Dynasty First Basemen - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks. I’ve already covered catchers. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 first basemen - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. The group of first base prospects simultaneously lost its star-power and recovered. Cody Bellinger, Josh […]

Dynasty Catchers - Top MLB Prospects for Dynasty Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks. Today I'm bringing you my top 10 catchers - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. Catchers are often a challenging position to find star prospects. It seems the best hitters are the worst defensively and […]

Two Ohtanis Aren't Better Than One

Even before Shohei Ohtani made a series of somewhat surprising decisions – forgoing a nine-figure salary by coming to MLB two years early, then signing with the Los Angeles Angels – fantasy owners were consumed by a vital question: How would the major platforms handle Ohtani? Japan’s answer to Babe Ruth presented a logistical quandary. […]

Fantasy Implications - Marcell Ozuna to Cardinals

The 2017 season was a breakout year for slugging outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who turned in career bests in batting average (.312), on-base percentage (.376), and slugging percentage (.548) while also clubbing 37 home runs and driving in 124 RBI, both of which were also career highs. It was the type of season many fantasy owners […]

Champ or Chump - Zack Cozart and Evan Longoria

Fantasy baseball has long been a game of perception. Will Player A continue his hot start or slump back into mediocrity? Are Player B's recent struggles signs of things to come or a temporary blip on the radar? An analysis of each specific player is the best way to answer these questions, but fantasy owners […]

Fantasy Implications - Ian Kinsler to Angels

The 2017 season was a disappointing one for veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler, who slumped to a career-low .236 batting average for the Tigers over 139 games. A casualty of the offseason sell-off in Detroit, Kinsler will head west for the 2018 season to join an Angels team that was in dire need of an […]

Champ or Chump - Stephen Piscotty and Carlos Santana

As sabermetrics become more widely accepted, analytical stats such as OBP are replacing more luck-based metrics such as batting average in a lot of formats. Playing in leagues like this frequently indicates a willingness to embrace a more realistic approach to the game, but many owners fail to adjust their rankings to their new reality. […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - There Are No More Wins

Pitchers have always made for awkward dynasty assets. There's no denying that you need some highly productive arms if you want to win your league. However, pitchers - both starters and relievers - have this bad habit of turning into pumpkins with very little warning. It's relatively rare for a hitter to pull a Prince […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - The Batting Average Nightmare

Last week, we discussed prioritizing power hitters when constructing your roster. In order to compete, most leagues require an average of roughly 25 home runs per active roster spot. Hitting that target requires a plan. However, power alone will not win a championship. Roster too many Joey Gallo types and you'll be left with a […]

Fantasy Implications - Zack Cozart to Angels

We seem to have one team every offseason who comes out of nowhere to go all in for a shot at a championship. The calendar hasn’t even switched to 2018 and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have already solidified themselves as one of the top winners this offseason. The Angels made a splash by […]

Champ or Chump - Ian Kinsler and Marcell Ozuna

The last day of the Winter Meetings continued the same trends that had previously categorized them. The Angels added Ian Kinsler to capitalize on the contention window opened when Shohei Ohtani decided to sign there, and Miami continued their fire sale by shipping Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals. A change of scenery should result in […]

Champ or Chump - Dee Gordon and Giancarlo Stanton

In what has become something of a South Florida tradition, the Miami Marlins are again selling everything on their roster in an effort to reduce costs. The team is unlikely to have any established names when the 2018 season starts, setting it up as a land of opportunity for fantasy owners searching for gems on […]

Champ or Chump - Mike Minor and Tyler Chatwood

Now that big names like Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani have moved, it's easy to stop paying attention to the lesser names on the transaction wire. Don't fall into that trap! The most prepared owners frequently perform the best, and everybody will have an educated opinion on guys like Stanton. Spin rate is still beyond […]

Champ or Chump - Brad Boxberger and Welington Castillo

The hot stove has been more of an ice box so far this season, as few moves have been made of any fantasy consequence. This seems poised to change in the near future, as both Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton should provide some clarity regarding their intentions before the new year. That said, the two […]

Champ or Chump - Ryon Healy and Doug Fister

Thanksgiving is over, meaning that it is officially time to start preparing for 2018 fantasy baseball drafts! This column usually uses sabermetrics to determine whether a given player is worth his current cost, but draft data isn't reliable this early in the offseason. Instead, we'll do a deep dive on the lesser offseason transactions. Players […]

Shohei Ohtani - What Should We Expect in 2018 and Beyond?

Shohei Ohtani is already the most talked-about player in the baseball world and he doesn't even belong to a Major League team. Not yet, at least. When Giancarlo Stanton is practically an afterthought at the GM meetings, you know you have something big on your hands. The Japanese sensation has dominated headlines lately and is now […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - The Home Run Elephant in the Room

We've all heard about the home runs. A total of 6,105 balls left the yard in 2017 - or avoided outfielders sufficiently for an inside-the-park home run. The previous record of 5,693 home runs was set in 2000 during the peak of the steroid era. This time, juiced balls and mechanical changes seem to be […]

Reviewing Kyle Bishop's Bold Predictions for 2017

What’s even more fun than making bold predictions? Looking back at the end of the season to see how good (or so, so hilariously bad) they were. Just like with the preseason pieces in March, I’m kicking off the review of our RotoBaller staff’s 2017 bold predictions. Let's get to it.Be sure to check all […]

Reviewing JB's 2017 Bold Predictions

What’s even more fun than making bold predictions? Looking back at the end of the season to see how good (or so, so hilariously bad) they were. As Michael Scott once said, "It takes a big man to admit his mistakes, and I am that big man." Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball […]

Reviewing Pierre Camus' Bold Predictions for 2017 MLB

Never have I looked forward to writing a season recap so much. I didn't do as well in my fantasy leagues this year, mainly due to lack of time attending to my lineups. Nor did half of these predictions come close to coming true. Sometimes it just takes one thing to make it all worthwhile. […]

Reviewing Harris Yudin's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

So, it makes sense that the worst fantasy season of my life coincides with my worst bold predictions. I failed to finish in the top five in any league for the first time, which I guess makes sense considering how heavily I bought into Joc Pederson and Yu Darvish— as you’ll soon find out. I […]

Reviewing Tom Bellucco's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

Well, my quest for a second straight championship in the RotoBaller Expert's League fell short. Congrats to Max Petrie for pulling away mercilessly in the final few weeks. Luckily I was able to hold off the aggressive pushes from Brad Johnson and Kyle Bishop to finish in second place. For those of you keeping track […]

Reviewing Bill Dubiel's Bold Predictions for 2017

Let's mine through the poop pile and see if we can dig out...I don't know, some undigested corn or something. There's a few good ones here. SHUT UP, I don't see you making any bold predictions. 1. Max Kepler hits 30 bombs AND is a top-30 outfielder.Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball […]

RotoBaller MLB Challenge - And The Winner Is...

What a season, RotoBallers. Fantasy baseball is always a fun, interesting, and long season - filled with injuries, breakout players, and different strategies. It takes stamina and endurance to win the six month marathon, and we're here today to recognize those who pulled it off. With over 200 teams competing to be crowned champ of […]

Reviewing Edward Sutelan's 10 Bold Predictions for 2017

One of the my favorite articles of the year is to write up my bold predictions for what will happen in the upcoming fantasy baseball season. Another one of my favorite articles is looking back on those bold predictions to see how great (terrible) my predictions wound up being. I will tell you right now, […]

Reviewing Rick Lucks's Bold Predictions

What’s even more fun than making bold predictions? Looking back at the end of the season to see how good (or so, so hilariously bad) they were. It's my turn to determine if my preseason picks make me a Champ or a Chump. I was terrible this year, so the answer is the latter. Let's […]

Champ or Chump: Chris Archer and Justin Verlander

Way back in March, I wrote a multi-part tutorial on how to use all of the metrics cited in Champ or Chump. I concluded the series by introducing Barrels and Brls/BBE, arguing that the metrics could have been used to predict Chris Carter's 2016 HR title had they been available before the season started. Gary […]

MLB Closers and Saves Report Week 26

    This is it, folks. Our last weekly MLB Closers and Saves Report for the 2017 season. It's been 26 weeks of fantasy baseball, and there have surely been ups and downs as the weeks have gone by.Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources: Fantasy baseball trade analyzer […]

Holds Leagues: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds For Week 26

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men to target off the waiver wire for Week 26, the final week of the fantasy baseball season. The more likely an MLB team is to win, the more likely these pitchers will be eligible to earn the […]