Shortstop Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Tiers - Roto Leagues (January Updates)

Hey, RotoBallers! Opening Day is a few months away, and it's never too early to prepare for your upcoming fantasy baseball drafts. Spring Training will start soon, and at RotoBaller, we are here to guide you through your drafts, crush, and win your fantasy leagues with our MLB team's early 2024 fantasy baseball shortstop rankings... Read More

Outfield Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Tiers - Roto Leagues (January Updates)

Welcome back, Rotoballers! We are back with more fantasy baseball rankings to help prepare you for your upcoming drafts. Pitchers and catchers will report soon, while Opening Day is just 60 days away. It's time to focus on your MLB drafts and win your leagues with our MLB team's early 2024 fantasy baseball outfield rankings and... Read More

Five Infielders To Target In 2024 Fantasy Baseball OBP Leagues

Many rotisserie or category fantasy baseball scoring formats have switched out batting average (AVG) for on-base percentage (OBP) or have simply included it as an additional category. While on the surface, it may not significantly affect your pre-draft ranking, several players should be moved a bit higher up your board. If you are new to... Read More

Starting Pitchers - 2024 Fantasy Baseball ADP Analysis, Draft Targets, Avoids

As we get into the end of January, fantasy baseball draft season is nearly in full swing. At this point, you either have a few drafts under your belt or you're at least getting ready for your first draft of the 2024 season. Wherever you are in your process, we have the content and tools... Read More

Top 10 Catcher Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (2024)

As we enter the 2024 season, we're firmly in the middle of a revolution at the catcher position. We're already see the likes of Adley Rutschman and Will Smith rise to elite ranks at this position previously, and others like Yainer Diaz and Gabriel Moreno rose to top 10 status in 2023. Guess what? This... Read More

Pitcher BABIP: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy managers should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. While some of this luck is unpredictable, we can and should predict some of... Read More

2024 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings, Tiers, Analysis - Roto League Drafts

As we inch closer to MLB's Opening Day, we also welcome the most turbulent and confusing time in the fantasy baseball draft season. Parsing through hundreds of players' profiles is hard enough, but recent Spring Training data makes it difficult to find the players worth drafting to your team. Luckily, RotoBaller's preseason rankings -- compiled... Read More

Josh Hader Signs With The Astros: Fantasy Impact

There are very few things more volatile in the fantasy landscape than closers. MLB teams continue to adapt and use their bullpens differently to gain an edge. That has left very few elite fantasy closers with more teams opting to go match-ups over having one ninth-inning option. It's not often an elite closer hits the... Read More

2024 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings, Tiers, Analysis - Roto League Drafts

MLB shortstops, often considered the defensive captains of the infield, play a crucial role in baseball's dynamics. Renowned for their exceptional fielding skills and quick reflexes, shortstops prevent hits and turn crucial double plays. These players are typically versatile athletes who showcase a combination of speed, agility, and arm strength. Offensively, many modern shortstops are... Read More

Does Josh Hader Push The Astros Back Over The Top? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Free agent reliever Josh Hader signed a historic deal with the Houston Astros on Friday. His total figure falls short of the $102 million deal Mets closer Edwin Diaz netted last winter but Hader's five-year, $95 million contract is the largest for a reliever in MLB history as it does not contain any referrals. Diaz's... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Top 100 Prospects for 2024 First-Year Player Drafts (January 2024 Update)

A number of the top international players that are being posted this offseason have signed, with a few more yet to come. Rankings for players have adjusted, some due to their destination, and a few MLB draft prospects are moving due to some additional viewing of tape and underlying metrics on those players. Otherwise, there... Read More

FIP/xFIP: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

While we've only examined how to evaluate hitters using advanced stats thus far, sabermetrics are just as useful for pitchers. The first advanced pitching stat most fantasy managers encounter is Fielding Independent Pitching or FIP. FIP measures a pitcher's actual skill instead of the effects of luck or his supporting cast. According to DIPS (Defense... Read More

What Is Yency Almonte's Value With The Cubs? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs swung a notable trade recently that saw young infielder Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte to the Windy City in exchange for prospects Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope. Full trade: The Chicago Cubs are acquiring third baseman Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte from the Los Angeles Dodgers... Read More

Plate Discipline: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

No matter how high a particular player's BABIP may be, his average will be mediocre at best if he strikes out too much. This is why fantasy managers have known for years that players like Joey Gallo are potential drains on a fantasy team's batting average. Furthermore, players who whiff a lot tend to continue... Read More

Does Robbie Ray Move The Needle For The Giants? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

The San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners have swung a major deal involving some impactful MLB veterans. Former AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray is on his way to the Bay Area in exchange for outfielder Mitch Haniger and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani. BREAKING: The San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners are in agreement on a... Read More

Is Sean Manaea Trustworthy With the Mets? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Sean Manaea has been a solid pitcher throughout his eight-year big-league tenure. His 4.10 ERA fits nicely in the middle-to-back of just about every rotation in baseball. However, his most recent results are middling at best. The Mets added Manaea on a two-year, $28 million pact this winter, adding another new arm to a rotation... Read More

How Does Michael Busch Fit With The Cubs? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

There have been some notable trades in Major League Baseball this offseason, one of which involves young former Dodgers infielder Michael Busch. Busch and reliever Yency Almonte were dealt to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for prospects Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope. For the Dodgers, they needed to clear 40-man roster spots for free-agent signings... Read More

Is Marcus Stroman A Good Fit On The Yankees? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

With the winter meetings mostly behind us, free agents have started to get a better idea of where they will be playing in 2024. Marcus Stroman was the latest to sign, agreeing to a deal on January 11. The former Blue Jay, Met, and most recently Cub agreed to a two-year, $37 million contract with... Read More

Is Mitch Haniger Worth a Late-Round Flier? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Answering whether or not Mitch Haniger is worth a late-round flier in fantasy baseball is not as easy to answer as it should be. That is because we cannot predict whether or not he'll be healthy enough to play a meaningful amount of games to warrant a roster spot. We can't predict health of any player,... Read More

Hitter Batted Ball Distribution: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy baseball managers want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not always the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution. The league average batted ball distribution in... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Outlooks for Michael Busch, Yency Almonte, Jackson Ferris, Zyhir Hope - MLB Trade Analysis

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers hooked up on Thursday, January 11 for a trade that will have an immediate impact in all fantasy baseball leagues, but the deal could have tentacles that reach out for quite some time due to the players that were involved. The interesting part of this was two teams... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Outlooks for Robbie Ray, Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani, Andrew Kittredge, Jose Caballero, Luke Raley - MLB Trade Analysis

Last Friday, January 7, we saw a smattering of MLB trades. These were by no means any of the biggest names of the offseason, but we saw a former Cy Young winner and multiple All-Stars change teams. The three trades involved seven players and four teams, lefties, righties, youngsters, vets, pitchers, and position players. Let's... Read More

Closers and Relief Pitchers - 2024 Fantasy Baseball ADP Analysis, Draft Targets, Avoids

As we get into the middle of January, fantasy baseball draft season is gaining speed and momentum. By now, most of you have either already participated in a draft of some sort or are at least beginning your prep work and/or consuming more fantasy baseball content. This relief pitcher position is annually one of the... Read More

HR/FB: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Batting average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. Most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier, though. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI.... Read More

Can Teoscar Hernandez Return to All-Star Form in L.A.? Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Once you've spent over a billion dollars, what's another 23.5 million dollars more? After Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed enormous long-term contracts with the Dodgers earlier this offseason, veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernandez signed on with the team this past Sunday on a 1-year $23.5 million deal. The 31-year-old was an All-Star in 2021 and... Read More

Re-Drafting The 2012 Fantasy Baseball First-Year Player Draft - Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor, Yoenis Cespedes, and more

This is the third edition of a series here at RotoBaller from Benjamin Chase. The series explores previous First-Year Player Drafts and re-drafts those FYPDs with the information we've received since from drafted players and international signees that would have been eligible. This series shows that often the top guys in FYPD drafts remain the... Read More

Batter BABIP: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

The most accessible of the fantasy-relevant advanced stats is BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls In Play. It simply measures a player's batting average on balls in play, with outcomes such as strikeouts and home runs removed from consideration. In general, the league average hovers around .300, a nice round number to remember. However, it... Read More

2024 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings, Tiers, Analysis - Roto League Drafts

Last season saw multiple catchers across Major League Baseball emerge as potential future stars, the most obvious being Baltimore's Adley Rutschman. But Seattle's Cal Raleigh, Arizona's Gabriel Moreno, Atlanta's Sean Murphy, and New York's Francisco Alvarez also raised their stock and were difference-makers offensively for their respective teams at points during the MLB season. Proven... Read More

Introduction: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball 2024

Hello fellow RotoBallers! Sabermetrics have become an integral tool for fantasy baseball draft prep, but a concise resource for understanding the basics can be difficult to find. This series will attempt to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy managers may find useful, citing examples of how to use them in the process. Multiple... Read More