No Universal DH - 2021 Playing Time Fallers

Major League Baseball introduced the DH to the National League in 2020, but the rule change may not stick in 2021. MLB recently advised teams to assume that the universal DH will not be implemented for the 2021 season, and although that doesn’t mean that the door is closed on the rule for the year […]

2020 Schedule Outliers - AL East Starting Pitchers

One of the major changes MLB teams faced during the 2020 season was the lack of a diverse set of competition. Instead of playing around 20 other teams as they would in a normal season, teams played only nine different opponents in 2020. Additionally, two-thirds of each team’s games came against opponents within their own […]

Infield Busts Who'll Keep Junking it Up in 2021

One of the biggest questions out there as we head into 2021 is how much weight to put on what happened in 2020. Obviously, it was a very odd year for Major League Baseball. Players had a couple of weeks of normal Spring Training before being sent home for four months only to come back […]

2021 Overvalued Draft Picks - Starting Pitchers

I recently finished the grueling process of making my 2021 SP ranks one-by-one. What I did was go rotation-by-rotation and insert every pitcher into my list as I went along, taking a close look at each guy. This led to me having lots of knowledge on the player pool for the 2021 season, and having […]

Four Pitchers Who Changed Scenes

It has been a slow off-season to this point, but we're starting to see some moves made, in the form of both free-agent signings and trades going down. There will be plenty of more action over the next several weeks, as there are still a lot of unsigned free agents, and no shortage of trade […]

You Paid What?! Overvalued Players in Auctions

Assuming the 2021 MLB season starts on time, we are on the precipice of fantasy baseball draft season. Spring Training will get underway next month, at which point, drafts roll out in full force. We aren't there quite yet, which makes sense. Many of the biggest free agents remain unsigned; the league is unsure of […]

Stunted Growth: Prospects Who Need More Time

So in 2018 and 2019, I was living the dream as I interned for a Minor League Baseball team, and I was looking forward to coming back in 2020. And then the season was canceled. Obviously, I was disappointed by everything that happened, but while I can shrug off missing a summer of interning and […]

Biggest Fallers of 2020 - Starting Pitchers

We recently took a look at some starting pitcher risers, those who have seen their stock jump significantly since this time a year ago. Now, we'll analyze some pitchers who have gone the other way following a down year in 2020. Last season consisted of just 60 games, so we're obviously looking at a much […]

Biggest Brl/BBE% Fallers from 2020

Last week, I discussed the importance of the Brl/BBE% and examined some players who had improved the most in the shortened 2019 season. If you haven't yet taken a look at that, I would encourage you to because I also gave a detailed breakdown of why I like this particular stat. However, if you simply […]

Early-Round Fades and Overvalued Studs

Entering 2021, there is a bit of recency bias in the early ADP as well as an overall sense of unknown entering 2021 as a whole in terms of what rules are in place, where players are going to hit in the lineup or even where many players will play and how that could affect […]

Biggest Fallers of 2020 – Relief Pitchers

In an abbreviated 60-game season, a large number of relievers previously considered to be lockdown closers or dominant set-up men struggled consistently, ultimately resulting in a negative impact on their fantasy value. As we previously did with RP risers, we will now look at the biggest fallers of the 2020 season as we gear up […]

Year-In-Review: Sixto Sanchez

The 2020 season presented numerous challenges and is one that most teams, Dodgers aside, are ready to move on from. In the case of the Miami Marlins, it represented a major step forward for a perennially-rebuilding franchise. The Marlins made the playoffs for the first time since their 2003 championship season, mostly on the strength […]

Starting Pitcher K-BB% Fallers: Who to Worry About

In part one of this mini-series, Sam Chinitz covered K-BB% risers from 2021. You can check that post out here. This article will take a look at the pitchers that went in the wrong direction. Strikeout to walk rate is so important to be mindful of when evaluating pitchers. No matter how you slice it, […]

Year-In-Review: Christian Yelich

After having won the NL MVP award in 2018, Christian Yelich was well on his way to potentially winning a second consecutive award in 2019. However, he broke his kneecap in September of that year and that put a premature end to his monster season. There were some fantasy baseball managers who shied away from selecting […]

Year-In-Review: Javier Baez

Javier Baez was one of the bigger disappointments in the league during the shortened 2020 season. He had established himself as a five-category contributor over the last several seasons and was coming off a 2019 campaign in which he hit .281 with 29 home runs and 11 steals in 561 plate appearances. Therefore, Baez was […]

Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft - ADP Surprises

Of course, there are many changes to be made throughout the offseason. It feels as if the dust is still settling on the 2020 World Series yet baseball fans are more ready for the upcoming season than ever. We have no idea whether a full schedule can be played, what games will look like, and […]

Analyzing Fly Ball Metrics: Pitchers to Trust in 2021

Welcome back to some 2020-2021 offseason fantasy baseball analysis! I recently took a look at pitchers who could see a decrease in performance next season based on their fly-ball metrics from this season. Some of these metrics included home run-to-fly-ball ratio, fly-ball rate, and average launch angle. To reiterate the value of this type of […]

Analyzing Fly Ball Metrics: Pitchers Who Could Bust in 2021

Welcome to the 2021 offseason! This past season was different and exciting, offering a new flavor of baseball with definite impacts on fantasy baseball. The shortened season brought forth some new strategies from a fantasy perspective and smaller sample sizes from an analytics perspective. That being said, assuming a "regular" 2021 season, it makes sense […]

Starting Pitcher K-BB% Risers: Who to Believe In

The 2020 MLB season may have left starting pitchers with shorter starts and fewer total innings than usual, but arsenal adjustments and pitch improvements were still prevalent. As a result (and sometimes as a result of other factors), several pitchers saw significant changes in their strikeout and walk rates. K-BB% is one way to measure […]

Statcast Hitter Leaderboard: Rolling xSLG Risers

The final Statcast numbers for 2020 will undoubtedly reap some interesting data. Small sample sizes abound, so throw in scheduling quirks, numerous injuries, seven-inning doubleheaders and a universal DH and you have the recipe for statistical outliers galore. Fantasy baseball season has one glorious week remaining, so the best use of this space would be […]

The Cut List (Week 10) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List, already perhaps the final one of the year with the season ending on September 27. Either way, it's crunch time. In recent weeks we switched up the format of this article a bit, to cover a larger pool of players and to discuss trends being seen by fantasy baseball […]

The Cut List (Week 9) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List. In recent weeks we switched up the format of this article a bit, to cover a larger pool of players and to discuss trends being seen by fantasy baseball managers across a large number of leagues, based on ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week. Injuries have always […]

2020 wRC+ Splits: Risers and Fallers

Baseball in 2020 is unlike any season that I can remember. The designated hitter is now present in the National League. You will not find any more LOOGYs with the institution of the three-batter minimum rule. Doubleheaders are now a combined 14 innings of baseball. Extra innings now start with a runner on second base. […]

The Cut List (Week 8) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List. In recent weeks we switched up the format of this article a bit, to cover a larger pool of players and to discuss trends being seen by fantasy baseball managers across a large number of leagues. This article, for three weeks now, reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped […]

Too Hot to Hold: Sell-High Candidates

Now that we've flipped the calendar into September, we have only one month left of baseball. It was a perilous journey, but we somehow managed to get here, so it's time to stop wondering if the season will continue as planned and give yourself over fully to managing your teams. For those of you who […]

The Cut List (Week 7) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List. This article, for three weeks now, reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week and, in order from most dropped to least (except most injured players), determines how reasonable that course of action has been. (Some players near the bottom of the ESPN and Cut […]

Deep Dive: What's Wrong With Shohei Ohtani (The Hitter)

Shohei Ohtani is over a year removed from Tommy John surgery and on a short year, he may have pushed a bit hard to be ready to rock and roll. This has caused another injury and now he has been relegated to an everyday role as a hitter. This will be a deep dive into […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Exit Velocity (Week 6)

We're cruising right along on our Statcast Hitter Studs/Duds series. Many fantasy baseball owners are starting to see the value of MLB's Statcast advanced stats in order to help identify potential risers and sleepers. We're approaching the midway point of this shortened season, and hot and cold streaks are beginning to expose their permanence--is a […]

The Cut List (Week 6) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List. In case you missed last week, this article now reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week and, in order from most dropped to least (except most injured players), determines how reasonable that course of action has been. (Some players near the bottom of the […]