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. […]

Late-Round Fantasy Baseball Outfield Targets - NFBC Draft and Hold Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers to my ongoing series about NFBC late-round targets - today, we take a look at outfielders. We are in February and that means Fantasy Baseball draft season is ramping up in hopes of a resolution to the lockout. In previous years, many players would participate in mock drafts to get their feel […]

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 […]

Prospects To Ditch In Dynasty

The dynasty format requires an owner to consider both the immediate and future implications of draft picks, trades, and waiver wire moves. Evaluating a player’s present and long-term future makes dynasty much more strategic, and unfortunately, much less forgiving given than redraft formats. The decision to cut loose a prospect for another prospect, a major […]

Jeremy Giambi Dies At Age 47

Former Major League outfielder and designated hitter Jeremy Giambi passed away on Wednesday at the age of 47, according to his agent, Joel Wolfe. Giambi was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the 1996 draft out of Cal State Fullerton, and he spent the best seasons of his career with […]

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 […]

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 […]

JJ Bleday Bulks Up For 2022 Season

Miami Marlins outfield prospect JJ Bleday checked into the team's development camp a few weeks ago at 215 pounds, up nearly 20 pounds from the 195 he weighed at the start of spring training a year ago. "I feel more grounded when I'm a little bit bigger, have more body control," Bleday said. The fourth […]

Four Hitters Who Changed Scenes - What Will That Mean?

In case you have been living under a rock, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are currently in the midst of a lockout. As a result, there can be no MLB transactions until the lockout is concluded, while the start of the regular season is now in doubt. I think I speak for everyone […]

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 […]

Marcell Ozuna Expected To Return In 2022

Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna is expected to return to the field in 2022, according to manager Brian Snitker. Ozuna is eligible to return this season following his suspension for his domestic violence charges. Snitker mentions that he would have no issues playing Ozuna, assuming he's cleared to play. The Braves have Ozuna under contract […]

Akil Baddoo Continues Improving

Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo has done a ton of work in the offseason to improve himself. Last season was Baddoo's first year back after having Tommy John surgery. He admits that his arm wasn't 100 percent during the 2021 season. However, he has done stretching and workouts over the offseason to help with his […]

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 […]

Failure to Launch: Decreasing Launch Angles and Home Runs for Fantasy Baseball

Once the toast of advanced stats in the baseball universe, average launch angle’s prominence as a performance predictor has taken a step back to other power-focused metrics such as barrel rate and max exit velocity. Perhaps this is because the “launch angle revolution” from a few years ago turned out to be more of a […]

AL Outfielders Set to Bust for Fantasy Baseball

In previous seasons, the outfield position has been one of the deepest positions to find top-end talent as well as deeper talent. In 2022, this appears to be the case again as the top-250 players based on ADP are littered with talent at the position. That being said, there are several land mines sprinkled throughout […]

Cedric Mullins Battled Crohn's Disease In 2021

Baltimore Orioles All-Star outfielder Cedric Mullins revealed on Wednesday that he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after undergoing colon surgery last offseason. Mullins was baseball's only 30-30 player last season, and he remarkably did it while battling the disease. The 27-year-old began experiencing symptoms in the spring of 2020, initially thinking he was suffering from […]

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 […]

Prime-Age Outfielders Set to Break Out for Fantasy Baseball

In modern baseball, we expect players to perform the instant they hit the majors, or shortly afterward. If the player hasn't broken out by age 25, we assume he will never break out. That wasn't always the case, however, as we used to view a player's mid-to-late-20s as the crucial time for a step forward. […]

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 […]

Colorado Rockies Showing Interest In Kyle Schwarber

The Colorado Rockies have shown interest in free-agent outfielder Kyle Schwarber. According to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies could likely make a run at Schwarber and play him at DH, first base, and left field. Schwarber slashed .266/.374/554 with 32 home runs in 113 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2021. […]

Mariners Among Favorites To Sign Seiya Suzuki

The Seattle Mariners are reportedly among the favorites to sign outfielder Seiya Suzuki when the MLB lockout ends. He hit .317 with 38 home runs and 88 RBI over 134 games with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball league in 2021. According to Peter Gammons, the Mariners, as well as the Giants, […]

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 […]