Noah Syndergaard, Wilson Ramos To Be Paired In Camp

New York Mets manager Luis Rojas said that the plan is for starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard and catcher Wilson Ramos to be paired up in bullpens and spring games so that they can develop better chemistry and comfort in working together during the regular season. Thor allowed a career-high 4.28 ERA (league-high 94 earned runs) […]

Juan Lagares Joins Padres On Minor League Deal

The San Diego Padres signed outfielder Juan Lagares to a minor league deal on Feb. 10. According to sources, Lagares will be invited to big league camp and is likely a depth option for the Padres after outfielder Manuel Margot was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. The light-hitting Lagares enjoyed his […]

2020 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Buy (Premium Content)

While redraft owners prepare for draft day, dynasty owners are scouring the trade market. The weeks preceding spring training are optimal to take a chance on young players who have yet to peak or may have question marks surrounding them. Not all buy-low scenarios will pan out as expected, but when playing the long game, […]

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 […]

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 […]

2020 First Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Often regarded as an inferior fantasy baseball format, points leagues offer a different style of boasting over your friends or coworkers similar to that of fantasy football. These setups are typically head-to-head formats for a one-week stretch where the player with the most points gets a win. Easy right? While it's true that roster construction […]

Pitchers Most Impacted By Defense: OAA Fallers

Early in January, Statcast released a full fielding leaderboard of their Outs Above Average (OAA) metric, which had previously been limited to outfielders only. The metric takes into account fielder positioning, reaction time, throw difficulty, and batter speed in order to calculate how likely a play is to become an out. The more unlikely, the […]

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 […]

Talking Projections and Data-Based Drafting with Ariel Cohen

The fantasy baseball industry is driven by data and many analysts go so far as to develop their own systems for projecting value. Recently, ATC has become more popular as a baseline for those who are seeking a way to rank players for the upcoming season. I recently had a conversation with the man behind […]

Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling Trade Called Off

While the Los Angeles Dodgers re-agreed to the Mookie Betts and David Price trade, they changed their mind on their deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Contrary to previous reports, outfielder Joc Pederson and pitcher Ross Stripling are not headed to their in-state rivals, and will instead stick with the Dodgers for the time being. […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes Looking To Make The Jump To The Majors

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes will be looking to get his bat going in order to make the jump to the Majors during the 2020 campaign. As one of the top defensive players in the Minors, Hayes has proven that he can be the Pirates' long-term option at the hot- corner. However, the Pirates […]

Franchy Cordero's Stock Up After Latest Padres Trade

San Diego Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero is likely the biggest winner with the recent departure of Manuel Margot. With Margot traded to the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, Cordero has a shot to be the Opening Day starting center fielder. Expected to be a material piece to the Friars since 2018, the 25-year-old has […]

Emilio Pagan Headed To San Diego

The San Diego Padres acquired relief pitcher Emilio Pagan from the Tampa Bay Rays on February 8. The Rays receive outfielder Manuel Margot and prospect catcher Logan Driscoll in the exchange. Pagan crushed the competition in 2019 with 20 saves, a 2.31 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 36 percent strikeout rate across 66 appearances. The 28-year-old […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Will the Real Shohei Ohtani Please Stand Up?

When he arrived in 2018, Shohei Ohtani was regarded as one of the most dynamic and difficult-to-value players in the league. After two excellent, but injury-marred seasons, that much hasn’t changed. We have a clearer sense of Ohtani’s talent, but drafting him is still a unique challenge. In fact, the fantasy owners I've talked to […]

2020 Catcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues, but you must approach draft day with a different strategy if you wish to truly compete. Rankings themselves are a different beast altogether, as category specialists like Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon (stolen bases), Kyle Schwarber and Franmil Reyes (home runs), […]

Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs Traded To The Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo, shortstop prospect Jeter Downs, and catching prospect Connor Wong from the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Mookie Betts and starter David Price. Verdugo will slide into an everyday role in the Red Sox outfield. The 23-year-old left-hander slashed .294/.342/.475 last season with 12 homers and 44 RBI […]

Brusdar Graterol Headed To The Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol from the Minnesota Twins for starter Kenta Maeda, $10 million, and a low-level minor-league player. The Boston Red Sox were initially supposed to acquire Graterol, but they rebuffed after looking at his medicals. The 21-year-old will instead join the Dodgers, and fill a vital role […]

Kenta Maeda Traded To Twins Again

The Minnesota Twins will acquire starting pitcher Kenta Maeda from the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol. After the initial three-team trade fell through a few days ago, the Dodgers and Twins managed to agree on a separate deal. Maeda, who produced a 10-8 record, 4.04 ERA, and 1.07 WHIP in 2019, will […]

Dodgers Re-Agree To Acquire Mookie Betts and David Price

The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed upon a trade that will see them acquire outfielder Mookie Betts and starting pitcher David Price from the Boston Red Sox. According to Jeff Passan, outfielder Alex Verdugo and shortstop prospect Jeter Downs are heading back to the Red Sox. Betts is an annual MVP candidate, and he joins […]

Kenta Maeda May Still End Up With Twins

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda may still end up joining the Minnesota Twins, even though the original three-team trade has fallen through. According to Jon Heyman, the Dodgers and Twins are working on a deal that would see Maeda go to the Twins, while Brusdar Graterol would head to the Dodgers. Maeda produced a […]

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 […]

Late Round Strikeout Sources: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET, Saturday nights from 9-11 PM ET […]

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 […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: FIP and xFIP

The first advanced pitching stat most fantasy owners encounter is FIP. FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, and attempts to measure a pitcher's actual skill instead of the effects of luck or his supporting cast. According to the DIPS theory, pitchers control only Ks, BBs, and home runs allowed. Therefore, Ks, walks, and dingers are […]

2020 RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Reactions

Over the last couple weeks, RotoBaller's roster has grown with several new faces to join our esteemed veteran corps. We figured it would be nice to roll out the welcome wagon with a February fantasy baseball mock draft, putting six "RotoNewbs" with six RotoVets. It was a snake draft hosted on Fantrax, a traditional 5x5 format with […]

Chris Taylor Gets Two-Year Extension

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a two-year, $13.4 million extension with infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor on Friday, according to a source. The deal buys out the final two years of Taylor's arbitration years. He was seeking $5.8 million in salary arbitration for the 2020 season. Instead, he will make $5.6 million this season and $7.8 […]

Kendrys Morales Retires From Baseball

First baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales announced his retirement on Friday after a career spanning 13 seasons and seven teams. The 36-year-old hit just .194 with two home runs in 201 plate appearances with the Athletics and Yankees last season, and he was released by New York in July. He defected from Cuba in 2004 to […]