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 […]

Catcher's Corner Exam Room: Tarik Skubal

Eric Samulski of RotoBaller does a deep dive on Tarik Skubal, analyzing the Detroit Tigers starting pitcher and explaining why fantasy baseball managers should be buying the changes but also expecting bumps along the way. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM […]

Catcher's Corner Exam Room: Patrick Sandoval

Eric Samulski of RotoBaller does a deep dive on Patrick Sandoval, analyzing the Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher and explaining why fantasy baseball managers should be buying in but only as a streamer. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, Saturdays […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 14

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. As we trudge towards the All-Star break the waiver wire feels thinner by the week, and we aren't flush with as many exciting, fresh young […]

Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds - WAR for Week 15

Welcome back to RotoBaller’s Statcast pitcher Studs and Duds article series! Each week I will select an advanced stat, choose two top performers and two under-performers, and analyze what those stats could mean for future fantasy output. As we near the All-Star break, I thought it made sense to focus on an all-encompassing metric for […]

Statcast Leaderboard - Expected Statistics Midseason Review

Although the All-Star break is still a week away, Major League baseball has crossed into the second half of the schedule. Rather than focusing on one metric, it might be useful to examine leaderboards for all expected statistics in the Statcast realm. In this iteration of Statcast hitter analysis, I will review the top players […]

Catcher's Corner Exam Room: Kyle Muller

Eric Samulski of RotoBaller does a deep dive on Kyle Muller, analyzing the Atlanta Braves rookie starting pitcher and explaining why fantasy baseball managers should be buying in. 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, and Sundays […]

Second-Half Breakouts: Examining June's K-BB% Leaders

In my last article, I mentioned that K-BB% is one of my favorite stats for looking at a pitcher's in-season performance. There are two main reasons for that. First, it stabilizes quickly and has a proven correlation to a pitcher's overall success. Second, it's impossibly simple. If a pitcher has a high strikeout rate (K%), […]

Three Up, Three Down: Home Run Outliers to Buy or Sell

A huge key to having success at the game of fantasy baseball is being able to spot outliers. The game of baseball, more than most other sports, is largely dictated by randomness, at least over the short term. Even with the pretty large three-month data sample we have, randomness can still rule the day. My […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Pitcher Starts from Week 13

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. This week we're looking at a veteran who's trying to right the ship after early season struggles, and two prospects who turned in the first […]

Statcast Hitter Studs and Duds - xBA Analysis for Week 14

It's been a while since we delved into xBA. We're now halfway through the season so it's a good time to see whose batting average is due for course correction, whether it be positive or negative. Often, although not always, players with sizeable discrepancies in BA-xBA are due for regression. Identifying these outliers can be […]