Saves and Holds: AL West Bullpen Depth Chart

With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected AL West closers, setup men, and […]

Top 10 Dynasty Catchers For 2016

Lets face it, very few catchers are capable of the elite offensive production to be considered legit dynasty league keepsakes. Owning the cream of the crop catcher can provide a nice boost at fantasy baseball’s scarcest position, but it’s not necessary to win your league. A popular strategy for many fantasy baseball enthusiasts is to […]

Alexei Ramirez Offers Little Upside at Shortstop

After an eight-year run with the Chicago White Sox, veteran Alexei Ramirez signed a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason to become the San Diego Padres' every-day shortstop. The move does little to help the durable Ramirez's fantasy stock, though. The power that Ramirez flashed early in his career has largely diminished over the […]

Hunter Pence is Ideal Buy-Low Outfielder Option

Last season was a lost year for San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence. He suffered a fractured left forearm in spring training that derailed his entire campaign, limiting the previously ironman-like Pence to a career season-low 52 games. It's easy to overlook that Pence's numbers, if projected over a full season, would have looked […]

Drew Smyly is a breakout candidate for 2016

Drew Smyly came up with the Detroit Tigers in 2012, and the biggest issue he has faced in developing into a top-of-the-rotation starter is staying healthy. He won the fifth starter job in Detroit in 2014, but was shipped off to play with the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline as part of the David […]

James Shields' Production Won't Match Reputation

James Shields has been one of fantasy's more reliable starting pitchers over the last five seasons, offering 200-strikeout and 15-win potential with the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres. But the man known as "Big Game James" threw up some red flags in his 2015 debut season in Southern California that […]

Johnny Cueto Offers Top-20 Pitcher Upside

It's a small sample size, granted, but Johnny Cueto sure seems to be a better fit in the National League than the American League. In 19 starts with the Cincinnati Reds last season, Cueto went 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. After a July trade to the Kansas City Royals, those numbers ballooned […]

Fantasy Sleepers: Patrick Corbin

When searching for sleepers in the fantasy universe, it is important to remember that players recovering from injury often make the best candidates. The reason for this is prospective owners are sometimes hesitant to believe a player coming back from an extended absence will be able to replicate their past success. While this is a […]

Carson Smith Could Be Invaluable Part of Bridge to Craig Kimbrel for Boston

Carson Smith looked like he could be the closer in Seattle in 2015 after Fernando Rodney faltered. Instead, he was part of the Wade Miley deal in the off-season and he's now behind another uber-closer: Craig Kimbrel. All is not lost, though. Bullpens are constructed to lock down the later innings before turning the ball […]

J.T. Realmuto Will Be a Bargain Catcher For Fantasy Owners This Year

J.T. Realmuto had a solid rookie season for the Miami Marlins in 2015 where he finished with a .259 average, 10 HR and a .290 OBP. Like most of the Miami Marlins last year, Realmuto was inconsistent for most of the season, though he did have a couple of months where he looked like a […]

Wei-Yin Chen Looks To Continue Success With Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins received a much-needed boost to their starting rotation after they landed lefty Wei-Yin Chen from the Baltimore Orioles. Chen was a solid complement to Ubaldo Jimenez in Baltimore and should fare just as well alongside Jose Fernandez. Chen’s 3.34 ERA was tops for the Orioles in 2015 and seventh-lowest in the American […]

Justin Bour Should be Considered a Top-15 First Baseman

Justin Bour only played in 123 games last season, but he made the most of his opportunity. Lost in the fanfare of Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez and Dee Gordon, Bour is a powerful, left-handed slugger playing first base in Miami. But don’t let the lack of name recognition fool you. He finished 2015 with a […]

Maurice Harkless (SF, POR) - NBA Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues OWNED IN: 6% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: Maurice Harkless joined the depleted Portland Trailblazers via trade this past offseason, and has had trouble seeing consistent action on the court. He has played at least 20 minutes in 22 different games this season, but 10 or fewer minutes in 14 […]

Eduardo Rodriguez Looks to Have Strong Sophomore Season

There was a time during the 2015 season that the Red Sox brass was concerned that rookie southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was tipping pitches. Pitching to a lineup like Toronto's, with Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion is terrifying enough - but if they have an idea of what's coming? It might as […]

Christian Yelich Looks to Build Off Strong 2015 Campaign

Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich put together a solid 2015 despite a pair of mid-season DL stints. In 2015, Yelich finished with a .300 average and 143 hits in just 126 games after a lower back strain caused him to miss time in April and May, while a knee contusion kept him out of the […]

Jeremy Lamb (SG/SF, CHA) - NBA Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues OWNED IN: 11% of Yahoo! Leagues ANALYSIS: Jeremy Lamb was playing more than 20 minutes per game for the Charlotte Hornets throughout November, December and early January before injuring his toe. He was averaging 11.2 points at the time of the injury. Upon his return, Nicolas Batum had already come […]

Can Jon Niese Bounce Back?

After putting together the weakest season of his career in 2015, starting pitcher Jon Niese was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Neil Walker. Pittsburgh’s newly acquired left-hander, who will be 29 this year, posted a 4.13 ERA and 1.40 WHIP along with 113 Ks in 176.2 innings last season. Sustaining a partially […]

Texas Rangers Top MLB Prospects for 2016 Dynasty Leagues

More than any other team in baseball, the Texas Rangers snuck up and emerged as the most surprising contender in 2015. Both the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs had been rebuilding for many years so though earlier than many expected, it seemed more plausible that the Astros or Cubs would compete than the Rangers would. […]

Five Undervalued NL Starting Pitcher Targets for 2016 Drafts

The National League is simply loaded with elite pitching. You could miss out on most of the top ranked guys and still find yourself with an abundance of options heading into the middle rounds. Still, it's important to know what you're looking for when those later rounds approach and there are holes to fill at […]

Saves and Holds: AL East Bullpen Depth Chart

With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected AL East closers, setup men, and […]

Daily Fantasy Hockey Lineup Picks: FanDuel & DraftKings NHL DFS Advice for 2/13/16

Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for February 13th of the 2015/2016 NHL season. Each day we'll be providing you with a handful of forward, defensemen, and goaltender picks for DraftKings and FanDuel GPP and cash games. It's a busy day in the NHL on Saturday with two afternoon games, leaving […]

Yu Darvish Could be Worth the Risk

It's difficult to know what to expect from Yu Darvish after the 29-year-old missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Darvish posted a strikeout rate of over 30 percent in each of his last two seasons. He also brought his HR/9 rate down to 0.8 after if had risen to 1.12 […]

Doug Fister: Late Round Steal

I wouldn’t exactly call Doug Fister a sleeper this year because he has established himself in the past, but I do think he is being overlooked. After a disappointing 2015 season, for not only him but the Washington Nationals, Fister will benefit from a change of scenery now with the Houston Astros. He has already […]

Cameron Maybin's Speed Makes Him A Depth Option

Cameron Maybin is rated in the seventh tier of outfielders according to our RotoBaller staff, and is listed as the 61st outfielder overall. It might not seem like there's much value to be had there considering Maybin's career numbers--.251/.313/.366 with very little power and a 21.9% K rate that isn't exactly low--but Maybin's speed makes […]

Jose Iglesias Provides Value and Depth

In his short MLB tenure, Jose Iglesias has dazzled baseball fans with his defensive prowess. Unfortunately, fancy glove-work doesn't exactly translate to fantasy value, so Iglesias is often overlooked as a viable option in most leagues--he was owned in just 11% of Yahoo! leagues last season. Still, as an option providing depth at the shortstop […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 7: BABIP for Pitchers

While FIP is a useful tool to predict a pitcher's future ERA performance, fantasy owners should remember that ERA, not FIP, is what really matters in most formats. This means that we are interested in the "luck" that separates the two statistics. Some of this is unpredictable, but we can and should predict some of […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Ian Desmond

Whatever are we going to do with Ian Desmond? Coupled with the fact that we are not even sure what team he will be playing for at the moment, the erratic and streaky play of Desmond at the plate screams uncertainty for the 2016 fantasy baseball season. He has been the longstanding SS of the […]

Five 2015 Busts Who Will Disappoint Again

It happens every year: A bunch of players produce way above or below expectations, and we spend the entire offseason arguing over whether or not the improvement or decline was genuine. Separating the wheat from the chaff when it comes to last year’s performances can be the difference between a championship season and bitter, abject […]

Luis Valbuena's 2016 Fantasy Outlook

Luis Valbuena also benefited from a change of scenery in 2015. Despite a drop in certain categories from his final season in a Chicago Cubs uniform, Valbuena’s power numbers increased, reaching career highs in both home runs and RBI’s. His 25 long balls and 56 ribbies last season deserve him a mention in fantasy talks, […]

Ken Giles is a Top Ten RP in 2016

Ken Giles could very well be the final piece of Houston’s puzzle to success in 2016. Swiping him away from the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason, the Astros will now likely swipe away the closer job from Luke Gregerson and hand it over to Giles. With the Phillies last season, Giles posted a 1.80 ERA, […]