Prospects to Know in 2021 - NL Central
There are many factors and ideas that go into conducting a draft strategy. Are you going to draft pitching early? Are you going to punt steals and focus on home runs and RBI? Which players are you going to reach on and which will you let fall and hope to catch in later rounds? The... Read More
Trevor Williams Agrees With Cubs
The Chicago Cubs agreed to a one-year deal believed to be worth around $2.5 million with free-agent starting pitcher Trevor Williams on Saturday. Williams will attempt to win a rotation job in Chicago, with Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies, Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills likely lined up to take four spots. The right-hander could be competing... Read More
Starting Pitchers to Target Late - LIMA Plan
The LIMA (Low Investment Mound Aces) Plan is a long-standing draft strategy that was developed far before 2021 but it seems more applicable now than ever. FSWA Hall of Fame member Ron Shandler developed the strategy around the turn of the millennium due to the heavy emphasis on starting pitching in most drafts, leading him... Read More
Adam Frazier Being Discussed On Trade Market
Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier is being discussed on the trade market and could be the next player that the Pirates move as they continue to rebuild. The Pirates have already traded starting pitcher Jameson Taillon to the Yankees, right-hander Joe Musgrove to the Padres and first baseman Josh Bell to the Nationals this... Read More
Hitters Who Changed Scenes - Fantasy Impacts
Well, the 2021 off-season has finally come to life! Over the course of January, we have seen some big splashes, both in terms of pitchers and hitters on the move to new teams. There are still plenty of unsigned big-name free agents, but we have some juicy free agent hitter signings and trades to take... Read More
Jameson Taillon to the Yankees - Fantasy Impact
After bolstering their rotation with the signing of Corey Kluber last week, the New York Yankees acquired another starter over the weekend as they shipped off four prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jameson Taillon. Here's how that deal broke down: Yankees receive: RHP Jameson Taillon Pirates receive: RHP Roansy Contreras, RHP Miguel Yajure, INF Maikol Escotto,... Read More
Pirates Acquire Miguel Yajure, Three Other Prospects
The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt right-hander Jameson Taillon to the New York Yankees on Sunday in exchange for pitchers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith, according to sources. Yajure was the Yankees No. 15 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, while Contreras was No. 19 and Smith was No. 21. Yajure,... Read More
Yankees Trade For Jameson Taillon
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was traded to the New York Yankees on Sunday, giving the Yankees some added depth in a fairly weak starting rotation. Taillon has had a fairly uneven career since debuting for the Pirates in 2016, but the 29-year-old boasts a solid 3.55 FIP for his career and has been... Read More
Dynasty Third Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball
We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base and second base rankings. Today, we examine a fairly deep third base position. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free... Read More
Top 440: Early H2H Points League Rankings
Welcome back RotoBallers. Below you will find our early 2021 fantasy baseball H2H points league rankings (top 440). As you may know, head-to-head points formats are typically underserved by fantasy baseball outlets - but this is an area that we at RotoBaller take pride in and specialize in. Throughout the preseason and regular season, we will... Read More
Joe Musgrove to the Padres - Fantasy Impact
The San Diego Padres have made yet another trade for starting pitching, as news broke on Monday of a three-team, seven-player deal that will send Joe Musgrove back home to sunny Southern California. Here's how the deal breaks down: Padres receive: RHP Joe Musgrove Mets receive: LHP Joey Lucchesi Pirates receive: (from Padres) OF Hudson Head,... Read More
Pirates Adding Prospects Hudson Head, Endy Rodriguez
The Pittsburgh Pirates are acquiring center fielder Hudson Head and catching prospect Endy Rodriguez on Monday in a three-team deal also involving the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. Head, a 19-year-old center fielder in the Padres organization, was San Diego's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The left-handed hitter still has plenty of... Read More
Padres Acquiring Joe Musgrove
The San Diego Padres are in agreement on a deal to acquire right-hander Joe Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team deal on Monday, according to sources. The trade is pending medical reviews. Hudson Head, a well-regarded center field prospect, is expected to be among a group of prospects heading back to Pittsburgh. Musgrove... Read More
Top 680: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)
Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2021 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 680) for 5x5 mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Three our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus and JB Branson - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and are ready to... Read More
Three Rookie Sleepers that Debuted in Late 2020
For a wide variety of reasons, 2020 was an unusual season for baseball. But out of these unusual situations came some opportunities for top-tier prospects to get a shot at the big leagues. Now prospects that made a splash in their debuts like Ke'Bryan Hayes or Tanner Houck will be garnering the interest of many... Read More
Dynasty Second Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball
We will continue our early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into 2021. We've already gone over first base. Today, we continue with second base. As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings.... Read More
Dynasty First Base Rankings for Fantasy Baseball
As we prepare to flip the calendar to 2021, fantasy baseball managers are poring over MLB free agency news and the latest rankings. That includes our constantly-updated dynasty rankings. We will take an early preseason look at each position with some thoughts on individual player values heading into next season. Today, we start with first... Read More
Josh Bell To Nationals - Fantasy Impact
The Washington Nationals were one of the bigger disappointments in baseball last season. Robbed of their World Series celebration with their fans, the Nats limped to a 26-34 record in the pandemic-shortened season, good for last in the NL East. The Nationals addressed one of their biggest weaknesses, however, by swinging a Christmas Eve trade... Read More
Oneil Cruz Playing Well In Dominican Winter League
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz, the team's No. 3 prospect and No. 59 overall per MLB Pipeline, hit a home run in Game 3 of the semifinals in the Dominican Republic Winter League and was 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI in Game 4. The 6-foot-7 22-year-old hit .357 with four... Read More
Stunted Growth: Prospects Who Need More Time
So in 2018 and 2019, I was living the dream as I interned for a Minor League Baseball team, and I was looking forward to coming back in 2020. And then the season was canceled. Obviously, I was disappointed by everything that happened, but while I can shrug off missing a summer of interning and... Read More
Joe Musgrove Trending In Promising Direction
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, who is reportedly drawing trade interest this offseason, could be on the right track to breaking out in 2021 and beyond. The right-hander has a 96 ERA+, but he also has a 3.69 FIP in the last three seasons. The 28-year-old had his best season in 2020 with a... Read More
Three Hitters Set To Break Out Later Than Expected
Finding breakout hitters can be a difference-maker for fantasy teams, especially when those hitters have had limited success at the major league level and are older than when players typically have their best seasons. Whether it be through added playing time, skill improvements, or some combination of the two, post-prime breakouts can be excellent draft... Read More
Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings
Once again, I'll start by saying 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. Join me for my position-by-position... Read More
Gregory Polanco Breaks Wrist In Winter Ball
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (wrist) suffered a fractured right wrist while playing in the Dominican Winter League with the Leones del Escogido, according to the team's general manager. The injury is deemed a small non-displaced fracture of the triquetrum bone. Polanco will have his wrist immobilized for a small period of time and is... Read More
Nationals Trade For Josh Bell
The Washington Nationals acquired first baseman Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday in exchange for young pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. Bell set career highs in almost every category when he made his first All-Star team in 2019 by hitting .277 with 37 home runs and 116 RBI, but he regressed in... Read More
Projecting Power in 2021: Late ADP Options
Like a sitcom catchphrase from a bygone era, we all want more power. We'll take it early and we'll take it late but it always feels extra sweet when one of your final picks suddenly becomes one of the mayors of dong city. Looking at a player's exit velocities can tell us a lot about... Read More
Strike Zone Rate Analysis - Starting Pitchers
There are hundreds of metrics out there that describe pitchers. The richness of the available data is rivaled by no other sport. This can at times lead to information overload, leading us too far away from the core tenants of what success looks like. One group of statistics that are very simple and very helpful... Read More
Jameson Taillon On Track For 2021 Return
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (elbow) is on schedule to return next season after missing most of 2019 and all of 2020 while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The 29-year-old has been throwing the ball well and is very eager to get back into games. But with Pittsburgh... Read More
MLB's Best Pitches by the Numbers
One of the most-often used algorithms in the data science world is called clustering. Clustering is defined, by Wikipedia, as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups (clusters) In baseball... Read More
Projecting Power in 2021: Early ADP Air% Exit Velocity
Looking at average exit velocity to project future power is not very useful compared to looking only at balls hit in the air. Because who cares how hard ground balls are hit? However, it can be even more useful to parse out those velocities into more refined bins and cast a more critical eye to... Read More