First Base Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

After years of mostly just top-tier production, first base is making a comeback in fantasy output. There are some intriguing names in re-draft leagues, but we will look at dynasty fantasy baseball rankings here. Most leagues are starting to decide who will be part of their future; some will be looking to draft some of […]

James Kaprielian To Face Live Hitters On Sunday

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher James Kaprielian (shoulder) is scheduled to face live hitters on Sunday. The right-hander is set to throw a 20-pitch live batting practice session as he works his way back from offseason surgery. Manager Mark Kotsay mentioned Kaprielian will throw at least one more batting practice session before getting into spring training […]

Second Base Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

And we're back to the Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We started with first base and now head to second base as we make […]

First Base Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball - EDV Finds Undervalued, Overvalued Picks

Baseball is coming, so it is time for another year of the FSWA-award-nominated Expected Draft Values (EDV) series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and […]

MLB Pitcher Prospect Graduates - Sophomore Fantasy Baseball Outlooks (AL West)

In the third installment of a 6-part series focused on pitchers who exhausted rookie eligibility during the 2022 MLB season, I review how the pitching fundamentals of select American League West pitchers have evolved and use that information to forecast their MLB futures. Fundamentals will be quantified using my Fielding- and Ballpark-Independent Outcomes (FaBIO) pitcher […]

First Basemen to Target or Avoid at ADP - Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis

When I was growing up and really getting into baseball in the 1990s and 2000s, the first base position was chalked full of big-time sluggers that would be counted on to produce gaudy offensive numbers season after season -- especially in the HR and RBI departments. Let's look at 2006 for example. Why? Well, it […]

Analyzing Pitcher Fly Ball Data for Fantasy Baseball 2023

Pitchers don't have much of a say about what happens after a pitch they throw is put into play. There is a ton of randomness that occurs after a hitter makes contact with a ball, and that makes a lot of pitching statistics hard to trust. Getting ahead of this gives us an advantage. We […]

Analyzing the MLB Rookies - 2023 Fantasy Baseball Prospects

One great way to win your fantasy league is to get your hands on the MLB rookie of the year. Julio Rodriguez and Michael Harris II were two of the biggest keys to success last year, as they went on to return first-round value after being very cheap to acquire on your fantasy team. There […]

Hitter Busts at Every Position - Comparing ATC Projections vs. ADP for Fantasy Baseball

With the big football game officially behind us, the official "official" start of fantasy baseball season has nearly dawned. It's easy to start obsessing over finding this year's biggest hidden jewels, dreaming at night that your fantasy groundhog will see its shadow and bring you six more weeks of sleepers. But don't forget about their […]

Indefensible: Bad MLB Defenders Who Could Lose Playing Time And Fantasy Baseball Value In 2023

The Super Bowl is over and it's time for everybody to turn their attention over to the joys of fantasy baseball. At this point in the preseason, fantasy baseball managers should be working through their projections, whether it's making their own or going through the projections given by their favorite system, like the ATC projections […]

Shintaro Fujinami Impresses At A's Camp

Oakland Athletics right-hander Shintaro Fujinami was impressive in his first side session at spring training on Thursday. The 28-year-old Japanese sensation drew rave reviews and threw all six of his pitches -- four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, splitter and curveball -- during a bullpen session of around 40 pitches. "The big splitter was nasty," […]

Top 25 First-Year Player Rankings (FYPD) - Dynasty Prospects for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

When fantasy baseball players begin their first-year player drafts this year, they will have 2022 MLB draftees, foreign imports from Asia, and January 15 signees to sift through. There can be a lot of static in those stats, especially when you are dealing with minor-league players and some fantasy baseball prospects who haven't even played […]

Marlins Acquire A.J. Puk From The A's

The Miami Marlins acquired left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk from the Oakland Athletics on Saturday in exchange for outfielder JJ Bleday. With the move to Miami, Puk will likely be ticketed for a relief role, at least to begin the 2023 season, given the stacked nature of the Marlins' current starting rotation. It's a bit of […]

A.J. Puk To Compete For Rotation Spot

Oakland Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk will get a chance to compete for a starting rotation spot in 2023, according to general manager David Forst. The 27-year-old southpaw was a starter as a prospect in the minor leagues, but he's made 84 appearances for the A's in three seasons, with all of them coming in relief. […]

Breakout Pitchers for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Finding breakout starting pitchers is one of the most important things we have to do in order to win fantasy baseball leagues every season. In most leagues, an individual starting pitcher has more of an impact on a fantasy team than an individual hitter since they are throwing a higher percentage of your team's total […]

Where Are The Stats? In Which Rounds to Target Hitter Stats for Fantasy Baseball

If you're drafting a fantasy baseball team in a rotisserie-style league, how you attack the different categories is almost just as important as what players you draft. There are five standard categories: Runs Home Runs RBI Stolen Bases Batting Average You can put together a team that laps the field in home runs but still […]

Early 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - 5x5 Roto Mixed Leagues

Hello there fellow RotoBallers! Below you'll find our MLB team's early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for 5x5 mixed roto leagues. This is an exciting time of year for MLB and fantasy baseball fans, as the MLB season is getting closer and there's a full year of fantasy baseball that lies ahead. We're here […]

Jesus Aguilar To Split Time At First Base, DH

Oakland Athletics general manager David Forst said he expects the newly signed Jesus Aguilar to split his time in 2023 at first base and designated hitter in an everyday role, similar to what he was doing last year with the Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles. The 32-year-old right-handed slugger spent most of his time with […]

James Kaprielian, Paul Blackburn Expected To Be Ready

The Oakland Athletics expect starting pitchers James Kaprielian (shoulder) and Paul Blackburn (finger) to be ready for spring training, according to general manager David Forst. It's the reason the team felt comfortable trading left-hander Cole Irvin to the Baltimore Orioles this week. Kaprielian had surgery to fix the AC joint in his right-shoulder in the […]

A's Acquire Darell Hernaiz In Trade With Orioles

The Oakland Athletics acquired infield prospect Darell Hernaiz from the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in exchange for left-hander Cole Irvin and minor-league right-hander Kyle Virbitsky, according to sources. Hernaiz, who is only 21 years old, spent the 2022 season with Single-A Delmarva, High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie, slashing a combined .273/.341/.438 with a .779 OPS, […]

Orioles Acquire Cole Irvin From A's

The Baltimore Orioles acquired left-hander Cole Irvin and minor-league right-hander Kyle Virbitsky from the Oakland Athletics on Thursday in exchange for infield prospect Darell Hernaiz, according to sources. Irvin, a 28-year-old southpaw, had a career-best 3.98 ERA (4.21 FIP), 1.16 WHIP and 17.3 percent strikeout rate in 30 starts covering 181 innings in his second […]

Jon Anderson's Early Starting Pitcher Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! We are finishing it up today with starting pitcher. I have been through all of the hitting positions already, so check those out at the links below. Catcher First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Outfield I went for an even 100 […]

Jon Anderson's Early Outfield Tiers & Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers to my early 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and projections series! Today, we are covering the outfield, and it's a monster! Here is what we've done so far: Catcher First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base I am putting my top 80 or so outfielders into this, so we'd better get started.  Be […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects Rankings for Dynasty Leagues

Welcome to our first dynasty rankings article of the year about fantasy baseball prospects. Below you will find our early list of the top 50 MLB prospect rankings for fantasy baseball dynasty leagues ahead of the 2023 season. Prospects are a key piece to every MLB team's future, regardless of whether they're contenders or rebuilding. […]

Fantasy Baseball Hitters That Could Benefit Most From the Shift Ban

Major League Baseball is making some big changes ahead of the 2023 season. One of the most significant is the banning of the shift. You can read more about that here, but here's a quick summary from that article: "With all four infielders needing to be on the dirt, the days of the four-outfielder setup […]

Predicting Pitcher K-BB% Breakouts For Fantasy Baseball 2023

You will not read an article from me about fantasy baseball starting pitchers that does not talk a ton about the strikeout-to-walk ratio (K-BB%). It is the most important and most predictive statistic out there for evaluating pitchers. The way to win a fantasy league is to have a few breakout players on your team. […]

A's Agree To Contract With Jesus Aguilar

The Oakland Athletics have reportedly agreed to a deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, per a tweet from FanSided's Robert Murray on Tuesday. Murray tweeted the following: "Free-agent first baseman Jesus Aguilar and the Oakland A's are in agreement on a contract, pending physical, according to a source familiar with the deal. First to report […]

Dodgers, Tyler Cyr In Agreement On Minor-League Deal

Pitcher Tyler Cyr and the Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly in agreement on a minor-league deal, per a tweet from The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya on Saturday. The deal includes an invite to major-league spring training. Cyr made 12 appearances in the majors last season, splitting time with the Oakland Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies. He logged […]

Trey Mancini and Brian Anderson: Buying and Selling the Latest Offseason News for Fantasy Baseball

Even though the Winter Meetings are now behind us, there’s still plenty of offseason left when it comes to baseball news and rumors – especially with a number of the offseason’s top free agents still without a team. And that’s all without mentioning potential trades as there hasn’t been an overabundance of deals made so […]

A's Agree With Luis Morales, Darling Fernandez

The Oakland Athletics agreed to deals with right-hander Luis Morales and outfield prospect Darling Fernandez on Sunday. Morales (No. 5) and Fernandez (No. 40) are on MLB.com's top-50 international prospects list. Morales agreed to a $3 million deal, while Fernandez's deal was worth $750,000. Morales set a Cuban record for strikeouts (161) in 82 2/3 […]