Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 9: Pitcher Batted Ball Distribution

The league average batted ball distribution in 2016 was 20.7% liners, 44.7% grounders and 34.6% flies. Last time, we took a brief look at how pitchers may specialize in either grounders or fly balls. Fly ball pitchers have a BABIP advantage over their ground ball-inducing counterparts, since fly balls (.127 BABIP in 2016) consistently have... Read More

Potential Shortstop ADP Busts for 2017

Shortstop. One of the most vital positions in baseball. Throughout the years it has also been one of the most important positions in fantasy baseball, as it has fluctuated from a position with almost no offensive production expected (way back in the pre-Jeter/A-Rod days) to a top-heavy position (when Miguel Tejada and Nomar joined Jeter)... Read More

Third Base ADPs - Overvalued and Undervalued

In my starting pitchers’ piece, I noted how I wanted top starting pitchers, but very few had an ADP at or lower than my rankings. Thus, in order to fill my goal of acquiring top starting pitchers, I had to search for relative value; those who had ADPs close to my rankings became relative values.... Read More

Draft Values: The 2017 All-Bargain Team

This article first appeared on the Metro news publication. Our long national nightmare is nearly over. No, not that one…here we’re referring to the lack of baseball. Opening Day is right around the corner, and not a moment too soon. After last week’s look at the busts, let’s end draft season on a happy note... Read More

Top Power-Metric Gainers - What to Expect in 2017

The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece caps off our short series looking at... Read More

Jim Turvey's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

One of my favorite preseason series here at RotoBaller has been the “10 Bold Predictions” series. It allows authors to pump up a few of the players and teams they like (and deflate the guys they dislike), while also going on record with actual stats and metrics. Be sure to check out just how wonky... Read More

Deeper Late Round Draft Fliers for Wins

Wins are a fickle stat and often don’t seem to benefit the most deserving pitchers in the game. One need only look at the leaderboard last season to see the likes of Hector Santiago, Josh Tomlin, and Collin McHugh with as many wins as Jose Quintana. That can make it frustrating and often difficult to... Read More

Points League Starting Pitchers: Overvalued and Undervalued

As we’ve discussed, points leagues are a bit of a different animal from the more popular head-to-head and rotisserie formats. One of the easiest and best ways to ensure that you’re making a smooth transition between these disparate styles is to identify players whose values change most. Today, to conclude this series, we're looking at... Read More

ADP Champs or Chumps: Keon Broxton & Trea Turner

If fantasy owners share a collective weakness, it's recency bias. How many times are we going to draft a guy based on what he did last season, or even the last month of last season, without any regard to what that player did before? Mike Trout was great out of the box, but there are... Read More

Three Potential AL Outfielder Busts for 2017 Fantasy Baseball

As much as we all love to find that diamond in the rough who exceeds expectations in the late rounds of our fantasy drafts, we loathe drafting a guy, expecting great things from him and being let down. It’s inevitable that it will happen to some fantasy owners. It’s almost impossible to completely avoid it,... Read More

Relief Pitchers - Updated March Rankings and Tiers

We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at relief pitcher rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have seen a bit of movement. As... Read More

Jeff Kahntroff's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

Just when you thought it was over... this will officially conclude our Bold Predictions series for the fantasy baseball season. Last year was the debut of my 10 bold predictions, and I think I did pretty well. But you should be the judge for yourself and review how I did before deciding how much stock... Read More

Top Gainers in Fly Ball Rate - What to Expect in 2017

The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece continues the series where we explore some... Read More

Last Minute Draft Prep and Strategy: Sweat the Small Stuff

The deeper your league, the more important it is to gain a slight edge over your opponents whenever possible. Nobody “dominates” a competitive draft. Presumably you have compiled a list. Most RotoBaller readers know who’s injured. Everyone has sleepers, some of us a hunch or two. Yet even with dedicated preparation, a successful live draft... Read More

2017 Deeper Outfielder Sleepers - AL

The key to winning a championship in fantasy baseball is to find gems in the late rounds of your drafts. Anyone can draft a top-10 player, but only those who truly prepare can find the diamonds in the rough. Below are some 2017 deep outfielder sleepers for the American League. I will be analyzing five... Read More

Shortstop: Updated March Rankings and Tiers

Just like second base, shortstop is a deep position this year. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the tiers. As before, this round of rankings features picks from Kyle Bishop, Nick Mariano, Bill Dubiel, Brad Johnson, Harris Yudin and myself. Check out all of our updated rankings. Adjust your league size, and export your rankings. Tiers,... Read More

Potential ADP Busts for Second Base in 2017

We’re continuing our Positional Avoid series today with a look at second basemen. Earlier, we examined three potential busts at catcher and at first base. We continue our positional avoid series today with three second baseman who are going just a bit higher than would seem to be logical in 2017 drafts. Second base is a position that... Read More

First Base ADPs - Overvalued and Undervalued

In this piece, I'll lay out some first basemen who are shaping up as great values in fantasy drafts and also a few who are not worth their current prices. All ADP data can be found using our awesome rankings wizard. The first base position is an interesting one in fantasy. There's a clear top-three at... Read More

Catcher ADPs - Overvalued and Undervalued

For standard, one catcher leagues, I either want one of the top four catchers (where Schwarber qualifies at catcher), or I want one of the last catchers. The top four catchers seem to be valued properly, but if one slips, go for it. While any individual taken fifth through eleventh in the catcher world could... Read More

Bill Dubiel's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

Here at Rotoballer, we truly do believe in the "grand finale" concept--that's why you're getting MY bold predictions after all the other chuckleheads. By chuckleheads I mean my talented and respectable colleagues. Be sure to check out just how wonky we all get this time of year with our entire Bold Prediction Series. I didn't have... Read More

Top Gainers in Pull Rate: What to Expect in 2017

The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece continues the series where we explore some... Read More

Top 100 Keeper Values for 2017

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to the finale of my series on keeper leagues. Today we'll take a look at the final product, the top 100 Keeper Values, after analyzing each tier at every position this offseason. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft round... Read More

Outfield (Part 2): Updated March Rankings and Tiers

We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at part two of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have seen a bit... Read More

Second Base: Updated March Rankings and Tiers

The positions that are usually thought of as thin are unusually deep this year, with second base being no exception. Unlike years past, you won’t be forced to have a poor first base option if you don’t take one early. Nonetheless, we need to examine each tier to see where the best values lie. Here,... Read More

Second Base ADPs - Overvalued and Undervalued

In this piece, I'll lay out some second basemen who are shaping up as great values in fantasy drafts and also a few who are not worth their current prices. All ADP data can be found using our awesome rankings wizard. The top half of the second base position is littered with talented players, from expected... Read More

Harris Yudin's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

Over the final two weeks leading up to Opening Day, our writers will be offering their most audacious projections for the 2017 fantasy baseball season. This is my second year contributing to this bold predictions series. Last season, I hit on a couple of predictions (Jake Arrieta’s fall from grace, Christian Yelich’s breakout, Roberto Osuna... Read More

Top Gainers in Hard Hit Rate - What to Expect in 2017

The baseball universe is really coming into its own when it comes to advanced data metrics that we can parse through, with hard-hit rates, exit velocities, spray charts and batted-ball outcomes all becoming accessible tools to throw in the toolkit before we go digging for answers. Today's piece kicks off a series where we're going... Read More

Points League Outfielders: Overvalued and Undervalued

As we’ve discussed, points leagues are a bit of a different animal from the more popular head-to-head and rotisserie formats. One of the easiest and best ways to ensure that you’re making a smooth transition between these disparate styles is to identify players whose values change most. Today we're looking at some potential outfield sleepers and busts,... Read More

Milwaukee Brewers - 2017 Fantasy MLB Team Preview and Outlooks

As we wrap up our MLB team previews, it's time to preview one of the young, upcoming teams in the National League with the 2017 Milwaukee Brewers Team Outlook. The Brewers finished last season 73-89, but are a team that should be on the rise despite a relatively quiet offseason. We'll take a look at the team's... Read More