RotoBaller Rankings vs. ADP: Undervalued Second Basemen

If you’re a regular reader of RotoBaller (and how could someone as smart, funny, and handsome as you not be?), you’ve doubtless already checked out our staff rankings. We'll be releasing our final update on those next week. With draft season ramping up now, though, it seems like a good time to check our expert opinions […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Blake Swihart

2015 In Review Prior to the 2015 season, the Boston Red Sox had set themselves up with one of the best defensive tandems behind the plate; the combination of veteran Ryan Hanigan and up-and-coming Christian Vazquez, who's knack for impeding opposing run games raised plenty of eyebrows during his short stint in 2014. But after already […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Three WHIP Sleepers

In 2015, every qualified starting pitcher who ranked in the top 30 of WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched) had a BB/9 under 3.00. 15 of those pitchers had a BB/9 under 2.00. There is a clear correlation between limiting walks and posting a low WHIP. When looking for WHIP sleepers, it’s ideal to […]

Eduardo Rodriguez (SP, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 CURRENT ADP: 273 ANALYSIS: In 121.2 IP in 2015, Eduardo Rodriguez arrived at a 3.85 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and a good-looking 18.8 K%. Other than four major bumps in the road, Rodriguez held teams to fewer than three earned runs in 16 of his 17 remaining starts. After his worst […]

Hanley Ramirez (1B / OF, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~80 (overall draft pick) CURRENT ADP: ~119 (overall draft pick) ANALYSIS: Hanley Ramirez hit 10 home runs in April and finished the month with a .999 OPS, helping the Red Sox to a 12-10 record despite awful showings from the pitching staff. A few days into May, he suffered a shoulder injury that appeared […]

Five Deep First Base Options: 2016 Draft Values

Every year, there are a handful of players that make a significant impact but garnered no recognition or any sort of hype whatsoever in the offseason. Whether it be for power, average, stolen bases, or anything else that brings a smile to fantasy owners’ faces, there are always deep sleepers lurking at the 1B position. […]

Rick Porcello (SP, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~260 CURRENT ADP: 291.3 ANALYSIS: After finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2009, Rick Porcello has fallen off a bit. The New Jersey native has certainly had some problems keeping guys off the base paths, with a 1.359 career WHIP. Some of his problems in Boston during the […]

Saves and Holds: AL East Bullpen Depth Chart

With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected AL East closers, setup men, and […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Eduardo Rodriguez

Many of the headlines surrounding the Boston Red Sox’s pitching rotation have to do with David Price. After all, he did receive the largest contract in the history of baseball for a pitcher. However, behind Price is a group of young guns (and I guess Clay Buchholz) that are looking to make their mark in […]

Five Undervalued AL Starting Pitcher Targets for 2016 Drafts

Winning a fantasy baseball league often depends upon finding value in the middle and end of the draft. Today I'm going to focus on a few starting pitchers from the American Leagues who fit the bill. You can find more draft values and potential sleepers in our running list all preseason long, and be sure […]

Early Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: The Fourth Round Pitching Run

The lineup (in draft order): Jacob Bogardus, Brad Johnson, Alex Brock, Harris Yudin, Max Petrie, Josh Leonard, Ross Williamson, Andrew Miller (from The Fantasy Fix), Nick Mariano (myself), Tom Bellucco, Brian Dunshee (also from The Fantasy Fix), and Edward Suletan. We put together a traditional 5x5 redraft 23 round mock with 2 catchers, a corner […]

Early Mock Draft 2016: Analyzing the Second Round

If you haven't read the first round analysis yet, you should definitely do that! Click that and then come right back here. I'll know. For those of you that want to view the draft board in all of it's glory, here it is: As a reminder, here's the lineup: Jacob Bogardus, Brad Johnson, Alex Brock, […]

Boston Red Sox Top MLB Prospects for 2016 Dynasty Leagues

The Boston Red Sox 2015 season did not quite go as planned after big splashes in the previous offseason, but recent additions to the team and an infusion of young talent should help them to be competitive again in 2016. The Red Sox made a big splash first by acquiring Craig Kimbrel from the Padres […]

Mike Napoli (1B, CLE) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

TARGET: ~260 CURRENT ADP: 442 ANALYSIS: Location, location, location. The old real estate adage absolutely applies to sports, and one of the main beneficiaries of a change of scenery will be Mike Napoli. Napoli signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Indians and was told he will spend the majority of his time as the everyday first basemen, per […]

Greinke's Free Agent Market 'Quietly Heating Up'

The market for free agent starting pitcher Zack Greinke is “quietly heating up,” according to ESPN.com. The runner-up for this year’s NL Cy Young award is the hottest free agent on the market. Greinke backed out of the final three years on his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for what would have been $71 […]

Red Sox 'Trying To Move' Ramirez: Sign OF Chris Young

The Boston Red Sox Are “trying to move” Hanley Ramirez, according to The Boston Globe. This seems more likely because the team signed free agent outfielder Chris Young on Monday, according to FOX Sports. There are a few rumored suitors out there for Ramirez, according to the report. The Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and Angels […]

Johnny Cueto Wants $140-160 Million Deal

Free agent starting pitcher Johnny Cueto is looking for a contract in the $140-160 million range, according to ESPN.com. The Arizona Diamondbacks were believed to be at the top of the sweepstakes. They offered Cueto a six-year, $120 million offer that was turned down, according to MLB.com. The right-hander has been one of the better […]

MLB Bust Players At 1B and 3B - What It Means for 2016

Welcome back, readers. Hopefully you've enjoyed the first three segments of this series as we look further into players that broke out in 2015 and others that received the "bust" label. This edition will focus on corner infielders that failed to deliver on their expectations. My selections will be influenced by their respective ADP (Average […]

The Mighty Fall: Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez

2015 marked a changing of the guard at shortstop, as the top three players at the position in offensive value (per Fangraphs) were rookies. In fourth place? Second-year man Xander Bogaerts, aged 23. The rise of youth dovetailed with the precipitous decline of two long-time fantasy stalwarts: Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez. Along with fellow […]

Bust Players at 2B, SS, and C and What It Means for 2016

Welcome back friends. I hope you enjoyed the pilot article of this segment detailing the breakouts at 2B, SS, and C in 2015. This edition is more of a buzzkill - the busts at each of these positions. My selections will be influenced by their respective ADP (Average Draft Position) coming into 2015. That means while Jedd […]

The New Killer B’s: Betts and Bogaerts Break Out in Boston

The Red Sox were expected to contend in a wide-open AL East in 2015, in large part due to the performances of free agent acquisitions Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. Instead, they finished in the basement for the third time in four years…in large part due to the performances of Ramirez and Sandoval. The veteran […]

Who Are The 4 Prospects Heading To SD For Kimbrel?

The Boston Red Sox made the first big splash of the off-season when they acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres in exchange for four prospects. Fans are going to look at the move more in Boston setting up a deeper bullpen, but the prospects could make the deal a steal for San […]

Breakout Players at 2B, SS, and C and What It Means For 2016

Having some baseball withdrawal yet? Welcome to the club. That's why I'm starting a weekly series running through November looking at players at each position who experienced breakout campaigns. I'll also run another segment detailing the busts at each position. This edition will focus on middle infielders and backstops. My selections will be influenced by their […]

Future Tense: The Arizona Fall League, Part VI: Scottsdale Scorpions

The Boston Red Sox. The Cleveland Indians. The Detroit Tigers. The Minnesota Twins. The San Francisco Giants. What do they have in common? Two things: one, they all missed out on the playoffs this year, and they are the teams that seed the Scottsdale Scorpions. The roster has some interesting names to check out, and this […]

Deep League Waiver Wire: The Final Days

It is the end of days for the 2015 fantasy baseball season and hopefully for many of you, it will be a happy ending. If you are a fantasy baseball manager in a deep or very deep league who needs some last second streaming suggestions, today we will be discussing four batters and a starting […]

Travis Shaw (BOS, 1B) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 9 Percent of Leagues ANALYSIS: A rare bright spot in what's been a challenging season for the Red Sox, Shaw has hit .288/.354/.522 with 11 homers in 184 at-bats since being promoted to the Show. He's knocked in 10 runs in the last two weeks while […]

Tanaka (Hamstring) Returns Wednesday

Here's some much needed positive news for Yankees fans. Masahiro Tanaka will start for the New York Yankees on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox. The right-hander was skipped for his last start due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain. Tanaka was able to pitch through a couple of bullpen sessions over the weekend without an […]

Week 26 Start/Sit: MLB Starting Pitcher (SP) Matchups

What’s up RotoBallers. Welcome to the final week of this column, as we approach the home stretch of the fantasy baseball season. Thank you all for RotoBalling with us all season long, and I hope that this column (along with the rest of our MLB content) has helped you win some leagues. Now let's get […]

Five Corner Infield Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds for Week 26

This will be the last installment of this column for 2015. We've officially entered the Catastrophic Countdown phase of the season, so some of you may need to throw caution to the wind and get even more granular. At this point, names and track records don't really matter. Take production anywhere you can find it. […]

Hanley Ramirez (Shoulder) Shutdown For The Year

Hanley Ramirez will not play in another game during the 2015 season because the Boston Red Sox have decided to rest the outfielder as he deals with a shoulder injury. It’s been another partial season for the former the three-time All-Star. Ramirez only played in 105 games this year due to various injuries throughout the […]