Michael Pineda (NYY, SP) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft Target in Mid-to-Late Rounds of All Leagues ANALYSIS: Allow me to begin by saying that Michael Pineda is not just a fantasy baseball sleeper; he may be the starting pitcher sleeper of this year’s fantasy season. Currently he has an extremely low ADP at around 209, which is likely due to his injury […]

Fantasy Baseball Draft Plans: The Lessons Of Starting Pitcher Injuries

The Plague of Failing Elbows Since the beginning of spring training, we have seen starting pitchers Yu Darvish, Marcus Stroman, Cliff Lee, and Zack Wheeler all go down with with injuries. This, along with the outbreak of Tommy John surgeries in baseball the past few seasons, has left fantasy owners searching for "safe" starting pitching. How do we weed […]

Four Best Draft Strategies for Points Leagues

  Winning Points Leagues on Draft Day Most of the analysis you'll find in the fantasy community tends to be geared towards roto or 5x5 formats. This is done for two main reasons. First, category formats are easily the more popular of the two options. Analysts write to be read, so it makes sense to […]

Brett Gardner (OF, NYY) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis

CURRENT ADP: 144 RANKINGS STATUS: Undervalued ANALYSIS: Now the longest tenured homegrown player on the Yankees roster, Brett Gardner's numbers have been rather predictable over the course of his seven year career. That was not the case in 2014. Gardner, 31, saw his home run total jump to 17 last season, which is more than […]

Three Relief Pitchers Who Will Outperform Their 2015 ADP: Rankings Analysis

Reliever Hijinks Last season was my best year of fantasy baseball in the dozen years I've played, as I managed to secure championships in all three of my leagues. This was in spite of the fact that I endured what I'll lightly term as the season from hell as far as closers are concerned. Most […]

Top Five ERA Surgers for 2015: Fantasy Baseball Predictions

Scour the Pitching Peripherals It’s not a category in your typical fantasy league, but Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a useful metric to uncover undervalued assets on draft day. FIP attempts to isolate the factors under a pitcher’s direct control to determine whether he was a victim of poor defense or rotten luck. Intuitively and […]

Masahiro Tanaka (SP, NYY) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis

  CURRENT ADP: 89   RANKINGS STATUS: Undervalued ANALYSIS: After a sensational start to his major league career, there is a lot of speculation surrounding Masahrio Tanaka and his slightly torn UCL. Tanaka burst onto the scene last year but was shut down in the second half of the season so that his arm could heal and […]

Three Home Run & Power Hitter Surgers for 2015

Home run power is a trait that has become increasingly rare in baseball over the past few years. 2014 showcased the lowest power numbers of the last 20 years, and a further decline is expected in 2015. As flashy home run numbers continue to diminish, those who can truly hit the long ball are becoming […]

Save Prospecting: Top Five Non-Closing AL Relief Pitchers

Last week I looked at the top five non-closer NL relief pitcher options. Today we take a look at the top AL relief pitchers currently not occupying closer roles.   Top Five Non-Closing AL Relievers Wade Davis - RHP, Kansas City Royals If we are talking about American League bullpens, you have to start the […]

MLB Closer Breakdown: AL East Edition - 2015 Fantasy Baseball

  New York Yankees This is going to be one of the most closely monitored closer competitions in the spring of 2015. The Yankees are currently examining two gigantic (literally) options for the closer spot, in the forms of lefty Andrew Miller and righty Dellin Betances, both of whom throw absolute smoke. Both did plenty […]

A-Rod: Will He Help or Hurt?

With spring training in full bloom the main interest circus at the Yankees camp in Tampa is none other than Alex Rodriguez. Even coming off his year-long suspension for violating MLB’s PED policy, Rodriguez is really the only box-office draw the Yankees have right now with the retirement of Derek Jeter last season. Other than […]

Orioles Ink Cabrera; Find Value in Implicated PED Users

After being non-tendered by the San Diego Padres earlier in the offseason, Everth Cabrera has finally found a new home with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles signed Cabrera, who was given a 50 game suspension last season due to PED use, to a low risk one year deal worth $2.4MM guaranteed with another $600K in […]

Jacoby Ellsbury: 2015 Fantasy Baseball Star

2011 - It Was A Very Good Year When the New York Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury as a free agent before the 2014 season they hoped they would be getting the same player who tore up the world of fantasy baseball in 2011. That season Ellsbury batted .321 with 32 HR, 39 SB, 105 RBI and […]

Chase Headley (3B, NYY) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target in 10th to 12th Rounds ANALYSIS: Everyone tried to pry Chase Headley away from the Padres after his breakout season in 2012 in which he posted 31 HR, 115 RBI and 17 SB. Headley struggled over the next two years, his average fly-ball distance dropping from 34.47 feet to 286.83 feet. His […]

Chase Headley: 2015 Fantasy Baseball Target

2012 Was A Very Good Year The New York Yankees signing of Chase Headley to a four-year, $52 million contract speaks volumes about what they think Alex Rodriguez can bring to the table this coming season. Headley has more in common with Scott Brosius than Rodriguez in his prime. Although Headley is the kind of positive […]

MLB Rules Changed, Cuban Prospect Yoan Moncada Becomes Free Agent

  According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, highly touted Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is now a free agent eligible to sign with a team. Breaking: Yoan Moncada is a free agent after MLB changes its rules regarding Cuban players. Story with details soon on Yahoo Sports. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 3, 2015   […]

New York Yankees Interested in Johan Santana

The New York Yankees interest in the two-time Cy Young award winner is back. According to the New York Post, the Yankees were in attendance for Johan Santana's first appearance on a mound, pitching two scoreless innings in the Venezuelan Winter League on Tuesday night. He is looking to make a comeback from a torn […]

Alex Rodriguez: 2015 Fantasy Baseball Bust

  Farewell Derek Jeter and Hellooooo A-Rod!!! Can there be any worse scenario for Yankee fans? Sadly for Bronx Bomber die hards, Derek Jeter won’t be the opening day Yankee shortstop for the first time since 1996. If that's not bad enough,  Alex Rodriguez and all of his extra baggage will be back in pinstripes […]

Top 5 Hitter Streamers: Waiver Wire Targets For Week 24

It's hard to believe that baseball season is almost over. Between the start of the NFL season and the home stretch of the MLB season, I know that we've all got a lot on our plates right now, so I'll keep this introduction short and sweet. Just like always, I've presented five sleepers of varying […]

Fantasy Baseball Stars on the DL: Who to Keep, Who to Dump

With the fantasy playoffs right around the corner, there seems to be an abundance of star power sitting on your DL. The recent news of Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole and Wil Myers coming off the disabled list is surely encouraging, but there are still plenty of guys you might be stashing, hoping they'll be your […]

Top 3 Sleeper Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups

  3 Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Sleepers Michael Pineda - NYY (50% Owned) In his first start since April 23rd, Michael Pineda delivered five innings allowing just two hits and one earned run while striking out four. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi will likely ease Pineda back into his normal workload, so fantasy owners may need […]

Hitters to Buy and Sell in Fantasy Baseball (Week 20)

Can you believe that combined, Carlos Gonzalez and Adrian Beltre have only hit for 27 HR, 99 RBI, and have amassed only four SB?  Jose Abreu, with an average draft pick of 135.8 (ESPN leagues), has bested the previous two first-round picks' homer totals and has almost equaled their combined RBI total, with 86. Speaking of […]

Brandon McCarthy (SP, NYY) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ANALYSIS: A lot of times when pitchers switch from the NL to the AL, they're greeted with the harsh reality that, well, offenses are more potent in the AL. This has not been the case for Brandon McCarthy, who has been fantastic since joining the Yankees at the beginning […]

Second Base (2B) and Shortstop (SS) Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 20)

So how’s your team looking for the fantasy baseball home stretch? Whether you’re at the top of the heap or languishing in the basement, your team can always use a shot in the arm… or in this case, the roster. If you play fantasy baseball, I don't need to tell you that Chicago Cubs prospect […]

Fantasy Baseball Players Trending Up and Trending Down (Week 19)

The march to the fantasy baseball playoffs and league titles continues. Fortunately, I'll be providing you some handy insight into what players are getting hot at the right time and what players you need to ice. Depending on your team needs and what stats you need to focus on going forward, you may be able to find some sleepers […]

Derek Jeter: The Man. The Icon. The Fantasy Legend.

If you were alive during the 90s, you know the name Derek Jeter, unless you lived under a rock. If you played baseball during that time, you probably attempted to imitate his swing. If you grew up in New York, and were asked to write a paper about who your hero was, the answer was […]

Week 18 Fanduel DFS Recap: RotoBaller's Expert Lineup Picks

Daily League Lineup Picks - Subscription Newsletter Recap As many of you already know, we take our DFS quite seriously here at RotoBaller. Each and every week since the start of the 2013 MLB and fantasy baseball season, we have been providing our premium subscribers with 3 cheat sheet style newsletters per week, full of […]

Week 17 Recap: Our Best FanDuel DFS Lineup Picks

Daily League Lineup Picks - Newsletter Recap As many of you already know, we take our DFS quite seriously here at RotoBaller. Each and every week since the start of the 2013 MLB and fantasy baseball season, we have been providing our premium subscribers with 3 cheat sheet style newsletters per week, full of our […]

Getting A Grip: Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Holds

While the holds statistic is even harder to predict than saves for closers, the players we highlight today feature some sleeper setup men and some looking to reclaim glory they once had. The more likely an MLB team is to win, the more likely these following relief pitchers will be eligible to earn the holds […]

Trending Up & Trending Down: Week 17 Report

  Fantasy Baseball Trends For Week 17 I'd like to begin this week's report by doing somewhat of a follow up to my article from two weeks ago. I really still like Hughes's K/BB ratios, but it's hard to ignore his current results. I've dropped him until he shows signs of improvement, and recommend you […]