First Base Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

Baseball is coming, so it is time for another year of the FSWA-award-nominated Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and... Read More

Five Outfielders To Target in 2023 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Welcome back, fantasy baseball players. Welcome to this year’s edition of outfielders to target. I have a list of five outfielders to target around their ADP (or even a little earlier) who could help your fantasy team in 2023. While looking at projections and past results, the list that follows was carefully crafted to give... Read More

Statcast Exit Velocity: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP and HR/FB figures. There... Read More

First Basemen to Target or Avoid at ADP - Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis

When I was growing up and really getting into baseball in the 1990s and 2000s, the first base position was chalked full of big-time sluggers that would be counted on to produce gaudy offensive numbers season after season -- especially in the HR and RBI departments. Let's look at 2006 for example. Why? Well, it... Read More

Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xSLG) - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

After diving into the xBA leaderboard last week, I'm continuing my look at Statcast metrics by turning our eye to the xSLG leaderboard. We'll go through some of the leaders in the hopes of not just giving you Statcast numbers but explaining how I believe those numbers impact the projections I have for the given... Read More

Four MLB Rookies Who Surged in September - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

In 2022, we saw the MLB debuts of several up-and-coming top fantasy baseball prospects: Julio Rodríguez, Michael Harris II, Adley Rutschman, and Spencer Strider...to name a few. However there were many more "under-the-radar" prospects who produced quality rookie campaigns, and surged in September as a potential preview of what is to come in 2023. These... Read More

Analyzing the MLB Rookies - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Prospects

One great way to win your fantasy league is to get your hands on the MLB rookie of the year. Julio Rodriguez and Michael Harris II were two of the biggest keys to success last year, as they went on to return first-round value after being very cheap to acquire on your fantasy team. There... Read More

Indefensible: Bad MLB Defenders Who Could Lose Playing Time And Fantasy Baseball Value In 2023

The Super Bowl is over and it's time for everybody to turn their attention over to the joys of fantasy baseball. At this point in the preseason, fantasy baseball managers should be working through their projections, whether it's making their own or going through the projections given by their favorite system, like the ATC projections... Read More

Pitchers To Downgrade? Analyzing the Shift, Ground Ball Data and Rule Changes

One of the biggest things people are talking about and studying for the 2023 MLB season is what effect the changes to the rules about shifting will have on the game. I myself talked about that on the hitting side earlier this offseason, you can read that analysis here. Today, I want to get into... Read More

Top 25 First-Year Player Rankings (FYPD) - Dynasty Prospects for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

When fantasy baseball players begin their first-year player drafts this year, they will have 2022 MLB draftees, foreign imports from Asia, and January 15 signees to sift through. There can be a lot of static in those stats, especially when you are dealing with minor-league players and some fantasy baseball prospects who haven't even played... Read More

Catchers to Target and Avoid at ADP - Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis

What's going on RotoBaller Family! For those that don't know me, my name is Eric Cross. In the past, you might have read my work at FantraxHQ, FantasyPros, or FTN Fantasy. I'll now be providing fantasy baseball content for RotoBaller, and couldn't be more excited to join the great RotoBaller team that is certainly on... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Position Eligibility Chart

2023 player position eligibility for fantasy baseball leagues on CBS, ESPN, Yahoo, Fantrax, NFBC. Please allow a few seconds for this page to fully load...  

Breakout Pitchers for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Finding breakout starting pitchers is one of the most important things we have to do in order to win fantasy baseball leagues every season. In most leagues, an individual starting pitcher has more of an impact on a fantasy team than an individual hitter since they are throwing a higher percentage of your team's total... Read More

Known-Skill Starting Pitcher Rankings - Predicting Future Stats for Fantasy Baseball

There is a lot of guesswork that goes into fantasy baseball. This is especially true when we're talking about starting pitchers. And all of this despite the fact that we have more metrics than we can even count about pitchers. You will see a ton of talk this year about fancy advanced pitch metrics. Spin,... Read More

Hitter Bargains at Every Position - Comparing ATC Projections vs. ADP for Fantasy Baseball

We're officially in the full swing of the 2023 fantasy baseball season, with all of the projections you know and love finally being released into the wild. With those projections come the award-winning ATC projections from our own Ariel Cohen. Since coming on the scene, the smart-aggregated ATC has been one of the highest-rated systems,... Read More

Early 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Hello there fellow RotoBallers! Below you'll find our MLB team's early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. This is an exciting time of year for MLB and fantasy baseball fans, as the MLB season is getting closer and there's a full year of fantasy baseball that lies ahead. We're here... Read More

RotoBaller Writers Nominated For 13 FSWA Awards, For Second Consecutive Year

For the second consecutive year, RotoBaller writers were named as finalists for a total of 13 writing awards to be presented by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. This year's award winners, determined by an independent panel of judges, will be announced live on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio on February 22. Throughout the company’s history, RotoBaller... Read More

Jon Anderson's Early Starting Pitcher Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! We are finishing it up today with starting pitcher. I have been through all of the hitting positions already, so check those out at the links below. Catcher First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Outfield I went for an even 100... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Hitters That Could Benefit Most From the Shift Ban

Major League Baseball is making some big changes ahead of the 2023 season. One of the most significant is the banning of the shift. You can read more about that here, but here's a quick summary from that article: "With all four infielders needing to be on the dirt, the days of the four-outfielder setup... Read More

Predicting Pitcher K-BB% Breakouts For Fantasy Baseball 2023

You will not read an article from me about fantasy baseball starting pitchers that does not talk a ton about the strikeout-to-walk ratio (K-BB%). It is the most important and most predictive statistic out there for evaluating pitchers. The way to win a fantasy league is to have a few breakout players on your team.... Read More

Using Hitter Projections to Identify Probable Improvers for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Hey everyone, it's Jon Anderson back again! I have recently finished my season-long hitter projection system, so now the fun begins! I will be writing at least a few pieces here that look at what the projections are telling us. This is my first year doing a projection system, so I don't exactly have a... Read More

Early Draft Takeaways: Fantasy Baseball 2023

In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to give you all a little gift. And the gift I will give you is way too early fantasy baseball ADP analysis. It is not even Christmas as I write this, so this is strange territory. We are at least two months away from what any normal... Read More

Valuing Injured Fantasy Baseball Players Returning in 2023

The 2022 season had its fair share of devastating injuries. Especially those who make a significant impact on the field. If we were to compose a list of every notable injury, things would get ugly. Now that we've mentioned injuries, which is quite a broad term, here are the most valuable players returning in 2023.... Read More

Pitchers That Could Improve for 2023 Fantasy Baseball - Exploring K% Correlation

With all of the data at our fingertips, we can really do some interesting things in the offseason. We know that the strikeout rate is one of (if not the) most important metrics for a pitcher. It's hard to have success with a low strikeout rate, and it's a bit tough to not have success... Read More

Hitter BABIP: Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

The most accessible of the fantasy-relevant advanced stats is BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls In Play. It simply measures a player's batting average on balls in play, with outcomes such as strikeouts and home runs removed from consideration. In general, the league average hovers around .300, a nice round number to remember. However, it... Read More

Using Sabermetrics for 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Introduction

Hello, fellow RotoBallers! Sabermetrics have become an integral tool for fantasy baseball draft prep, but a concise resource for understanding the basics can be difficult to find. This series will attempt to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy managers may find useful, citing examples of how to use them in the process. Multiple... Read More

Exploring Hard Contact for Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers to Upgrade in 2023

This is a follow-up post to another one I've written recently. In that post, I did all the heavy lifting of setting the framework for what I was doing and why it made some statistical sense. You should check that out here before reading this post. The crux of the argument is this. For starting... Read More

Exploring Soft Contact for Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers to Downgrade in 2023

There are two ways for a pitcher to get a hitter out: Strike them out Generate a ball in play that can be handled for an out We talk a ton about strikeout and walk rates here, as we should - those stats are the best predictors of success in baseball. But they don't tell the... Read More

Carlos Rodon to Yankees - Fantasy Baseball Impact

Baseball is a funny game sometimes. We first got a glimpse of Carlos Rodon in a Major League uniform in 2015. He showed some real promise at times and looked like he could eventually bust out as an ace in the league, but a high walk rate and a ton of different injuries kept preventing... Read More