RADIO
Finding Breakout Power Hitters Using Barrel Rates
In part one of this article, I explained how important Statcast is to determining surface stats and the usefulness of barrel rates. Before continuing, I would recommend checking out that article if you're interested in learning how Statcast metrics affect surface stats and player outcomes, and which Statcast metrics are the best predictors of success (hint:... Read More
Relief Pitcher Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis
Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball relief pitcher rankings and relief pitcher draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of six different MLB players at the relief pitcher position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure... Read More
Jordan Luplow Goes 0-for-3 Sunday
Cleveland Indians outfielder Jordan Luplow went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 3-3 tie with the San Diego Padres. Luplow has had a slow start to the spring since returning from an ankle injury as he is yet to record a hit through his first 12 at-bats. He was leading off in this one, but will likely see... Read More
Updated Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Prospects for 2021
Opening day is just around the corner. So what better way to celebrate the occasion than to refresh the Top 50 prospects list for 2021 redraft leagues. If you're a habitual prospect watcher then you could have a leg up on your fantasy competition in 2021. Managers around baseball will heavily rely on rookies like... Read More
Cleveland Indians Could Use Closer-By-Committee To Start Year
Cleveland Indians relief pitchers James Karinchak, Nick Wittgren and Emmanuel Clase could all be used equally in save situations early on in the year, according to MLB.com's Mandy Bell. Bell reports that manager Terry Francona also said he told the trio they could be brought in for non-save situations as well to make sure they... Read More
Engel's Insider Angles: Front Office Views On Dylan Moore, Musgrove, Ohtani And More
The Fantasy Sports Writers Association award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller.com! 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 and media members provide their unfiltered insights on key players and... Read More
ATC Projections Volatility for Multi-Category Players
One year ago, I penned my very first article on RotoBaller. I am truly honored that the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) awarded the piece as the 2020 Baseball Article of the Year. “Finding Combo-Player Values Using Z-Scores and ATC Projections” provided a new perspective on how to find helpful multi-category players to fill out... Read More
2021 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks
As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to once again reveal their favorite preseason draft sleepers. We recently asked some of our top fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely... Read More
Adam Plutko Traded To Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles acquired pitcher Adam Plutko from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations on Saturday, according to Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. Coming off a down year in 2020 where he posted a 4.88 ERA and 12.9 percent strikeout rate in 27 2/3 innings, Plutko has looked slightly better this spring with a 26.8 percent... Read More
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pitcher Statcast
Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is evidence... Read More
Jake Bauers Will Be Opening Day First Baseman
Cleveland Indians first baseman Jake Bauers has won the starting job and will be the Opening Day first baseman, The Athletic's Zack Meisel reports. Bauers was competing with prospect Bobby Bradley for the starting job at first this spring, and despite Bradley (.303/.314/.636) outperforming Bauers (.200/.429/.280), Bradley was the odd man out by virtue of... Read More
Bryan Shaw Makes Opening Day Roster
Cleveland Indians right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw, who signed a minor league deal with the team this offseason, was told earlier this week that he will make the Opening Day roster. He'll receive a one-year deal worth $1 million with a chance to earn $1.3 million in performance bonuses based on pitching appearances. Shaw was a... Read More
Advanced MLB DFS Strategy: Sneaky Stacks Against Reverse-Splits Pitchers
With Opening Day of the MLB season right around the corner, it's time to start getting your mind right and preparing for a full season of MLB DFS action. Last summer we missed out on several months of MLB games due to the COVID pandemic, but we are going to get 6 months worth of... Read More
Overcoming Recency Bias on Draft Day
With all the draft analysis and sabermetrics being thrown at fantasy managers these days, I think it's time we take a step back and focus on the most important thing to dissect before your draft - YOU. A few months ago, I covered some of these cognitive biases for fantasy football season. Now, I believe... Read More
RotoBaller Friends & Family Industry Mock Draft Recap
The 2021 RotoBaller Friends & Family Mock Draft is the continuation of an annual tradition where we gather some of the biggest names from the fantasy baseball world and put together a mock draft just as spring training has commenced. Thanks to RT Sports for once again hosting and providing a custom draft site where... Read More
Correlating Statcast to Outcomes: Why You Should Pay Attention to Barrels
Barrels are the keeper of life’s finer things. Beer, pickles, monkeys, the list is endless. Barrels don’t just hold fermented vegetables and unruly simians these days, barrels may also hold the key to identifying the game’s best hitters and struggling hitters who may be due for brighter days. In my mission to find just how... Read More
2021 Points League Ranks - First Base
Draft season is in full gear as we're only less than two weeks from Opening Day baseball. 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... Read More
Frank Ammirante's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021
Making bold predictions is one of my favorite topics to write about. There's no better feeling as a writer than when you tout an overlooked player and it hits. Hitting on your bold prediction can really help you win your fantasy leagues. To secure a championship, you need your top players to approach their ceilings and... Read More
2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Shortstop
Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There... 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
Franmil Reyes Homers Sunday
Cleveland Indians outfielder and designated hitter Franmil Reyes went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Reyes is now 9-for-28 with three bombs in Grapefruit League action. It is great to see Reyes smacking home runs throughout this spring as that is what he will be heavily relied... Read More
Cesar Hernandez Continues Scorching Spring
Cleveland Indians second baseman Cesar Hernandez went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Hernandez has been on absolute fire this spring as he is now 14-for-34 with one home run, seven RBI, and one stolen base through 12 games. Hernandez is a solid sleeper candidate... 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
Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021
I've been in the bold predictions game since 2015 and in that time I've had my share of successes. Befitting a premise that demands spicy takes, though, I've also wildly missed the mark a bunch of times (whither goest thou, Byung-Ho Park and Delino DeShields?) The format's been around long enough that you almost certainly know the... 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
Jose Ramirez Collects Two Hits In Win Over Rangers
Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Rangers. Ramirez has had a bit of a quiet spring- he has yet to hit a homer- so it was nice to see him raise his average to .276. The 28-year-old had another strong season in 2020,... Read More
Shane Bieber Strikes Out Six Sunday
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber tossed four scoreless innings against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out six. After a rough start his last time out in which he allowed nine runs — eight unearned — on seven hits, two walks and a hit by pitch, it... 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
