Finding Hitter Clones At Cheaper ADPs

One of the most useful algorithms in the machine learning world is that of data clustering. Clustering, in this case, is defined as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups […]

Jon Anderson's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021

Today, I am honored to take my turn giving you my 10 bold predictions for the 2021 season here at RotoBaller. It's a thrill to be featured on this site, and I look forward to continuing to put out content for you all over the 2021 season and beyond. This was not an easy post […]

Kevin Newman Has Perfect Day At Plate Saturday

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a stolen base in a 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. It was Newman's fifth multi-hit performance of the spring, as he has reached base safely in seven straight games and is now slashing .688/.762/.813 with two doubles, five walks and […]

Multi-Position Assets For All Fantasy Leagues

With such a short season in 2020, many starting pitchers weren't able to throw more than 60 innings, so it's unlikely that they take the massive jump this season that would allow them to get to the 170-180 innings we usually expect. To work around this, many teams have discussed implementing six-man rotations and even […]

Bo Bichette Doubles Twice In Blue Jays Win Saturday

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette had his first multi-hit performance of the spring on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, a steal, one RBI and a run scored in a 3-1 victory over the Phillies. Bichette had been struggling at the plate early this spring, slashing .125/.333/.125 with five strikeouts in his […]

Didi Gregorius Returns To Lineup Saturday

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius (concussion) is in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays. Gregorius seemed to be trending towards making a return after participating in all activities on Friday, but it's always nice to get the official word. He'll bat fifth against left-hander Steven Matz. Gregorius is batting .158 with four […]

Willy Adames Triples In Two-Hit Day Friday

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Willy Adames went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored in the Rays' 11-7 loss to the Red Sox on Friday. That performance improves his triple-slash line to .348/.444/.522 over 10 games, with two doubles, a triple, two RBI and four runs scored, as he has four walks and nine […]

Adalberto Mondesi Swipes First Base Of Spring On Friday

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi stole a base and scored a run in Friday's tie with the Angels. Mondesi laid down a sacrifice bunt, reached on a scoring error, then promptly stole second base for his first swiped bag of the spring. The 25-year-old has six hits and five runs scored in nine Cactus […]

Trea Turner Reaches Base Three Times Against Astros

Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner had a strong day at the plate in Friday's 10-9 win over the Astros. Turner went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored, giving him seven walks, four hits, and a stolen base in 11 Grapefruit League games. The 27-year-old had an excellent campaign in the shortened […]

Didi Gregorius Could Return On Saturday

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius (concussion) was able to participate in all activities on Friday afternoon. Gregorius was placed in the concussion protocol after being hit in the back of the helmet by a pitch- though manager Joe Girardi said that the 31-year-old is "one positive evaluation from getting into a game." Gregorius could make […]

Nick Mariano's H2H Points Leagues Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) usually cater to the biggest stars or the deepest sleepers, but there are very few articles that simply discuss the mid-round targets that deserve a boost in points league formats (even if points veterans will laugh at some […]

Nick Mariano's H2H Points Leagues Early-Round Avoids (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. There's insight out there for most anything, but coverage of points leagues […]

Prospects to Know in 2021 - NL East

Can you feel the excitement in the air? It's Spring Training! We're a few games in now so it's time to overreact about which unknown player is going to be an MVP candidate and which star player is "clearly" washed up. But when we're not overreacting, we shouldn't forget to think about the new faces […]

Jorge Polanco Back On The Practice Field Friday

Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco (groin) was back on the field in practice on Friday, where he was hitting, running and taking grounders, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Polanco left Tuesday's game early with left adductor tightness after trying to make a diving stop on a grounder. It appears that this injury won't […]

Connelly Doan's Bold Predictions for 2021

Welcome to the 2021 fantasy baseball season everybody! Spring Training is in full swing and fantasy drafts are well under way. One of the most satisfying things throughout the season (and in life in general) is to be right, especially when others don’t agree with you. Of course, putting your contrarian opinions out in the […]

H2H Points Leagues Draft Primer

We recognize that some of our readers may be new to fantasy baseball and interested in trying a points league for the first time. The goal here is to outline the traditional format scoring while offering up suggestions for draft strategy. Below is a pretty generic Head-To-Head Points Format scoring outline. You will need to […]

Points League Players and the Platforms Who Hate Them

Trust. Whether in roto, point leagues, or otherwise, players should be able to trust that the rankings and values they choose to rely on will be accurate and specific to their league format. That standard seems to be a bit fuzzy when it comes to points leagues, even though point leagues should be fantasy baseball's […]

Sam Haggerty Steals Two Bases

Seattle Mariners utility man Sam Haggerty just keeps on stealing bases, adding two more Thursday for a spring total of five. Haggerty played third base Thursday against the Giants, and has also appeared at second base, shortstop, and in the outfield. Haggerty is not currently on fantasy draft boards, but he could be the next […]

2021 Points League Rankings - Shortstop

The ides of January are behind us and fantasy baseball draft season is officially in full swing. And considering that H2H point league players got ran over the most by a 60-game season in 2020, I'm guessing you're just as ready as I am to get things going. So it points ranks time, baby! If you've […]

Little Movement On Francisco Lindor Extension Talks

The New York Mets have reportedly continued extension talks with shortstop Francisco Lindor, but there is no real movement by either side toward ultimately reaching a deal. Both Lindor and the Mets have stated that they will not negotiate after Opening Day. The industry expectation is that Lindor will command at least a 10-year deal […]

Later-Round Category Targets - Home Runs

Welcome back to my series of posts where I take us through a standard fantasy baseball category, break it down statistically and then locate some targets for 2021 to help you out in that category. We've already examined how to get an advantage in batting average. Today we will talk about home runs. You can also […]

Don't Overpay for Steals, Draft These Guys Instead

Steals are an increasingly precious commodity in roto leagues. If you don't grab a speedster early on, you are forced to find a modest source of steals in the middle and later rounds or just punt the category altogether. Since it's not advised to resign yourself to claiming last place in a category before the […]

Later-Round Category Targets - Batting Average

Of all of the fantasy sports, a baseball league using category scoring is the one most requiring manager strategy. You can draft a team full of players that overperform their draft cost but still not win your league if you don't fill up the categories correctly. If I had to give one piece of advice […]

Hitter Targets Under $5 - Salary Cap League Values

It's a cliché to say that those managers who finally dip their toe into salary cap leagues never go back to snake drafts. Snake drafts have their own charm. There is simply more going on, and thus, more fun to have when participating in a salary cap draft. There become no bounds on how one […]

Later-Round Category Targets - Stolen Bases

The stolen base is like no other category in the rotisserie game. It is correlated to no other category that is used in fantasy and is influenced by "specialists" (meaning players who only contribute in one category) way more than any other as well. Steal attempts have also been trending downward in recent MLB history, making […]

Hidden Gems To Watch - 2021 Infielder Prospects

When we talk about prospects, almost everybody wants to gravitate to the names at the top of the various lists; the guys like Wander Franco or Julio Rodriguez. The ones we've deemed "generational talents" or determined will "win you your league." But the issue, as we've seen with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is that predicting prospect […]

Hitter Targets Under $10 - Salary Cap League Values

Snake drafts are the more common method, but salary cap leagues offer a more complex flavor to your draft day. That's not for everyone, and that's fine; part of the beauty of fantasy baseball lies in its high degree of customizability. Salary cap drafts take longer, and they're much less straightforward than snakes, but for […]

Marcus Semien (SS, TOR) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 110 CURRENT ADP: ~131 overall ANALYSIS:  If you look at his expected batting average from 2020, Marcus Semien should have theoretically performed worse than he actually did (.223), which suggests he was somewhat lucky. But then you look at his .260 BABIP last year which was both a career-worst and […]

David Fletcher (2B/SS/3B, LAA) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

Analyzing David Fletcher is an exercise in extremes. No qualified batter swung-and-missed less frequently than Fletcher did in 2020, and no qualified batter posted a lower hard-hit rate than Fletcher’s 17.8% mark. In an era of hitters who tend to be more power-oriented, Fletcher stands out as a contact-focused hitter with unremarkable power. Fletcher’s ability […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/18) - Montgomery, Alcantara Surging

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]