Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects: 2014 Houston Astros

The advantage to having a few 100+ loss seasons in a row is a series of some very high first-round picks in the MLB draft. Couple that with a front office which excels at getting the better end of most of their trades and you have the Astros farm system-- without a doubt one of […]

Three Overvalued Shortstops: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

The position of shortstop in fantasy baseball is traditionally a relatively shallow spot in terms of position scarcity.  Over the past few seasons, though, there has been an influx of talented young middle infielders with a wide array of skills.  Some bring pop. Some have an innate ability to get on base. Others pick up […]

Fantasy Baseball Updates from the Cactus League Analysis 2/25

There is one more day of practice left (I’ll be checking out the Rockies in Scottsdale) before Cactus League games begin on Wednesday.  While I can’t complain about spending days in the Arizona sun and watching Major Leaguers run practice drills and interact with the fans, I’m looking forward to games getting underway. I will […]

Ubaldo Jimenez: Fantasy Baseball Impact of Baltimore Orioles Signing

  Ubaldo Jimenez - 2014 Fantasy Baseball Impact In the days since Spring Training started some big-name pitchers have come off the market. First  Bronson Arroyo signed with Arizona, then AJ Burnett with Philadelphia. Now, perhaps the starter with the biggest upside has found a home, as Ubaldo Jimenez signed a 4-year $48 Million deal […]

2014 New York Mets Top Prospects: Fantasy Baseball Analysis

The Mets may not have been in contention for the past two or three seasons, but the one thing that Sandy Alderson has accomplished is building a very respectable minor league system through a few shrewd trades. Zach Wheeler is no longer a prospect, but Alderson’s deserves praise for landing him for a two month Carlos […]

Chicago White Sox Top Prospects: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Analysis

Former White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams refused to use the word “rebuilding” to describe his team. After a dismal season in which key players were traded for budding prospects, current GM Rick Hahn has also eschewed the dreaded r-word. He prefers to describe it more as "accelerated retooling." The belief is that the White […]

Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects: 2014 Philadelphia Phillies

With so many seasoned veterans entrenched in the Phillies starting lineup there will be limited opportunities for players to make the jump from the farm system to fantasy relevance in 2014.  With an aging lineup comes the risk of injury or a trade deadline move that opens the door for an up and coming player to contribute to […]

Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects: 2014 Colorado Rockies

In our latest installation of RotoBaller's Colorado Rockies blog, we'll now take a look at the Rocks' top prospects for 2014 Fantasy Baseball.   Jonathan Gray RHP Talent: 10, Opportunity: 7 The Rockies have not had any luck trying to convince a free agent ace to come to Colorado for years, so they have turned to […]

Jim Henderson: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Closer

  Jim Henderson's 2014 Fantasy Baseball Outlook Jim Henderson The Milwaukee Brewers have put together a team that, on paper, has a chance to succeed. The onetime face of the franchise, Ryan Braun, needs to repair his reputation, while veteran starting pitcher Matt Garza joins Kyle Lohse and Yovani Gallardo atop the rotation. They will […]

2014 St Louis Cardinals Top 5 Prospects: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Analysis

Hello fellow Redbird fans. Coming off a disappointing finish in last season's World Series loss, the St Louis Cardinals will be playing younger players this season with the loss of both Carlos Beltran and Chris Carpenter, among others. In this post, I'll highlight the top five prospects in the Cardinals farm system and their potential […]

2014 Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Analysis

The Cincinnati Reds have won at least 90 games three times in the last four years, and a big part of the success has been drafting and developing talent such as Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Homer Bailey. However, keeping the talent at home has been costly for a middle-market team, and a farm system […]

Boston Red Sox Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

In the aftermath of a disastrous 2012 campaign, the Red Sox pitching staff was characterized by fried chicken, beer, and a whole lot of question marks. Well one year  and one Duckboat parade later, can we now say the Sox staff is characterized by consistency and depth? Perhaps we can. After seasons of perpetual upheaval, […]

Five Burning Questions for the Kansas City Royals in Spring Training

The 2013 season was one that the Kansas City Royals would love to improve on after winning 86 games. This week saw the beginning of spring training for the team in Surprise, AZ as pitchers and catchers reported on Feb. 14 and position players followed on Feb. 19. There are five burning questions that must […]

LA Dodgers Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

  2014 Los Angeles Dodgers – Pitching Staff Preview   Clayton Kershaw Position Battle – None Current Average Draft Position (12 team league) – Mid-First Round Other SPs in that Range – No one 2013 Stats – 16-9, 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 232 K, 236 IP, 52 BB Outlook – 2011 Cy Young, 2012 2nd […]

NL Central Preview & Rankings: Who Rises, Who Falls

The offseason is winding down, which means it’s time to evaluate which teams made the right moves and which ones got caught sleeping. Although there are still some big names out there that could help some teams whose rosters are lacking, let’s take a look at which NL Central teams will improve upon their 2013 […]

Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall - Cactus League Dispatches 2/19

RotoBaller Scott Slezak will be out in Arizona covering the 2014 Cactus League, providing dispatches and observations. I went to see the Cleveland Indians practice in Goodyear on Tuesday and the one thing I wanted to see was Carlos Santana work out at third base. Santana, indeed, was fielding grounders there during infield practice and […]

New York Yankees Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

2014 New York Yankees - Pitching Staff Preview   CC Sabathia 2013 Stats: IP 211, Wins 14, ERA 4.78, WHIP 1.37, K 175 While I believe Sabathia will have a bounce back season, it’s hard to imagine this aging pitcher regaining his All Star form. He has stated that he’s been studying more film, and […]

Five Under the Radar Outfielders - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Here we are: Session Six, the end of the line. After today, your anxiety and depression will instantly disappear, much like it did in Pittsburgh last season. We’re taking on a giant task by trying to decide on five not-so-obvious OF who are going to make leaps in 2014 and help your team for years […]

Los Angeles Angels Starting Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

The Angels entered the off season with huge holes in their starting five. After absolutely horrible seasons from Joe Blanton and Tommy Hanson, the Angels could not afford to keep either in their rotation for 2014.  Jason Vargas showed glimpses of being a solid number three starter, but his inability to prevent runners from scoring […]

Three Overvalued Catchers: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Now that ESPN has released some of their early rankings for the 2014 season, we can begin to take a look at which players are overrated or underrated going in to draft season.  This will tell you where you can find value, and where you should just back away slowly. Today, my focus will be […]

Milwaukee Brewers Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

It was difficult for fantasy baseball owners to find solid pieces on the Milwaukee Brewers last year.  The 2014 will be a little better with the acquisition of Matt Garza, but the Brewers rotation is still nothing to write home about. Here is a look at the probable pitchers in Milwaukee this season and their […]

Chicago Cubs Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Many of you may be surprised to read that the 2013 Chicago Cubs starting rotation ranked 15th in baseball in ERA, 16th in strikeouts, and 9th in WHIP. It was a sneakily effective bunch, led by fantasy super-unknowns Travis Wood and Scott Feldman, while also receiving small contributions from Matt Garza and Jeff Samrdzija’s strikeouts. […]

AJ Burnett: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Impact of Phillies Signing

  AJ Burnett - 2014 Fantasy Baseball Impact After stating publicly that he would either re-sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates or retire, A.J. Burnett now finds himself moving east across the great state of Pennsylvania to join the Philadelphia Phillies rotation. News broke on Thursday that the 37-year-old signed for one year $16M. The signing […]

Chris Withrow: Sleeper for Holds in 2014 Fantasy Baseball

  Relief Pitchers Poised to Leap Forward: Chris Withrow While the Los Angeles Dodgers have personalities and brand names like Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw, some players go under the radar. Though Brian Wilson's entrancing beard may help to make him one of the better setup men in the game, Chris Withrow is also a name […]

Seattle Mariners Starting Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

That other team in Seattle sure set a high bar for sports in the great Northwest this year.  Here’s to hoping this rotation filled with young arms can be more than just a filler for the city between Seahawks' seasons. Where the batters on Mariners’ squad might be underwhelming, the same simply cannot be said […]

Alexander Guerrero - Dodgers 2B: Cactus League Analysis 2/15

I made it out to Dodgers camp today to check out their position players for the first time.  After training all week, the Dodger pitchers had an off-day, so all eyes were on Yasiel Puig and his shoulder injury, along with other big bats Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp. I want to write […]

Derek Jeter: The Last Yankee Hero

  Derek Jeter: The Last Yankee Hero Unlike many other current sportswriters, I’m not going to write like the Captain is dead. Don’t get me wrong—when I found out Derek Jeter was retiring, I legitimately could not focus for the rest of my work day. I will attend as many games as I can to […]

San Francisco Giants Starting Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

In a 2013 season that was chock full of injuries and surprising struggles, just one Giants starting pitcher was reliable-- Madison Bumgarner. Beyond that, the once-almost-unhittable rotation was unimpressive, and at times hard to watch. There’s no question that reaching two World Series in three years took a toll on many of the pitchers' arms, and […]

Tampa Bay Rays Starting Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Tampa Bay entered the winter with several holes to fill and one giant question at the top of the rotation. To address these questions and stabilize the rotation, the Rays solidified their lineup this offseason and resigned staff ace David Price. While Tampa Bay made it known they would consider trade proposals for Price, the […]

Fantasy Impact Of Bronson Arroyo Signing With Arizona Diamondbacks

  Bronson Arroyo - 2014 Fantasy Baseball Impact After spending most of his offseason trying to find a home for 2014, 13-year veteran pitcher Bronson Arroyo finally signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for two years and $23.5M. Though probably less than what he wanted as far as dollars and length of term, the 36-year-old workhorse […]