Taking a Mulligan - Second-Half Rebound Candidates

We've reached the All-Star Break, which means the baseball season is just over halfway done. Let me repeat that: we still have three months to go! I think some of us are still operating in the mindset of the shortened 2020 season and are thinking that our fantasy seasons are over if we're not in […]

Improving Hitters to Watch in the Second Half

We have more than three months of baseball in the books. It has been a glorious spring and summer with the return of the 162 game schedule. While it was nice for MLB to sneak in 60 games and some expanded playoffs in 2020 after we feared a full season cancellation, it really just didn't […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for Week 16

Wow, what a busy last few days for prospects around Major League Baseball. On Sunday, we were treated to both the MLB Futures Game — a showcase of the sport’s best prospects — and the first round of the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft. The remainder of the 20-round draft will take place today and tomorrow. […]

Using K-BB% To Find Relievers to Add for the Second Half

A couple of weeks ago, I used June's K-BB% leaderboard to look at which starting pitchers might provide value in the second half. In that article, I explained why I loved the metric so much by stating: If a pitcher has a high strikeout rate (K%), then we know he is effective because we know […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 15

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. With all eyes glued to Colorado, we can catch our opponents napping during the All-Star break and hopefully make some sneaky adds while no one […]

Points League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 16

We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the best […]

Rookie Report: Prospect Risers and Fallers for Week 15

Welcome to the latest edition of RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball! Here I discuss some recently promoted MLB prospects and rookies , making note of what I think their upside could be for fantasy baseball managers, and whether they are potential risers or fallers. We have seen 159 rookies make their MLB […]

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Week 16

Welcome to the top hitter streamers column for Week 16 of the MLB season (7/15 through 7/18). This weekly piece should be helpful for anyone looking to gain an edge in their league. If you need a fill-in for an injured player or want to exploit some plus matchups in order to gain an edge […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 16 Waiver Wire

This was a pretty quiet week around the league in terms of bullpens. Based on the way this season has gone, it very well might be the calm before the storm and we're about to see all kinds of changes when teams return from the All-Star Break. Speaking of which, five closers made the American […]

Bullpen Report: Struggling Closers, RP to Add Before Trade Deadline

This is a very busy time in the sports world. This week we have the NBA Finals, but more importantly, the Scott Fish Bowl kicking off. Every year that indicates the start of fantasy football draft season and you will see a lot of content on radio shows, podcasts, articles and on Twitter turn from […]

Pitcher Risers and Fallers Since Sticky Substance Enforcement

On June 21st, MLB decided to really crack down on foreign substances used by pitchers. "Random" inspections of pitcher gloves and clothing were instituted to make sure pitchers were not using an illegal sticky substance to get a better grip on the ball. This created quite the buzz in the fantasy baseball community. We've had more […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 14

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. As we trudge towards the All-Star break the waiver wire feels thinner by the week, and we aren't flush with as many exciting, fresh young […]

Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds - WAR for Week 15

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I will select an advanced stat, choose two top performers and two under-performers, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. As we near the All-Star break, I thought it made sense to focus on an all-encompassing metric for […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for Week 15

We’re rolling into Week 15 of the 2021 MLB fantasy season and we’ve witnessed a mixed bag of contributions from prospects so far. Many of the big named prospects — like Dylan Carlson, Andrew Vaughn, and Jarred Kelenic — have struggled. We’ve seen excellent (small sample) results from some lesser-known players like Patrick Wisdom, Jake […]

The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Week 15

Welcome back to the Cut List. This is our weekly article looking at players who fantasy managers could consider cutting from their teams and struggling players who need a closer look. We'll look at players who are worthy of a drop, players who are worth monitoring for replacing, and someone on the hot seat who is […]

Second-Half Breakouts: Examining June's K-BB% Leaders

In my last article, I mentioned that K-BB% is one of my favorite stats for looking at a pitcher's in-season performance. There are two main reasons for that. First, it stabilizes quickly and has a proven correlation to a pitcher's overall success. Second, it's impossibly simple. If a pitcher has a high strikeout rate (K%), […]

The Bigger Picture - Where We've Gone Wrong This Year

Expectations are a dangerous thing. They can dictate our decision-making processes well into the future and prevent us from seeing things as they truly are. The baseball season is the longest of any professional team sport, spanning eight full months including spring training. That means a lot will change throughout the course of the season […]

Bullpen Report: Closer Carousel Keeps Churning

Chasing saves can seem maddening this season. Not only are more and more bullpens getting away from having one traditional closer and are embracing having multiple options see save chances. but some bullpens (I'm looking at you Cincinnati and Kansas City) have been nearly impossible to trust. Just when it looks like they are starting […]

Three Up, Three Down: Home Run Outliers to Buy or Sell

A huge key to having success at the game of fantasy baseball is being able to spot outliers. The game of baseball, more than most other sports, is largely dictated by randomness, at least over the short term. Even with the pretty large three-month data sample we have, randomness can still rule the day. My […]

When Is The Right Time to Invest In Rookie Pitchers?

As the calendar turns to July, many fantasy managers start looking to the minor leagues to see which call-ups could help us earn a championship. While we know the big-name players who are likely already on a roster, we hunt for the next surprise call-up of a slightly flawed pitcher who takes a big step […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 13

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. This week we're looking at a veteran who's trying to right the ship after early season struggles, and two prospects who turned in the first […]

Points League Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 14

We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the best […]

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Week 14

Welcome to the top hitter streamers column for Week 14 of the MLB season (6/28 through 7/4). This weekly piece should be helpful for anyone looking to gain an edge in their league. If you need a fill-in for an injured player or want to exploit some plus matchups in order to gain an edge […]

Bullpen Report: Grab Setup Men Before Trade Deadline

The deeper we get into the season, the more valuable relievers become. They can help you maintain your ratios, rather than streaming risky starting pitchers. Also, saves is an entire category, so grabbing a pitcher that is next in line for saves is never a bad idea. Especially this time of year.  First, we have […]

Fantasy Baseball Trade Targets for Week 13

Sometimes fantasy baseball can resemble the stock market. You want the best portfolio of players without having to pay too much for them. Sometimes to achieve the optimal team, you need to make trades. The best way to gain added value is to trade away an over-performing player for one in a rut. This way, […]

Three Up, Three Down: Pitchers to Buy & Sell

The pitching league leaders are about to cross the 100-inning mark of the year, which means we have accrued quite a bit of data to analyze. We can now have a significant amount of confidence in our data analysis given that we've seen guys on the mound for nearly three full months. A huge key […]

A Tale of Two Months: Outfielders

With nearly three months now in the books, and most players having played nearly as many games as they did in 2020, it's time to take stock on the truth behind various hot starts and slumps. However, we shouldn't do so just for our own edification, as there is good instruction to be had. Knowing […]

Updated Top 250 Dynasty Baseball Prospects

Today, we refresh our Top 250 dynasty fantasy baseball prospects list at RotoBaller, which was last updated back in March. Providing accurate prospect valuations is a difficult job at any time, but the pandemic made it an even more challenging gig over the past 12-16 months. The 2020 minor league season was entirely wiped out […]

Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 13

We have completed another week of MLB action, and we have once again been littered with injuries. Both good and bad things arise from injuries. Let's start with the bad, which means losing a player, sometimes a key player, from your roster. The good is a chance to add a new player, and certain players […]