Year-In-Review: Indians Pitching Staff

What a wild and wacky MLB season that was. Between the rule changes, schedule adjustments, and constant fear the whole thing could come crashing down, 2020 certainly presented a unique set of challenges to our national past time. One of the biggest challenges within the game, however, was hitting the Cleveland Indians pitching staff. The […]

Michael Brantley Could Be Backup Plan For Yankees

The New York Yankees are in need of more left-handed hitting, and they've had contact with four-time All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley. However, Brantley seems like a Plan B in case the team cannot re-sign second baseman DJ LeMahieu. Brantley will turn 34 in May and could be limited to a short-term deal because of his […]

Yankees To Tender Gary Sanchez

The New York Yankees plan to tender a contract to catcher Gary Sanchez on Wednesday, according to sources. Sanchez was replaced by Kyle Higashioka as the team's primary catcher in the playoffs after he hit just .147 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in the regular season. The two-time All-Star went 1-for-8 with a […]

Is Hard-Hit Rate Predictive?

Over the last 10 or so years, baseball fans have seen all kinds of new statistics pop in front of their faces. Some people really like these new metrics, and some people really do not. Judging by the fact that you are reading this article, I am guessing that you fall into that first grouping. […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Elite Levels of Air% Exit Velocity

Everyone wants more power, even more so when it comes relatively cheap. But even when pricey, you're going to need to draft a bomber or two. One of the best ways to see how a player's power is trending is to sift through their exit-velocities to see what they're saying. Most know by now that […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings

I think most of us would agree that looking forward to 2021 is a good idea. For me, that means immersing myself in the upcoming baseball season. While there's no guarantee COVID-19 won't affect the '21 season, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking […]

Year-in-Review: Shane Bieber

2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber was just simply remarkable in every definition of the word this past season. He led the majors in a number of statistics such as ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122) and tied for the major league lead in wins (8) and quality starts (10). The deeper you look into […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

As we begin to look towards the 2021 baseball season, we can only hope that COVID-19 will be handled well enough to let the season run as normal. Since this is a mere early ranking exercise and we have so much ahead of us, let's just close our eyes and chat as if a 162-game […]

Aroldis Chapman's Suspension Reduced

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman's suspension for throwing near the head of Tampa Bay Rays infielder Mike Brosseau was reduced from three games to two games on Thursday after Chapman appealed the decision. Chapman will serve the suspension at the beginning of the 2021 season. The flame-throwing left-hander struck Brosseau out in the at-bat […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings

Hope springs eternal for the 2021 baseball season, but it's hard to imagine we'll be completely past COVID-19 by then. Plus, we could see opening salvos for the CBA debates to come. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a perfect world and chat as if a 162-game season will come […]

Noteworthy xwOBA-wOBA Pitching Leaders

One of the oddities brought on by the shortened 2020 season was the number of qualified pitchers with huge gaps between their xwOBA and wOBA. In 2019, only seven qualified pitchers posted a wOBA at least 0.050 points away from their xwOBA in either direction, a number that ballooned to 52 pitchers in 2020. Of […]

Year-in-Review: Clint Frazier

With the 2020 MLB season in the books, the focus now shifts to the 2021 season. Coming off such a strange and unusual 2020 season, the biggest questions will revolve around just how much should fantasy players buy into small-sample-sized performances. That question will very much be surrounding Clint Frazier, the former top prospect who […]

Yankees Open To Trading Gary Sanchez

The New York Yankees are at least willing to listen to trade offers for catcher Gary Sanchez, according to two sources. Sanchez really struggled during a shortened 2020 season, as he was replaced as the starter in the postseason by Kyle Higashioka. The Yanks want a full understanding of what free-agent infielder DJ LeMahieu will […]

DJ LeMahieu Won't Accept Yankees Qualifying Offer

Infielder DJ LeMahieu will not accept the New York Yankees qualifying offer and will test the open market as a free agent, according to a source. LeMahieu was one of six free agents to receive the one-year, $18.9 million offer. The 32-year-old is a finalist for the American League MVP after winning the MLB batting […]

Year-in-Review: Luke Voit

The 2020 MLB season just ended, and it is already time to start preparing for the 2021 season. Let’s kick things off by looking back at one of the more significant standouts in the 2020 season, Luke Voit. Voit entered spring in a potential timeshare at first base for the Yankees, but after a late […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

Let's cut right to it: the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. It is time to decide how […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: Outfielders

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

2021 Fantasy Value First Looks: Shortstop

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: First Base and Second Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Can Yankees Retain DJ LeMahieu?

The New York Yankees will likely make a strong effort to re-sign infielder DJ LeMahieu and they already extended him a one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer, but MLB Trade Rumors predicts that he'll leave for the division-rival Blue Jays. The 32-year-old won the MLB batting crown in 2020 by hitting .364 with 10 home runs […]

Giancarlo Stanton Won't Opt Out Of Contract

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will keep the remaining $218 million and seven guaranteed years on his contract instead of opting out after two injury marred seasons. The soon-to-be 31-year-old hit .266 with 38 home runs and 100 RBI in his first season with the Yankees in 2018. He hit .288 with three home […]

Yankees Decline Options On Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ

The New York Yankees declined their 2021 options on outfielder Brett Gardner and left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ on Friday, making them both free agents. Gardner will receive a $2.5 million buyout instead of a $10 million salary, while Happ's deal didn't come with a buyout. The 37-year-old Gardner is the team's last player from the […]

Yankees Pick Up Option For Zach Britton

New York Yankees relief pitcher Zach Britton had his $14 million option picked up by the team on Thursday, keeping him with the Yankees through the 2022 season. Britton was characteristically excellent in 2020 with a 1.89 ERA over 19 innings, and the 32-year-old collected eight saves in closer Aroldis Chapman's early-season absence. Chapman's contract […]

Yankees Unlikely To Reunite With Didi Gregorius

Philadelphia Phillies impending free-agent shortstop Didi Gregorius said that he doesn't foresee the Yankees wanting to sign him this offseason. Current Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres battling injuries and defensive issues in 2020, hitting only .243 with three home runs and nine errors in 42 games. Gregorius hit .284 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI […]

James Paxton Back To Full Strength

New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton (elbow, back) is reportedly fully healthy and back to normal, according to agent Scott Boras. Given that Paxton is a client of Boras and will be a free agent this offseason, Boras's claims can be taken with a grain of salt, and fantasy managers should be reluctant to […]

Warning Signals in Shift Increases: Part One

Shifts work. Not all the time and not against everyone but eventually there is a sufficient amount of data on a player to be able to draw some pretty strong conclusions about what advantages can be gained by shifting. There are good reasons that Joey Gallo was shifted against 98.5% of the time in 2020. Not everyone […]

Lineup Order Risers and Fallers: AL West 2020 Review

It’s the offseason and there are about to be a bunch of moving parts. This allows for speculation in terms of players gaining or losing playing time, moving up or down a batting order and much more. The idea here is to highlight some lineup situations for each team and some potential winners or losers […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (10/20/20): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

It was a circuitous route to get here, yet after a season chock full of potential landmines, the 2020 World Series kicks off Tuesday night. After a pair of thrilling Game 7’s left it feeling like it could have easily been the Astros and Braves taking to the diamond to crown the sport’s best in […]

Statcast Season Review: 2020 Barrel Leaders (Hitters)

The 2020 MLB season will always be one for the record books, even if everything that took place will have multiple asterisks attached to it. Evaluating Statcast numbers is a nice way to find hot and cold hitters, as well as underachievers and overachievers. Now that the regular season is over, let's reflect on the […]

Gio Urshela Doesn't Need Surgery On Elbow

New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (elbow) did not need surgery for a bone spur in his right elbow after the team was eliminated by the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. The 29-year-old will go with rest and recovery in the offseason. Urshela has played extremely […]