Buy or Sell: Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 15

Today's piece covers a set of players who either should not be available on waivers or will return back there soon. Most of the earlier editions of this recurring buy or sell article have included several universally owned players whose values have been manipulated enough by early season performances. Unfortunately, as we get deeper into the year, […]

Champ or Chump: Brendan McKay

Major League Baseball has nearly a century and a half of games in the book, but we still see new things on a fairly regular basis. Shohei Ohtani's ability to both hit and pitch at an MLB standard is among the most amazing things that this author has ever seen, and Tampa Bay Rays prospect […]

xBA vs Shift - Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds (Week 14)

We've looked plenty at expected stats already, so let's switch things up a bit in this iteration of Statcast studs and duds. This time, we will examine the xBA of hitters who repeatedly face shifts or strategic defensive alignments. Typically, power hitters are subjected to the shift because of their high pull tendencies. Teams also […]

Relievers Swinging-Strike Rate Studs and Duds: Week 14

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers advanced stats and StatCast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. We have spent most of our time focusing on starters throughout the season, so this week […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers - Buy or Sell for Week 14

Welcome back to the strikeout rate risers and fallers series for Week 14! Each week we will take a look at two K% risers and two fallers, analyze what is behind those changes, and then decide if they are actionable. A pitcher can best control their fate by generating swings and misses, so this exercise […]

The Cut List (Week 14) - Time to Let Go?

We're halfway there in the baseball season, but hopefully your fantasy team is living on more than a prayer. (By Jove, that's terrible. Apologies.) Unless it's a points league, categories are starting to take more precedence at this point. Every hitter on this week's Cut List comes with a list of categories in which a […]

Buy or Sell: Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 14

Today's piece covers a set of players who either should not be available on waivers or will return back there soon. Most of the earlier editions of this recurring buy or sell article have included several universally owned players whose values have been manipulated enough by early season performances. Unfortunately, as we get deeper into the year, […]

Champ or Chump: Bobby Bradley and Jordan Yamamoto

Last week, we looked at a couple of players who are likely to be on first division fantasy teams. This week, we're taking a closer look at players likely to appear toward the bottom of your league's standings. Bobby Bradley is a former third-round draft pick summoned by the Cleveland Indians in an effort to […]

ERA-SIERA Studs and Duds for Week 13

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers advanced stats and StatCast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. I wrote an article about SIERA in week 6 and this week am going to build […]

Exit Velocity Risers/Fallers - Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds (Week 13)

There's no need to explain exit velocity here, as you are likely well aware of its function and description by now. Followers of this weekly column will remember the Week 7 iteration where we first examined exit velocity leaders. We know that hitters who make hard contact are more apt to collect extra-base hits and it […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers - Buy or Sell for Week 13

Welcome back to the strikeout rate risers and fallers series for (hopefully) lucky Week 13! Each week we will take a look at two K% risers and two fallers, analyze what is behind those changes, and then decide if they are actionable. A pitcher can best control their fate by generating swings and misses, so […]

The Cut List (Week 13) - Time to Let Go?

At this point in the season, nearly half over, you should pretty much know what you have on your fantasy team. (Unless you have Jose Ramirez.) Chances are, if you still have a certain frustrating player on your roster -- especially one you drafted -- you've had plenty of chances to remove them but have […]

Buy or Sell: Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 13

Today's piece covers a set of players who either should not be available on waivers or will return back there soon. Most of the earlier editions of this recurring buy or sell article have included several universally owned players whose values have been manipulated enough by early season performances. Unfortunately, as we get deeper into the year, […]

Champ or Chump: Max Kepler and Josh Bell

If you're in the top third or so of your league's standings, you've probably had more than a couple sleeper picks work out well. Good for you! Of course, sorting through all of those 2019 breakouts represents something of a first-world problem: who's for real, and who's extended hot streak is about to end in […]

Statcast Changeup Movement Profiles for Week 12

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers advanced stats and StatCast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. This will be my second installment using Statcast's new pitch movement tab to look at pitchers' […]

xwOBA Leaders - Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds (Week 12)

Today, we will revisit xwOBA to find out who is putting together strong at-bats though Statcast's idea of contact quality as well as plate discipline. I will highlight players who are either vastly outperforming or underachieving on their wOBA compared to expected stats. As a reminder, xwOBA utilizes exit velocity, launch angle and, on certain […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers - Buy or Sell for Week 12

Welcome back to the strikeout rate risers and fallers series for Week 12! Each week we will take a look at two K% risers and two fallers, analyze what is behind those changes, and then decide if they are actionable. A pitcher can best control their fate by generating swings and misses, so this exercise […]

The Cut List (Week 12) - Time to Let Go?

June is more than half over, meaning the season is nearly half over. And, as usual, some players' tenures on your fantasy team should be all over. One thing we're adding this week is a brief overview of the forcefulness of each cut suggestion. A "strong" endorsement means the player can be cut in pretty […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 12

Today's piece covers a set of players who either should not be available on waivers or will return back there soon. Most of the earlier editions of this recurring buy or sell article have included several universally owned players whose values have been manipulated enough by early season performances. Unfortunately, as we get deeper into the year, […]

Champ or Chump: Dallas Keuchel and Yordan Alvarez

If you've been following baseball news at all, you probably know that free agents Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel have finally signed with teams (the Braves and Cubs, respectively). You may have read a variety of conspiracy theories about how MLB owners were "cheap" or otherwise unscrupulous in dealing with each pitcher. In truth, teams […]

Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds - Exit Velocity for Week 11

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers Statcast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two risers and two fallers, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. This stat is one that we used earlier in the season (see Week 4) but is particularly useful for […]

Hit Distance Leaders - Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds (Week 11)

We're taking another deep dive into the Statcast data this week to find hidden power and to determine whether certain power hitters are legit. In this edition of Statcast Hitter Analysis, we will examine the leaderboard for average hit distance. In this case, the data will interpret the distance of all batted ball events, not […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers - Buy or Sell for Week 11

Welcome back to the strikeout rate risers and fallers series for Week 11! Each week we will take a look at two K% risers and two fallers, analyze what is behind those changes, and then decide if they are actionable. A pitcher can best control their fate by generating swings and misses, so this exercise […]

The Cut List (Week 11) - Time to Let Go?

It's June 9, an exciting date to some, because it means another Cut List. (Were you thinking some other reason?) Last week's changeup, which involved cut suggestions in three different league sizes--10, 12, and 14/15 teams--continues. Stats are through Friday, June 7. New weekly reminders: Recommendations in one league size obviously apply to smaller leagues. […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 11

Today's piece covers a set of players who either should not be available on waivers or will return back there soon. Most of the earlier editions of this recurring buy or sell article have included several universally owned players whose values have been manipulated enough by early season performances. Unfortunately, as we get deeper into the year, […]

Sauceda's Slants: Folding Aces

There are very few Fantasy experiences more pleasing than hitting on a late-round sleeper or sneaky waiver acquisition — not unlike the experience of finding a twenty-dollar bill in your pocket that you had completely forgotten. When landing these types of players, common refrain tends to be, “sell high!” But for anyone who’s played in […]

Champ or Chump: Zach Plesac and Mallex Smith

The calendar has officially flipped to June, which means that your league's standings page now contains useful information. No, it's not time to give up on your sixth-place team. Instead, it's time to pinpoint your unique areas of need and then make trade proposals and waiver wire acquisitions accordingly. For example, maybe the league-wide dearth […]

Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds - wOBA-xwOBA Difference for Week 10

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s pitchers Statcast studs and duds article series! Each week we will select an advanced stat, choose two studs and two duds, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. My first article in this series involved expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) against and I hinted that we could […]

Hard-Hit Leaders - Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds (Week 10)

In the latest edition of Statcast Studs and Duds for offense, we're going to shorten the range of outcomes. I will look at leaders in hard-hit balls over the past month only. Also, rather than simply isolating Hard% as a metric, I am looking at the total leaders in batted ball events that qualify as […]