ATC Projections - Overvalued and Undervalued Hitters for 2022

The industry-leading ATC Projections are live for the 2022 fantasy baseball season. That means it's time to dive into the numbers to see what the fantasy takeaway is for key players. As Ariel Cohen himself explained in a recent breakdown of risk analysis using ATC, projections aren't meant to be viewed as exact predictions. They […]

Improved Hitter K% vs. Power Production - Fantasy Baseball Risers

There are plenty of different ways for a hitter to improve at the plate. We see dozens of players every year who make huge improvements at the plate, and it's very important for fantasy managers to identify these hitters earlier than the field does. Sometimes these improvements can be driven by luck, sometimes by a […]

Players Union Unimpressed By MLB's Latest Offer

Major League Baseball and the Players Association met for less than an hour on Saturday, and there remains no deal on a new collective bargaining agreement. The players came out of the meeting unimpressed by the offer from the league, and there's very little progress made between the two sides in negotiations. The league proposed […]

Ballpark Factors: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

If you have ever selected a streamable pitcher based on a home park or benched an otherwise must-start arm at Coors Field, you already know how much a stadium can impact a player's bottom line. Ballpark Factors quantify the influence each stadium has, allowing you to make the most of your fantasy team's real-life schedule. […]

Rob Manfred Says No Change To Spring Training

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Thursday that "the status of spring training is no change right now." Manfred also called the possibility of missing regular season games amid the league's lockout of players "a disastrous outcome." "I believe we will have an agreement in time to play our regular schedule," Manfred said. […]

Dodgers Looking To Extend Dave Roberts

The Los Angeles Dodgers are planning extension talks with manager Dave Roberts. According to Andy McCullough of the Athletic, Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman indicated the two parties would negotiate an extension in the coming weeks. "It'll get done," Roberts said. "It'll get done." The 49-year-old has managed the Dodgers over […]

MLB Planning To Make New Proposal To Union

Major League Baseball is planning to make a new proposal following the owners' meetings this week, which will end on Thursday. Their proposal is expected to involve core economic issues, and hope remains that it could trigger something to get a deal done so that the regular season can begin as scheduled. MLB and the […]

Red Sox Sign Yolmer Sanchez To Minor League Deal

The Boston Red Sox signed infielder Yolmer Sanchez, catcher Roldani Baldwin and first baseman Roberto Ramos to minor league deals with invites to spring training on Wednesday. Sanchez, 29, is the most intriguing of the trio. He has a solid glove but hasn't been much of a threat at the plate in his career. He […]

Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (Chase Rates) - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

As the MLB and MLBPA keep working towards ending the lockout and getting baseball back into our lives, we've been keeping the offseason content going by digging into some 2021 stats. While we all obviously want the lockout to end, this is a useful time to do your research and have a better understanding of […]

MLB Stops Drug Testing During Lockout

Major League Baseball has stopped drug testing players during the lockout that began on Dec. 2 of last year. Testing for steroids was stopped for the first time in almost 20 years due to the expiration of the league's drug agreement between management and the players' association. "It should be a major concern to all […]

Top MLB Prospects Rankings: #101-175 - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball prospects coverage is back. The 2022 season is quickly approaching and while the MLB season still hangs in the balance due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minor league season will be unaffected (for players not on the 40-man roster). We’re continuing our 2022 prospect coverage with the comprehensive […]

Daniel Robertson Signs Minor League Contract With Twins

The Minnesota Twins signed free-agent infielder Daniel Robertson to a minor league contract. In July, he was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers and finished the rest of last season in Triple-A. Overall, the 27-year-old slashed .164/.303/.274 across 90 big league plate appearances. Robertson will provide the Twins with infield depth but isn't on […]

Robinson Cano Hitting Well In Winter Ball

New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano is expected to be back with the organization for the 2022 season. He was suspended for the entire 2021 season for breaking the MLB's drug policy for the second time. Despite that, Cano remains on the Mets payroll for the 2022 and 2023 season. He is owed $24 […]

Batting Order: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

You may be wondering why there aren't any advanced stats aimed at predicting a player's counting stats like runs and RBI. The answer is simple: modern sabermetrics 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 in ascertaining […]

Players Association Rejects Idea For Federal Mediator

The Major League Baseball Players Association on Friday rejected the league's request for a federal mediator to negotiate between the two sides for a new collective bargaining agreement. "Two months after implementing their lockout, and just two days after committing to Players that a counterproposal would be made, the owners refused to make a counter, […]

Triple-A Schedules Expanded To 150 Games

The schedule for each Triple-A team will be expanded from 144 games to 150 games in the first full season the minor leagues are being run by Major League Baseball. Because the season didn't start until May due to the coronavirus pandemic last year, the Triple-A schedules were cut to 120 games in 2021. The […]

MLB Asks Mediator To Assist In CBA Talks

Major League Baseball has requested the assistance of a federal mediator to help resolve the labor issues between the league and Players Association so that a new collective bargaining agreement can be reached, according to a source. The league sees this as the most productive path toward reaching an agreement to avoid any potential delay […]

Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (Pull Rate) - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

As the MLB and MLBPA keep working towards ending the lockout and getting baseball back into our lives, we've been keeping the offseason content going by digging into some 2021 stats. While we all obviously want the lockout to end, this is a useful time to do your research and have a better understanding of […]

Pull%: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball

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 […]

Top MLB Prospects Rankings: #176-250 - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball prospects coverage is back. The 2022 season is quickly approaching and while the MLB season hangs in the balance due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minor league season will be unaffected (for players not on the 40-man roster). We’re beginning our 2022 prospect coverage with the comprehensive Top […]

MLB, Players Union Disappointed After Tuesday's Meeting

Both sides of Major League Baseball's labor talks are disappointed after another meeting on Tuesday, with MLB now joining the players union in that regard. The Union offered a couple small changes -- lowering the bonus pool to $100 million from $105 million - but MLB remains at $10 million. The chances that spring training […]

Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xSLG) - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

There are stats for everything now. It's great, but it can also be overwhelming at times. Depending on where we look, we can tell ourselves all different types of narratives about a player. As a result, I've always been a proponent of identifying the stats that you find to be most useful/beneficial and focusing on […]

Spring Training Likely To Be Delayed

Major League Baseball and player representatives continue to hold much different views of the game's economics when it comes to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the scheduled start of spring training in mid-February is in jeopardy. In another few weeks, Opening Day on March 31 could be a long shot as well. Players remain […]

Batted Ball Data Analysis - How Consistent Are GB%, LD%, and FB% Year To Year

When we are evaluating hitters, we talk a lot about batted ball profile. When we're talking about this, things like launch angle and ground ball rate are cited quite often. I wanted to make a post to go over these things a bit more in-depth, giving our readers more complete knowledge of the subject at […]

Second Base Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Although redraft season for fantasy baseball is not upon us yet, dynasty leagues are always active. Those crucial preseason cut/hold decisions are being weighed in order to assess the keeper value of each player on your roster. To help our readers make the most informed decisions, RotoBaller has updated dynasty baseball rankings, submitted by Brad […]

Late-Round Fantasy Baseball Second Base Targets - NFBC Draft and Hold Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers to my ongoing series about NFBC late-round targets - today we take a look at second base. We have entered January, and that means Fantasy Baseball draft season is ramping up. Sure, we do not know if or when the MLB season will start, but that will not stop us, die-hard fantasy […]

Gordon Beckham Announces His Retirement

Infielder Gordon Beckham announced in a tweet on Wednesday that he is officially retiring. The eighth overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2008 draft, Beckham made his Major League debut in 2009 and logged 3782 plate appearances in the Majors. In addition to playing for the White Sox, he also suited up […]

Early 2022 Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Welcome RotoBallers to the fantasy baseball season! In this article you will find our teams' early 2022 fantasy baseball second base rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. This is a great time of year for baseball fans and fantasy baseball enthusiasts, and our team is here to help you prep for the upcoming […]

Early 2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers! In this article you'll find our team's early 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. The new year is always an exciting time, as it marks a period where interest in the approaching MLB and fantasy baseball season starts to pick up. Our team has been hard at […]

Using Launch Data to Search for Power Breakouts in Fantasy Baseball

Statcast data is such a beautiful thing. I start a ton of posts like this, but I want to say again - the quantity and richness of this data gives guys like me endless opportunities for statistical analysis. Today, we're going to dive into the hitting pool and focus on launch profiles, with the aim […]