KC Bubba's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021
The 2021 season is so close to starting, which means it is time for some bold predictions. It appears the season will still be a complete 162 games, with no NL DH and a standard playoff format. The bouncy ball will supposedly be replaced with a ball designed to limit power, fun times like usual from... Read More
NL Starting Pitcher Sleepers
Looking at early mock and seasonal drafts results, we see the huge trend of starting pitchers falling off of draft boards at a furious pace in the early rounds. As a result, managers who miss out on rostering the top-tier starters must identify value sleepers they can target in the mid-to-late rounds of drafts. Below... Read More
Cincinnati Inks Heath Hembree To Minors Deal, Invite To Camp
Right-handed reliever Heath Hembree has joined the Cincinnati Reds on a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to the team's big league camp. Hembree appeared in seven Cactus League contests with Cleveland and allowed just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight batters. Hembree scuffled during the abbreviated 2020 season, posting... Read More
Sonny Gray Able To Throw On The Side
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray (back) was able to throw a side session on Saturday. Gray was shut down about a week ago with a mid-back injury- though he was able to play catch on Wednesday before ramping up to throwing the session this past weekend. Manager David Bell said that it's a great... Read More
Tyler Mahle Allows Five Runs In Cactus League Loss
Cincinnati Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle struggled in an 11-6 Cactus League loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Mahle allowed five runs over 3 2/3 innings of work while striking out three and walking one. All of Chicago's damage came via the homer as Mahle allowed three long balls, back-to-back shots in the first inning... Read More
MLB Sophomores: Who Will Improve, Who Will Stumble?
We all expect excellent rookie seasons from the most hyped prospects in baseball. But the reality is that some players just don’t hit their strides for a year or two. Other prospects start off strong but then fade away. If we look back at 2015, Corey Seager, Miguel Sano, Carlos Correa, and Kris Bryant had... Read More
Nick Mariano's Top 140 Saves+Holds Rankings
To any reader who thinks they don't have a voice here at RotoBaller, let it be known that this article came from a simple Reddit comment about how those seeking Saves+Holds reliever ranks were often overlooked. Poof, and here we are. Allow me, Nick Mariano, 2018's most accurate draft expert (top-three for RPs in '18... Read More
Nick Castellanos Enjoying Strong Spring
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos is playing great baseball this spring. Castellanos is batting .414 with two home runs, six RBI, and five runs scored in 11 games. He seems poised for a rebound season after a disappointing 2020 that saw him bat just .225 with a career-worst strikeout rate- 28.5 percent- though he did... Read More
Joey Votto Returns To Reds Camp
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (COVID-19) returned to the Reds' facility on Sunday for the first time since testing positive for COVID-19, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale. Votto had been gone from the team for the last 12 days following the positive test. General manager Nick Krall said the team is hopeful that... Read More
Michael Lorenzen, Tejay Antone Should Be Ready For Opening Day
Cincinnati Reds pitchers Michael Lorenzen (shoulder) and Tejay Antone (hip) are believed to have avoided significant injury and should be ready for the start of the season, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Lorenzen exited the Reds' "B" game on Saturday with a slight shoulder strain, while Antone left a bullpen session early with... Read More
Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 3 Lineup Trends
We are entering week four of Spring Training and week three gave us a lot to watch down the stretch. But of course, you can catch up by talking a look at week one and week two recaps. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes... Read More
Dollar-Day Targets - Salary Cap League Values
Players who go for just $1 in salary cap leagues are guys who lack outside confidence. Not a lot of managers trust that they will be useful on a roster. In standard leagues, many of these players will go entirely undrafted and float around the waiver wire until they produce enough to be picked up... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
Using Data Analysis To Spot Strikeout Risers
The key to winning a fantasy league is to spot things that are to come before they happen. This is what we try to do here every day at RotoBaller. As the years have gone by, more data about the game has been made available to us, and we can use that data to make... Read More
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... Read More
Prospect Sleepers for 2021 Redraft Leagues
This time last year, I provided RotoBaller readers with some sleeper prospect names for 2020 redraft leagues. The advice aged quite well despite the stunted major league season and lack of minor league games. Among my predictions, I spoke glowingly about Tony Gonsolin — a pitcher that had not received much love from others. However,... Read More
Nick Lodolo Allows One Runs In Cactus League Start
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo made the start in a 6-2 Cactus League win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The lefty allowed one run over one inning of work while striking out one in the outing, bringing him to a 6.00 ERA across three innings of work this spring. Lodolo is ranked as... Read More
Luis Castillo Tabbed As Opening Day Starter
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo was tabbed as the team's Opening Day starter for the second straight year. Castillo is coming off of an impressive 2020 season where he registered a 3.21 ERA in 70 innings while striking out 89 batters and walking just 24. The 28-year-old is entering his prime armed with a... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
2021 Points League Rankings - Starting Pitcher
We had to take a brief hiatus but are getting back at it on the points front at RotoBaller, now just a few weeks from the start of spring training. We've already covered most of the hitters so we're moving over to pitchers. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from... Read More
2021 Points League Rankings - Outfield
February is finally here and that means that draft season is getting into full gear. And here at RotoBaller, we're about more than just roto leagues. We're here to cover your whole fantasy spectrum. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from last year, I have strong opinions on point leagues.... Read More
Amir Garrett, Lucas Sims Expect To Be Ready For Opening Day
Despite not appearing in a Cactus League game yet, Cincinnati Reds relievers Amir Garrett (forearm) and Lucas Sims (elbow) both expect to be ready for Opening Day. Both relievers are being counted on as key members of the Cincinnati bullpen, with one of them expected to serve as the Reds' primary closer. Left-hander Sean Doolittle... Read More
2021 Points League Rankings - Third Base
It's Friday and that can only mean one thing...More hot points action coming straight at you. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've forgotten from last year, I have strong opinions on point leagues. TL;DR? You can't just transfer over value from roto and you can't just take players with good BB/K... Read More
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... Read More
2021 Points League Rankings - Second Base
With football finally behind us (the season is over, right?) we're entering the best time of the year...AKA fantasy baseball draft season. Many may be focused on roto but point players are chomping at the bit after 2020's shortened season basically torpedoed H2H point leagues. So let's do some point ranks, shall we? If you've... Read More
NL Starting Pitchers Set to Break Out in 2021
With pitcher workloads diminishing and aces difficult to come by, finding breakout pitchers can make a significant difference for fantasy managers. Whether it be through a role change, a new pitch, a mechanical adjustment, or some other factor, plenty of pitchers break out each year and usually provide fantasy managers with excellent draft values along... Read More
2020 Breakout Outfielders Who'll Keep Improving
With hitters dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and related changes to the MLB season, it’s somewhat surprising that breakouts were unexceptional (if high) in their number. After 45 qualified batters improved their wOBA by at least 0.20 points between 2018 and 2019, 54 hitters managed to do so between 2019 and 2020. That’s not a... Read More