Prospect Starters that Could be Impact Relievers
Last year around this time I wrote some words about Dakota Hudson and how he could be a stud in 2018 — but as a reliever, not a starter, which had been his role in the minors to that point. From last March at Rotographs: “And for me, Dakota Hudson has immense potential as a high-leverage reliever. He... Read More
Top 10 Shortstop Prospects - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Rankings
We're back with another list of 2019 impact prospects. Today the focus is on shortstop. The crop of talent this year starts off very strong, and then does a few hops and jumps bouncing around the skill and potential spectrum. Few positions are completely stocked with premium talent in the top-10, but compared to others,... Read More
Under-the-Radar Pitching Prospects for 2019
We are thrilled to announce that Marc Hulet has recently joined the RotoBaller team! Marc is also the longest-serving, active writer at FanGraphs. For 10+ years he has been focused on MLB prospects and their fantasy baseball impacts. Follow along all season! This week I’ve kicked off my tenure at RotoBaller with a two-part series... Read More
Spring Training Notes from the Field - Early Reactions
Finally, baseball is back. There might be no better feeling than being able to turn on the television and see a live game, even if it does not count for anything in the win column. While some of the players are new to fans, and some players even lack names on their jerseys, the energy... Read More
Top 10 Dynasty Third Base Prospects
Taking a look at the top third base prospects in dynasty, you can split the list into two categories: Vladimir Guerrero Jr and everyone else. Clearly, Guerrero is the most exciting prospect in fantasy right now after his monster 2018 campaign where he hit .381 with 20 home runs and a 1.073 OPS over 408... Read More
Top 10 Starting Pitching Prospects - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Rankings
"There is no such thing as a pitching prospect." For fantasy owners who have lived and died by this mantra, this article might be a bit of a jinx. Often when the fantasy community gets in on a player, they break, or roles change. Some of this is the odds with pitching, but otherwise, the... Read More
Top 10 Outfield Prospects - 2019 Redraft Rankings
We're back with another list of 2019 impact prospects. Today the focus is on the outfield. With a whole host of candidates ready to make the jump to regular roles, this might be the deepest prospect position heading into 2019. With the growth of five-outfielder leagues as well, the need to know who will be... Read More
Winning Strategies For Your Dynasty League Startup Draft
Some people enjoy playing fantasy baseball one season at a time, drafting a new roster every year. Others are fascinated with drafting a team and managing it year after year towards multiple championship trophies. The latter individuals are best suited to play in dynasty leagues. For rosters to be competitive annually, they have to possess... Read More
Top 10 First Base Prospects - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Rankings
We're back with another list of 2019 impact prospects. Today the focus is on first base. While it is never fully stocked with quality depth, this might be the weakest the position has ever been heading into the season. With such a shallow group of options, it is important to know who will be called... Read More
Top 10 Second Base Prospects - 2019 Redraft Rankings
Continuing our 2019 prospect preview series, the stop today is at the keystone - second base. As noted in the other pieces so far on the position, second base offers a ton of variety in terms of the player profiles, future roles, and proximity to the Majors. In general, though, the players on this list... Read More
Nick Senzel - Breakout Season, Take Two
Nick Senzel’s breakout in the Major League setting seems inevitable, but the question is, when? You might think you’re experiencing deja vu because you were probably reading a similar article like this one a year ago, but it's not the case. Baseball experts predicted 2018 to be the year for the Cincinnati Reds' top prospect... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - Outfielder
The outfield is one of the deepest spots right now in fantasy baseball with names like Ronald Acuna Jr., Victor Robles, and Juan Soto dominating early draft boards for 2019. The minors remain stocked with exciting players, and new talent is still on its way to the Major Leagues, just in time for dynasty and... Read More
Top 10 Catcher Prospects - 2019 Redraft Rankings
Catching as a position has gotten the brunt of fantasy angst over the past few seasons, with wRC+ rates well below league average. And yet, this is precisely the reason that owners should be looking to add the young talent that will be taking these spots in the Majors sooner rather than later. Owning talent... Read More
2019 MLB Prospects - Fantasy Baseball Rookie Outlooks
Here at RotoBaller, we've been producing fantasy baseball analysis all offseason. As part of that, our awesome MLB team has written up detailed 2019 fantasy baseball outlooks for 400+ players. These player outlooks include RotoBaller's analysis on how we expect player to perform in 2019, where to target them in 2019 drafts, and supporting stats... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - Starting Pitchers
A starter, a starter! My fantasy league for a starter! We're still three months away from the start of the season, but now is the perfect time to take a look at some starting pitcher prospects on the rise and some that need to turn things around. Last season saw several pitchers make their highly... Read More
Top 10 Dynasty Starting Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Prospects
There is no such thing as a pitching prospect, well, except in dynasty baseball. As much as pitching prospects offer headaches to any team, real or fantasy, pitching is still a necessary addition to most rosters. Adding top names offers protections for those busts, but also gives owners the tools to go out and make... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - Second Base
Continuing the RotoBaller dynasty preview series, this article shifts the attention to second base prospects that owners should target in dynasty leagues and drafts. The keystone is one of this writer's favorite spots, as it offers the most comprehensive mix of player types. For as fun as the outfield is to rank, there are basically two... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - Catcher
While this is not a hot take, the catcher position has been dreadful for fantasy owners over the past few seasons. And yet, this does not mean that catching prospects are also on the decline. For example, this writer has four catchers in the top-60 dynasty prospect rankings, and two close to jumping into that... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - Third Base
Third base prospects are when things get serious. It is the position where you find some of your big-power hitters. Of course, you’ll see your share of warts as no prospect is perfect. I know, I know; some will differ greatly on that topic. Essentially, power is excellent, but sometimes it has a cost to... Read More
ADP Cost Analysis - Buster Posey vs Danny Jansen
For years, the only way for fantasy owners to guarantee having a catcher that didn’t drain their batting average was to draft Buster Posey. Since entering the league in 2009, he has a career BA of .306, more than compensating for his relative lack of power. However, in his ninth season, at 31-years-old, the wear... Read More
Christin Stewart - Are We Undervaluing This Powerful Prospect?
There’s an undeniable sense of pride that we get as fantasy managers from rostering that brand new stud or breakout star. Owning these tantalizing players makes up for those busts on your squad that you wish you had never even heard of before the season started. Drafting one of these letdowns is an ongoing headache... Read More
J.T. Realmuto to Phillies - Fantasy Impact
While Manny Machado and Bryce Harper remain on the free agent market as spring training approaches, the Phillies have continued to improve their 2019 roster via other means. After trading for Jean Segura and inking Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson to three-year deals in free agency, Philadelphia brought star catcher J.T. Realmuto into the fold... Read More
What I Learned in My First Slow Mock Expert Draft
Over the years, I’ve done hundreds of mock drafts, maybe even thousands. However, as someone relatively new to formal writing about fantasy baseball, I’ve never been part of an organization that ran a slow mock draft. I recently took part in RotoBaller’s Dynasty Mock Draft, and boy was it ever SLOW. We started this thing... Read More
How to Approach Rookies in Re-Draft for Success
With the NFL season officially a thing of the past, we can now turn our undivided fantasy attention to preparing for our baseball drafts. We are still waiting on the answers to a few key questions (such as, I don't know, where Bryce Harper and Manny Machado might play their home games?), but we have... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - Shortstop
Shortstops are generally the most athletic players on the field. It is also a very important position, defensively, but we don’t really concern ourselves with that in fantasy, aside from ensuring a player will be able to stay on the field. As usual, there is a vast collection of athletic players to choose from, and the... Read More
Top 130 Prospect Rankings for 2019 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Leagues
Prospects. For fantasy baseball enthusiasts, we are always looking to know about the next wave of prospects, rookies and call-ups. More than most other sports, baseball gives us a fresh influx of rookie talent every single year. Impact prospects are called-up both before and during the MLB season. Knowing about the right prospect, and drafting/adding him... Read More
ADP Champ or Chump - Danny Jansen and Ozzie Albies
With fewer data points to go off of, younger players have always been more challenging to project than their more veteran counterparts. Unfortunately, the game is getting younger. Fantasy owners need to roster at least a few young studs if they hope to compete. Danny Jansen may not have impressed in his brief MLB debut... Read More
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - First Basemen
Power. Nothing else defines the position more than pure, raw power. If you have it, you better display it in abundance, or there will be concerns. If you are smaller in stature, there will be concerns. If your talent is just hit tool, there will be concerns. If your defense is lacking, there will be... Read More
NL-Only Deep League Draft Targets
Objectively, deep-league AL or NL-only fantasy baseball is the best format to play this summer. For one, NL-only leagues were the original formats of fantasy baseball. With both an expanded and limited player pool, the unique challenges of balancing depth with team need come to the fore. While this writer might be in the minority, I... Read More