Red Sox Disciplined Amid Sign-Stealing Investigation

Commissioner Rob Manfred disciplined the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday after an investigation of sign-stealing from the 2018 season. J.T. Watkins, the team's video replay system operator will be suspended for the 2020 season and playoffs, and he'll be prohibited from serving as a replay room operator during all of 2021. Boston will forfeit their […]

Gavin Lux (2B, LAD) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~150 CURRENT ADP: ~169 overall ANALYSIS: Lux earned a call-up in September just in time to earn a starting job as the Dodgers second baseman. Although he had some strong moments, including five multi-hit games and a pinch-hit home run in Game 1 of the NLDS, he ultimately hit .240 in […]

Fantasy Baseball ADP Reflections - Relief Pitchers

We’re still awaiting concrete news on how a 2020 baseball season will look like (if it does exist). Different possibilities have surfaced in recent days which includes an option of multiple doubleheaders being played every week. It’s still far too early to tell how serious or plausible this is but should it come to fruition, […]

Alex Verdugo Will Be Ready For Start Of Season

Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo (back) appears to be on track for the beginning of the season as a result of the delay to the 2020 MLB campaign. "Unfortunately with the shutdown of the camp at JetBlue, he [Verdugo] hasn’t been able to continually progress as fast as we’d like him to. He is […]

OPS Underachievers: Using Differences in xOPS to Judge Performance

Add a player's on-base-percentage to his slugging-percentage and you wind up with OPS. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy. But some things don't need to be complicated to be useful and descriptive. There are a hundred ways to judge a baseball player's performance but OPS remains one of the best proxies for quickly judging a player's overall offensive […]

Stock Your Dynasty Farm: AL East Sleeper Prospects

The AL East features the top farm system in baseball, two uber-prospects, the only Canadian team, as well as two of sports’ most prestigious franchises. Needless to say, there are some storylines to mine for content here. And yet, what may be the richest and most influential division in baseball is, in my humble opinion, […]

AL Players Who Could Benefit From Expanded Rosters

Although we still don't have baseball, we're starting to get a lot of proposals on how we COULD have baseball this summer. The plans may wind up just being a fantasy, but, hey, this is a fantasy site, so it makes sense for us to take a look at it. One of the facets of […]

The King's Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Exclusive Scouting Reports From an MLB Veteran

The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with the seasoned input of a current Major League Player. Every year during fantasy baseball draft season, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, media members and […]

JB's Bullpen Method - Building Aces out of Relief Pitchers

If you read my Top 10 Draft Tips piece, you got a preview of the method I have been using for many years in fantasy baseball. It's really less of a method or strategy, and more a state of mind. The Bullpen Method is a lifestyle! I always speak about the importance of balance on […]

Dustin Pedroia Not Close To A Return

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (knee) is "still not at a point where he's thinking about trying to be ready to come back and joins us," according to manager Ron Roenicke. Pedroia hasn't officially retired, but things are quickly headed that way. The nine-time All-Star and former MVP (2008) and Rookie of the […]

Alex Verdugo Has Progressed Slowly Due To Shutdown

Boston Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said that outfielder Alex Verdugo (back) hasn't progressed as quickly as the team had hoped because of the coronavirus shutdown. Verdugo has been swinging, but it has been difficult for him to get in other baseball activities with baseball at a standstill. Despite the slow progression, Verdugo has plenty […]

Steve Pearce Officially Retires From Baseball

First baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce announced his retirement from baseball on Monday night, while appearing as a guest on WEEI's broadcast of the 2018 Red Sox World Series run. The 37-year-old was named World Series MVP in 2018 after totaling three home runs, eight RBI, five runs scored and a .333 batting average through 16 plate […]

Mid-Round Second Base - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

Closers Due for Regression in 2020

Finding reliable closers is always a challenge. There is a high turnover rate in the role every season, and in today's game, a lot of teams are going to a closer-by-committee approach, which adds a layer of confusion to the saves category. In each of the last three seasons, exactly 11 relievers have saved 30 […]

Sizing Up the Boston Red Sox Rotation

The Red Sox got an ugly 4.95 ERA out of their starting pitchers last season, good for the 11th-worst mark in the league. An optimist might look at the Red Sox’s above-average 4.40 FIP, attribute much of the team’s pitching struggles to bad luck, and expect a rebound in 2020. Combined with a potential rebound […]

Chris Sale Will Begin His Rehab Process on Thursday

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (elbow) has stated that he will be out of his arm cast and start rehabbing on Thursday, following his Tommy John surgery that took place at the end of March. The 31-year-old hopes to be able to use the Red Sox facility at JetBlue Park to begin his […]

NL Starting Pitching Sleepers for 2020

The shorter 2020 MLB regular season has led to a few shifts in fantasy strategy, but perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the starting pitching landscape. We're used to constructing fantasy rotations around strikeout pitchers and ratio arms or high-upside flyers and solid innings-eaters. However, with a shorter season, there will likely be no major […]

Nathan Eovaldi (SP, BOS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~240 CURRENT ADP: ~260 overall ANALYSIS: Nathan Eovaldi threw 67.2 unsuccessful innings for the Red Sox last year while battling injury. However, he did show the same dynamic stuff which led his K% to jump between 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Eovaldi used his cutter to get ahead and then set […]

Lance McCullers (SP, HOU) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~135 CURRENT ADP: ~155 overall ANALYSIS: McCullers wasn't a sleeper when we entered February mainly because he had an injury that was capping his total innings and causing him to be drafted later than their talent would suggest. With a shortened season, much of that risk no longer applies. McCullers missed […]

Finding Value in Points Leagues: Corner Infield Edition

Welcome back RotoBallers to my Finding Value in Points League Series! Points leagues are my favorite format to play in fantasy baseball. I am not alone there as fantasy baseball points leagues become more and more popular every season. It is a natural transition from those who have played fantasy football and have been considering […]

Finding Value in Points Leagues: Middle Infield Edition

Welcome RotoBallers to my Finding Value in Points League Series! Points leagues are becoming more and more popular in the fantasy baseball world. They have long been my preferred way of playing, so the boom in popularity is great! One of the biggest differences between points and roto leagues is that more stats come into […]

Jose Peraza Could Be Favorite To Start At 2B

Boston Red Sox middle infielder Jose Peraza could be the favorite to start the 2020 season as the everyday second baseman, in the opinion of The Boston Globe's Julian McWilliams. It would definitely be nice for those seeking stolen bases late in mixed league drafts. However, let us remind you that we don't even have […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Top 150 Overall

In case you missed it, all preseason long I've been breaking down the top Keeper Values at each position. To get insight on any individual position, simply choose here: First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Catcher, Outfield, Starting Pitcher, and Relief Pitchers. Now, for your convenience, here are the Top 150 Overall Keeper Values for 2020. Keeper Value Rankings […]

AL Starting Pitching Sleepers for 2020

The shorter 2020 MLB regular season has led to a few shifts in fantasy strategy but perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the starting pitching landscape. We're used to constructing fantasy rotations around strikeout pitchers and ratio arms or high-upside flyers and solid innings-eaters. However, with a shorter season, there will likely be no […]

Late-Round Strikeout Sleepers for 2020

The strikeout is on the rise. Even more so than home runs, nothing has taken off in this age of baseball quite like the strikeout. It used to be that no one this century reached 300 Ks in a season. Now, five players have in the past five seasons alone, including two in 2019. Averaging […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Cavan Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Toronto Blue Jays are an intriguing team. Projections don't love them, but their lineup is filled with young guys who have the potential to exceed them. Their rotation also looks solid if healthy, something that may be more likely now that a full workload will be more like 120 IP than 200. Needless to […]

Second Base Draft Sleepers for 2020

There's a lot of talk heading into 2020 fantasy baseball drafts that there simply isn't any depth at second base. Shortstop is where the value lies, so everybody is planning to double-tap the position to also fill their MI spot too. As a result, most drafts see people pounce on the top second baseman early […]

Collin McHugh Hasn't Resumed Throwing

Boston Red Sox pitcher Collin McHugh (elbow) still has not resumed throwing but is progressing nicely. The Red Sox are playing it safe with McHugh with the start of the 2020 regular season likely delayed until June or July in a best-case scenario. The veteran right-hander was successful as both a starter and reliever in […]

Chris Sale Has Tommy John Surgery

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery last Thursday. It was already announced more than a week ago that Sale would need elbow reconstruction and miss the entire 2020 season, if there even is a season, but he didn't have the operation until late last week. The hard-throwing left-hander will […]

Alex Verdugo (OF, BOS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~180 CURRENT ADP: ~230 overall ANALYSIS: Verdugo primarily spent the 2018 season in the minor leagues, so we’ll only look at his 2019 numbers. This is a terrific contact hitter who has the ability to contend for the BA title, as evidenced by his low 13.0 K% and high 91.2 Z-Contact%. […]