RotoBaller Rankings vs. ADP: More Undervalued Outfield Targets
With draft season ramping up now, though, it seems like a good time to check our expert opinions against the wisdom of the crowds. Over the past few days we've highlighted some draft targets - undervalued players we like, with notable discrepancies between their ADP and how the staff here at RotoBaller views their 2016 value.... Read More
Nick Mariano's 10 Bold Predictions for 2016
Kyle, Kyle, Kyle, what hell hath you wrought on our poor readers? Look at the Pandora’s Box that’s been opened. Now it’s time for my shenanigans to fly out. Editor's note: Be sure to check out our fantasy baseball rankings assistant. We recently launched this handy new rankings tool - you can easily filter, sort, and export all sorts... Read More
Billy Burns (OF, OAK) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~170 CURRENT ADP: 181 ANALYSIS: Billy Burns had a nice rookie season in 2015, as he put up a .294/.334/.392 slash line with 26 stolen bases and 70 runs scored. His aggressive plate approach allowed him to hit .479 with he made contact with the first pitch, but if he doesn't improve... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Relief Pitchers (March)
It's only fitting that we close out the March rankings with the closers. Because these "firemen" are often on the hot seat, the value of a closer can change more quickly than any other position. While it is beyond the scope of this article, it is important to monitor the closer handcuffs as the season... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Starting Pitchers, Part 1 (March)
Our starting pitching rankings will be split into two parts. Today's edition will examine only the top five tiers of starters, as determined by our staff's composite rankings (which differ a bit from my own evaluations where noted). Using the composite rankings to guide discussion helps to highlight personal preferences while also providing a more balanced view of... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Outfield, Part 2 (March)
Smoothly transitioning from yesterday's top four tiers to today's best of the rest, let's start my overvalued/undervalued list with a player who recently snuck up from tier 5 to tier 4 and thus snuck his way into this column. Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up... Read More
Danny Valencia (3B/OF, OAK) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 CURRENT ADP: 284.7 ANALYSIS: Danny Valencia played on six different teams over the last four seasons, and finally landed with the Athletics late in 2015. He is projected to be the starting third baseman for the A's in 2016. It is difficult to form any expectations for such an inconsistent player,... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Outfield, Part 1 (March)
This is the fourth and final update to our outfield staff rankings. Once again, I was joined by colleagues Kyle Bishop, Bill Dubiel, Brad Johnson, Nick Mariano, Max Petrie, and Harris Yudin. In case you missed them, you can see our updated March tiered rankings and analysis breaking down our thoughts for catcher, first base,... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Third Base Rankings (March)
Oh yeah, you know you love yourself some hot corner action. Third base is one of those premier power spots where you know your team can’t be slouching. If you don't know us by now, the seven rankers are Brad Johnson, Kyle Bishop, Max Petrie, Harris Yudin, Jeff Kahntroff, Bill Dubiel, and myself. In case... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Shortstop Rankings (March)
Welcome to our final round of rankings. We've been guiding you throughout the offseason and it has all culminated to this. These rankings will be your guide in fantasy drafts, and while they shouldn't be seen as an end-all, be-all assessment, it's wise to have an understanding of where the market values the players you... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered First Base Rankings (March)
Many fantasy baseball drafts have already been held, and there are more on the way. I finally have a drafted team to look over every single day and check for injuries (so far, so good), so all is right in the world. But for those of you who have yet to draft, we've got the rankings and... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Catcher Rankings (March)
Welcome to our final round of rankings. We've been guiding you throughout the offseason and it's all culminated to this. These rankings will be your guide in fantasy drafts, and while they shouldn't be seen as an end-all, be-all assessment, it's wise to have an understanding of where the market values the players you seek.... Read More
Three Potential Busts to Avoid on Draft Day: Teheran, Chapman, Hamels
This article first appeared on wetalkfantasysports.com by Jason Johnson. You can find him on twitter @y2trips. Now that I’ve covered three players that I’m really high on, let’s look at a few players that I think have zero chance to live up to their ADP. Please note that current ADP data has been pulled from FantasyPros.com's consensus,... Read More
2016 Outfield Prospects and Dynasty Rankings
This is an outfield prospects omnibus, a one stop clearinghouse for all of the profiles I created in the last month. With this post finished, I'll have just enough time to whip through starting pitching before we're too deep into dynasty draft season. You can also read about catchers, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base. Mostly,... Read More
Industry Mock Draft Reactions: Most Regrettable Pick?
Back again with more insight into the industry mock draft that took place last Thursday. This time we’re looking at the picks that each of us wished we could give the ol’ Men in Black memory wipe to everyone else. Again, I’ll be following everyone’s thoughts with a brief commentary of my own because it’s... Read More
Three ADP Sleepers to Target on Draft Day: Reddick, Duffy, Harrison
This article first appeared on wetalkfantasysports.com by Jason Johnson. You can find him on twitter @y2trips. I don’t like to use the term sleepers when thinking about players. To me a sleeper is simply someone that I expect to greatly outperform their projected ADP. These players are players that I’m very high on going into the... Read More
RotoBaller Rankings vs. ADP: Undervalued Shortstops
If you’re a regular reader of RotoBaller (and how could someone as smart, funny, and handsome as you not be?), you’ve doubtless already checked out our rankings assistant tool. We'll be releasing our final update next week. With draft season ramping up now, though, it seems like a good time to check our expert opinions... Read More
2016 Outfield Prospects and Dynasty Rankings - AL West Edition
Texas has the top prospects of the division on lock down, and the outfield is no exception. All six of the high profile names are Rangers or Astros. Only a few of the "best of the rest" aren't from those two clubs. Those exceptions are with Seattle. Overall, I have 31 names to share, some... Read More
Five Deeper Options At First Base For 2016
There are some positions in fantasy baseball where one should avoid getting cute and creative as much as possible. First base is one of them. But drafts are a funny thing: one rarely knows how they will play out. That's before one mentions leagues with flex positions, such as UTIL or MI. Personally, I have made that mistake... Read More
2016 Bust Candidates: AL Starting Pitchers to Avoid
The wait is finally over – spring training is in full swing. Of course, here at RotoBaller we’ve been cranking out tons of preseason content for some time now. We might be a little obsessed with baseball ‘round these parts. But that’s okay, because so are you! And what better way to celebrate the advent... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Billy Burns
The Oakland Athletics outfielder had a nice rookie season in 2015. He put up a .294/.334/.392 slash line with 26 stolen bases and 70 runs scored, showing surprising promise. The steals left a bit to be desired, especially after he swiped 74 bags in the minors back in 2013. However, Burns was a nice player... Read More
Josh Reddick (OF, OAK) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~140 CURRENT ADP: 207 ANALYSIS: Over the last four seasons, Josh Reddick is 24th among all outfielders in home runs-- ahead of Matt Holliday, Shin-Soo Choo and Alex Gordon. Back in 2012, he hit 32 homers, stole 11 bases, and totaled 170 R+RBI. Last season, he went 20/10 with 144 R+RBI. Of course,... Read More
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Danny Valencia
Few players have been around the block to the extent that Danny Valencia has by the age of 31 years old. In 2006, the Minnesota Twins took Valencia in the 19th round of the MLB Draft. Things were good for the Twins back then. Joe Mauer was coming into his own, and a veteran outfield... Read More
Saves and Holds: AL West Bullpen Depth Chart
With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected AL West closers, setup men, and... Read More
2016 Top Five Catcher Keeper Values
What Have We Here? It's good to have a methodology. Today, we'll discuss the top five catcher keepers using a keeper value tool I developed. Many keeper leagues have a cost to keeping players. I wanted to incorporate that opportunity cost into my formula. These rankings are derived from my 15 step formula. The Keeper Valuation... Read More
Breakout Players at 2B, SS, and C and What It Means For 2016
Having some baseball withdrawal yet? Welcome to the club. That's why I'm starting a weekly series running through November looking at players at each position who experienced breakout campaigns. I'll also run another segment detailing the busts at each position. This edition will focus on middle infielders and backstops. My selections will be influenced by their... Read More
Future Tense: Arizona Fall League, Part III: Mesa Solar Sox
In our second part, I commented on how the Astros were at least a year early by making the playoffs this year and that the future looks even better. That’s true too for the Chicago Cubs, one of the teams seeding the Mesa Solar Sox. The Oakland Athletics went into rebuilding mode this year, and... Read More
Marcus Semien (OAK, 2B / SS/ 3B) - Waiver Wire Pickups
BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues OWNED IN: 28 Percent of Leagues ANALYSIS: A brutal early-summer swoon has dragged down Semien's overall numbers, but he's still proven useful to those in deeper and AL-only leagues. After all, he can be plugged in at three infield spots (including both MI positions) and has managed double-digit homers... Read More
Week 26 Start/Sit: MLB Starting Pitcher (SP) Matchups
What’s up RotoBallers. Welcome to the final week of this column, as we approach the home stretch of the fantasy baseball season. Thank you all for RotoBalling with us all season long, and I hope that this column (along with the rest of our MLB content) has helped you win some leagues. Now let's get... Read More
Five Corner Infield Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds for Week 26
This will be the last installment of this column for 2015. We've officially entered the Catastrophic Countdown phase of the season, so some of you may need to throw caution to the wind and get even more granular. At this point, names and track records don't really matter. Take production anywhere you can find it.... Read More