Taking Out the Trash: Pitchers Who Should Junk Their Worst Pitch

Pitch mix changes can make or break a player’s season. That obviously goes for fantasy value as well as real-life. We've already seen how throwing an effective pitch more often could make a huge improvement a la Patrick Corbin. Sometimes pitchers just need to eliminate a pitch to see their numbers improve. Consider the following: Mitch... Read More

Six Undervalued Draft Targets for Mixed Leagues

Heading into 2020, there are a number of players who had poor 2019 campaigns that should bounce back strong. Some of these players are presently undervalued by fantasy owners for one reason or another. In this article, I'll identify a few such players who should outperform their current ADP in 2020. While each of these... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Khris Davis

The Oakland Athletics finished 2019 with a record of 97-65, which was good for a second-place finish in the AL West and a second-consecutive wildcard birth. They did this despite a statistically down season from their superstar, Khris Davis. Davis struggled mightily in 2019 by slashing .220/.293/.387 with 23 HR, 73 RBI, 61 R, and... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Jose Urquidy

It's been a tumultuous winter for the Houston Astros. Not only were they embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal (which has, naturally, progressed apace to unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about ever more sophisticated methods of cheating), but they watched staff ace Gerrit Cole sign a mammoth free-agent deal with the Yankees. Plenty of virtual ink has been... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Mark Canha

Mark Canha had a solid 2019 campaign and is one player that probably deserves more attention heading into 2020 than he is currently receiving. He finished the season hitting .273/.396/.517 with 26 HR, 58 RBI, 80 R, and 67 BB in 410 at-bats. It was a very productive line for a guy that played in... Read More

Four Prospect Sleepers for 2020 Redraft Leagues

Recently, Rotoballer launched a list of the Top 50 MLB prospects for the coming year. The top of the list was populated by names such as Gavin Lux, Luis Robert, and Brendan McKay. These players, among others, feature a promising combination of talent and favorable playing time projections to suggest they’ll be the cream-of-the-crop among... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – C.J. Cron

As another fantasy baseball season approaches, we once again have the chance to discuss C.J. Cron as a fantasy sleeper. Cron will be playing for his third team in three seasons. It is tough to wrap one's head around the idea that a player of Cron's talent continues to be undervalued by professional and fantasy... Read More

James Karinchak Is A Relief Pitcher To Know in 2020

One of the lesser-known players that intrigues me for the 2020 MLB season is Indians relief pitcher James Karinchak. The former Bryant Bulldog was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in the 2017 draft and went on to have one of the most outrageous statistical seasons in minor league baseball history. As someone who... Read More

2019 Barrel Breakouts: Who's For Real and Who's Next?

As pitchers and catchers get even closer to reporting and most fantasy leagues prepare for their drafts, everybody is looking for a leg up on the competition - a way to get in on a guy before everybody else does. In this article, we're going to look for a way to identify hitters who improved... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Jorge Alfaro

Miami Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro was a key piece in the J.T. Realmuto trade that was executed before the 2019 season. The Marlins have high hopes for Alfaro and he continued his development in 2019 by slashing .262/.312/.425 with 18 HR, 57 RBI, 44 R, and 22 BB. The overall numbers may not seem all that... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Victor Reyes

With a 457 ADP in 2020 NFBC leagues, Detroit Tigers outfielder Victor Reyes is an afterthought in all but the deepest leagues.  Perhaps the 25-year-old shouldn't be, though, as Reyes was quietly solid in 2019, slashing .304/.336/.431 in 292 plate-appearances, with three home runs and nine stolen bases. Having made stops in Arizona and the... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Mike Yastrzemski

San Francisco Giants Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski had a solid 2019 campaign after making his debut at the ripe age of 28. He made his debut in May and finished the season by hitting .272/.334/.518 with 21 HR, 55 RBI, 64 R, and 32 BB in 381 ABs. This was a solid performance out of Yaz,... Read More

Biggest Fallers: K-BB%, Part 2

K-BB% is a valuable metric because it shows which pitchers can combine strikeout ability with pinpoint control. Pitchers with high K-BB% possess high floors and ceilings because even when they’re not accumulating strikeouts, they are still usually able to pound the strike zone. Name K-BB% '18 K-BB% '19 K-BB%-Diff ADP (NFBC) Patrick Corbin 24.80% 20.10%... Read More

Early ADP Thoughts - Outfielders

♫It's the most wonderful tiiiiiiiime, of the year!♫ Well, sort of. In much of the country, February brings terrible weather and generally feels interminable, despite being the shortest month on the calendar. This being a leap year, we get an extra day of it. Fun! But for fantasy baseball owners, fun is exactly what you... Read More

2020 NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Late-Round Pitching Category Boosters (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Pitching strategies are challenging to master on draft day. Should you draft two elite starters early and then wait to finish out your rotation? Do you load up on hitting early and devour all the pitchers in the middle rounds? When do you grab... Read More

2020 NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Late-Round Hitting Category Boosters (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Draft strategies are challenging to master regardless of the league. Should you focus on elite starting pitchers? Do you load up on hitting early and devour all the pitchers in the middle rounds? When do you grab a catcher in two-draft leagues? There are... Read More

Sophomore Hitters Who Should Progress in 2020

We’ve been spoiled. In recent years, players such as Peter Alonso, Yordan Alvarez, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Aaron Judge have all entered the MLB ranks while performing at a high level. But it’s not supposed to be that easy for freshmen players. There are many examples of players starting out modestly in their rookie seasons... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Christin Stewart

Writing about Christin Stewart being a sleeper gives me a feeling of déjà vu, largely because I did the same thing 12 months ago. Stewart didn’t really do much in 2019 to warrant any fantasy relevance, yet here I am letting you know that the Tigers outfielder is once again a sleeper for 2020. Heading... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Corey Dickerson

Corey Dickerson signed a two-year deal with the Miami Marlins this offseason, not normally something which is a recipe for fantasy success. However, Dickerson is someone who can provide fantasy value in what appears to be a slightly improved lineup. The addition of Jonathan Villar along with the emergence of Brian Anderson and Jon Berti... Read More

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Francisco Mejia

Recently touted top prospect Francisco Mejia had an up and down season for the San Diego Padres in 2019. Mejia came over to the Padres in 2018 as part of a deal that sent Brad Hand and Adam Cimber to the Cleveland Indians. Expectations are high for the young catcher, especially considering what the Padres... Read More

Introducing EDV - Expected Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball

Last March at RotoBaller, we kicked off a cool fantasy baseball research project, exploring what we're calling Expected Draft Values. This offseason, we’ve refined the approach and our research, and taken things a step forward. We're sharing this concept with the fantasy baseball world now, and hope it's as helpful to you as it's been... Read More

Biggest Fallers: K-BB%, Part 1

K-BB% is a valuable metric because it shows which pitchers can combine strikeout ability with pinpoint control. Pitchers with high K-BB% possess high floors and ceilings because even when they’re not accumulating strikeouts, they are still usually able to pound the strike zone. The list below shows pitchers with the highest drop-off in this rate... Read More

Going Full Corbin: Pitchers Who Should Throw Their Best Pitch More

Patrick Corbin has made a case for himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He produced 14 wins in 202.0 innings pitched with a 3.25 ERA and 28.5 K%. Corbin wasn’t always this good though. In 2016, his ERA was a pedestrian 5.15 with a mediocre 18.7 K%. Suddenly, Corbin decided to start... Read More

Cavan Biggio: 2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

Now that the calendar has flipped to February, it's time to begin mapping out strategy in earnest for your 2020 fantasy baseball drafts. That includes identifying potentially undervalued targets, often referred to in the popular parlance as "sleepers." Anyone who has read my work in the past knows my feelings toward that term. It's too... Read More

Biggest Risers and Fallers of 2019 - Relief Pitchers

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I have to admit, I just wrote 3000 words on relief pitchers so forgive me if I get a little brief with the intro and just allow you to jump into the meat. In this article, I look at 10 relievers whose value skyrocketed or plummeted in the 2019 fantasy season, spend... Read More

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2020 Redraft Leagues

Freshmen players played a huge role in Major League Baseball in 2019 and rookies are poised to once again have a strong presence on your fantasy baseball teams in 2020. Rotoballer is here to help you decide which players are deserving of a roster spot as you open up the season with a list of... Read More

Randy Dobnak - 2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

When searching for a potential fantasy baseball pitching breakout or sleeper, we generally look at top prospects or players that were high picks in their draft year. Usually, these are high-velocity arms who have dominated opponents since high school or international sensations that have been under tutelage from a major-league club since getting signed as... Read More

Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Third Base

When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes... Read More

J.D. Davis - 2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

It's that time of year again to start touting this year's fantasy baseball draft sleepers for the upcoming 2020 season. While the term "sleeper" is generally overused, it's the simplest way for us analysts to tell you which players are a sneaky option to return value at their current draft-day price tags. With that said,... Read More