Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Feeling As Strong As He Did In 2018

Toronto Blue Jays first/third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said he feels as strong as he did before the 2018 season. Guerrero lost 42 pounds this offseason and is looking leaner ahead of the 2021 season after a down year at the plate in the shortened 2020 season. Despite the underwhelming stats, the 21-year-old still placed […]

Josh Bell (1B, WAS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 125 CURRENT ADP: ~149 overall ANALYSIS: I was already higher than the consensus on Bell following his massively disappointing 2020. After all, this is a former top prospect still in his prime who happened to struggle during the short season. A Christmas Day trade to Washington seems heaven-sent for those […]

Dominic Smith Homers On Saturday

New York Mets outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith went 1-for-3, including a two-run home run, in Grapefruit League action on Saturday against the Astros. Smith was the Mets designated hitter, who slotted into the lineup batting fifth. With no designated hitter in the NL for 2021, Smith should see the bulk of his playing time in […]

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot% Risers

While the 2020 season may not have given us much of a sample to evaluate outcomes (home runs, doubles, flyouts, etc.), the core events of exit velocity and launch angle stabilize more quickly and can be stickier than combination statistics like ISO or BB%. Two of our FSWA Writer-of-the-Year Finalists, Eric Samulski and Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Finding Over/Undervalued First Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021 […]

DraftKings MLB DFS Cheat Sheet for Spring Training (Premium Content)

  MLB DFS Premium Cheatsheet All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Spring Training games are underway and we couldn't be more excited! We'll be putting out Premium MLB DFS Cheat Sheets for DraftKings throughout Spring Training, and our MLB DFS Lineup Optimizer is live for DraftKings as well. Hope you […]

Matt Olson Homers In Cactus League Action Friday

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson went 1-for-2 with a home run and a strikeout in a Spring Training game against the Angels on Friday. It was a typical game for the lefty slugger who mashed 14 homers last year, but also batted .195 thanks to an uncharacteristic amount of strikeouts. Olson's K-rate spiked to […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pull%

We have previously determined that fantasy managers generally prefer batters to hit the ball into the air to have a chance at a home run. Yet, all fly balls are not equal for this purpose. A player can maximize his power production by pulling the ball in the air. One way to illustrate this is […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! Best Ball leagues are for you for those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues. Best Ball leagues have increased in popularity in recent years, and that is in large part of the early […]

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Avoids (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! For those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues, Best Ball formats are a great way to get a head start on the competition. By jumping in best ball leagues, fantasy players can get […]

DJ LeMahieu Reaches Three Times In Spring Training Action Friday

New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 2-for-2 with a walk in a Grapefruit League contest Friday against the Tigers. The reigning AL batting champ picked up right where he left off last season when he posted a career-high .421 on-base percentage. In two seasons with New York, LeMahieu has silenced all doubters who […]

2021 Dynasty Leagues: Top Trade Targets (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, […]

Freddie Freeman To Make Spring Debut Friday

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman will make his 2021 spring training debut on Friday against the Twins. Freeman is slotted into the three-hole in the Braves lineup, a place he's quite familiar with, having batted 1002 career games at that spot. The 2020 National League MVP slashed .341/.462/.640 in the shortened season, clubbing 13 […]

Aaron Boone To Rejoin The Yankees This Weekend

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone will rejoin the team sometime this weekend after undergoing surgery to receive a pacemaker in his heart on Wednesday. Thankfully, Boone’s surgery reportedly went smoothly, and the skipper’s return to the team has been on schedule as he had been expected to miss only a few days. The biggest […]

Royals Value Patient Approach Of Carlos Santana

The Kansas City Royals brought in first baseman Carlos Santana this offseason to help give them a strong, veteran bat in their lineup. Royals manager Mike Matheny has spoken glowingly about Santana's plate presence, particularly his patience. Matheny says he wants his team to be known for their abilities to grind out at-bats and that […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/5) - Buehler Building Up For Big Season

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We've finally made it to (real?) baseball games. […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/4) - Realmuto Nearing Return

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We've finally made it to (real?) baseball games. […]

Which Yuli Gurriel Will Show Up This Season?

Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will have plenty to prove heading into the 2021 season. Gurriel struggled mightily last season after a breakout campaign in 2019, posting only a .658 OPS through 211 at-bats in a shortened season. His diminished fantasy returns was a huge disappointment after slashing .298/.343/.541 in 2019 with 31 home […]

Pete Alonso Blasts Grand Slam In Spring Action

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso crushed a grand slam in Grapefruit League action on Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Alonso went 1-for-3 on the day, including the grand slam which was his first home run of the spring. Alonso did not hit a single HR last spring prior to a disappointing 2020 season […]

Danny Santana Reaches Deal With Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox signed free-agent super-utility man Danny Santana to a one-year deal with a base salary of $1.75 million on Thursday. He'll receive $1 million in incentives and a $100,000 bonus if he starts in Triple-A to allow him extra time to get ready for the season. The deal also includes an opt-out […]

Colin Moran Batting Cleanup Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Colin Moran is batting cleanup Thursday against the Atlanta Braves. Moran will look to stabilize himself and become the anchor in the middle of the Pirates' order in 2021 after they traded away Josh Bell during the offseason. Moran's strong suit comes against right-handed pitching as he slashed .252/.338/.512 with nine home […]

Dominic Smith Making Spring Debut On Thursday

New York Mets outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith will be making his Grapefruit League debut on Thursday against the Nationals. Smith will be batting third as the Mets' designated hitter. In 2020, Smith broke out with a .316/.377/.616 slash line, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI. He finished tied for second in the National League with […]

Anthony Rizzo Homers Wednesday

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had a solid day at the plate Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in an 8-8 tie against the Seattle Mariners. The home run was Rizzo's first hit in five at-bats to begin the spring, but he should settle in as March continues. Rizzo was also hitting […]

Christian Walker Homers in Diamondbacks Win Wednesday

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker had a big day at the plate on Wednesday, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI against the Indians. Walker followed up his breakout 2019 campaign with another solid effort at the plate last year where he finished with a .271/.333/.459 triple-slash line along with seven home […]

Top 10 First Basemen - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

If you’re hunting for an impact bat for your fantasy baseball team, first base is often a good place to find a strong offensive contributor. In 2019, the last full season, 25 out of 37 first basemen with a minimum of 350 plate appearances had a 100 wRC+ or better. Of those, 13 players topped […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - First Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Lineup Takeaways - An Early Look at Spring Training Trends

As many of you know, tracking lineups is what I am all in on this 2021 season and with it comes an influx of data and information right away. Going forward, a weekly article will occur - especially as we get into more tangible information and data. However, I wanted to get ahead of the […]

Aaron Boone Taking A Leave Of Absence

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is taking a medical leave of absence from the team to receive a pacemaker in his heart. The Yankees are optimistic that Boone can return to the team within the next few days so his absence shouldn't have much of an impact on the team's lineups during the regular […]

Twins Showing Interest In Danny Santana

Free-agent infielder/outfielder Danny Santana is drawing interest from the Minnesota Twins. It's unclear what kind of deal Santana would be seeking, though the Twins are reportedly only interested in minor league deals at this point, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic. The 30-year-old struggled with an elbow injury in the shortened 2020 season but is […]