Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 20

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. It was apparently the week of the lefty and the week of the Diamondback, as we're breaking down three southpaws in this piece, including two […]

Statcast Hitter Leaderboard - Second-Half Exit Velocity

We're a month removed from the All-Star break so it's time to narrow our focus on second-half stats. In other words, it's time to look the players on your roster in the eye and ask, "What have you done for me lately?" They won't respond, but it's a good mental exercise for you to practice. […]

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Barrels/Batted-Ball Event For Week 21

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I have selected an advanced stat, chosen two top performers and two under-performers, and analyzed what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. This week I will focus on the rate of barrels per batted-ball event a pitcher allows (Brls/BBE %). Barrels are […]

Hidden Gems On Bad Teams

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone, the contenders are separated from pretenders, and the playoff race is coming into focus. Yes, it's the dog days of summer, and fantasy managers are getting reminded how long baseball season is during non-pandemic years. As the good teams enter the most exciting portion of the schedule, […]

Catcher's Corner Exam Room: Carlos Hernandez

Eric Samulski of RotoBaller does a deep dive on Carlos Hernandez, analyzing the Kansas City Royals starting pitcher and explaining why fantasy baseball managers should be buying in on his high upside. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, Saturdays from […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 19

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. Things are starting to heat up in the baseball universe, with fewer than two months left in the regular season. With many contenders looking to […]

Statcast Hitter Leaderboard - Launch Angle

One of the most basic components of Statcast metrics is launch angle, which is incorporated in Sweet Spot% and Barrel rate among other things. While launch angle alone doesn't tell the entire tale of a batted ball, much less an entire season's worth of offensive stats, it can serve as an entry point to a […]

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - wOBA-xwOBA Difference For Week 20

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I have selected an advanced stat, chosen two top performers and two under-performers, and analyzed what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. This week I will focus on the difference between pitchers' weighted on-base average (wOBA) and expected wOBA (xwOBA). wOBA is […]

Catcher's Corner Exam Room: Reid Detmers

Eric Samulski of RotoBaller does a deep dive on Reid Detmers, analyzing the Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher's debut and explaining why fantasy baseball managers should think about giving him another chance despite the rocky start. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 18

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. With the trade deadline behind us we're entering the home stretch in fantasy baseball. The leagues are shrinking down to the contenders, and we need […]

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Chase Rate For Week 19

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I have selected an advanced stat, chosen two top performers and two under-performers, and analyzed what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. This week I will focus on a metric that can have interesting implications for fantasy production: chase rate. Chase rate […]

Statcast Hitter Risers, Fallers - xwOBA Rolling Windows

After an insane trade deadline that saw pretty much everybody in the league changes teams (hyperbole intended), we must collect ourselves and focus on the numbers again. The intent of this series is to identify the top risers and fallers for various Statcast metrics each week, not focus on the players who are in the […]

Catcher's Corner Exam Room: Touki Toussaint

Eric Samulski of RotoBaller does a deep dive on Touki Toussaint, analyzing the Atlanta Braves starting pitcher and explaining why fantasy baseball managers should think about giving him another chance. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, Saturdays from 8-10 AM, […]

K-BB% Starting Pitcher Risers and Fallers (July)

Recently I've been on a K-BB% bender. I first looked at potential 2nd half breakouts by examining June K-BB% and came away feeling good about Eduardo Rodriguez, Patrick Sandoval, and Adam Wainwright. Then I looked at some relievers who might be worth stashing based on June's K-BB%, so it's only fitting that I go back […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 17

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. The trade deadline approaches, both in real baseball and in many fantasy leagues. Sometimes rather than pulling off that blockbuster deal, the difference maker we […]

Statcast Hitter Leaderboard - xHR Underachievers/Overachievers

We're not far removed from the Home Run Derby so it seems like an appropriate time to examine the Statcast side of home run production for some big-name players. As with most counting statistics, there is an expected version of home runs, appropriately labeled xHR. By comparing xHR to HR totals, we can identify the […]

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - BABIP For Week 18

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I have selected an advanced stat, chosen two top performers and two under-performers, and analyzed what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. With the second half now under way, I will get back to picking specific metrics to dive into. This […]

The Bigger Picture - Post-Trade Deadline Pickups Are Key

The MLB trade deadline is one week away as of this writing and the first big deal has already gone down. Baseball's version of the Highlander, Nelson Cruz, has moved to Tampa Bay. It comes as no shock that the Twins are sellers this year; they are currently 17.5 games behind first place in the […]

Five Undervalued Standout Pitchers - Maddux Plate Discipline

“The key to pitching is to have the ability to throw a strike when they’re taking and throw a ball when the hitter is swinging.” - Greg Maddux Using my weighted plate discipline index statistic - the Maddux Plate Discipline Index (mPDI) - we can enumerate the percentage of time in which pitchers demonstrate the […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 16

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. The All-Star break is behind us, and chances are you know whether your team is a contender at this point. Now comes the time to […]

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Second Half Preview

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I have selected an advanced stat, chosen two top performers and two under-performers, and analyzed what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. I have covered both Statcast and Fangraphs metrics to help identify hidden value as well as sell-high candidates. The […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - xBACON Leaderboard

Who doesn't love xBACON? Rather than the extra crispy version of your favorite breakfast meat, it's actually an expected statistic that measures Batting Average on CONtact, but you already knew that. The purpose of using xBACON is to get a better sense of whether a player's BABIP is truly "deserved" or not based on the […]

Barrel Rate and Contact Rate, Who Can Do Both?

Hitting is, at the same time, completely simple and enormously complex. Hitting in the Major Leagues is arguably the most challenging thing to do in all of sports. I don't think I need to explain myself for saying that hitting is complex. I can't do it, probably neither can you. The reason I say it's […]

Taking a Mulligan - Second-Half Rebound Candidates

We've reached the All-Star Break, which means the baseball season is just over halfway done. Let me repeat that: we still have three months to go! I think some of us are still operating in the mindset of the shortened 2020 season and are thinking that our fantasy seasons are over if we're not in […]

Improving Hitters to Watch in the Second Half

We have more than three months of baseball in the books. It has been a glorious spring and summer with the return of the 162 game schedule. While it was nice for MLB to sneak in 60 games and some expanded playoffs in 2020 after we feared a full season cancellation, it really just didn't […]

Using K-BB% To Find Relievers to Add for the Second Half

A couple of weeks ago, I used June's K-BB% leaderboard to look at which starting pitchers might provide value in the second half. In that article, I explained why I loved the metric so much by stating: If a pitcher has a high strikeout rate (K%), then we know he is effective because we know […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 15

Welcome to Are You For Real?, a weekly column where we look at pitchers who turned in surprisingly good starts and try to determine whether they are the real deal. With all eyes glued to Colorado, we can catch our opponents napping during the All-Star break and hopefully make some sneaky adds while no one […]

Pitcher Advanced Metrics Studs and Duds - Midseason Review

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I have selected an advanced stat, chosen two top performers and two under-performers, and analyzed what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. I have covered both Statcast and Fangraphs metrics to help identify hidden value as well as sell-high candidates. With […]

Statcast Leaderboard - Exit Velocity Midseason Review

It's All-Star time, sadly. I say that because there is precious little baseball to watch this week. This presents the opportunity for reflection, so we will once again look back on the first half leaderboard for Statcast. This time, we will review the top players in average exit velocity, hard hit rate, and barrels. As […]