Are You For Real? A Look at Surprising SP Starts

Welcome to our surprising starts series. Every week we’ll be going over a few surprising starting pitcher performances around the majors to determine whether these starts were smoke and mirrors or something more. This week we’ll look at the debut performance of Shohei Ohtani, as well as Kyle Gibson’s domination of the Orioles and Ty... Read More

What to Make of Jose Martinez, Matt Davidson, and a Couple Other Quick Starts

Even though it's barely 50 degrees in Brooklyn, it feels like spring is finally nigh now that the 2018 MLB season is underway. As a Yankees fan, I'd been especially looking forward to opening day ever since Giancarlo Stanton was signed. He certainly didn't disappoint when he launched an opposite field home run at 117... Read More

Week 1 Waiver Wire: 25-50% Owned Pickups

First, winter was here and the night was truly dark and full of terrors. But now, now it's Opening Day and the ills of the world are all invited to screw off. I love you all, what a great day! In light of this, let's give that free agent pool one last look over before... Read More

Top 30 Impact Rookies for Fantasy Leagues (Preseason)

Hello everyone, and welcome to my weekly Top-30 Fantasy Rankings for Impact Rookies! In this series, I will be going over the top prospects in baseball and discussing which ones figure to have an impact for the rest of this fantasy baseball season. This might be one of the most star studded prospect lists to... Read More

Post-Hype Middle Infielders Set to Break Out in 2018

Scouting prospects who will be future big-league stars is an inexact science. Middle infielders can be hard to project because defense often outweighs offense at those positions. For every player who went on to become a superstar right away like Corey Seager or Francisco Lindor, there’s another one who never panned out like Dustin Ackley... Read More

Deeper NL Starting Pitcher Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

Nothing helps deepen a fantasy rotation like scooping up late-round values. Having a few sleepers in your back pocket allows for a heavier investment in hitting earlier in the draft, and gives you some names to target once the player pool gets thin. For those who love to do last-minute drafts, start their league a... Read More

Later-Age Fantasy Breakouts for 2018

Common wisdom used to suggest that a hitter’s true prime was his age-27 season, but in recent times that seems to have shifted to a younger age as more and more players break into the league earlier. That said, we’ve still seen our fair share of late breakouts over the last number of years, with... Read More

On the Rebound - Starters Coming Back from Injury in 2018

As owners prepare for draft day, one strategy many owners will use is drafting pitchers who are returning from significant injuries. These pitchers will likely be undervalued because of their injuries, and if they can return to their pre-injury norm they can end up being a steal in a draft. For the following starters working... Read More

Breakout Infielders Who’ll Continue To Improve in 2018

In this piece I highlight four infielders who will build off their 2017 breakouts. I want to clearly indicate how each player broke out and why they’ll continue to improve. Since most of these players broke out after their age-25 season, the fantasy community is rightfully proceeding with caution on some of these guys. Travis... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - NL Starting Pitchers

If you've been following along with this series over the last week or so, you've heard my spiel about sleeper being a slippery term. "Values" feels more precise. It would come as a shock if you hadn't heard of any of the guys we're going to be discussing today. All we're trying to do here... Read More

Second Basemen Set to Breakout in 2018

Second base is one of the thinnest positions in fantasy baseball, but also one with a ton of promise. Whether it’s speed, power or both, the keystone is in a tremendously interesting state heading into 2018. Today I take a look at three second basemen who I expect to have strong seasons for fantasy baseball owners.... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - AL Starting Pitchers

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I'm not big on the term "sleeper." When anybody with a computer and a working Internet connection can drill down deep into any player's performance with a few keystrokes and a couple of clicks, the odds of you catching any of your rivals truly sleeping... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - NL Outfielders

There are many paths to success in fantasy baseball, but one of the simplest is to nail your draft. To do that, you need to find productive players with low price tags. Doing so carries the added benefit of bragging rights. Who doesn't love paying peanuts for the next big star and then getting to... Read More

ADP Sleepers and Busts - Closers

Where an owner drafts closers comes down to personal strategy and philosophy. Some owners are willing spend up for high-end closers like Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel, while others are content to let closers fly off the board deep into the draft and scrounge for saves late. For those of us unwilling to invest in... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - AL Outfielders

Everyone knows that in fantasy baseball, values are king. Any of the different terms you might see bandied about - bargain, sleeper, flier, lotto ticket - are all driving at that same basic idea. Obviously, finding the players who can provide a huge return on a modest investment goes a long way toward winning your league.... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - Shortstop

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I dislike the term "sleeper." Maybe you share my qualms with terminology, maybe not; we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Obviously, finding the most valuable players leads to winning leagues, but there are few better feelings than snagging the... Read More

Deeper NL Outfield Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to discuss everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers.” Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the outfield position for National League teams. The outfield is always complicated by having so many options that you feel like there's always another guy waiting for you... Read More

Deeper Shortstop Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

After catcher, shortstop is generally considered the weakest offensive position in fantasy baseball. While an influx of young talent has bolstered the top end of the position, it can still be hard to find appealing options after the studs are gone. In deeper leagues, especially AL or NL-only leagues, getting value out of late round... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - Second Base

Putting my personal hangups over the term "sleeper" aside, we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Finding the most valuable players leads to winning leagues, obviously, but it's also just awesome to get something good for way below what you should've had to pay. Over the next several days,... Read More

Deeper AL Outfield Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to continue our discussion everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers.” Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the outfield position for American League teams. The outfield is always complicated by having so many options that you feel like there's always another guy... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - Third Base

Sleeper, draft value, bargain, flier, lotto ticket...whatever your preferred nomenclature, we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Obviously, finding the most valuable players leads to winning leagues, but it's also just incredibly satisfying to snag a guy anyone else could've had for a song before he blows up. As... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - First Base

Whether or not you share my trepidation regarding the term "sleeper," we can all agree that what we're after in our fantasy drafts is value. Beyond the ultimate result of victory or not, nothing in this game is more satisfying that getting a great player for way less than you should have had to pay.... Read More

Deeper Second Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to discuss everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers”. Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the second base position. The keystone position is an exciting one these days, and while many folks are scurrying to score Ian Happ, Jonathan Villar or Ian... Read More

Deeper Third Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

Hooray! Another sleeper article! The RotoBaller team recently updated our third base rankings and commented on the depth of third base this year. Today, we'll go deeper, and deeper into the well. Waaaayy, way down. No argument, there's plenty to like about the upper crop of third basemen. If you're in standard-sized leagues, you should... Read More

2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values - Catcher

In recent years, many fantasy baseball analysts – including yours truly – have wondered about whether the term “sleeper” has much meaning anymore. In an age where there’s more easily accessible information than ever before, it’s unlikely that too many impending superstars are truly flying under everyone’s radar. That doesn’t mean you can’t still find... Read More

Deeper First Base Sleepers - Undervalued ADPs

We are gathered here today to discuss everyone’s favorite fantasy buzzword, the “sleepers”. Not only that, but we’re tabbing these guys as deeper sleepers with a focus on the first base position. That means no Jose Martinez cop-out blurbs because that dude has already woken up and then some! With draft season officially underway, it's... Read More

Undervalued: 2017 Outfield Busts to Target

Nobody likes having their heart broken, especially if money is involved. So when a player we reach for in our drafts doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s not always easy to trust him again in the future. You may not have been burned by the specific players we’re going to cover today, but if you... Read More

Post Hype First Basemen Set to Breakout in 2018

A true breakout isn’t hard to predict. Luckily for us, the breakout formula is rather simple: opportunity + talent + efficiency = breakout. The first basemen listed below are players who I think will have top-100 draft stock in 2019 drafts, or, at the very least, will be drafted higher next year because they check... Read More

Leading Indicators - First Pitch Strikes and Strikeout Risers

Conventional baseball wisdom harps on the importance of the first-pitch strike (F-strike%). As pitchers get ahead in counts, they gain an advantage on hitters and have more pitch choices at their disposal. However, smart people discovered a hitter's average with a 0-1 count (.321) is only marginally worse than a 1-0 count (.337). The pitch... Read More

Best Ball Sleepers and Late Round Targets for Fantasy Baseball

Best ball leagues are one of the latest variations of fantasy baseball that are quickly growing in popularity. Draft day is the only day of the year where owners will have control over their roster. There is no waiver wire and there are no trades. Owners won't even set daily lineups, as they will instead... Read More