Mark Melancon 2016 Outlook

Mark Melancon, who recently signed a one-year $9.65 million dollar contract with the Pirates, nailed down a league-leading 51 saves for Pittsburgh in 2015. Melancon’s 51 saves were buoyed by a 2.23 ERA and .93 WHIP. Unfortunately, Melancon’s ability to strike batters out diminished from 9.0 K/9 in 2014 to last year’s unimpressive 7.28 K/9. […]

NBA Forwards: Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers

Hello again and welcome to a new week and finally a set of decently fresh faces. I know I have been ramming the likes of John Henson and Evan Turner down some throats in the past weeks, so this week I bring a diverse group of players who offer a diverse set of skills. Some […]

Karl-Anthony Towns (C, MIN) - Solid DraftKings Tournament Play on 2/2/16

Karl-Anthony Towns (at LAL, $7,800) Here comes the big cat! Dude has been an absolute monster over the last two weeks and there is little to no chance that the Lakers and their 30th-ranked defense against the center position will slow him down. Big KAT is going to show Roy Hibbert just what Kevin Durant said nearly 10 days ago. Towns […]

Karl-Anthony Towns (C, MIN) - Solid DraftKings Tournament Play on 2/2/16

Karl-Anthony Towns (at LAL, $7,800) Here comes the big cat! Dude has been an absolute monster over the last two weeks and there is little to no chance that the Lakers and their 30th-ranked defense against the center position will slow him down. Big KAT is going to show Roy Hibbert just what Kevin Durant said nearly 10 days ago. Towns […]

Dwayne Wade (SG, MIA) and Justise Winslow (SF, MIA) - DraftKings Stack on 2/2/16

Dwyane Wade (at HOU, $7,300) We are also hoping that Wade draws the Beard and not Patrick Beverley, who has showed tremendous defensive ability this season. The Beard, however, well he’s shown some regression to say the least. Wade has been a consistent offensive force, so it’s surprising to see his price drop $500 from his last game. […]

Zach LaVine (PG, MIN) - DraftKings Value Play on 2/2/16

Zach LaVine (at LAL, $5,300) Don’t forget that LaVine is considered a point guard on DraftKings. There is a push from some of the Minnesota faithful to plug LaVine into the starting five, but we here at Rotoballer are keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to come off the bench. Over his last four, LaVine is […]

Cardinals Counting on Jaime Garcia in 2016, Fantasy Owners Should Too

Like a knight in shining armor, Jamie Garcia picked the perfect time to pitch more than nine starts in a season since 2012, as he took the hill 20 times for an injury-ravaged Cardinals' rotation. He is currently penciled in as the Cardinals' second starter. 2015 was the reaffirmation that Jamie Garcia is capable of top-tier […]

Cody Allen Looking to Achieve Elite Closer Status in 2016

With the AL completely stacked with elite relief arms, Cody Allen has been quietly building up the resume of an top-flight closer. His 2015 ERA was up nearly a run from last year's 2.07 mark, but his FIP of 1.82 was tops in all of baseball. Allen has blossomed into a commanding presence in the back […]

New Team, Same Old Mike Leake

Mike Leake chose a new home after a late-season trade from the Reds to the Giants last year, signing with the St. Louis Cardinals for a five year, $80 million contract this off-season. He's projected to be their fourth starter. Mike Leake is one of those players who is better appreciated in the real world […]

Trevor Bauer Hoping For Happier Home Outings in 2016

Trevor Bauer's home-road splits were the most concerning aspect of the young right-hander's inconsistent 2015. Opponents had an OPS nearly 200 points higher when facing him at Progressive Field (.797 versus .608). There were some bright sides to Bauer's 2015. He continues to establish himself as a strikeout artist, with his 2015 K/9 rate of 8.69 sitting between Gerrit […]

What to Make of Stephen Vogt in 2016

Catchers are always a tricky draft selection, and one name that will come up a lot in this year’s draft preparation is Stephen Vogt. From the 2014 season to the 2015 season, nearly all of Vogt’s counting stats doubled. His RBI total increased from 35 to 71, his runs scored total went from 26 to 58, […]

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 […]