Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Shortstop

When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - A.L. Central

Welcome to 2020, fantasy friends. There are four football teams still playing and basketball and hockey are in full swing, so it's time to start thinking about the 2020 baseball season. Free agency has been a little more front-loaded this season, leaving fewer questions about rosters heading into Spring Training. Still, there will be changes […]

Using xwOBA to Identify Breakout Pitchers

Heading into a new baseball season, fantasy owners are looking for any leg up on our competition. We turn over stones looking for any stat or training report that might suggest a breakout that few others can see coming. I’m not here to promise some groundbreaking stat, but I do believe that Expected Weighted On-base Average […]

How To Win Your Fantasy Baseball Leagues on Draft Day

I hate intros. Nobody takes the time to read these things. I could say whatever I wanted and it would literally pass zero sets of eyes. Watch.... I have hemorrhoids! See? No one. But in the rare occasion that one of you sad saps does in fact read this paragraph before jumping to the meat […]

Don't Doubt Mike Trout: Why He's Still #1

It has become fashionable for fantasy owners to suggest that perhaps this is the year that Mike Trout should be supplanted as the consensus first overall draft pick. Not one, but two other players - Ronald Acuna and Christian Yelich - are being regularly selected in early NFBC drafts ahead of the 28-year-old Trout, who […]

Francisco Lindor To Make $17.5 Million In 2020

Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $17.5 million deal. Lindor has been the subject of heavy trade rumors this offseason and could still be dealt before spring training. He started late in 2019 due to injury but still finished with an excellent line of .284/.335/.518 with […]

Indians Expected To Hold Onto Francisco Lindor

Cleveland Indians president Chris Antonetti said on Wednesday that he's more confident that All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor will be with the team to start the season after the Tribe didn't receive a trade proposal to their liking in the last few weeks. The four-time All-Star is under contract through the 2021 season, but the Indians […]

Top 570: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2020 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 570) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings and position-by-position analysis breakdowns as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Riley Mrack and Nicklaus Gaut - have analyzed the […]

Early 2020 ADP Reflections - Second Base

When a baseball season ends, the following season can’t come here soon enough for some fans, myself included. We start thinking about what we want to see from some players, which includes letdowns, bounce-backs, and even young prospects. Instead of letting them bounce off the brain walls, let’s put these musings into digits. This includes […]

2020 Offseason Starting Pitcher Rankings (Part 1) - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Today we are bringing you part one of our 2020 starting pitcher rankings and analysis - you can read part two here. We know you're […]

2020 Offseason Starting Pitcher Rankings (Part 2) - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

We continue with our analysis of the early 2020 fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings by looking at the middle tiers. To read part one, click right here. After a record-setting year for offense and a sense among the industry that 2020 likely won't be dramatically different, being able to navigate the ever-murkier waters of starting […]

2020 Closer / Relief Pitcher Offseason Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're searching for a reprieve from a long fantasy football season or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has […]

2020 Offseason Outfield Rankings (Part 1) - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you […]

2020 Offseason Outfield Rankings (Part 2) - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you […]

White Sox Not Actively Pursuing Nicholas Castellanos, Yasiel Puig

The Chicago White Sox are not actively involved in the sweepstakes for outfielders Nicholas Castellanos or Yasiel Puig after already trading for Nomar Mazara this offseason. Chicago has made drastic improvements to their roster and have spent $195.5 million in free agency, but they will now look to improve their bullpen. Castellanos is the more […]

2020 Offseason Shortstop Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you […]

2020 Offseason Third Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you covered. We've […]

2020 Offseason Second Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you […]

2020 Offseason First Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you […]

Indians Sign Cesar Hernandez

The Cleveland Indians signed second baseman Cesar Hernandez to a one-year, $6.25 million deal on Monday, according to sources familiar with the agreement. Hernandez will form a middle infield tandem with Francisco Cervelli, unless the Tribe deals the All-Star shortstop this winter. Hernandez, 29, hit .279/.333/.408 with 14 home runs, 77 runs scored, 71 RBI […]

2020 Offseason Catcher Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues

It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next baseball season, so here we deliver our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings to those of you looking to scratch your fantasy itch. Whether you're already eliminated from fantasy football contention, or you're getting a head start on next year's keeper selections, RotoBaller has got you […]

Reds Discussing Francisco Lindor

The Cincinnati Reds are the latest team to engage the Cleveland Indians about a potential trade for shortstop Francisco Lindor, according to a source. It's unknown if there is any traction for a trade, but the Reds have been aggressive in trades before on Trevor Bauer and Yasiel Puig, and they have attractive trade chips […]

Dodgers and Padres Interested in Mike Clevinger

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are two teams reportedly interested in Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger. Clevinger was limited by injuries in 2019, but he was excellent whenever he was on the mound, pitching in 21 games and posting a 2.71 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 126 innings. He has the […]

Top 30 Prospects for 2020 Dynasty Leagues

It’s almost time to bid adieu to 2019 so it’s a great time to revisit the top dynasty prospects in baseball. The 2019 season saw a lot of stud prospects reach the Major Leagues, such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Peter Alonso, Yordan Alvarez… the list goes on and on. And as good […]

Corey Kluber Traded to the Texas Rangers

The Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers completed a trade on Sunday that will send starting pitcher Corey Kluber to Texas in exchange for outfielder Delino DeShields and relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase. It seems like a somewhat light return for a guy who was consistently in the Cy Young conversation, but Kluber was injured almost […]

Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Prospects: Top 12 Potential Relievers

This week we’re doing something a little different. We’ve been traveling through the minor leagues reviewing the best dynasty prospects at each position. Now, we find ourselves looking at the relievers. This position is a bit of an anomaly. Teams often don’t directly develop impact relievers - they’re often initially starters that fail to fully […]

Angels Interested In Trade For Corey Kluber

The Los Angeles Angels have shown interest in trading for Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber, according to sources. A fractured arm and then a strained oblique held the two-time Cy Young winner to just seven starts for the Tribe last season. He was a big-time fantasy bust because of the injuries, but Kluber has […]

Dodgers Discussing Trade For Francisco Lindor

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians remain engaged in serious trade talks surrounding All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor. The Indians are seeking a package of Dodgers prospects, including shortstop Gavin Lux and starting pitcher Dustin May. Lux is considered the No. 2 prospect in baseball heading into the 2020 season, per MLB Pipeline, while May […]

SP Strikeout Risers: 2019 Season Review

For the last four seasons, MLB has seen an increase in strikeout rate (K%). Since 2015, K% has increased from 20.4% to 23.0%. We’ve also seen an increase in walk rates and a poorer league-wide ERA. Those trends can make it difficult to assess whether a pitcher is actually better at inducing swings and misses. […]

2019 Season in Review - Shane Bieber

In each of the past three seasons, MLB has held a "Player's Weekend" where one of the promotions is players having the ability to wear a nickname on the back of their jersey. For both of his MLB seasons, Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber has worn "Not Justin" on the back of his uniform. After […]