Statcast Hitter Risers/Fallers - xSLG

We're all familiar with slugging percentage and how it values extra base hits over singles. Expected slugging percentage is a newer stat that attempts to identify a player's skill more so than regular slugging percentage, as xSLG removes defense from the equation. Since batters have control over their exit velocity and launch angle, but not […]

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

Welcome to Week 12 of the Cut List. This week I take a look at Jed Lowrie, Justin Smoak, Yoan Moncada, and Mitch Moreland. What’s the common denominator here? They’re barely standard league viable and they were all super hot at one point or another this season. Lowrie was arguably the fantasy MVP in April, […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 12

Injuries suck. We've always known this, but the move to a 10-day disabled list last year along with numerous injuries to high-profile players this year have slapped fantasy owners in the face with the hard, cold hand of reality. Injuries can cause huge shifts in value for fantasy players, so it's always wise to assess […]

Power Risers/Fallers for Week 11: Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 11 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 steamrolls through June, the window of opportunity to snag a surging slugger or to deal a down-and-out disappointment grows shorter with every […]

Champ or Chump: John Hicks & Willy Adames

Injuries are always a touchy subject in fantasy baseball. Nobody ever wants anybody to get injured, especially if you paid a high price to acquire them in March. Yet if your roster is light on saves or in need of a particular position in a deeper format, somebody getting hurt is the best chance you […]

Making Moves: Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice for Week 11

We are halfway through June and the time to be making moves to improve your fantasy team is now. Today we are going to dig into the trade values of a couple of pitchers off to terrific starts that carry red flags: Patrick Corbin and Sean Doolittle. I will also answer a few "Rapid Fire" […]

Sophomore Slumps - Should We Worry About Bellinger and Castillo?

The sophomore slump is a phenomenon that all fantasy players fear. A rookie will catch everyone’s attention after seemingly breaking out the previous season, making them a hot commodity in next season’s drafts. After rising significantly higher in drafts than last season, you land who you think will be a star, only to have them […]

Champ or Chump: Alen Hanson & Max Muncy

Personally, I use a player's track record as my primary means of evaluating minor leaguers. While other owners chase after the Juan Soto's and Ronald Acuna's of the world based on their prospect ratings, I tend to let other owners burn their early draft picks and FAAB on those guys. They could be studs right […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 11: Buy or Sell?

Due to a combination of harder throwers and hitters focusing on hitting for power, strikeouts are at an all-time high in baseball. For pitchers, this is an ideal trend. The ability to generate swings and misses is the most important skill to possess, as it's the only true way to control what happens after the […]

Statcast Hitter Risers/Fallers - Barrels

It's time to revisit the most telling of Statcast numbers - Barrels. You may recall that last time we identified Evan Gattis and Andrew Benintendi as potential buy-low candidates because their power was due to arrive while warning you away from short-term power surgers like Pedro Alvarez and Daniel Palka. Let's see how things have […]

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

Welcome to Week 11 of the Cut List. This week I’m taking a look at four players who came into the season with huge expectations. All of these players were drafted in all standard formats. Jonathan Schoop is fresh off a 3.8 WAR, 32 HR season that propelled him to fantasy stardom, Billy Hamilton stole […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 11

It finally feels like summer! As the weather heats up, so do many bats that have lain dormant for the first quarter of the season. Monthly splits are very real for certain players, so you may consider buying into some recent hot streaks, fluky as they may seem. Scouting players who may be undervalued and […]

Power Risers and Fallers for Week 10 - Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 10 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends be positive or negative. As the year rolls into June, the window of opportunity to snag a surging slugger or to deal a down-and-out disappointment grows shorter with every […]

Making Moves: Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice for Week 10

We are well on our way into June and the time is now to make some serious moves to help fill your fantasy team's needs. If you fail to make a change now you risk falling too far behind in roto and missing out on valuable buy-lows in head to head. Today we are going […]

Champ or Chump: Jalen Beeks & Miles Mikolas

While fantasy baseball owners would love to roster a rotation consisting entirely of Max Scherzers and Corey Klubers, it's not feasible if you're in a remotely competitive league. Breakouts help, but the true key to maintaining strong performances in the pitching categories is to stream effectively. Basically, that means starting streamers in favorable matchups while […]

Time to Sell High on Ozzie Albies

Through the first two months of the season, we can start to establish where player performances land in 2018. As we assess our rosters, we can look to fill holes by trading away some overachieving assets. With Ozzie Albies' (2B, ATL) hot start, he's currently the 18th ranked player in CBS 5x5 mixed-leagues. In CBS […]

Statcast Hitter Risers/Fallers - Launch Angle (Week 10)

Besides being a fancy analytics term that baseball broadcasters can spit out on a Sunday afternoon, launch angle plays a big part in determining how other advanced metrics play out, such as HR/FB, FB/LD, and Hard%. Launch angle doesn't dictate how good a player is hitting, but is meant to be more descriptive of the […]

Champ or Chump: Niko Goodrum & Brandon Nimmo

There's a lot of fantasy analysis out there, and everybody has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to the numbers they look at. Personally, I can't stand Hard%. It was invented as a proxy to measure contact quality, but Statcast gives us specific numbers to measure the same thing much more precisely. It's […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 10: Buy or Sell?

Due to a combination of harder throwers and hitters focusing on hitting for power, strikeouts are at an all-time high in baseball. For pitchers, this is an ideal trend. The ability to generate swings and misses is the most important skill to possess, as it's the only true way to control what happens after the […]

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

Welcome to Week 10 of the Cut List. My suggestions from last week were looking good until Eduardo Escobar hit three home runs between Thursday and Friday. That’ll happen occasionally, but I think my suggestions have been sound throughout the year. This week, I take a look at Kevin Pillar, Adam Duvall, Gregory Polanco, and […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 10

One man's trash is another man's treasure. This is what I tell myself when I'm bidding $6 for Ryan Braun in an Ottoneu league where I need OF help or adding Zack Godley to a pitching staff that has underperformed. These players aren't without warts and could never turn back to top form this season, […]

Making Moves: Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice for Week 9

Happy Thursday Fantasy Baseball players! This week's mailbag dives into some of the bigger names in the game this week such as Noah Syndergaard, Mookie Betts, and Manny Machado. Be sure to send you trade questions and trade offers to me @MattWi77iams on Twitter for a chance to be included in next's weeks "Making Moves" […]

Power Risers and Fallers for Week 9 - Buy or Sell?

Welcome to Week 9 of the 2018 MLB season and a new week of our investigation into the steepest power trenders in baseball, whether those trends be positive or negative. As the year rolls into June, the window of opportunity to snag a surging slugger or to deal a down-and-out disappointment grows shorter with every […]

Champ or Chump: Jorge Soler and Shane Bieber

Even if you're happy with your current position in the standings, it's important to avoid complacency. Any production from an unexpected source (such as Jorge Soler of the Kansas City Royals) is liable to disappear at the drop of a dime, so it wouldn't hurt to start looking into a backup plan. Likewise, even first […]

Statcast Hitter Risers/Fallers - Hard Hit Rate

Those of you familiar with Fangraphs and their plethora of advanced stats have probably seen and evaluated Hard Hit rate before. Statcast keeps its own set of data based on exit velocity and even measures the number of balls leaving the bat over 95 mph. It's not surprising that the leaderboard is littered with superstars […]

Champ or Chump: Mallex Smith & Mitch Moreland

It's rare for a May transaction to significantly impact the fantasy landscape, but we've had two that did so recently. First, Denard Span and Alex Colome were traded to the Seattle Mariners. Colome's owners are now forced to speculate on who his successor might be in Tampa Bay, while Span's value remains constant as he […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 9

Due to a combination of harder throwers and hitters focusing on hitting for power, strikeouts are at an all-time high in baseball. For pitchers, this is an ideal trend. The ability to generate swings and misses is the most important skill to possess, as it's the only true way to control what happens after the […]

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

Welcome to Week 9 of the Cut List. Last week’s cut suggestions were some of the best yet if you ask me. I suggested cutting Jay Bruce, Albert Pujols, Rougned Odor, and Rich Hill and they all continued their poor play. Bruce, Pujols, and Odor went a combined 13-for-64 (.203) and Hill was pulled from […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 9

Swinging a deal for a superstar player that can make an impact on your team is easier said than done. It almost always requires a superstar player sent in return. The best way to fix a struggling fantasy team isn't always by adding one player. You may need to mix and match pieces to boost […]