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: […]

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 […]

2021 ATC Projections: Hitter Surprises

By their nature, projection systems don’t typically offer many big surprises. Outside of Lucas Giolito’s ZiPS projection, there aren’t many player projections that jump off of the page this season. Still, even seemingly small surprises can have significant fantasy implications, and it’s worth exploring those surprises. To add an element of objectivity to this analysis, […]

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 […]

Jameson Taillon To Start With A Slow Workload

New York Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon will start the team's seventh game of the season and open the year with extra time between starts. The Yankees are being cautious with Taillon's workload after he missed all of 2020 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and fantasy managers should keep Taillon's diminished workload in mind during […]

Luke Voit To Have Knee Surgery

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit (knee) has a partial meniscus tear and will undergo surgery as a result. Voit will be sidelined from any baseball activity for the next three weeks, and fantasy managers should expect him to return sometime in May. That's not a terrible timeline if all goes according to plan, […]

Mike Tauchman Makes The Yankees

New York Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman will be on the team's Opening Day roster after a spring training battle with outfielder Jay Bruce for a roster spot. In the end, both players wound up making the team's roster as first baseman Luke Voit (knee) appears likely to start the season on the injured list. Tauchman […]

Jay Bruce Makes The Yankees

New York Yankees outfielder Jay Bruce will be on the team's Opening Day roster, according to manager Aaron Boone. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, first baseman Luke Voit (knee) is the roster casualty for now as the 30-year-old appears to be on track to miss time early this season with a knee injury. […]

Jamie Steed's 10 Bold Predictions for 2021

Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. With that in mind, I do think that each of these predictions has a legitimate chance of occurring […]

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 […]

Yankees Option Deivi Garcia

New York Yankees starting pitcher Deivi Garcia was optioned to the minor leagues on Friday. It's no surprise that the Yankees opted to have starting pitcher Domingo German start the season in the team's rotation over Garcia, and Garcia is unlikely to make much of a fantasy impact for most of the season as a […]

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 […]

Nicklaus Gaut: Bold, Bolder, Boldest Predictions

Ahh, the time-honored tradition of making bold predictions is upon us. We hem and we haw; we make outrageous claims like Adalberto Mondesi invented the question mark, and bicker about the proper definition of "bold". In the NotBurtatorium (totally a real word), however, we worry not about this or that definition. Our goals are simple […]

Aaron Judge Hits First Spring Home Run

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge clubbed his first home run of the spring on Thursday, launching a 440 ft shot against the Phillies. Judge has endured a slow start to spring training this year with a .708 OPS following Thursday's game, but fantasy managers should be unconcerned about the slugger's performance. Health has been […]

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 […]

Mike Tauchman Receiving Trade Interest

New York Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman is reportedly the subject of trade interest, and the Yankees could move on from the outfielder given their crowded roster. Since outfielder Jay Bruce's opt-out decision comes on Thursday, the Yankees are likely to solidify their position regarding Tauchman today as well; if Bruce makes the major league roster […]

Domingo German Likely To Start The Season In The Rotation

New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German is likely to start the season as the team's fifth starter behind starting pitchers Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Corey Kluber, and Jordan Montgomery. German has outpitched starting pitcher Deivi Garcia so far this spring, and German has the added advantage of having no minor league options remaining. Fantasy […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Statcast Exit Velocity

If you've watched a baseball broadcast in the so-called Statcast Era, you have undoubtedly noticed the broadcasters commenting on a batted ball's exit velocity, or EV. Many have taken to using stats like Hard% and Soft% to forecast how a player should be performing, expecting larger Hard% rates to produce larger BABIP and HR/FB figures. […]

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 […]

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 […]

JB's Bold Predictions for 2021

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... JB stands for "JUST BOLDNESS". Okay that's a lie... it's actually not a secret because I use that every year in my bold predictions intro (three years in a row now, sure saves time on writing a new intro though). Nevertheless, welcome to the latest […]

Engel's Insider Angles: Rebounds And Values From The Yankees Beat

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 […]

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 […]

Deivi Garcia Struggles On Wednesday

New York Yankees starting pitcher Deivi Garcia struggled on Wednesday, allowing four runs over three innings with seven hard-hit balls allowed. Manager Aaron Boone remarked that Garcia's pitches lacked their usual life on Wednesday, and the numbers back that up as Garcia's fastball got less "rise" than usual on Wednesday. Garcia remains unlikely to make […]

Justin Wilson Uncertain For Opening Day

New York Yankees starting pitcher Justin Wilson (shoulder) received encouraging results from an MRI on Wednesday, but his timeline remains unclear and it remains possible (if not likely) that he misses Opening Day. Wilson had been a candidate to replace relief pitcher Zack Britton (elbow) as the team's primary set-up man to start the season […]

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 […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Barrels

We've previously looked at how exit velocity (or EV) is only one piece of the fantasy analysis puzzle. Baseball broadcasts will commonly cite Launch Angle (LA) to complement their EV figures, but it is given in terms of degrees. Am I evaluating a baseball player or trying to find the hypotenuse of an isosceles triangle? […]

2021 Fantasy Baseball Busts - RotoBaller Staff Picks

As you prepare for fantasy baseball drafts in 2021, it's crucial that you avoid the dreaded bust that could sink your team. As we did with draft sleepers yesterday, our staff came together to share their thoughts on preseason ADP values, this time on their least favorite picks. Let's find out who our experts have […]

Corey Kluber Solid On Tuesday

New York Yankees starting pitcher Corey Kluber was decent on Tuesday, holding the Tigers to one run (zero earned) over 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and three walks. Kluber's 71 pitches were a spring-high for him and the most pitches he's thrown in a game since April 2019, and it's encouraging to see the 34-year-old […]

Mike Tauchman Reaches Base Four Times On Tuesday

New York Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman had a big day at the plate on Tuesday, going 2-for-2 with a home run and a pair of walks. Tauchman now has a strong .960 OPS for the spring, but he faces an uphill battle for an MLB roster spot because of outfielder Jay Bruce's successful spring and […]