Risers and Fallers: 2014 Spring Training Review for Fantasy Baseball

During spring training, opportunities are won and lost for playing time.  We are trying to determine if breakout players from the previous season will continue their success, and Spring Training is a good place to look for a sign of things to come.   Three Risers 1) Brad Miller  Miller came in the Mariner camp knowing […]

The Curious Case Of B.J. Upton: Potential Sleeper

Can B.J. Upton Rebound In 2014? B.J. Upton’s season last year was a disaster.  He tied or beat career lows in runs, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases and batting average for seasons in which he had over 200 at bats at the major league level.  That is every one of your basic scoring […]

MLB Rookies, Prospects & 2nd Year Hitters: 2014's Biggest Impacts

Have you ever been so sure of something that you bragged to everybody about it, only to have been so wrong?  Me neither!  As a fantasy writer, I admit that I’m probably wrong more than I’m right, but it is pretty close. I joke, I joke-- of course I'm always right, why else would you […]

The Matt Kemp Recovery: 2014 Comeback Player Of The Year?

[iframe src="http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=31437193&topic_id=6479266" height="200" width="100%"]   Matt Kemp's Comeback Many intelligent people might contend that this tweet from the Dodgers was just organizational talk to create hype around a player in whom they are heavily invested in. Matt Kemp has let down their fans mightily over the last two seasons, but the team took L.A. by […]

Washington Nationals Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Washington Nationals Pitchers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball Welcome to what is quite possibly the best pitching rotation in the major leagues. Everyone knows Stephen Strasburg’s potential. Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman demonstrated their dominance over opposing bats last year. And the team landed Doug Fister, a #2 starter in most rotations, as the #4 man […]

Top 10 for Steals: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

  Top Ten In Steals For 2014 Stolen Bases are a tricky statistic in fantasy baseball. In most cases, the player you draft to boost your SB total will not be contributing highly in other categories. That is why when there are players on the board who not only are speedsters, but can add some […]

Washington Nationals Lineup Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

2013 was a huge bust in D.C. Not only did the Nats under-perform, but the supremely talented team didn’t even make the playoffs. This season will be different. The major questions for 2014 are: How great will Stephen Strasburg actually be? Is this the season Bryce Harper jumps to elite status? Can Jayson Werth continue […]

Cleveland Indians Lineup Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

In 2013, the Cleveland lineup scored 745 runs, fifth-most in baseball, besting the likes of the Rangers and Angels, each of whom spent significantly more on potential run-producers. This year’s Indians lineup looks very similar to last year's. Depending on the outcome of the Carlos Santana experiment at third base and the right field platoon […]

Draft Strategy: Age 27 Hitters Primed for a Breakout Season

  Age 27 Hitters Primed for a Breakout Season Any seasoned fantasy baseball owner is familiar with the legend behind the 27-year-old baseball player. It seems that many major leaguers enter their prime once they turn 27 years old, and magically reach the potential that made baseball scouts swoon over them during their minor league […]

3 Up, 3 Down: 2014 Spring Training Review

Although most will tell you that spring statistics should be taken with a grain of salt, it is impossible to ignore it when someone goes on a tear over the course of 40-80 at bats. Remember that a lot of owners benefited from spotting Domonic Brown's effectiveness last spring, parlaying it into some late-round magic […]

National League Outfield (OF) Sleepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

After the marquee names have disappeared in your fantasy draft, it may be time to look for specific needs from the remaining outfield pool.  These three National League outfielders may be light on power and driving in runs, but high on speed and run scoring potential.  Each of these players is a bit of a […]

Breakout Closer and Sleeper: Tommy Hunter

  Closer Poised to Leap Forward: Tommy Hunter Jim Johnson and his 101 saves over two seasons are gone, shipped off to Oakland. Grant Balfour didn’t satisfy the health criteria of the Orioles. Thus, the closer role is up for grabs, and a recently converted starter could be poised to make the big step into […]

Draft Strategy: Mock Draft Analysis Rounds 11-15

On Sunday, we discussed Rounds 1-5, and on Tuesday we looked at Roounds 6-10. So for the final part of my three-part mock draft series, we will take a look at how Rounds 11-15 of my first mock draft of the fantasy baseball season went. If you haven't done so already, I recommend going back and […]

Five First Base (1B) Deep Sleepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

  Five 1B Deep Sleepers for 2014 Analyzing first base is one fantasy proposition, but predicting the 2014 season’s breakouts is an entirely different ball game (pun intended).  Generally, when we think of the position’s elite options, we think of the slow contributor with no SB who provides a hefty percentage of your team’s HR […]

Top 10 for Batting Average: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Predictions

  Top 10 for Batting Average in 2014 Fantasy Baseball Today I'll be taking a look at another one of the major categories in roto formats: batting average. There's a certain type of player that fantasy owners can count on to hit for a high batting average. I'm talking about players with excellent line drive […]

Draft Prep: Daily Spring Training Fantasy Baseball Update 3/13

It's been a busy few days of baseball here in Arizona, as I've been going from ballpark to ballpark to check out as much spring action as possible. After taking in three games over the past two days, including an extra-inning nightcap yesterday, I can barely stay awake.  But I figured I'd share a few […]

Top 10 For WHIP: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Predictions

For those who don’t know, WHIP measures how many base runners a pitcher allows in a given inning. It’s calculated by adding together walks and hits and dividing that number by innings pitched. A 1.00 WHIP is excellent, a 1.10 is great, a 1.25 is above average and a 1.30 is average. Here is a […]

Kansas City Royals Storylines: The First Week of Spring Training

The first week of spring training has been an eventful one in two major ways for the Kansas City Royals. There is the story about Mike Moustakas and his hot start at the plate, and pitcher Luke Hochevar is out for the season after hurting his elbow and needing Tommy John surgery. Here are the […]

Draft Prep: Daily Spring Training Fantasy Baseball Update 3/11

Today I stayed home in Scottsdale, Arizona and went to the sold out Cubs-Giants game downtown.  The Cubs and Giants are the two most popular teams in Arizona this time of year, with plenty of fans in town from the Midwest and  the Bay Area to root on their team.  I sat next to some […]

Top 10 For Saves: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Predictions

I have a very strong opinion about closers in fantasy baseball, and that is they are the most overrated position in the game. Much like defenses in football, closers are very often drafted many rounds too soon. Relievers contribute little to most pitching stats, and there are often plenty of valuable options lower down the […]

Top 10 for Wins: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Predictions

Predicting pitcher Wins is one of the hardest things to do in fantasy sports. That's because, as many of you have probably found out the hard way, having a good pitcher or even an elite pitcher, doesn't guarantee a 16-20 win season. In order to get the win, a pitcher needs the support of his […]

2014 New York Yankees: Top Prospects, Part 2 of 2

The loss of Robinson Cano and A-Rod for the upcoming 2014 season exposed the Yankee farm system as being one of the weakest in baseball. The Yanks had spent years trading away their best young talent and had no one in their system  prepared to be their everyday second or third baseman. Unlike some other […]

Draft Prep: Daily Spring Training Fantasy Baseball Update 3/10

Philosophical question: if a routine fly ball lands untouched in the outfield, does it make a sound? Yoenis Cespedes: On Sunday in Phoenix, the answer is "yes," and the sound was from  the groans of Oakland A's fans watching Yoenis Cespedes struggle with the high desert sky. Cespedes had a game he'd like to forget against […]

Daily Fantasy Baseball Update: Cactus League 3/9

It was another fantastic day here in Arizona and another double-header to attend in the Cactus League. This afternoon, I went back to Salt River Fields to see the Oakland A's at the Colorado Rockies. A.J. Griffin started for Oakland and got torched for three runs in the first inning. A.J. Grffiin was one guy I […]

Daily Fantasy Baseball Update: Cactus League 3/8

Yordano Ventura: I spent the day in Surprise, Arizona, driving about an hour in traffic for really one reason: I wanted to see the Royals' Yordano Ventura pitch. I had read all the reports of his fastball hitting 102 last season. I had also read concerns about his size (he's under six feet tall), and concerns […]

2014 New York Yankees: Top Hitting Prospects, Part 1 of 2

This piece is the first of a two part series looking at the New York Yankees hitting prospects   Mason Williams, OF Williams was only drafted in the fourth round in 2010, but his great play in low-A ball the next year quickly put him on the radar as one of the top prospects in […]

Milwaukee Brewers Storylines: The First Week of Spring Training

The first week of spring training games have come and gone. The Milwaukee Brewers are seeing a player with a chip on his shoulder in Ryan Braun, and a pitcher who has some work to do in Matt Garza. Here is a look at how those two stories impact fantasy owners right now, with three […]

Daily Fantasy Baseball Update: Cactus League 3/7

  Cactus League Update for March 7th Trevor Cahill vs. Sonny Gray: I went back to Salt River Fields again yesterday to see the Diamondbacks for the second straight afternoon. This time they hosted the Oakland A's. I looked forward to a solid matchup between Trevor Cahill and Sonny Gray. As it turned out, both starters […]

Baltimore Orioles Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Projections

Editor's Note: This article was written before the O's acquisition of Johan Santana. The Orioles’ rotation is often described as a bunch of threes and fours.  Thus, while most lack true top-end fantasy value, all contain value as streaming or deep-league options.  A lot of any O's  starter's value will depend on his matchups; what you will […]