Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

As we begin to look towards the 2021 baseball season, we can only hope that COVID-19 will be handled well enough to let the season run as normal. Since this is a mere early ranking exercise and we have so much ahead of us, let's just close our eyes and chat as if a 162-game […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings

Hope springs eternal for the 2021 baseball season, but it's hard to imagine we'll be completely past COVID-19 by then. Plus, we could see opening salvos for the CBA debates to come. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a perfect world and chat as if a 162-game season will come […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings

As usual, I'll start by saying the 2021 baseball season may still be affected by COVID-19. Maybe even more labor disputes just for a curveball. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a perfect world and chat as if a 162-game season will come next spring. Join me for my position-by-position […]

Starting Pitcher K-BB% Risers: Who to Believe In

The 2020 MLB season may have left starting pitchers with shorter starts and fewer total innings than usual, but arsenal adjustments and pitch improvements were still prevalent. As a result (and sometimes as a result of other factors), several pitchers saw significant changes in their strikeout and walk rates. K-BB% is one way to measure […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: Third Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

Let's cut right to it: the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. It is time to decide how […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: Outfielders

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

2021 Fantasy Value First Looks: Shortstop

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Red Sox Bring Back Alex Cora As Manager

The Boston Red Sox rehired former manager Alex Cora on Friday, according to a source. Cora helped lead the team to a World Series title in 2018 but mutually agreed to part ways before the 2020 season due to his involvement in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal. He was suspended for one season for his role […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: First Base and Second Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

George Springer To Land In Boston?

Former Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is a free agent. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman speculates that the Red Sox will go after free-agent outfielder George Springer to replace Bradley in center field. Springer, who played his college ball at the University of Connecticut, is the highest-profile free-agent hitter on the market […]

Red Sox Meet With Alex Cora

The Boston Red Sox met with former manager Alex Cora in Puerto Rico last week as they continue to search for their next manager, according to a source. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and general manager Brian O'Halloran met with Cora, who mutually parted ways with Boston in January due to his involvement in the […]

Red Sox Decline Option On Martin Perez

The Boston Red Sox declined their $6.85 million 2021 option on left-handed pitcher Martin Perez on Sunday, making him a free agent. Perez will instead receive a $500,000 buyout. The 29-year-old southpaw went 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in his 12 starts during the shortened season, striking out 46 and walking 28 in 68 innings […]

J.D. Martinez Opts In

Boston Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez will keep his contract that will pay $19.375 million in each of the next two seasons rather than opting out and becoming a free agent. Martinez hit a career-low .213 during the shortened 2020 season with seven home runs and 27 RBI. The 33-year-old's deal also gives him […]

Red Sox Talking With Alex Cora

The Boston Red Sox are expected to interview former manager Alex Cora in the coming days, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. Boston parted ways with Cora last January due to his part in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal during 2017, and Cora was suspended for all of 2020. According to The Boston Globe's Alex […]

2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values Based On Contact Quality

In part one of this series, I established that zxwOBAcon is the primary driver of season-to-season changes in xwOBAcon and that the biggest risers in zxwOBAcon each season tend to be rebound candidates. Furthermore, rebound candidates recover all of their zxwOBAcon losses more often than not and frequently outperform their season x zxwOBAcon in season […]

Warning Signals in Shift Increases: Part One

Shifts work. Not all the time and not against everyone but eventually there is a sufficient amount of data on a player to be able to draw some pretty strong conclusions about what advantages can be gained by shifting. There are good reasons that Joey Gallo was shifted against 98.5% of the time in 2020. Not everyone […]

How I Won Tout Wars

I am extremely fortunate to be able to write an article entitled, “How I Won Tout Wars.” It is truly a humbling experience, and I am both excited and proud to pen today’s words. Including all of the draft preparation that I describe in my aforementioned articles, here a few of the reasons that (I […]

Dustin Pedroia Not A Fantasy Commodity Come 2021

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (knee) is under contract for the 2021 season and would presumably have a clear path to everyday playing time at second base. But persistent knee troubles have limited him to just nine games over the last three seasons combined, and it’s not believed that he will play again. […]

J.D. Martinez Likely To See Stock Dip Ahead Of 2021

Boston Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter J.D. Martinez entered 2020 as one of the most consistent power bats in the game, but after a drastic downturn in production during the abbreviated ‘20 campaign, he’s likely to fall around the 50-60 mark in rankings for next season. Where there lies upside in Martinez is in his past […]

2020 Expectations vs Reality (Hits and Misses): WPC+ Videocast

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut share the players they were the most right and wrong about in 2020 by comparing their preseason rankings to actual performance. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

Effects of an Innocuous Move: Brian Goodwin to Cincinnati

If you would've told me at the start of the 2020 season that one of the two moves made by the Cincinnati Reds at the Trade Deadline would be for a Major League outfielder, I would've been forced to assume that any four Reds outfielders had been suspended for the season for pulling some sort […]

Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox - Yesterday's Recap

Welcome to the September 28th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox. Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics […]

Alex Verdugo Sitting Out Season Finale

Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo (hamstring) is sitting out the team's season finale against the Atlanta Braves. Tzu-Wei Lin is getting the start in right field while Jackie Bradley Jr. is leading off in the game. Verdugo was dealing with hamstring tightness over the past few weeks, but still mostly managed to play through […]

Daily MLB DFS Value Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings - September 27, 2020

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Below you will find our Premium DFS value plays for 9/27/2020. These picks will target low-priced players in the main slate. And now, the end is near, and so we face the final curtain. My friends, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case of […]

Jackie Bradley Jr. May Play Final Game With Boston Sunday

Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is set to become a free agent at season’s end, and while the possibility remains that he could return in 2021, recent comments have indicated that Bradley could be at peace with a new situation next year. Entering play Saturday, Bradley was having his best offensive season since […]

Andrew Triggs Rejoins Roster, Activated Off Injured List Saturday

Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Andrew Triggs (arm) was activated off of the injured list prior to Saturday’s contest versus Atlanta. Triggs has made four appearances (two starts) for Boston this season and allowed seven runs in 7 ⅓ IP with seven K’s. He is one of a handful of arms that was sidelined due […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (9/26/20): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

There are just two days left in the regular season and with that come unpredictable lineup decisions as MLB teams clinch playoff spots and begin resting starters. This can create some tricky lineup decisions when setting DFS lineups but it can also lead to other strong values as cheaper players may hit higher in the […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/26/20) - MLB DFS Lineups

There are 11 games on the DraftKings main slate on Saturday. It's nearing the end of the season and with many teams having already clinched their playoff spot, it's important to be aware of situations where hitters may be surprisingly held out or pitchers being given a short leash. After an amazing slate with a […]

Eduardo Rodriguez Progresses In Rehab, On Track For 2021

Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (myocarditis) has been cleared to begin walking again soon, with his offseason rehab expected to be ramped up from there after complications from a bout with COVID-19. The expectation remains that the club will have Rodriguez back for the 2021 season, although how close to a full workload […]