Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 13: Barrels For Pitchers

Last time, we looked at Barrels, a stat combining exit velocity and launch angle to measure how often a batter makes quality hard contact. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is some evidence that pitchers do not have the same […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire - Second Base (2B) and Shortstop Base (SS)

Baseball is here! With real games having started Sunday, you have almost certainly had your draft and are in the honeymoon stages with your 2017 team. You don’t want to cut anyone just yet, as you don’t want to be labeled the Overreact Girl/Guy. That being said, there are some injuries that open up DL […]

Streaming Wars: Exploiting the Waiver Wire to Win Your League

Welcome to Streaming Wars, a new column offering waiver wire recommendations for the next day. Streaming goes by many names such as micromanaging, churn and burn, etc. Whatever you call it, the goal is the same - to fully leverage your weakest roster spots. Streaming is not for everybody, but it is for mostbody. Sometimes, you'll have […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire - First Base (1B) and Third Base (3B)

The season is officially underway and waivers are finally open to all antsy fantasy owners who are already desperate for help. Whether you're dissatisfied with your current starters or are scrambling for a replacement for Adrian Beltre or Anthony Rendon, these corner infielders could step right in and help your fantasy team. Third base is as deep […]

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Week 1

Baseball season is here, which means it's time to maximize your innings and start grabbing pitchers with two starts this week. Week 1 is the toughest week to find under-the-radar options, since every team is trotting out their top starters to begin the week. The staggered schedule makes things harder as some teams won't even […]

Week 1 Start/Sit: MLB Starting Pitcher (SP) Matchups

We're back Rotoballers! Your friendly neighborhood @Roto_Dubs is back with his weekly starting pitcher matchups. Below are the projected starting pitching matchups for Week 1, and will be updated as more starters are announced. If you've got any questions about which pitchers can capitalize on a juicy matchup and which ones might be worth putting on […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire: 0-25% Owned Pickups

Baseball is finally back. In light of this, let's give that free agent pool one last look over before the stats start flying. Here are the best players who are owned in 0-25% of Yahoo leagues. You can see our column on 25-50% owned players as well. These are your deeper Week 1 waiver wire pickups and […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire: 25-50% Owned Pickups

Wow, we're really here. After all this time, baseball is truly back. Happy Opening Day RotoBallers! In light of this, let's give that free agent pool one last look over before the stats start flying. Today, we'll look at players who are owned in 25-50% of Yahoo leagues and see who stands out. You can […]

Jason Grilli (RP, TOR) - Closers and Saves Draft and Waiver Targets

BALLER MOVE: Draft / Add in All Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 6% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: Roberto Osuna will start the season on the DL for the Toronto Blue Jays. It's unclear how long he will be sidelined for, and Jason Grilli is expected to serve as the closer for now. Joe Biagini may be another option for […]

Baseball Award Predictions that (Probably) Won't Come True

My least favorite type of baseball articles to read are preseason predictions for awards. Nobody in their right mind is going to pick against Mike Trout for AL MVP and there's a very narrow population of players that are considered in the NL. It's not exactly informative to hear someone say, "Clayton Kershaw has a […]

Turning Two: Who Will Earn 50 Saves in 2017?

Welcome back to our sixth edition of Turning Two. We've now discussed candidates for 50 HR, .350 BA, 300 K, 20 W, and 20/20 campaigns for the 2017 season. This week's topic focuses on the one position we have yet to cover, the most mystical of fantasy players, closers. Reaching 50 saves is an impressive, yet not rare, feat. Since […]

ADP Champs or Chumps - Albert Pujols & Miguel Cabrera

I know what you're thinking. "ADP Champs or Chumps? The season has already started!" That may be true, but there are some leagues that wait until the first week of the season to conduct their drafts. Personally I think that this is a terrible idea, as values become more linear when you know Opening Day […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 12 - Barrels for Batters

If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the so-called Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP figures. There is […]

Deep League Closer Handcuffs

"Don't overpay for saves." As dedicated fantasy baseball players, we've heard it a million times. When you start to see closers fly off the boards in your draft, however, it's tough not to pull the trigger so you don't get stuck with Jim Johnson as your lead fireman. There's no need to panic though. Given […]

Potential Pitcher ADP Busts for 2017

With REAL BASEBALL set to start on Sunday (with three games no less!), most fantasy drafts have either occurred or are set to happen very soon. With that in mind, we’re set to put a wrap on our positional avoid series with the final chapter: pitchers. Pitchers are as volatile as they come in fantasy […]

The Latest Bullpen Updates You Need to Know for Your Drafts

We're less than a week away from Opening Day and on the verge of a huge fantasy draft weekend. It's finally time for baseball season to be in (don't say "full swing" don't say "full swing") full effect! Many fantasy leagues have already drafted, but there is still a waiver wire to scour and buy-low/sell-high […]

Lottery Tickets for 2017 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

You're 25 rounds deep into your fantasy baseball draft, your rotation is secure, you're backed up at every position on the field and you've got one pick left to fill out your roster. Sure, you could go with that 10-year veteran SP with a lifetime 4.50 ERA that might get you 10-12 wins. Is that […]

American League Outfielders: Overvalued and Undervalued

With the MLB season right around the corner, we are in high-season for fantasy baseball drafts. Before you enter your draft room this year, it would behoove you to check out our ADP analysis pieces here at RotoBaller. We will ensure you have a good working knowledge of how players are being viewed, when to grab […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 11 - Minor League Stats

Once you've grown accustomed to having advanced tools to help make fantasy decisions, it can feel disorientating to be without them. Prospects are increasingly becoming a focal point in both real and fantasy baseball, but the minors simply do not have all of the data available for MLB players. For example, advanced plate discipline stats, […]

Podcast: After Hours With RotoBaller Radio - Closer Tiered Rankings & ADP Valuations

RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and esteemed co-host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss 2017 closer and relief pitcher tiered rankings, ADP and draft valuations. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every Saturday and Sunday between 5-8 PM EST. You can also find new weekly shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on […]

Mitch Haniger - The Seattle Mariners' New Secret Weapon

Of all the new players GM Jerry Dipoto has brought in, Mitch Haniger may just be the one with the most upside. Jean Segura, Jarrod Dyson, Drew Smyly; these are just a handful of the guys that Dipoto has added to the Mariners roster just this season alone. One that may have been overlooked at […]

Starting Pitcher (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 one of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have certainly seen some […]

Blake Treinen (RP, WAS) - Closers and Saves Draft and Waiver Targets

BALLER MOVE: Draft / Add in All Saves Leagues OWNED IN: 15% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: At last, the speculation is over. Blake Treinen has officially been announced as the closer for the Washington Nationals. Not Shawn Kelley, and not Koda Glover (gasp!). If you are in a league that values saves, go add him now. If you […]

Starting Pitcher (Part 1): 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 one of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have certainly seen some […]

Anthony Rendon's Secret Star Turn

A critical part of draft season is finding value, and that value can present itself in a lot of different ways. Sometimes it's a prospect that the rest of your league missed or a pitcher that is about to make the jump from good to great, but in many cases, that value can be had […]

2017 Prospects - Top 30 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Drafts

Hello everyone, and welcome to my weekly Top-30 Fantasy Rankings for Impact Rookies! In this series, I will be going over the top prospects in baseball and discussing which ones figure to have an impact for the rest of this fantasy baseball season. Opening Day is almost upon us. As I am writing this, we […]

ADP Champs or Chumps: Johnny Cueto & Noah Syndergaard

Every fantasy owner has certain guys that they can never seem to stay away from, no matter how many seasons they are disappointed. The inverse is also true, making it perennially challenging to trust a player you do not believe in. This latter point is true of Johnny Cueto and myself. His fantasy stats have […]

Potential Outfield ADP Busts for 2017

We continue our positional avoid series with the outfield today. Outfield is a position that is historically thought of as one of the deepest in fantasy, but when the vast majority of leagues demand five outfielders, the pickings can get slim in the later rounds. As such, you’ll need to make sure you hit on […]

Shortstop ADPs - Overvalued and Undervalued

Now that the first day of spring has passed, we are now entering the prime season for fantasy baseball drafts. Before you enter your draft room this year, it would behoove you to check out our ADP analysis pieces here at RotoBaller. This will ensure that you have a good working knowledge of how players […]

Turning Two: Who Will Join the 20/20 Club in 2017?

Welcome back to our fifth edition of Turning Two. We've now discussed candidates for 50 HR, .350 BA, 300 K, and 20 W for the 2017 season. This week's topic is a bit easier but still a noteworthy accomplishment: pulling off a 20/20 campaign. For those that don't know, 20/20 means 20 home runs and 20 steals. In […]