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

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 12

Right now, the quality of baseball appears to be at an all-time high. Playoff races are heating up, and this week especially, that's leading to highly-contested matchups between premier teams. More of this to come, please! Fantasy baseball teams are built through the draft, but an argument can be made that leagues are won through... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Changing Bullpens and Gearing Up for Trade Deadline

There is no more time to keep a close eye on bullpens than right now. We are just a little over a month away from the trade deadline and this is around the time we start to see some trades being made. I have emphasized this weekly for well over the last month, but no... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 11

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 keeping things central, as we'll be taking a look at three pitchers... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - HR/FB% For Week 11

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. Some metrics are more intricate than others, but that doesn't mean that they all can't... Read More

Pitchers With New Pitches - Should We Care For Fantasy Baseball? Part Five

Welcome to another episode in this FSWA-award-winning series Pitchers with New Pitches. We take the simple premise that not every new pitch should be greeted with praise. The new pitch, like the shiny new toy, might be exciting on its own, but it also needs to be a complement to what a pitcher already has.... Read More

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 11

Don't look now, but the offense is starting to pick back up! After a barren start to the year in terms of run scorings, hitters over the past 14 days have been hitting 6% better than they had been over the rest of the year, with power production specifically being on the upswing. Hopefully, this... Read More

Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report - Prospect Risers and Fallers for Week 11

Welcome to RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball! Here I discuss some recently-promoted top MLB prospects and rookies, making note of what I think their upside could be for fantasy baseball managers, and whether they are potential risers or fallers. In the past two weeks, we have seen a few more high-impact rookies... Read More

Texas Heat: Rangers Bats Finally Heating Up for Fantasy Baseball

The Texas Rangers made some massive investments in the team’s offense this past offseason, signing free agent infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to long-term contracts worth a combined $500 million. Those marquee moves put the Rangers back on the map in the AL West. Unfortunately, the newly-signed duo struggled immensely out of the gate... Read More

Florio's Bullpen Report: Figuring Out Confusing Bullpens

If you have been in need of saves, playing the waiver wire may be a very frustrating experience. There have been some bullpens that have been tough to figure out from the very start of the season. Just when we think we are starting to figure them out, something happens or the pitcher we like... Read More

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 10

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. There were tons of different rabbits to chase this week as we saw plenty of... Read More

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - xERA For Week 10

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 many ERA skill indicator metrics that fantasy managers can use to understand how... Read More

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 10

Now that we are two months into the season, we're starting to get a better idea of the MLB landscape. Not only are postseason races becoming more clear, but individual player struggles become more worrisome, while breakouts appear to be more legitimate. As the weather continues to warm up and the sun is shining, it... Read More