Alexei Ramirez Offers Little Upside at Shortstop

After an eight-year run with the Chicago White Sox, veteran Alexei Ramirez signed a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason to become the San Diego Padres' every-day shortstop. The move does little to help the durable Ramirez's fantasy stock, though. The power that Ramirez flashed early in his career has largely diminished over the […]

Hunter Pence is Ideal Buy-Low Outfielder Option

Last season was a lost year for San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence. He suffered a fractured left forearm in spring training that derailed his entire campaign, limiting the previously ironman-like Pence to a career season-low 52 games. It's easy to overlook that Pence's numbers, if projected over a full season, would have looked […]

Drew Smyly is a breakout candidate for 2016

Drew Smyly came up with the Detroit Tigers in 2012, and the biggest issue he has faced in developing into a top-of-the-rotation starter is staying healthy. He won the fifth starter job in Detroit in 2014, but was shipped off to play with the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline as part of the David […]

James Shields' Production Won't Match Reputation

James Shields has been one of fantasy's more reliable starting pitchers over the last five seasons, offering 200-strikeout and 15-win potential with the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres. But the man known as "Big Game James" threw up some red flags in his 2015 debut season in Southern California that […]

Johnny Cueto Offers Top-20 Pitcher Upside

It's a small sample size, granted, but Johnny Cueto sure seems to be a better fit in the National League than the American League. In 19 starts with the Cincinnati Reds last season, Cueto went 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. After a July trade to the Kansas City Royals, those numbers ballooned […]

Fantasy Sleepers: Patrick Corbin

When searching for sleepers in the fantasy universe, it is important to remember that players recovering from injury often make the best candidates. The reason for this is prospective owners are sometimes hesitant to believe a player coming back from an extended absence will be able to replicate their past success. While this is a […]

Carson Smith Could Be Invaluable Part of Bridge to Craig Kimbrel for Boston

Carson Smith looked like he could be the closer in Seattle in 2015 after Fernando Rodney faltered. Instead, he was part of the Wade Miley deal in the off-season and he's now behind another uber-closer: Craig Kimbrel. All is not lost, though. Bullpens are constructed to lock down the later innings before turning the ball […]

J.T. Realmuto Will Be a Bargain Catcher For Fantasy Owners This Year

J.T. Realmuto had a solid rookie season for the Miami Marlins in 2015 where he finished with a .259 average, 10 HR and a .290 OBP. Like most of the Miami Marlins last year, Realmuto was inconsistent for most of the season, though he did have a couple of months where he looked like a […]

Wei-Yin Chen Looks To Continue Success With Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins received a much-needed boost to their starting rotation after they landed lefty Wei-Yin Chen from the Baltimore Orioles. Chen was a solid complement to Ubaldo Jimenez in Baltimore and should fare just as well alongside Jose Fernandez. Chen’s 3.34 ERA was tops for the Orioles in 2015 and seventh-lowest in the American […]

Justin Bour Should be Considered a Top-15 First Baseman

Justin Bour only played in 123 games last season, but he made the most of his opportunity. Lost in the fanfare of Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez and Dee Gordon, Bour is a powerful, left-handed slugger playing first base in Miami. But don’t let the lack of name recognition fool you. He finished 2015 with a […]

Eduardo Rodriguez Looks to Have Strong Sophomore Season

There was a time during the 2015 season that the Red Sox brass was concerned that rookie southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was tipping pitches. Pitching to a lineup like Toronto's, with Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion is terrifying enough - but if they have an idea of what's coming? It might as […]

Christian Yelich Looks to Build Off Strong 2015 Campaign

Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich put together a solid 2015 despite a pair of mid-season DL stints. In 2015, Yelich finished with a .300 average and 143 hits in just 126 games after a lower back strain caused him to miss time in April and May, while a knee contusion kept him out of the […]

Can Jon Niese Bounce Back?

After putting together the weakest season of his career in 2015, starting pitcher Jon Niese was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Neil Walker. Pittsburgh’s newly acquired left-hander, who will be 29 this year, posted a 4.13 ERA and 1.40 WHIP along with 113 Ks in 176.2 innings last season. Sustaining a partially […]

Yu Darvish Could be Worth the Risk

It's difficult to know what to expect from Yu Darvish after the 29-year-old missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Darvish posted a strikeout rate of over 30 percent in each of his last two seasons. He also brought his HR/9 rate down to 0.8 after if had risen to 1.12 […]

Doug Fister: Late Round Steal

I wouldn’t exactly call Doug Fister a sleeper this year because he has established himself in the past, but I do think he is being overlooked. After a disappointing 2015 season, for not only him but the Washington Nationals, Fister will benefit from a change of scenery now with the Houston Astros. He has already […]

Cameron Maybin's Speed Makes Him A Depth Option

Cameron Maybin is rated in the seventh tier of outfielders according to our RotoBaller staff, and is listed as the 61st outfielder overall. It might not seem like there's much value to be had there considering Maybin's career numbers--.251/.313/.366 with very little power and a 21.9% K rate that isn't exactly low--but Maybin's speed makes […]

Jose Iglesias Provides Value and Depth

In his short MLB tenure, Jose Iglesias has dazzled baseball fans with his defensive prowess. Unfortunately, fancy glove-work doesn't exactly translate to fantasy value, so Iglesias is often overlooked as a viable option in most leagues--he was owned in just 11% of Yahoo! leagues last season. Still, as an option providing depth at the shortstop […]

Luis Valbuena's 2016 Fantasy Outlook

Luis Valbuena also benefited from a change of scenery in 2015. Despite a drop in certain categories from his final season in a Chicago Cubs uniform, Valbuena’s power numbers increased, reaching career highs in both home runs and RBI’s. His 25 long balls and 56 ribbies last season deserve him a mention in fantasy talks, […]

Ken Giles is a Top Ten RP in 2016

Ken Giles could very well be the final piece of Houston’s puzzle to success in 2016. Swiping him away from the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason, the Astros will now likely swipe away the closer job from Luke Gregerson and hand it over to Giles. With the Phillies last season, Giles posted a 1.80 ERA, […]

Colby Rasmus: Late Round Outfielder

Colby Rasmus recently announced that he wants to be an Astro for the rest of his career. What that tells me about a 29 year old is that his head is in the right place, dedicated to proving that he belongs in Houston. I like Rasmus because he’s a guy that you don’t expect too […]

Carlos Gomez: Untrustworthy and Inconsistent

Someone like Carlos Gomez is tough to get a read on. Half the league has a problem with the way he acts on the field. His showboating confuses his sporadic play because his play is just that. Sporadic. Gomez can hit the monstrous home run, trudge around the bases like he’s Reggie in October, but […]

Anthony Rendon Should Bounce Back From Injury-Riddled 2015

Anthony Rendon appeared in only 80 games last season as he struggled through an injury-plagued campaign that saw him miss time due to various ailments. This could be a great time to buy low on Rendon, who looks to be in line for a big bounce-back in 2016. Back in 2014, Rendon’s vast talent was […]

Madison Bumgarner is One of MLB's Safest Aces

Over the last five seasons, San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner has made at least 31 starts with 200 innings pitched, 190 strikeouts and 13 wins in each of them. That's staggering consistency. But before you go and assume that Bumgarner has plateaued and is simply holding steady, consider that he matched his career high […]

Alex Wood Will Produce in 2016

There are no real “flame-throwers” in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation for the upcoming 2016 season, but a lack of speed doesn’t equate to a lack of quality. Alex Wood was a young pitcher on the Braves that the Dodgers targeted via trade, and has since proven to be an effective back end of the […]

Hyun-Jin Ryu Could Provide Sneaky Value in Return From Injury

Hyun-Jin Ryu enjoyed two successful seasons after coming over to the Dodgers from Korea. A shoulder injury that the Dodgers were apparently aware of prior to signing him led to surgery which kept him from pitching during the 2015 season. The hope is that Ryu will come back pain-free for this upcoming season and re-establish […]

Justin Turner Should Remain A Consistent Option in 2016

After a few mediocre seasons with the Mets, Justin Turner turned it all around and found success in Los Angeles where he batted .340 in 2014 and .294 in 2015. While the major dip in average may be alarming, it came with a significant increase in power as Turner blasted 16 HR in 2015, more […]

Buster Posey is Still Fantasy Baseball's Top Catcher

Catcher is the weakest position in fantasy baseball, but that fact doesn't hurt San Francisco Giants backstop Buster Posey. In fact, the dearth of quality options makes Posey even more attractive. His last two seasons have been remarkably consistent. He hit .311 with 22 home runs and 89 RBIs in 2014 and followed it up […]

Tyson Ross: A Solid Second-Tier Pitcher

Only 12 pitchers had more than Tyson Ross' 212 strikeouts last season. His 9.73 strikeouts per nine innings were eighth-best in the majors. His numbers were borderline ace material, but because he pitched for an underwhelming 74-88 San Diego Padres team, you might not have noticed. Don't make that mistake again in 2016. The Padres aren't […]

A Grand Return for Yasmani Grandal

Not many catchers have the ability to hit 20 HR at the major league level. Limited to only 115 games in 2015, Yasmani Grandal proved his name deserves to be on such a list. While he won't start many more than 115 games in 2016 even if he avoids injury (simply due to a catcher's need […]

George Springer is Ready for a Full Season

George Springer hasn’t played more than 102 games in each of his first two seasons yet everyone is still talking about him. Rightfully so. Springer entered the bigs in 2014 and hit 20 dingers and drove in 51 runs in only 78 appearances. In 2015, despite a slight dip in production mainly in part to […]