Hitter Prospect Risers for 2019

We are thrilled to announce that Marc Hulet has recently joined the RotoBaller team! Marc is also the longest-serving, active writer at FanGraphs. For 10+ years he has been focused on MLB prospects and their fantasy baseball impacts. Follow along all season! I’m kicking off my tenure at Rotoballer with a two-part series looking at the […]

Outfielder Breakouts Due for Regression in 2019

It’s inevitable that we see players breakout in baseball every season. In these scenarios, certain athletes may have a total blindsided outburst that no one anticipated coming, or perhaps it’s a savvy veteran who finally took that next step in their professional development. In either circumstance, we pay up for it in the following season […]

Zack Godley's Ugly Spring Training Continues

After a disappointing 2017-18 season, Zack Godley has gotten off to a rough start in Spring Training. In fact, Godley owns a 7.36 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in three appearances. He's allowed four walks and two home runs in just 7.1 innings thus far, which are extremely discouraging signs considering that's what he struggled with […]

The Winning Way to Draft Relief Pitchers

We've gone through each division, team by team. We've talked about the top setup men you should know about this season. We've looked at handcuffs and which closers you should have a backup for on draft day. It's a lot of information, but how does it apply to your league? Most people play in standard 5x5 […]

RotoBaller H2H Draft Strategy Primer

Fantasy baseball, much like the sport itself, it is one of the more complex to follow closely. Compared to fantasy football, in which nearly every league was head-to-head before the advent of best-ball, fantasy baseball comes in a variety of formats. Many leagues are roto-style, 5x5 category-scoring, with cumulative season-long stats. While that is the […]

Later-Round Closer Candidates - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]

Expert Mock Draft Reactions - RotoBaller Friends & Family

On February 13, 2019, we assembled a group of industry experts to take part in the second annual RotoBaller Friends and Family Expert Mock Draft. Our participants represented multiple sites, including: CBS Sports (Heath Cummings) The Athletic (Nando Di Fino) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) RotoWire (Tim Heaney) Mastersball/ESPN (Todd Zola) GuruElite (Ray […]

Best-Ball Targets and Sleepers For 2019

One of the biggest challenges that fantasy baseball owners face is that they literally have to follow it every day. Unlike fantasy football, where you only need to check lineups once a week, baseball is on every single day and if you don’t pay attention your season will be in jeopardy. Most leagues are won […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Nathan Eovaldi and Dallas Keuchel

Somewhere Dallas Keuchel is looking at Nathan Eovaldi’s four-year contract for $67.5 million and is wondering how he remains unsigned. He might be having similar thoughts about Patrick Corbin’s six-year, $140 million contract, but at least Corbin will be 29 to start the season and is coming off a Cy Young-caliber season. By contrast, Keuchel […]

Are Elite Pitchers Undervalued?

After San Francisco Giants’ president Farhan Zaidi announced that the team might use an opener this season, Madison Bumgarner messaged Bruce Bochy: “If you use an opener in my game I’m walking right out of the ballpark.” In addition to giving us the most Madison Bumgarner quote of all time, the news prompted me to […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Garrett Hampson and Rougned Odor

Traditionally, fantasy talent is evenly distributed between the keystone and shortstop positions, but shortstop looks considerably stronger heading into 2019. As such, you should probably plan to draft at least two SS-eligible players to cover your SS and MI slots. That said, you still need at least one second baseman to fill out your roster. […]

ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players on Yahoo

Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]

ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players on CBS

Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]

Jarrod Dyson Battling An Oblique Injury

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jarrod Dyson (oblique) is battling a strained left oblique injury suffered earlier in the week. While Dyson doesn't believe the injury will keep him sidelined long, it's still not a good sign for a guy challenging for a larger piece of the pie. Outfielder Matt Szczur had a chance to lead off […]

Merrill Kelly Knocked Around In His Spring Debut

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly made his Cactus League spring debut against the Cleveland Indians on Thursday and it didn't end well. He was able to retire just one of the five batters he faced, allowing three earned runs, three hits and a walk with no strikeouts. Kelly threw 27 pitches, and his fastball […]

Christian Walker's Scorching-Hot Spring Start Continues

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker went 1-for-3 with a bases-loaded clearing double in Thursday's Cactus League spring game against the Cleveland Indians. His scorching hot spring continues, as he is now 6-for-9 (.667) with a home run, eight RBI and four runs scored through the first four games. Walker isn't going to make anyone […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. It's everyone's favorite pre-draft word to throw around and likely threatens to take the top spot on some Google Analytics the closer we get to that premier fantasy baseball draft season. Yup, we're talking about sleepers. But let's just get this out of the way: […]

Later-Round Shortstops - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]

ADP Cost Analysis - Robbie Ray vs Andrew Heaney

When drafting a pitcher, the vast majority of owners put an emphasis on upside, selecting a player based on his best-case scenario. That’s what makes Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray so intriguing, and why he has a 120 ADP. After lighting up the league in 2017, people are still holding out hope that the best is yet […]

Wilmer Flores Gets Off To Nice Start In Desert

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Wilmer Flores finished off a perfect day at the plate in Cactus League spring action against the Cleveland Indians, going 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Flores has plenty of competition at second base, even if Ketel Marte moves to center field for a majority of his […]

Robbie Ray So-So In His Initial Spring Outing

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray allowed just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings in his Cactus League spring debut against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Ray saw a decline in velocity and effectiveness last season, and he struggled to go very deep into games. He missed a good […]

Setup Men You Need to Know - 2019 Bullpen Outlooks

Now that the closers in each division have been covered, it's time to talk about those often-forgotten-but-possibly-even-more-important relievers: the setup men. A lot of times, closers can be pigeonholed into the ninth inning, especially by "old-school" or "traditional" managers, leaving the actual most critical late-game situations to another relief pitcher. In steps the setup man. […]

NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Pitching Category Boosters (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. There is no such thing as a can't-miss pitching prospect. Pitchers never stay healthy. Relievers are volatile. All of these are sayings that diehard fantasy baseball players are familiar with, and to some extent, live by during the fantasy season. Developing a pitching strategy […]

RotoBaller's Industry Experts Mock Draft - The King's Perspective

At RotoBaller, we recently assembled a group of fantasy baseball experts to take part in the RotoBaller Friends and Family Expert Mock Draft. Our participants came from all over the industry, representing a host of various sites such as: CBS Sports (Heath Cummings) The Athletic (Nando Di Fino) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) […]

Steven Souza Jr. (OF, ARI) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 300 CURRENT ADP: ~345 overall ANALYSIS: Steven Souza Jr. is 29 years old but it feels like he has been around for years. In fact, he first debuted in the Washington Nationals minor league system all the way back in 2007. After coming off his 30 home run season for the […]

Top 10 Catcher Prospects - 2019 Redraft Rankings

Catching as a position has gotten the brunt of fantasy angst over the past few seasons, with wRC+ rates well below league average. And yet, this is precisely the reason that owners should be looking to add the young talent that will be taking these spots in the Majors sooner rather than later. Owning talent […]

NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Late-Round Offensive Category Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. With the growing interest in draft-and-hold formats, new draft strategy prep is critical for full season runs at the title. For those who are new to the format, typically teams draft 27 starters in a live draft, with 27 players joining the team in […]

Merrill Kelly, Several Others Vying For Jobs

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed pitcher Merrill Kelly to a free-agent deal with an invitation to spring training, while also recently adding outfielder Rob Refsnyder, shortstop Kelby Tomlinson and pitchers Michael Kohn and Lucas Luetge on minor-league deals. Kelly is the biggest signing, and he has the chance to make the greatest fantasy impact. He enjoyed […]

Taijuan Walker Placed On The 60-Day Injured List

The Arizona Diamondbacks placed starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (elbow) on the 60-day injured list to make room on the roster for newly signed catcher Caleb Joseph on the 40-man roster. Walker is making his way back from Tommy John surgery last April 25, and it's likely he might not return until sometime around the All-Star […]

Carson Kelly, Caleb Joseph To Lock Horns In Camp Battle

Arizona Diamondbacks executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen said the team is expected to keep three backstops. Catchers Alex Avila and John Ryan Murphy are out of options, so it's likely they hold down two of the spots, with Carson Kelly and Caleb Joseph battling for the third job. Joseph has an option […]