Champ or Chump: Joey Votto and Christian Yelich

When fantasy owners invest an early draft pick in a player, they generally assume that the player in question is a lock to put up excellent fantasy stats. Joey Votto has been a model of consistency throughout his career, slashing .320/.454/.578 with 36 bombs in 2017. Unfortunately, he only produced 12 HR for his owners […]

Champ or Chump: Gary Sanchez and Mookie Betts

We continue our 2019 fantasy baseball preview with two names who could not have had more different seasons in 2018. Gary Sanchez entered last draft season as the consensus top catcher on the board. Unfortunately for his owners, he's been struggling with the Mendoza line all season. Meanwhile, Mookie Betts has gone nuts for the […]

The Cut List (Week 26): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 26 of the Cut List. This week I took a peek at the recent performances of Nomar Mazara, Travis Shaw, Adam Eaton, and Francisco Cervelli. Now is the time to really nail your free agent acquisitions. Each move has major implications in the final days of the season. Want some waiver wire […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 25: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 25 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. We have somehow blown by into mid-September, which means the homestretch of 2018 is upon us. Most fantasy baseball leagues have already had their trade […]

Champ or Chump: Blake Snell and Javy Baez

The Tampa Bay Rays would be leading three of baseball's six divisions with their current record, success largely the result of the successful "opener" strategy and Blake Snell's breakout campaign. It'll probably take fantasy owners all winter to figure out how to use openers to our advantage, but Snell's skills should be easy enough to […]

Champ or Chump: Trevor Story and Ronald Acuna Jr.

We begin our ridiculously early look at the 2019 fantasy baseball landscape with two of the bigger breakouts of the 2018 season. Trevor Story has gone from a barely top-100 asset to a potential MVP candidate, returning tremendous value to anyone who drafted him in March. Ronald Acuna Jr. should probably win the National League's […]

The Cut List (Week 25): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 25 of the Cut List. This week I’m taking a look at Adam Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, Odubel Herrera, and Starlin Castro. All four players should be cut in most standard shallow formats. We’re in the thick of the fantasy playoff season and we need to own players who are actually producing results. […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 24: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 24 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. September has finally arrived, which means the homestretch of 2018 is upon us. Most fantasy baseball leagues have already had their trade deadlines come and […]

Champ or Chump: Ramon Laureano and Austin Gomber

This will be the last column of the year that pays any attention to 2018 forecasts. With H2H playoffs winding down and roto leagues all but locked up, there just isn't that much that statistical analysis can do over a sample size of two weeks. We'll keep at it though by examining some of the […]

Champ or Chump: Rowdy Tellez and Jeff McNeil

Recently, some unheralded minor leaguers have been making noise at the MLB level. Toronto's Rowdy Tellez is a 23-year old first baseman with an 80-grade name and more extra base hits over his first 15 PAs than anybody in baseball history. His MiLB resume suggests some power and an advanced feel for the strike zone, […]

Statcast Hitter Analysis - Launch Angle Risers/Fallers (Week 24)

It's impossible to resist making a pun about launch angle leaders being real "risers" so let's get that out of the way first. Now, let's recognize that launch angle can, but does not always, be an indicator of power production. For this reason, we'll need to look at the names which stand out on the […]

The Cut List (Week 24): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 24 of the Cut List. This week I took a look at Brian Dozier, Dee Gordon, Billy Hamilton, and Matt Olson. All four players should be dropped in most standard formats as we head deeper into the fantasy playoffs. This is the most intense time of the fantasy season, so all you […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 24

The baseball season is on its last legs, but it's never too late to buy or sell from the plethora of talented players available in fantasy baseball waiver pools. Instead of trading assets with other owners, you can "buy" players that have been overlooked or recently discarded on the wire. In this case, think of it […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 23: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 23 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. September has finally arrived, which means the homestretch of 2018 is upon us. Most fantasy baseball leagues have already had their trade deadlines come and […]

Champ or Chump: Amed Rosario and Nomar Mazara

We are in the final stretch now, and the sad truth is that the fates of most fantasy teams have already been sealed. The players below are available in at least 30 percent of leagues, but our focus will begin to shift toward 2019 draft prep. With so much data available on so many players, […]

Statcast Hitter Analysis - Exit Velocity Risers/Fallers (Week 23)

Even if you know very little about Statcast, you know exit velocity. Even the most hardened, old-school baseball announcer has at least incorporated this term in his vernacular, if nothing else related to sabermetrics. As the second half progresses, we'll take another look at this important stat by examining the last month's worth of data […]

Champ or Chump: Josh Donaldson and Andrew McCutchen

The August waiver deadline has come and gone, leaving several brand name players with new home addresses. Gio Gonzalez joins Milwaukee's rotation even though the team already had plenty of bad pitchers. He's a total random number generator who might ruin your team's WHIP by walking six in three innings or your ERA by allowing […]

The Cut List (Week 23): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 23 of the Cut List. Corey Dickerson, Michael Conforto, Maikel Franco, and Max Kepler should be cut in all standard league formats as we head into playoff time. You should be scouring the free agent list so you can put yourself in the best position to win each day. Believe me, the […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 23

You probably aren't technically able to make trades in your leagues by this point in the season, but it's never too late to buy or sell from the plethora of talented players available in fantasy baseball waiver pools. Instead of trading assets with other owners, you can "buy" players that have been overlooked or recently discarded […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 22: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 22 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. The season has almost made it through the month of August and the end of the regular season for fantasy baseball managers is immediately around […]

Champ or Chump: Harrison Bader and Luis Urias

Last time, we looked at a couple of widely available waiver wire options who could help owners get the steals or homers they need to move up in the standings. It's also possible that you need to improve your batting average (or OBP), but rate stats can be more difficult to make a dent in […]

Champ or Chump: Greg Allen and Kendrys Morales

By this point in the season, some roto leagues have effectively been decided. Most of the field is almost certainly thinking about next year, but it's possible that a few teams are still competing for a money spot. If there is still a battle going on, it almost certainly boils down to one or two […]

The Cut List (Week 22): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 22 of the Cut List. This week I took a look at Marco Gonzales, Wil Myers, Brandon Belt, and Kyle Seager. As always, these suggestions apply to standard shallow league formats. You wouldn’t want to cut Wil Myers and Marco Gonzales in a deep league, would you? Want some waiver wire advice […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 22

It's never too late to buy or sell from the plethora of talented players available in fantasy baseball waiver pools. Instead of trading assets with other owners, you can "buy" players that have been overlooked or recently discarded on the wire. In this case, think of it as a short-term investment that comes at a low […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 21: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 21 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends are positive or negative. As the season has progressed well into August and the MLB trade deadline has passed, the window of opportunity to snag a surging slugger or […]

Champ or Chump: Nick Williams and Tyler Glasnow

We're taking a closer look at two names who would be nearly universally owned if they put up their current numbers earlier in the MLB season. The 24-year-old Nick Williams has looked like a hitter for Philadelphia, slashing .264/.332/.454 with 17 long balls in 383 PAs on the season. His peripherals don't quite support that […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 21

Trade deadline passed? That doesn't mean you can't still buy and sell! Instead of trading assets with other owners, you can "buy" players that have been overlooked or recently discarded on the waiver wire. In this case, think of it as a short-term investment that comes at a low cost (you did save at least […]

Champ or Chump: Joey Wendle and Chris Archer

Of all player profiles, Chris Archer's has to be the most bizarre. His raw stuff and strikeout totals suggest an ace, yet his ERA never seems to match up with metrics such as xFIP. Analysts like to say that he's consistently hit hard, but his career BABIP and HR/FB align almost perfectly with the league […]

The Cut List (Week 21): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 21 of the Cut List. Last week we saw Jon Lester and Jed Lowrie bounce back after enduring major slumps in July. Those weren’t the best calls I’ve made this year, to say the least. This week I’m taking a look at Brian Anderson, Kyle Schwarber, Sean Newcomb, and Chris Taylor. All […]

Champ or Chump: David Bote and Jacob Nix

If David Bote and Jacob Nix had gotten off to the starts they've had in May, they would be nearly universally owned as fantasy owners pounce on the next big thing. However, it's August. The vast majority of fantasy baseball rosters have been abandoned in favor of the real-life pennant chase, hockey, basketball, and that […]