First Half Underperformers: Draft Day Disappointments

This article first appeared in the Metro news publication. The All-Star break has arrived, and it’s time to take stock of the first half’s best and worst performances. Here now is the 2017 All-Disappointments team – players who have undelivered value on their preseason average draft position. Last week, I looked at the best bargains of […]

Week 15 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block

Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. As we move deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the […]

Champ or Chump: Mike Clevinger and Rich Hill

It is time to start making fantasy baseball moves based on your league's standings page, not absolute value. If your situation dictates that you need to hunt Wins, you're in for a difficult task. They are notoriously unpredictable, forcing you to rely on quantity over quality (if possible) or otherwise seek arms on strong clubs. […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 15

As we enter the All-Star break this weekend, it's time to take a hard look at your roster(s) and assess your position for the second half. If you're near contention, finding the right player to help you make that final surge can make all the difference. Ask those who added Trea Turner or Gary Sanchez […]

Champ or Chump: Mark Reynolds & Logan Morrison

It's All-Star season, and the entire baseball community is debating who should have been left off of the roster for their favorite "snubbed" player. There are plenty of quality options, from the superstar allure of Kris Bryant to  underappreciated gem Justin Turner. Fans can vote for one more player to join each league's roster from […]

Champ or Chump: Stephen Vogt & Mike Zunino

While there is no shortage of contenders for the title of Worst Individual in Human History, whoever decided that fantasy owners should roster two catchers ranks highly on the list. They put up mediocre stats roughly five days a week, losing to every other position in both quality and quantity. Bearing this in mind, you […]

Week 14 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block

Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. As we go deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 13: Buy or Sell?

Missing bats is the #1 way a pitcher can control his own fate. If hitters make contact, the pitcher is largely at the mercy of the atmosphere, the weather, the ball park, the ability/work ethic of his fielders, and sometimes just sheer luck. This is ultimately why strikeouts are so important. By looking at pitchers […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 14

This week, it's an unintentionally Rockies-centric piece that will tell you how to handle players that ironically have had nothing to do with the team's success (or recent struggles) this year. Read further to find out more. Scouting players who may be undervalued and re-assessing players who may be overvalued is a weekly exercise that […]

Champ or Chump: Jimmy Nelson & Jordan Montgomery

Regular readers will know that this column makes extensive use of PITCHf/x data to determine the value of a given arm's repertoire. Starting with this edition, Pitch Info will be used instead. We'll have the same information to work with, but Pitch Info is more sensitive. For example, if a pitcher throws both a straight […]

Week 13 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block

Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. As we go deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the […]

Champ or Chump: Rick Porcello & Miguel Cabrera

Nothing is more frustrating in fantasy than an absolute stud you paid up for deciding to decline as soon as you roster him. You don't want to get rid of last year's Cy Young award winner or the most recent man to win a Triple Crown, yet the clock is ticking on your fantasy season. […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 13

Some stars (and surprising scrubs) continue to rise, while others have yet to turn a corner. That begs the all-important questions: sell-high or buy-low? In the case of struggling stars, it's hard to let go but sometimes it's in the best interest of your team to cut bait before too much damage is done. Other […]

Champ or Chump: Kyle Scwarber & Jonathan Lucroy

There are two viable approaches to the catcher position in fantasy. The first is to accept mediocrity, secure in the knowledge that most of your competitors will not be getting much from the position either. The second is to pay a premium for one of the few catchers who can actually hit, likely hurting your […]

Champ or Chump: Jose Berrios & Alex Wood

It wasn't that long ago that fantasy experts advised waiting on starting pitching, as aces were popping up on the waiver wire every year. A few still are, but the SP landscape as a whole is bleak. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, seemingly every owner in every league is in the market for starting pitching. Therefore, […]

Week 12 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block

Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. As we go deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 12

At this juncture, you probably have a good sense of how your fantasy team is bound to end up this season. If you're near the bottom of the standings, you can't wait much longer to take some chances on undervalued players and make a move that could pay off. Even if you're at the top […]

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

Missing bats is the #1 way a pitcher can control his own fate. If hitters make contact, the pitcher is largely at the mercy of the atmosphere, the weather, the ball park, the ability/work ethic of his fielders, and sometimes just sheer luck. This is ultimately why strikeouts are so important. By looking at pitchers […]

Champ or Chump: Nicholas Castellanos & Robbie Ray

Potential should be a swear word in fantasy baseball. We think our roster could do this or should do that, so we stick with "our guys" through their early slump. This is usually the right call in April, but if we keep sticking until August with no improvement our fantasy season comes to an early […]

Week 11 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block

Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. In addition to the players on the Cut List, we'll also spotlight a player on the Hot Seat: […]

Champ or Chump: Edinson Volquez & Justin Smoak

Fantasy owners frequently limit their knowledge of the MLB player pool to only those who may be interesting from a fantasy perspective. Guys who stay in the majors without producing fantasy-relevant stats are generally assumed to have retired until we see them in a game. At that point, we say, "Player X is still active!?" […]

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

Missing bats is the #1 way a pitcher can control his own fate. If hitters make contact, the pitcher is largely at the mercy of the atmosphere, the weather, the ball park, the ability/work ethic of his fielders, and sometimes just sheer luck. This is ultimately why strikeouts are so important. By looking at pitchers […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 11

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. My uncle used to tell me that all the time. Then again, he was color blind so I'm not sure how sage that advice really was. A change of scenery doesn't always make for positive results, at least not right away. This week, we'll look at […]

Champ or Chump: Whit Merrifield & Marco Estrada

At this point of the season, available players tend to fall into one of two categories. The first is a breakout performer on a weaker club no one is paying attention to, such as Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals. The second is a boring veteran player who seems to be performing as he […]

Week 10 Cut List: Players on the Chopping Block

Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams. In addition to the players on the Cut List, we'll also spotlight a player on the Hot Seat: […]

Champ or Chump: Tyler Anderson & Masahiro Tanaka

Nothing is more discouraging than watching your fantasy pitcher get lit up like a Christmas tree every time he toes the rubber. ERA and WHIP are both rate stats, meaning that it takes a lot of good performances to smooth over a disaster. Furthermore, owners with IP caps eventually reach a point where they don't […]

Strikeout Rate Risers and Fallers for Week 9: Buy or Sell?

Missing bats is the #1 way a pitcher can control his own fate. If hitters make contact, the pitcher is largely at the mercy of the atmosphere, the weather, the ball park, the ability/work ethic of his fielders, and sometimes just sheer luck. This is ultimately why strikeouts are so important. By looking at pitchers […]

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 10

Now may be a good time to mention that I advocated picking up Justin Bour back on May 1, although in a different column. Rather than simply calling him a waiver wire pickup or streamer, I'm going all in on the big man. Never let it be said that I'm not an unabashed fan of […]

Champ or Chump: Adam Frazier & Hunter Renfroe

By now you've probably heard that Mike Trout will miss approximately 6-8 weeks after tearing a ligament in his thumb. This injury is worse than it seems if your fantasy roster relied on Trout, as most batters struggle to regain their power stroke after sustaining a hand injury. If you're in the tough position of […]

Champ or Chump: Trea Turner & Manny Machado

The first few guys you take in any fantasy draft are supposed to be your rocks. If their production falls off, it is easy to find yourself in a hole that can be difficult to climb out of. Do you hang on to your studs and bank on a rebound, or sell for pennies on […]