2019 First Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

David Robertson to the Phillies - Fantasy Impact

David Robertson became one of the highest-paid relievers this offseason after negotiating a two-year, $23 million deal to join the Philadelphia bullpen. Robertson has long been thought of as one of the top bullpen arms in the game, but recently has dipped in the fantasy world without a clear path to saves after a few […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 2 - HR/FB for Hitters

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most owners find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. Many owners […]

2019 Shortstops - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series with the ever-so-glamorous shortstop position. Shortstop is rich at the top and while it boasts intriguing depth, this is not a position to wait on, especially if you also have a middle-infield […]

Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Statcast Review - Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xSLG)

xSLG isn’t a stat you’ll find on the back of a baseball card or one you’d find on a baseball reference page. However, as far as advanced stats go, xSLG is pretty straightforward. It is the expected slugging percentage of a hitter based on hit probability his batted balls in play, regardless of outcome. So if […]

Trevor Story Rankings Debate - Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

For the RotoBaller baseball crew, it's our favorite time of the entire year. It's time to revive our signature series of articles debating the overall ranking of some of the most fantasy-relevant players of the 2019 baseball season. That's right, it's Ranker vs Ranker time! RotoBaller's expert writers have come up with our consensus rankings […]

Nick Pivetta - Ace In The Making

In 2018 there was a breakout pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies who took the league by storm. After garnering league-wide attention, he’s pegged by many fantasy experts as a top-tier starting pitcher for the upcoming year. I'm talking about Aaron Nola, of course. But after this season it very well could be Nick Pivetta. He […]

Teoscar Hernandez - Promising or Pretender?

Every new beginning signifies an end elsewhere. This was the case for Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez last season. The hard-hitting righty broke through in more ways than one in his first full year in the big leagues, finishing with a .239/.302/.468 line, and most importantly 22 home runs. The path to the plate […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 1 - BABIP for Hitters

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 attempts to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy owners may find useful, citing examples of how to use them in the process. Twenty degrees […]

Yusei Kikuchi to the Mariners - Fantasy Outlook

The Mariners rang in the new year with yet another move, as news broke in the final hours of 2018 that Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher Yusei Kikuchi had signed a four-year deal with Seattle. Kikuchi will be joining the Mariners after a "down" season in which he only went 14-4 with a 3.08 ERA — […]

Is it Legit? C.J. Cron's Breakout

We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Shane Bieber and Matt Chapman

The new year is upon us, which means that it's officially time to start preparing for your 2019 fantasy baseball drafts (if you haven't yet). This column will take a deep dive into two player profiles to attempt to predict how players will perform for their fantasy owners before they take the plunge. We'll start by […]

Domingo Santana to the Mariners - Fantasy Impact

The wheeling and dealing in Seattle continued just days before Christmas with the Mariners acquiring right fielder Domingo Santana from the Brewers. In the team's fourth trade in the month of December and their eighth trade of the offseason, Seattle sent outfielder Ben Gamel and reliever Noah Zavolas to Milwaukee for the 26-year-old Santana. After […]

Everything You Need to Know About Brandon Nimmo

You must be a fan of cliffhangers if you’ve been following New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo. After an offseason of trade talk, fantasy owners breathed a sigh of relief when it was Wilson Ramos announced as the team's newest cash signing, rather than the potential Nimmo - J.T. Realmuto deal proposed between the Mets and […]

Is It Tim Tebow Time in 2019?

It has been a long and polarizing road for Tim Tebow as a professional athlete. The two-time national champion and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner for the Florida Gators was a 2010 first-round draft pick to the Denver Broncos and, while he was never much of a passer (with the exception of his classic game-winning touchdown […]

Top 10 Dynasty First Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

It might seem like I drew the short straw among the prospect analysts here at RotoBaller, but I actually picked this assignment! You won’t see many of these names on top 100 lists. Despite being one of the positions from which teams expect to get the most offensive production, first base gets the least amount […]

Top 10 Dynasty Second Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Hey, RotoBallers. We have already started breaking down prospects in dynasty leagues, by position, beginning with catcher, outfield, and starting pitcher. Today I'm writing about my top-10 second basemen prospect rankings for 2019 dynasty baseball leagues. The second base position is a difficult spot to find natural players raised in the position. Most are positional migrants, kicked off their position to a […]

Is it Legit? Blake Snell's 2018 Breakout

We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players […]

2018 Pitching Fallers - ERA

In my last piece, we took a look at some of the pitchers who made significant improvements to their ERA in 2018. Now it's time to take a look at the guys who went in the other direction, and see if it's time to panic on them. This list features two starters who were being […]

Statcast Review 2018 - Noteworthy SP Launch Angle Leaders

Fret not fantasy baseball fans, Winter Meetings have come and gone, big deals are getting struck, and we are continuing our quest to find value for next season! In this edition of Statcast Review, I take a look at some of 2018’s pitching leaders in launch angle. Launch angle alone is not all that telling […]

Is it Legit? Jose Peraza's 2018 Breakout

We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players […]

Top 10 Dynasty Outfielders - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Outfield prospects are fascinating right now, as with the graduation of Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto, there are new names near the top of the rankings to learn. This does not mean a drop in talent though, as the current crop of players is easy to dream on for fantasy owners with a mix of […]

Is it Legit? German Marquez's 2018 Breakout

We continue with our next edition of "Is It Legit?" to discuss another surprising breakout performer from the 2018 MLB season in order to assess his value heading into 2019. With so many players seemingly becoming fantasy baseball darlings overnight, it can be challenging to sift through the multiple hype trains and determine which players […]

Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood Become Reds

Starting pitcher Alex Wood, catcher Kyle Farmer, and outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig are trading Dodger blue for the bright kit of the Cincinnati Reds. The trio was traded for Homer Bailey and prospects in what was essentially a salary dump for Los Angeles as they attempt to sign or trade for more superstars. […]

Daniel Murphy to the Rockies - Fantasy Implications

Rockies fans watched a 2018 team that disappointed on offense and the front office might have just made the key addition to fix some of those headaches. Second baseman Daniel Murphy will be joining the Rockies on a two-year deal and should offer an exciting upside bat, with a glove that might not play all […]

Michael Brantley to Astros - Fantasy Impact

Outfielder Michael Brantley inked a two-year, $32 million deal with the Houston Astros, filling a gap in the outfield for the 2017 champions. Brantley had injuries that cut his 2016 and 2017 seasons short, but he came back strong in 2018 to be productive. He also had a .319 batting average and 90 doubles in […]

Please Let Brandon Belt Get Traded

A report recently came to light that the San Francisco Giants were making first baseman and owner of a genuine super-beard, Brandon Belt, available in trades. Apparently, there are teams interested in the oft-injured slugger, despite the whopping $48 million due to him over the next three years. It’s not terribly surprising that Belt is available, […]

Carlos Santana and Edwin Encarnacion Swapped - Fantasy Impact

For Cleveland fans, last year was an odd viewing experience, as for the first time in eight years Carlos Santana was not suiting up for the team. Well, those days are over, as Santana is returning to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario as part of a three-team deal. At the time of writing, Carlos […]