLB teams and to keep an eye out for those September callups. Of course, the rules were different this year. Rosters were already expanded to 26, and September has only stretched that to 28. Thus, the famous day came with a trickle rather than... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23
Welcome to the fantasy playoffs. They are like the real life playoffs in that only a select number of teams in the league get to participate. They are wholly unlike the real life playoffs because the players don't actually care about any fantasy schedule. We count the stats like they matter more, but occasionally, they... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 22
Teams are making runs, and it is changing the landscape of the playoffs. The New York Yankees have won nine in a row, leapfrogging the Red Sox into most comfortable position for an AL wildcard spot. The Atlanta Braves have won seven straight, all but securing the playoff spot associated with winning the worst division... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 21
This is the final stretch of the fantasy season for many leagues. Those that play with head-to-head scoring and a playoff have just a few matchups remaining before the fantasy regular season is a wrap. Rotisserie leagues have no such impending deadline, but these games are no less important. Despite this late hour, or perhaps,... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 20
We are reaching the dog days of summer. After the trade deadline, the standings begin to settle just a bit and teams fall into a groove. It could be a good groove or a bad groove, but through August, ruts can begin to take shape. The same goes for fantasy teams. It has been 19... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 19
That was fun. The 2021 MLB trade deadline was the most active we have had in memory. Big names from across the sport changed teams. Contenders bolstered their expected playoff run; teams just trying to make it added necessary pieces; and a few squads pulled a hard reset. The latter is no fun for a... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 18
The Major League Baseball trade deadline arrives this week. There are many huge names seemingly on the chopping block and suitors looking to pursue. For fantasy managers, the big names being moved aren't always the biggest winners or losers in a deal. Instead, the teammates get impacted greatest of all. Nelson Cruz got moved from... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 17
Coming out of the All-Star break, the biggest surprises at first base are Cody Bellinger on the negative side and, perhaps, Jared Walsh on the positive side. Bellinger has been in and out of the Los Angeles lineup due to injury. When he has played, he's been terrible. Don't think of acquiring him for cheap... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 16
All-Star week is here. After an unprecedented 2020 season rolling right into this season, everyone needs this break. Players and fantasy managers alike can use a bit of a respite. Of course, the guys honored with playing in the game will get a much shorter rest than the fellows we follow for this column. The... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15
Though the All-Star break is still a week and a half away, the Major League Baseball season is more than halfway over. Teams around the league cruised past their 81st game played in week 14. At the halfway point, a lot is still unknown, but baselines have been formed. From a player perspective, injuries and... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 13
Major League Baseball will begin checking pitchers for foreign substances starting Monday. Forget that this has always been something for which umpires were supposed to be checking. The real crackdown now begins. Pitchers have already bailed on the sticky stuff, supposedly. Spin rates are down around the sport. Strikeout and walk rates are also down,... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 12
First base and third base have been a struggle thus far in the fantasy season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jose Ramirez are doing their part to represent the elite at the CI position, but few others are helping out. According to the ESPN player rater (which isn't all that great of a tool, but easily... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 11
Welcome back, Ke'Bryan Hayes. The top prospect was sidelined for two months with a wrist injury but hasn't missed a beat since returning from the IL. In his first game back, he collected two hits. In his second game, he collected two more, one of which was a home run. Hayes' rostered percentage never approached... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 10
This weekend marked the triumphant return of CI-eligible Cody Bellinger. He was likely the highest drafted or most costly CI a team selected to start the season. Bellinger was out since April 5 with a broken leg. He was off to a terribly slow start, but the sample size was small enough to read nothing... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9
Arguably, the three best teams in baseball to this point reside in the NL West. That imbalance can be felt in the records of the 'other' teams in that division. The same thing can hold true in fantasy, especially this early in a season. Not everyone's record (in head-to-head leagues) is created equal. People can... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8
Everyone is suffering from injuries. That goes for fantasy managers, real-life teams, and each position group. Much like we saw in the NHL and NBA seasons, this season-after is doing a number on the health and well-being of our favorite players, beyond even symptoms of COVID-19 for those that test positive. Whether because the normal... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 7
Heading into week seven of the MLB season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is currently the number one ranked fantasy first baseman and the number one ranked fantasy third baseman in leagues that count all three rate stats (BA, OBP, SLG). Number two at 1B is Buster Posey, showing more power than he has in any season... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6
Early statistics are noisy. This is true for team success. The Miami Marlins have the best run differential but worst record in the NL East. This is certainly true of fantasy players. DJ LeMahieu currently has a higher on-base percentage than slugging percentage. He is the 35th-ranked first baseman and 40th-ranked third baseman through 24... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5
It's only been one month, but I feel comfortable admitting that the 2021 fantasy baseball season has been harder to manage than 2020. Last year, those who played were just along for the ride. This season was supposed to be a return to normalcy, and instead, we're left with unending trips to the injured list, constant... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 4
Heading toward the end of April, we approach the first major checkpoint of the 2021 season. An 0-4 fantasy start is not impossible to overcome, but it sure leaves a nasty taste in one's mouth. This is getting to the point where you want to consider mixing things up if nothing is working. The classic... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 3
After two weeks of the 2021 MLB season, or really one and a half weeks, fantasy and real-world players are still feeling out the season. Trends are forming as we await larger samples to make declarations. Starting pitchers are still getting stretched out, and managers have yet to settle on substitution patterns. As we said... Read More
1B and 3B Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 2
The 2021 MLB season is just underway. In fact, for some teams, the season has still yet to begin. The Washington Nationals and New York Mets remain with records of 0-0 heading into week two after having their opening series delayed due to COVID. This will be the reality of this season. Much like last... Read More
Pitcher Targets Under $5 - Salary Cap League Values
It's a cliché to say that those managers who finally dip their toe into salary cap leagues never go back to snake drafts. Snake drafts have their own charm. There is simply more going on, and thus, more fun to have when participating in a salary cap draft. There become no bounds on how one... Read More
