The New Big Red Machine

For some, the nickname Big Red Machine conjures up fond memories of former WWE superstar and current Knox County, TN mayor Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs). However, the mere mention of the Big Red Machine in the mid to late 1970s made many big league pitchers shudder in fear at the prospect of facing a Reds […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Barrels (Week 5)

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. Just as we do for pitchers, this weekly series will examine a handful of hitters who are performing surprisingly well or […]

The Cut List (Week 5) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List, where we're about to call an audible--or, for a more baseball-appropriate term, throw a changeup. This article now reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week and, in order from most dropped to least (with some exclusions for injuries or opt-outs), determines how reasonable that […]

Too Good To Be True? Buying/Selling Hot Pitching Starts

Last week, we dove into the hitters who were off to hot starts and tried to decide what was real and what wasn't as sustainable. Now we'll turn our attention to the arms. After two full weeks of baseball, we're over 20% done with the season, more FAAB dollars are being spent than ever before, and […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Exit Velocity (Week 4)

We're off and running 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. Just as we do for pitchers, this weekly series will examine a handful of hitters who are performing surprisingly well or […]

The Cut List (Week 4) - Time to Let Go?

The season is about one-quarter over for the luckiest teams, who have played up to 14 games out of 60. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have played all of five. If only you could have known beforehand which teams would be asymmetrically affected by the current health situation. But while we're dealing with small samples, they represent […]

Is It Too Good To Be True? Buying and Selling Hot Starts

Normally, after only one full week of the fantasy baseball season, we're casually taking stock of our teams, seeing which guys are settling into lineup spots, which teams look like they might be surprising, and generally feeling pretty good about where we're at now. However, there is nothing normal about this season. After one full […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - Barrels (Week 3)

We're off and running 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. Just as we do for pitchers, this weekly series will examine a handful of hitters who are performing surprisingly well or […]

Early (Over/Under) Reactions for Fantasy Baseball

The first week of the shortened MLB season is officially over and we have several prominent fantasy storylines emerging. Some carry over from 2019 and others have come out of nowhere. My job here is to walk us through those which seem most notable. COVID-19 is one tough customer and has made not even hope […]

The Cut List (Week 3) - Time to Let Go?

You already didn't have very many Marlins on your fantasy roster, right? It's still early enough that most of your cuts are going to be clearly marginal players who will miss several days due to postponed games. But what about those tougher calls? There's a bit more information out there than there was last week. […]

Early Week 1 Exit Velocity Hitter Studs and Duds

We're off and running on our Statcast Hitter Analysis! Each week, I will select a different metric to evaluate unexpected names at the top and bottom of the Statcast Leaderboards. Even if you aren't well-versed in Statcast, you know exit velocity. Even the crustiest of old-school baseball announcers has incorporated this term in his vernacular […]

Exit Velocity Hitter Studs and Duds Heading Into 2020

Welcome to this year's first iteration of Statcast Hitter Analysis. Each week, I will select a different metric to evaluate unexpected names at the top and bottom of the Statcast Leaderboards. Even if you aren't well-versed in Statcast, you know exit velocity. Even the crustiest of old-school baseball announcers have incorporated this term in his […]

The Early Cut List (Week 2) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome back to the Cut List. Writing this column at this exact moment is an interesting exercise because most cuts are either: really obvious, on account of a player opting out of the season or an injury that will cost several weeks; or the opposite of obvious, on account of no one has played more […]

First Impressions - MLB Opening Day 2020 Fantasy Notes

I can't remember being more excited for an Opening Day than this one. Although Thursday, July 23 was technically the first day of the 2020 MLB season, Friday is when 28 of the 32 teams took the field for the first time for regular-season play. Never have I been happier to fire up MLB Extra Innings […]

Fantasy Baseball: Category Deflation - Pitchers

Calling all roto players! As you all prepare for the shortened season, I'm sure you are wondering how your strategies may change and how to approach certain categories, particularly for pitching staffs. Well, I have been thinking about the same things as you and will lay out some of my thoughts on how you can […]

Platoon Situations to Avoid in a Shortened Season

Fantasy baseball fans, the 2020 season is finally almost upon us, which means it’s time to start thinking about drafting and valuing players all over again! As I am sure you are all aware, the shortened season and rule changes will impact aspects of your fantasy baseball strategies, some more than others. One of the […]

Schedule Factors - Hitters on the Decline

Earlier this week, we took a look at which hitters have been helped the most by the recently announced 60-game schedule. Now it's time to take a look at the hitters who might be hurt the most by it. Remember that in order to fully break down the way in which a schedule may impact […]

Divisional Adjustments: Pitching Fallers

With summer camp officially underway, the beginning of the 2020 MLB season is fast approaching on its coattails with Opening Day coming later this month. The upcoming fantasy baseball campaign will be unlike any other we have seen before, with one of the reasons being the unorthodox schedule to help limit travel during this pandemic. […]

Overpriced Hitters According to ATC Projections

RotoBaller is fortunate to have 2019's most accurate ranker, Ariel Cohen, to give us his updated ATC projections. I have taken those projections and turned them into fantasy dollars, ranking them accordingly. By comparing these rankings to the latest NFBC ADP data, we can see which players ATC likes at their draft price, and who should […]

Historically Slow Starters to Avoid on Draft Day?

There is no telling how this 60-game jumble of a 2020 season will affect each MLB player individually. Some may relish the opportunity to have an outsized impact on the season. Others may feel uncomfortable playing at all, let alone be at full game speed in time for Opening Day. Regardless of the unknowns, however, […]

Is Aaron Judge Worth The Draft Risk?

On September 18, 2019, Aaron Judge suffered a stress fracture in his rib while attempting to make a catch in right field. Judge played through the injury, but he was forced to take a break from hitting in early March thanks to shoulder and pectoral discomfort. Judge recently began swinging again, and GM Brian Cashman […]

Nick Mariano's 2020 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

Short-Season Draft Risers and Fallers: RotoBaller Staff Picks

Recently, the RotoBaller MLB staff provided their thoughts on the best draft strategies for a shortened season. You can read that article right here. The fantasy baseball season is ready to kick up (finally) but things won't be the same as usual. Some players may be more appealing now that they've had time to work […]

Three NL Outfielders Set To Bust in 2020?

A good portion of busts each year are the result of freak injuries, but some players are particularly risky. Spotting those bust candidates and avoiding them early in drafts can be a difference-maker for fantasy teams.  Although a delayed and shortened season has helped some players recover from injuries and boost their fantasy values, it’s […]

Fantasy Value In a 50-Game Season: Starting Pitchers

Having now passed the ides of June, there is still no start date for the 2020 season and no guarantee that we'll even ever get one. MLB and the MLBPA continue to pass proposals back and forth, with each side taking their turn at rejection. This puts baseball in a situation where Commissioner Rob Manfred is […]

Overvalued and Undervalued Shortstops in 2020

In the last few seasons, the shortstop position has improved tremendously with the emergence of All-Stars like Alex Bregman, Trea Turner, and Trevor Story. The position has four potential first-round picks, and a staggering ten picks in the top 40 according to NFBC. By comparison, second base and third base have five players each in […]

Overvalued and Undervalued First Basemen for Points Leagues

First base is bottom-heavy for fantasy purposes this year, with just one player drafted in the top-30 picks on average. As a result, there are relatively few first basemen who are excessively overvalued and several who can provide solid value in late rounds. Below are first basemen who are particularly poorly valued in drafts. These […]

Zack Wheeler - 2020 Fantasy Baseball Bust

The Philadelphia Phillies finished the 2019 season with a record of 81-81, which was only good enough for a fourth-place finish in the NL East and was nowhere near good enough for a postseason birth. The team was not pleased with the finish and subsequently made a change at the helm with the addition of […]

Point League Busts - Players to Fade

Points leagues can be a whole different ball game from your average roto leagues. When prepping for a points league, whether you're looking at ADP or online rankings, you're likely looking at data that is skewed by standard roto leagues. While it's good as a general starting point, some players simply perform better in one […]