Florio's MLB Bullpen Report: Making Sense of Reliever Trades for Fantasy Baseball

For weeks, I spoke about the MLB trade deadline and how the bullpen position was greatly going to be impacted. And for weeks all that there was… were crickets. But, in classic trade deadline fashion, it did not disappoint, at least not when it came to a reliever shake up.  We saw a number of... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising MLB Pitcher Starts from Week 17

Welcome back to "Are You For Real?", a weekly column where we take starting pitchers who had surprisingly good starts over the past week and put them under the microscope to determine whether they're legit or just smoke and mirrors. This week we're taking a trip to the bay area to take a look at... Read More

MLB Pitcher Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for xFIP (Week 17)

Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! The second half of the season is now underway, and I will return to my standard format for this article series. Each week, I select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze... Read More

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 17

Hopefully, I speak for everyone when I say that this marks the beginning of the best part of the baseball season. From impact in-season trades to postseason races to the fall classic, there's no slowing down in terms of entertainment from here; I'm ready to run through a brick wall just thinking about it! Fantasy... Read More

Hitters To Have A Big Second Half? Strikeout Rate Improvements for Fantasy Baseball

One good way to find hitters to help your fantasy team during the stretch run is to see which hitters have been striking out less as the year has gone by. The strikeout rate is far from the only thing to consider with a hitter, and it's probably not even the most important statistic -... Read More

Closer Stashes for the Trade Deadline: Florio's MLB Bullpen Report

I have been talking about the trade deadline and the reliever shakeup we are (still) guaranteed to see. By this point, you may be thinking of me as the boy who cried wolf, but the trades are coming - the market has just been slow to develop.  But by the time you click on this... Read More

Sneaky Fantasy Trade Candidates Worth Acquiring Ahead of the MLB Deadline

Everyone is talking about Juan Soto or Willson Contreras being moved and it's fun to speculate on where superstar and All-Star level players could be moved. The truth is in fantasy baseball, someone in your league already has these players and they are going to play every day regardless of where they play. But what... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising MLB Pitcher Starts from Week 16

Welcome back to "Are You For Real?", a weekly column where we take starting pitchers who had surprisingly good starts over the past week and put them under the microscope to determine whether they're legit or just smoke and mirrors. With the trade deadline looming, fantasy managers should be looking to shore up their rotations... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - MLB Second-Half Preview

Welcome back to fantasy baseball and RotoBaller’s Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I normally select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. As we return from the All-Star break and dive back into fantasy... Read More

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 16

Baseball is back, folks! As entertaining as the All-Star festivities were, it's nice to get back to organized baseball games, particularly with postseason races picking up. We truly are in the midst of the best time of the year. Fantasy baseball teams are built through the draft, but an argument can be made that leagues... Read More

Identifying Top MLB Pitching Prospects - Exploring Minor League Plate Discipline Data

Last week, we published an article on minor league plate discipline metrics for MLB prospect hitters, covering contact %, swinging strike %, swing %, foul strike %, called strike %, and ball %. This article today looks at the same set of metrics but for pitchers. The full minor league plate discipline leaderboards will continue... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report - MLB Rookie Risers and Fallers for Week 15

Welcome to the first full week after the All-Star break, Week 15, and another edition of RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball prospects! In this article are your recently promoted MLB prospects and their outlooks as we head into Week 15 of the fantasy baseball season. Here I discuss some recently-promoted top MLB... Read More

Fantasy Baseball 2022 First-Half Awards

As we close out the first half of the MLB season, we are temporarily going into reflection mode. I'm Jon Anderson and I'm here to hand out some first-half awards for fantasy baseball. I will mostly have standard-scoring rotisserie leagues in mind here, and I will try to not make injury a big part of... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - MLB First-Half Hits and Misses

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I have selected one advanced metric, chosen two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyzed what those values may mean for future performance. I have covered a host of different metrics so far and have made plenty of... Read More

Finding MLB Starting Pitcher Breakouts - Pitch Mix Analysis and Mid-Season Changes

I seem to have found a niche covering pitch mixes and using it to evaluate where pitchers have avenues for growth or warning signs for regression. As a former catcher, I'm used to thinking about pitch sequencing and how pitches work in tandem to attack hitters at different parts of the strike zone. My goal... Read More

Florio's MLB Bullpen Report: Rangers Pen Changes, Stashes Before Deadline

We are just a week from the All-Star Break, which has become the official midway point in both the MLB and the fantasy baseball season. Once the break has come and gone, you can expect the reliever trade market to ramp up and ramp up quickly. But I have spent enough time in this article... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 14

Welcome back to "Are You For Real?", a weekly column where we take starting pitchers who had surprisingly good starts over the past week and put them under the microscope to determine whether they're legit or just smoke and mirrors. With the All-Star break looming, fantasy managers are clamoring for this year's second-half breakouts, and... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Zone Swing & Miss % For Week 14

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. There are plenty of metrics to consider for the final full week before the All-Star... Read More

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 14

Have we found a reasonable median expectation for offense moving forward? So far in July, the offensive output has been remarkably similar, though power still remains down compared to previous seasons. On the bright side, we are seeing slightly fewer strikeouts, so the league-wide on-base percentage is roughly unchanged from last year. That being said,... Read More

Florio's MLB Bullpen Report: Braves Pen Changing, Stash Candidates

For over a month now I have been highlighting the fact that no position is more influenced by the trade deadline than the reliever position. That closers and other relievers would be traded which would be sure to shake up the fantasy baseball relief pitcher landscape. That we would see new closers emerge and some... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 13

Welcome back to "Are You For Real?", a weekly column where we take starting pitchers who had surprisingly good starts over the past week and put them under the microscope to determine whether they're legit or just smoke and mirrors. The east coast bias is in full effect this week, as we're taking a deep... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report - Rookie Risers and Fallers for Week 13

Welcome to Week 13 and another edition of RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball prospects! In this article are your recently promoted MLB prospects and their outlooks as we head into Week 13 of the fantasy baseball season. Here I discuss some recently-promoted top MLB prospects and rookies, making note of what I... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - WAR For Week 13

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. As we near the All-Star break, I decided it would be a good idea to... Read More

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 13

This baseball season has been an absolute roller coaster with the offensive environment going through its ups and downs and the game suffering from injuries to several potent players. Add Bryce Harper to the latest list of superstars to be bit by the injury bug, which brings up a very important fact: injuries are easily... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Braves, Yankees Among Changing Bullpens

Death, taxes, bullpens changing around the MLB. I have spent a lot of time in recent weeks talking up the trade deadline and the number of bullpen moves we can see happen cause of it. That is not changing, in fact, it is quickly approaching, and you should remain ready to pounce if and when... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 12

Welcome back to "Are You For Real?", a weekly column where we take starting pitchers who had surprisingly good starts over the past week and put them under the microscope to determine whether they're legit or just smoke and mirrors. We only had space for two pitchers this week, but we were able to go... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - wOBACON For Week 12

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week, I will select one advanced metric, choose two pitchers with strong values and two with poor values, and analyze what those values may mean for future performance. I wrote about the expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) for the first article of the... Read More

How Tanner Houck Found a Home in the Ninth Inning

So are those of us who deemed Boston Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck as a sleeper to target this draft season taking our victory laps yet? If so, we certainly shouldn’t be. He hasn’t become the savior of the Red Sox rotation we were hoping for. Instead, he’s helped save the Red Sox in a... Read More

Mining the Minors for Hot Prospect Hitters and Call-Ups - Francisco Alvarez, Vinnie Pasquantino, Mark Vientos, and more

When we ran the first installment of this piece back in April, we were hoping to identify some hot-hitting minor leagues who may not be on our radars. Yes, we had some big names like Nolan Gorman and former trendy prospects like Luis Garcia, but the first installment also pointed us to Jack Suwinski and... Read More