2017 Keeper Values: First Base Rankings - Tier One

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at first basemen keeper values for fantasy baseball (tier one)  for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated […]

Fantasy Implications of the Tyler Thornburg Trade

Tyler Thornburg established himself as one of the most reliable closers in baseball in 2016. The then-Brewer took advantage of injuries and trades to eventually earn a closer role and he took full advantage. Thornburg's final stats read: 13 SV, 2.15 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .162 OPP AVG, and 90 K in 67 IP. The 28-year-old used […]

Houston Astros Top MLB Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues

Houston Astros fans will tell you 2016 was a disappointing season. They appeared to be entering the season with one of the most solid, young cores in baseball backed by a rotation led by the reigning-Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel and a very encouraging season by Lance McCullers. An 84-78 record and third-place finish in […]

Should Fantasy Baseball Owners Avoid Adam Jones?

There is a narrative that Adam Jones is in decline. But is that true? First, let’s distinguish real-life decline from fantasy baseball decline. Many of the “Jones is in decline” crowd point to his defense, which is not relevant to fantasy baseball. Jones posted -10 Defensive Runs Saved last year, but Jones had positive grades […]

Fantasy Implications of Steve Pearce Joining the Toronto Blue Jays

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our ongoing series on MLB player outlooks and free agent signings. In case you missed them, you can see our earlier columns on various 2017 player outlooks including those who changed teams. On December 5, the Blue Jays signed one of my favorite Orioles, Steve Pearce, to a two-year deal despite his ongoing recovery […]

Three Up, Three Down: 2017 MLB Prospect Risers and Fallers

Prospects are always fun to follow for fantasy baseball enthusiasts. When the next big thing makes his mark on baseball’s biggest stage, fantasy geeks take pride in saying “I knew about him when he was riding the bus in Biloxi!” This season I’ll once again help you navigate through the murky prospect waters on a […]

Dylan Bundy - Breakout Candidate

Dylan Bundy has a prospect pedigree as good as anyone in baseball. He was previously Baseball America’s and MLB.com’s number two prospect. In 2012, his first year out of high school, he made it to the majors. In my March 2014 Orioles’ prospect rankings, I had Bundy as a 9.5/10 talent; I would not lower […]

2017 Keeper Values: First Basemen Rankings - Tier Two

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at first basemen keeper values for fantasy baseball (tier two)  for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated […]

Minnesota Twins Top MLB Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues

After a 2015 campaign that saw the Minnesota Twins go 83-79 and second in the AL Central to the eventual World Champion Kansas City Royals, fans could be heard screaming “the future is now!” Unfortunately for those Twins fans, their team experienced a true disaster of a 2016 season that saw them finish 59-103 (the […]

Did Kevin Gausman Experience a Second-Half Breakout?

Kevin Gausman improved his 5x5 stats immensely in the second half of 2016. However, a player’s stat line for the year as a whole trumps a strong second half unless there is a clear reason otherwise. Two possibilities include overcoming an injury or a more favorable second half schedule. This article will explore (1) whether Gausman’s […]

Champ or Chump: Kendrys Morales and Jose Bautista

Toronto has had a polarizing offseason to say the least. Faced with the possibility of losing two of their trademark sluggers, the team jumped on DH Kendrys Morales with a long term contract to fill the void. The move was questioned at the time, and looked even worse when the market refused to pay for […]

Industry Mock Draft Results: Picks the Experts Love And Hate

Late January means we’re treading ever closer to pitchers and catchers reporting, but more importantly, it means we’re wading ever deeper into the mock-draft waters for the fantasy baseball season. RotoBaller recently held its first mock draft of the season, and now we’ll give all participants a chance to share their notable picks. If you […]

Fantasy Implications of Adam Eaton Joining the Washington Nationals

On December 7, the Nationals acquired Adam Eaton for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning. Opinions of the trade differed based on projections of Giolito (who some remember as the game’s former top pitching prospect, and others think has lost a lot of his prospect shine) and Eaton’s center field defense (which metrics do not […]

Champ or Chump: Nate Karns and Jose Quintana

Pitching always seems to define my fantasy seasons, good and bad. After covering Jarrod Dyson in the last Champ/Chump, it makes sense to acknowledge that the piece Kansas City acquired is also interesting from a fantasy perspective. Jose Quintana may be the best pitcher on the trade market, so he has been involved in his […]

2017 Keeper Values: First Base Rankings - Tiers Three and Four

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at first basemen keeper values for fantasy baseball (tiers three and four) which include eight undrafted players and a veteran taken in the first round of 2016 drafts, for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper […]

Thinking Out Loud: Early Industry Mock Draft Results

Due to being professional fiends, we here at RotoBaller held our first mock draft of the 2017 fantasy baseball season this week. Mocks are great but constantly ruined by trolling fools who can't commit past two rounds. Luckily, my job grants me access to folks who want to be there. We still troll each other, but the […]

2017 Keeper Values: Catcher Rankings - Tier One: Gary Sanchez

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at catcher keeper values for fantasy baseball (tier one), featuring Gary Sanchez, for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must […]

Kansas City Royals Top MLB Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues

I hate to burst the bubble of many Royals’ fans out there, but it appears the dynasty’s run has come to an end. The Royals don’t have the team they once had when they made the World Series in 2014 and 2015 and free agency is about to decimate their roster at the end of […]

Top 500: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers. Below you will find our early 2017 fantasy baseball points leagues rankings (top 500). The MLB season is approaching, and with that comes the excitement of fantasy baseball drafts - coming in a variety of formats. Today's rankings are specifically for points leagues, which have different scoring settings than most. Each statistical category is assigned […]

Detroit Tigers Top MLB Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues

A season after finishing in the AL Central basement, the Tigers rebounded in a big way, placing second in the division, three games out of a Wild Card spot. Their success came largely from a dominant pair at the top of the rotation: Michael Fulmer, AL Rookie of the Year, and Justin Verlander, AL Cy […]

2017 Keeper Values: Catcher Rankings - Tier Two: Willson Contreras

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at catcher keeper values for fantasy baseball (tier two), for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated […]

Rich Hill Stays With Dodgers, What Can Fantasy Owners Expect?

When the A’s signed Rich Hill to a one-year deal last offseason, it was seen as a risky move on a fairly unknown commodity – a veteran who had pitched very sparingly for a few years and made a few good starts in late 2015. But the veteran reclamation project is a secret no longer. After […]

Podcast: National League & American League MLB Free Agent Signings

RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and esteemed co-host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the top MLB free agent signings to prepare you for the 2017 fantasy baseball draft season. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every Saturday between 5-8 PM EST. You can also find new weekly shows on […]

Fantasy Implications of Aroldis Chapman's Return To Yankees

When it comes to closers, one of the most recognizable names is Aroldis Chapman. Part of it might have been from the domestic violence incident that saw him miss the early portion of the 2016 season. Most of it though was his playing a huge part in helping the Chicago Cubs break their 108-year World Series […]

MLB Dynasty Rankings for 2017: Top 25

All ranking projects are beasts, and the deeper we go, the more beastly they become. Ranking players at one position against players at another is easy enough. Shuffling the positions together to form a top 500 list can be unwieldy. Adding in the "dynasty" tag is the ultimate complication. Before we hit the top 25, […]

2017 Keeper Values: Catcher Rankings - Tier Three

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at catcher keeper values for fantasy baseball (tier three), for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated […]

Fantasy Implications of Mark Melancon Joining the San Francisco Giants

Mark Melancon wasn't in the running for a record-setting deal like fellow firemen Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen. He settled for $62 million over four years in San Francisco. The Giants were in desperate need of a proven closer to solidify their bullpen. They now appear to have their man in place which should have […]

Cleveland Indians Top MLB Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues

The Cleveland Indians surprised nearly everyone in 2017, making a run to the World Series and forcing the absolutely stacked Chicago Cubs to a Game 7. I would say they took everyone by surprise, but the only surprise this writer had was that they didn’t win the whole thing (see Bold Predictions). And thanks to […]

Matt Holliday Looks to Extend Prolific Career in Pinstripes

The Yankees' youth movement in the lineup was infused with a dash of experience when the club signed Matt Holliday in December. The 37-year-old has missed significant time over the last two years in St. Louis, but will be counted on heavily in New York. Does he have enough left in the tank to be […]

Fantasy Implications of the Jorge Soler, Wade Davis Trade

On December 7, 2016, the Royals dealt away All-Star closer Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for 24-year-old outfielder Jorge Soler. Most believed the trade to be mutually beneficial for all parties involved as Soler appeared to be headed towards more playing time, Davis was headed to a team with a chance to […]