Brandon Phillips Ain't (Totally) Dead Yet

While Brandon Phillips is a hometown hero in Cincinnati, his popularity hasn't matched his production at the plate. Unfortunately, the days of 20+ home runs in a season are over. He did hit 18 home runs in four straight seasons from 2010 to 2013, but the power has essentially disappeared since then. Thankfully, Phillips’ production in […]

Health Will Determine Jesse Hahn's 2016 Performance

Since Jesse Hahn's MLB debut, he has shown the ability to dominate even the most powerful lineups. However, he has never been able to stay healthy long enough to maximize his full potential. Hahn’s 2015 season came to a screeching halt when he was officially shut down towards the end of the summer with elbow […]

Joey Votto Will Keep Rolling in 2016

When Joey Votto blasted three home runs out of Great American Ballpark in June of 2015, we all knew he was back. After a dismal, injury-filled 2014 in which he only played 62 games, 2015 was a different story. With an incredible 1.000 OPS, Joey Votto was able to match his second-highest career total in […]

Expect Continued Improvement From Josh Reddick in 2016

Josh Reddick is an intriguing player from a fantasy perspective. When The Oakland Athletics brought in Reddick through a somewhat lopsided trade with the Boston Red Sox, Billy Beane and company were not too sure of what they had. After all, he had only played 143 games in three seasons with the Red Sox and […]

Jordan Zimmermann Is A Mid-Round Steal

Jordan Zimmermann will transition from the NL to the AL this season as he joins the Detroit Tiger rotation. If conventional wisdom holds true, that means that he will see a slight dip in productivity this season, with the most affected area being K/9 IP. But setting aside the adjustment period, Jordan Zimmermann should continue […]

Anthony DeSclafani Will Make the Leap in 2016

It is safe to say that the Cincinnati Reds’ rotation has some question marks, the biggest most likely being Homer Bailey. However another big question mark for the Reds is slated right behind Bailey in the rotation. Anthony DeSclafani, the sixth-round draft choice out of Florida back in 2011, has been somewhat frustrating when on […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice - NBA DFS Lineup Picks for 2/2/16

The only reason anyone in the tri-state area would know it is winter time is because the NBA is dominating sports highlight reels, what with the 50 degree weather and all. It’s strange to see people in tee shirts in February. Hopefully that hot weather translates on to the court, specifically for the following players. […]

Victor Martinez Is A Bounce Back Candidate For 2016

There are plenty of reasons to balk at drafting Victor Martinez in 2016. The Tigers' slugger had a career year in 2014, putting up lifetime bests in HR, AVG, and OBP while striking out only 6.6% of the time. Heading into last season, he was a clear regression candidate, especially after having off-season knee surgery. […]

2016 Shortstop Keeper Values: The Other Guys

These rankings are derived from my 15 step formula. The Keeper Valuation Formula uses the players’ age, draft round, number of teams in the league, current stats, projected stats, games played percentage, positional value, and some secret squirrel statistical math. The product is a TRUE Keeper Value for each player. Translation of Keeper Formula Values […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 5: Lineups, Runs and RBI

To this point, this column has focused exclusively on trying to predict and validate HRs and batting average. There is a reason for this--modern sabermetrics tend to reject the idea of a "clutch RBI guy" and therefore do not bother inventing predictive metrics for it. Runs and RBI are team dependent stats, and are unhelpful […]

Top 300 Rankings & Analysis (Part 1)

Welcome, RotoBallers. You may have noticed that we're rolling out a ton of rankings content for the 2016 season. Included in this effort is our Top 300 staff rankings, which you can view by clicking that link or scrolling all the way down below. In addition to yours truly, Brad Johnson and Nick Mariano participated […]

Dwyane Wade (SG, MIA) and Amar'e Stoudemire - Stack on FanDuel 2/2

Dwyane Wade (at HOU) - $7,900 James Harden defense is the worst kind of defense... unless you're on the other team. Wade gets a chance to exploit it on Tuesday, and the fast-paced Rockets should create more shots for Wade in transition. With Whiteside likely out again, look for Wade to shoulder the offensive load […]

Devin Booker (SG, PHO) - Value Play on FanDuel 2/2

Devin Booker (vs. TOR) - $5,200 Without Brandon Knight, Booker has taken over the lead scoring role for Phoenix. The Raptors will push the pace, and Booker will get his shots no matter the score. Let's hope for one of the games in which the Suns' guard sticks his nose in on defense and on […]

Carmelo Anthony (SF, NY) - Big Money Play on FanDuel 2/2

Carmelo Anthony (vs. BOS) - $9,000 The Knicks run their offense through Melo when he's healthy. The Celtics are tough this year, and Anthony will need to touch the ball every possession if New York is going to have a chance here. He may have one of his 20-10-10 nights in what should be a […]

NBA Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks - FanDuel DFS Basketball Advice for 2/2/16

Five games this Tuesday night. Not great, but we can't complain either. Some players are in prime spots as far as matchups go, so let's figure out who to build our teams around tonight. In this article, I will be providing you with Daily NBA picks for FanDuel for 2/2/16. The picks will range from some […]

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

Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for February 2nd of the 2015/2016 NHL season. Each Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I'll be providing you with five picks (G, C, W, W, D) for FanDuel and DraftKings GPP and cash games.   Introducing RotoBaller's Premium Daily Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheet Get an […]

Dustin Pedroia Wants Laser Show To Last All of 2016

Like several of his teammates, Dustin Pedroia had a truncated 2015 season. Injuries limited him to 425 plate appearances, his lowest since '10. Predictably, Boston saw its season end way earlier than anticipated. Pedroia's determined not to let that happen. Don't bet on a 213-hit, 54-double season like '08, but if he's healthy, he's still […]

Will Hector Rondon Lose The Closer Role Again?

Last year, Hector Rondon had some struggles as closer of the Chicago Cubs. He led the team with 30 saves, but was shaky right from the start, eventually getting downgraded to setup man. Ultimately, six other pitchers recorded saves for the Cubs, as Joe Maddon implemented a closer by committee policy. Rondon did eventually get […]

RotoBaller NBA Radio - Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 2/1 - 2/3/16

RotoBaller is verrrrrrry excited about the launch of our Daily Fantasy Basketball radio show on our Blog Talk Radio station. You can find all of our new shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Monday and Thursday, long time RotoBaller lead writer Sam Nedimyer and podcast host Josh Hayes will be discussing […]

J.D. Martinez Is A Premier Power Bat For 2016

Heading into the 2015 season, there were some skeptics around the league who thought J.D. Martinez's 2014 power surge was a fluke. After turning in a career-best 38 HR last season, Martinez has proven that his long-ball strength is for real. To go along with is 38 bombs, Martinez also turned in 102 RBI and […]

Justin Upton Will Thrive in Detroit

The Detroit Tigers once again made a splash in free agency, signing Justin Upton to a six-year deal worth over $130 million this winter. He will provide yet another power bat to an already potent lineup. Upton brings solid career numbers to a favorable situation in Detroit, and is poised for another solid season in […]

Drafting for Safety or Potential: The Corey Seager Dilemma

What Corey Seager lacks in experience he certainly makes up for in potential. The Los Angeles Dodgers #1 overall prospect and opening day shortstop is looking to build upon a magnificent showing during his September call up in 2015. In just 27 games Seager batted an astounding .337 with four HR, eight Doubles, a Triple, […]

Rolling the Dice on Yasiel Puig

After being limited to just 79 games in 2015 due to a nagging hamstring injury, Yasiel Puig is looking to stay healthy and showcase why he was praised just a few short years ago for his big league potential. As the table setter at the top of the Los Angeles Dodgers order, Puig has managed […]

Retiring Chase Utley From Fantasy Rosters

While Chase Utley opted to lace up his cleats once again on a one-year deal with the Dodgers, his ability to stay healthy and produce for the duration of an entire baseball season is still up in the air. Utley rode a wave of mediocre seasons throughout his 30's, ultimately leading up to a dismal […]

Kinsler's Consistency Makes Him A Safe 2B Pick

Here are some numbers on Ian Kinsler from 2012-2015. Home runs: 19, 13, 17, 11. Runs batted in: 72, 72, 92, 73. Runs scored: 105, 85, 100, 94. When it comes to second basemen these days, its hard to find one who is more reliable than Kinsler. He has averaged 152 G per year over […]

Like His Home Runs, How Far Will Kyle Schwarber Go?

After an impressive stint in the majors last year, Kyle Schwarber enters the 2016 MLB season as one of the more exciting young sluggers in the league.  At 22 years old, he played 69 games, smashing 16 HR and recording 43 RBI. He’s not a great hitter, however, as he finished with a .246 BA. That […]

Kenley Jansen Pitching for Payday

After hearing about the potential Aroldis Chapman trade to the Dodgers, Kenley Jansen was reportedly upset about ultimately losing his role as closer. Fortunately for Jansen, and those drafting him, that deal fell through, and he will indeed be the Dodgers closer once again. Jansen managed only 52.1 IP last season due to a minor […]

A-Gon Shouldn't Be Gone Too Early

In any fantasy baseball draft the pool of players at first base is always the deepest. This provides ample time to fill other needs before settling on a lesser player when unable to draft Paul Goldschmidt or Miguel Cabrera. There are a surplus of first basemen that are capable of hitting over 25 homeruns and […]

NBA Guards: Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers

This week's waiver wire guards are a mixed bag, with a few different kinds of potential fantasy basketball stars. Both veterans and a rookie make an appearance because of how well they’ve been playing, yet are still being ignored in the majority of leagues. The fantasy season is beginning to wind down and now is […]

Michael Wacha's Poor End to 2015 May Indicate Problems to Come

Taken as a whole, Michael Wacha's 2015 was a huge success. Unfortunately, there are several factors that indicate the good times about to go off the rails again, not unlike a certain train of crazy. If you saw him pitch in September and October, his ranking as our 31st-overall starting pitcher might seem a little high. In […]