Introducing EDV - Expected Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball
Last March at RotoBaller, we kicked off a cool fantasy baseball research project, exploring what we're calling Expected Draft Values. This offseason, we’ve refined the approach and our research, and taken things a step forward. We're sharing this concept with the fantasy baseball world now, and hope it's as helpful to you as it's been... Read More
Biggest Fallers: K-BB%, Part 1
K-BB% is a valuable metric because it shows which pitchers can combine strikeout ability with pinpoint control. Pitchers with high K-BB% possess high floors and ceilings because even when they’re not accumulating strikeouts, they are still usually able to pound the strike zone. The list below shows pitchers with the highest drop-off in this rate... Read More
2020 RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Reactions
Over the last couple weeks, RotoBaller's roster has grown with several new faces to join our esteemed veteran corps. We figured it would be nice to roll out the welcome wagon with a February fantasy baseball mock draft, putting six "RotoNewbs" with six RotoVets. It was a snake draft hosted on Fantrax, a traditional 5x5 format with... Read More
Kenta Maeda To Twins - Fantasy Impact
Late Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox triggered a blockbuster, three-team trade that sent star outfielder Mookie Betts to the west coast and brought a couple of top prospects back to Boston. What was lost in the madness was the third team, the Minnesota Twins, making a big addition to their starting... Read More
Going Full Corbin: Pitchers Who Should Throw Their Best Pitch More
Patrick Corbin has made a case for himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He produced 14 wins in 202.0 innings pitched with a 3.25 ERA and 28.5 K%. Corbin wasn’t always this good though. In 2016, his ERA was a pedestrian 5.15 with a mediocre 18.7 K%. Suddenly, Corbin decided to start... Read More
Analyzing Fly Ball Metrics: 2020 Negative Regression Candidates
Last week, I uncovered a few pitching casualties from the record-setting 2019 season, which saw an unprecedented amount of home runs hit and a "juiced" ball theory come into light. While the use of the defensive shift has caused more players to change their swing into a fly ball-oriented approach, this monumental increase in dingers... Read More
2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. Central
We've covered all of the American League and the NL East, and next week we'll wrap things up with the National League West. This week, it's the National League Central's turn though. There are plenty of players with fantasy importance in the Central, and that rings true in the bullpens as well. The National League... Read More
Should We Buy Back Into Blake Snell?
Author note: Blake Snell dealt with an elbow issue ad received a cortisone shot. That lead to his ADP falling, and for good reason, but he returned to the mound since and now with the start of the season delayed, he should be ready for the start of the season. Early in 2018, I was... Read More
Analyzing Fly Ball Metrics: 2020 Positive Regression Candidates
A once intermittent and revered event, the home run ball has now engulfed baseball to extraordinary levels, which has theorists convinced that the ball is tampered with or "juiced." For a good reason, as last year we saw four teams shatter the single-season home run record previously held by the 2018 Yankees, with the Minnesota... Read More
Nick Castellanos to Reds - Fantasy Impact
The winter of the Cincinnati Reds keeps rolling on. They already added some pitching in Wade Miley, a journeyman to play shortstop in Freddy Galvis, a power-hitting monster in Mike Moustakas, and a Japanese leadoff man in Shogo Akiyama. Now, they have secured one of the top outfield targets on the market in Nick Castellanos.... Read More
2020 First Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues
We're not far from the start of spring training and draft season is almost afoot! In re-draft leagues, a ton of preparation and research goes into building a new squad for 2020. Dynasty owners scoff at this because they already have their core players established. The question then becomes of relative value. Who is still... Read More
2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. East
It's Super Bowl Week, and that means a lot in football, sure. But what about baseball? It means anticipation. It means the free agent pool is drying up, and players are starting to make plans for Spring Training. We don't know much about the 2020 season yet, but there has been enough movement to at... Read More
Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2020 Redraft Leagues
Freshmen players played a huge role in Major League Baseball in 2019 and rookies are poised to once again have a strong presence on your fantasy baseball teams in 2020. Rotoballer is here to help you decide which players are deserving of a roster spot as you open up the season with a list of... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Batted Ball Distribution (Hitters)
Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy owners want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not always the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution and the manner in which batters make contact.... Read More
Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Third Base
When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes... Read More
Top 250 Prospects for 2020 Dynasty Leagues
It’s hard to believe it’s that time again. Major League Baseball’s spring training is just weeks away now, which means it's also fantasy baseball season. This year at RotoBaller, we’re rolling out even more in-depth prospect coverage — starting with a ranking of the Top 250 prospects for dynasty leagues. That’s right. Not 100. Not... Read More
Marcell Ozuna to Braves - Fantasy Impact
When Josh Donaldson signed with the Minnesota Twins, it appeared the Atlanta Braves would be left with a giant hole in their batting order. We don't need to worry any longer, as they have fixed that problem by signing outfielder Marcell Ozuna. The 29-year-old Ozuna turned down the St. Louis Cardinals' $17.8 million qualifying offer to... Read More
2020 Saves+Holds Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues
To any reader who thinks they don't have a voice here at RotoBaller, let it be known that this article came from a simple Reddit comment about how those seeking Saves+Holds reliever ranks were often overlooked. Poof, and here we are. Allow me, Nick Mariano, 2018's most accurate draft expert and sharer of names with... Read More
2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - A.L. West
Welcome to 2020, fantasy friends. There are two football teams left and basketball and hockey are doing their things, so it's past time now to start thinking about the 2020 baseball season. Free agency has been a little more front-loaded this season, leaving fewer questions about rosters heading into Spring Training. Still, there will be... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: BABIP for Hitters
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. Many know... Read More
Will There Be Fantasy Fallout for the Astros?
The Houston Astros have landed in hot water this offseason after receiving sign-stealing allegations against them dating back to their World Series championship season of 2017. A long and thorough investigation by MLB has confirmed that the elaborate scheme to notify batters of specific pitches was indeed true, and the organization is now facing the... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Exit Velocity
If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the so-called 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.... Read More
Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Shortstop
When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes... Read More
2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - A.L. Central
Welcome to 2020, fantasy friends. There are four football teams still playing and basketball and hockey are in full swing, so it's time to start thinking about the 2020 baseball season. Free agency has been a little more front-loaded this season, leaving fewer questions about rosters heading into Spring Training. Still, there will be changes... Read More
Using xwOBA to Identify Breakout Pitchers
Heading into a new baseball season, fantasy owners are looking for any leg up on our competition. We turn over stones looking for any stat or training report that might suggest a breakout that few others can see coming. I’m not here to promise some groundbreaking stat, but I do believe that Expected Weighted On-base Average... Read More
Biggest Outfield Risers/Fallers of 2020
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season as well as the beginning of Fantasy Baseball Prep season! It may seem like the 2020 fantasy baseball season just ended, but the 2021 season will be here before we know it. Now is as good a time as ever to start thinking about your new draft... Read More
How To Win Your Fantasy Baseball Leagues on Draft Day
I hate intros. Nobody takes the time to read these things. I could say whatever I wanted and it would literally pass zero sets of eyes. Watch.... I have hemorrhoids! See? No one. But in the rare occasion that one of you sad saps does in fact read this paragraph before jumping to the meat... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: An 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. Over the next two months, this series will attempt to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy owners may find useful, citing examples of how to use... Read More
2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - A.L. East
Welcome to 2020, fantasy friends. With football season winding down and basketball and hockey in full swing, it's time to start thinking about the 2020 baseball season. Free agency has been a little more front-loaded this season, leaving fewer questions about rosters heading into Spring Training. Still, there will be changes between now and Opening... Read More