Breakout Infielders Due for Regression in 2020

Each draft season there are always players, coming off strong seasons, who will likely disappoint future owners. Not all breakouts will disappoint, some will continue to shine. What winning fantasy owners have to do is find ways to decipher who will bust and who will not.  The infield position has some really talented players coming […]

ESPN Undervalued and Overvalued for H2H Points Leagues

Over the past couple weeks at RotoBaller, we've introduced a brand new approach to preparing for Points Leagues. Typically, analysts give you general points league rankings. We have those as well at RotoBaller. However, this approach falls short. Analysis and ranks must be platform specific, because every platform (ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, NFBC, Fantrax) has wildly different scoring […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts? Eduardo Escobar

The Arizona Diamondbacks finished the 2019 season with a record of 85-77, which was good enough for a second-place finish in the NL West but was not quite good enough to receive a Wild Card spot in the postseason. The strong finish came as a surprise to many fans, especially on the heels of what […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Michael Conforto and Mike Clevinger

In the wake of the coronavirus, Major League Baseball games won't be starting on schedule. While there are obviously more important things going on right now than fantasy baseball, we baseball junkies have to do something to distract ourselves from losing one of our favorite hobbies. One way to do this is to try and […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts: Trevor Bauer

Following an offseason that saw them add Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama, and Wade Miley, the Reds are expected to be right in the thick of a wide-open race for the National League Central crown. The imported bats should provide a significant boost to a squad that finished 25th in the majors in runs […]

Late-Round Relievers - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

Sam Chinitz's 10 Bold Predictions for 2020

Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. With that in mind, I do think that each of these predictions has a legitimate chance of […]

ADP Reflections: Edwin Diaz and Jose Leclerc

Opening Day may be delayed, but fantasy baseball draft season is still in full swing. We’re now at the point where draft data is shaping draft strategies, as owners look for value relative to ADP. The sample of ADP available from early NFBC drafts has given us a good basis to ascertain if certain players […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts? Danny Santana

The Texas Rangers finished the 2019 season with a record 0f 78-84, which was good for a third-place finish in the American League West. The finish was actually above preseason expectations and now has the team looking to make a push forward in 2020. The Rangers have plenty of youth and have brought in the […]

Riley Mrack's 10 Bold Predictions for 2020

Who doesn't love a good set of bold predictions? There's nothing like some biased analysis to persuade you to target or avoid the players that are featured in this specific article series. While I will present some factual data, I must admit my personal rooting interest has had some influence on a few of these […]

Late-Round Catchers - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

Break the League: The ESPN Points League Ranker

It might always be in fashion to go after the worldwide leader but this not just some critique de rigueur of their points game and coverage. I actually have a soft spot for ESPN as they were home to my original league for years and our scoring is somewhat similar to their default settings. When […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Christian Walker and Luis Robert

Fantasy owners love prospects, especially shiny new toys that they've never had an opportunity to play with before. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was drafted very highly last season, but his fantasy production didn't really live up to his draft-day cost even after Toronto finished playing service time games with him. This year, Luis Robert is poised […]

2019 Busts Who'll Keep Junking it Up - Infielders

Nothing grinds a fantasy owner's gears quite like a bust. Well, maybe unpaid league dues, but busts are a close second. It doesn't feel good to stare at your lineup all-season and watch a high draft pick torpedo your team's chances at glory. Spurned owners tend to avoid the players who've burned them, but a […]

Eric Samulski's 10 Bold Predictions for 2020

I've read these columns for years, so it's kind of surreal to be putting out my own. As somebody who constantly over-analyzes, I tend to be less risky in my fantasy decisions because a part of my brain always walks me back from the ledge. With that in mind, I tried to mix up the […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Second Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four "power" hitters, as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

Late-Round Second Basemen - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Kole Calhoun and Rafael Devers

Welcome! This column takes a deep dive into two player profiles to determine if they represent value at their current draft day cost or if you would be better off looking at similarly-priced options. We incorporate every grain of relevant data we can, including info from Baseball Savant, Roster Resource, FanGraphs, FantasyPros, and Baseball Prospectus. […]

Finding Over/Undervalued First Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four "power" hitters, as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

Late-Round Shortstops - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

ADP Reflections: American League Starting Pitchers

The draft season is in full swing. The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) is wrapping up on the NFBC site, and more and more draft data is filtering through to the masses. We’re now at the point where draft data is shaping draft strategies as people look for value against ADP. There are lots of […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As you prepare for fantasy baseball drafts in 2020, it's crucial that you avoid the dreaded bust who could sink your team. As we did with sleepers, our staff came together to share their thoughts on preseason ADP values, this time on their least favorite picks. While you've likely heard some of these names already […]

Using Expected Draft Values to Find Over and Undervalued Speed Hitters

A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four "speed" players as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

Late-Round Third Basemen - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries or even players with skills but have […]

Breakouts Relievers Due for Regression in 2020

The closer role is one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball. They can lose their fantasy value with a couple of blow-up performances. Teams are also electing to utilize a committee approach, often using their best reliever in high-leverage situations rather than cementing them to the ninth inning.  This makes it imperative to […]

ADP Reflections - Middle Infielders

With spring training underway and the start of the MLB season less than one month away, fantasy baseball draft preparation season is in full swing. As the MLB season draws near, player ADPs will shift as expectations change and more drafts are completed. Drafting early leaves more room for injuries to hurt fantasy teams, but […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Power Hitters Using Expected Draft Values

A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four "power" hitters, as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

2019 Busts Who Will Keep Junking It Up - Starting Pitchers

The term “bust” in fantasy baseball can have a few different definitions. The obvious meaning is a player whose lack of production stinks so bad we have to cut bait on him early in the season. The more common definition is a player who doesn’t live up to his draft-day value. Whether it’s a decline […]

FOMO and the Hype Machine

We’ve officially entered one of my favorite parts of the fantasy baseball season, the cavalcade of articles on sleepers, upcoming prospects, and breakout players. It’s a time of fresh starts, opportunity, and hope, but I’ve also come to wonder if it isn’t potentially distortive and misleading. Case in point: When Luis Robert signed a long-term contract […]