Mitch Keller: 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

From the time it took me to sign up for this article and write it, the hype surrounding the Pirates' pitcher has picked up significantly which makes this all the more compelling of a situation to analyze. As a long-suffering Pirates fan, my first instinct was to avoid trying to break down Keller's chances of […]

Jon Anderson's "My Guys" For 2022

It's "My Guys" time! I love seeing articles like this where we people who claim to be experts plant the flag on players we love for the year. It offers a good chance for review and accountability as well. I wrote this piece last year as well. If I'm being honest, I can't say it turned […]

2022 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Trade Away (Premium Content)

The MLB regular season is nearly upon us after and it's officially draft season. In dynasty leagues, that means making trades that could swing the balance in your favor. Bartering is always a matter of risk vs reward. No one truly knows what the future holds, but the more value you can acquire, the better. […]

Best Fantasy Baseball Fits For Pittsburgh’s Trade Chips

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ rebuilding efforts are still ongoing, but it’s easy to see what the team’s next competitive core might look like. Pittsburgh has a host of promising prospects in the lower minors, including 2021 first-overall pick Henry Davis, as well as Liover Peguero, Quinn Priester, Nick Gonzales, and Endry Rodriguez. That group, along with […]

Mid-Round Third Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets

Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]

2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Starting Pitchers

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year, I thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. […]

Mitch Keller Leaves Early With Thigh Bruise

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (thigh) was removed from his spring outing early on Saturday as a precaution due to a left thigh bruise. His status is day-to-day for now. Keller was hit by a comebacker on Saturday while facing the Detroit Tigers, but it sounds like it could have been a lot worse. […]

Closers and Saves Report for 2022 Fantasy Baseball Drafts

We're back! Baseball is back and we're still getting all 162 games, so there can be good news in 2022! While there are still some big-name relievers looming in free agency and likely some trades left to come, it's never too early to take a look at where each team's bullpen stands. Once the season gets […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings (Part 2) - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Earlier, we broke down the first few tiers of starting pitcher rankings for 2022 fantasy baseball drafts. It's time to look at the rest of the starting pitchers that may be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano, have updated our 2022 […]

Late-Round Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Targets - NFBC Draft and Hold Leagues

Even as the Major League Baseball lockout drags on, fantasy baseball managers have begun diving into draft season. In these early months before Spring Training begins, the most common draft formats are draft and hold leagues in which managers will draft large teams (usually 50 players) and then make no waiver claims during the year. […]

Universal DH - Biggest Fantasy Baseball Risers

The battle lines have long been drawn between baseball traditionalists (i.e. grumpy old men) and revisionists (those who realize we are in the 21st century). It appears progress has won out and both leagues will finally play under the same rules over a full season going forward. Although nothing has been officially settled in the […]

Relievers To Avoid Drafting In 2022 Fantasy Baseball

Predicting bullpen roles this offseason has been a guessing game. With the transaction freeze brought on by the lockout, some clubs will still be adding to their staff during Spring Training and could change the whole landscape of their closing situation. Not to mention, managers have been more prone to using a closer by committee, […]

FaBIO Analysis: Flyballer Starting Pitcher Prospects, Right-Handed Edition

I developed the Fielding- and Ballpark-Independent Outcomes (FaBIO) pitcher evaluation system circa 2013 as a tool for quantifying non-batted-ball and batted-ball fundamentals of individual pro pitchers versus batters of both and either handedness type. Since the model was first applied to affiliated 2013 MiLB play, its reach has been extended to MLB, NCAA Division 1, […]

Daniel Vogelbach Signs One-Year Deal With Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed first baseman Daniel Vogelbach to a one-year contract. The contract includes $1 million in guaranteed money with an option for a second year. The 29-year-old spent a little over a season with the Milwaukee Brewers prior to hitting free agency this offseason. Last year, over 93 games, he slashed .219/.349/.381 […]

Where to Draft Injured Hitters in Fantasy Baseball

After a stressful few months where seemingly everybody became an expert on the economics of baseball and traded spin rate analysis for PR spin analysis, we can get back to digging into the game itself. It's wonderful news without a doubt. Except possibly for those injured players who were hoping for another few weeks of […]

Pirates Sign Heath Hembree

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent relief pitcher Heath Hembree to an undisclosed one-year deal. Hembree spent the 2021 season pitching for the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds, posting a 5.59 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with nine saves in 58 innings over 60 relief appearances. The 33-year-old had a bit […]

Let's Overreact to Spring Training News and Tweets

Baseball is back, spring training is here, and every tweet from every beat writer is getting scrutinized to an outrageous level. It's wacky season at its best, but instead of shying away from that, we're going to lean into it. I've found some bits of news that are interesting and also, at times, amusing, and […]

2022 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings - Prospects #1-25 (Part 2)

Welcome back RotoBallers. Today is an exciting day for MLB and fantasy baseball fans everywhere, as we finally got some good news about the labor discussions. Spring training will start immediately, and there will be a full 162-game season. Baseball is back! Below you will find our top 2022 redraft fantasy baseball prospects, and projected […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Welcome back RotoBallers to some more preseason fantasy baseball rankings! RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats. Our MLB rankers, -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Finding Clones of Stud Hitters at Cheaper Draft Day Costs

Fantasy baseball is, most of the time, a category-centered game. Unlike fantasy football, where all you want are raw points, the roto category format of baseball really separates certain players in terms of how they can help your fantasy team. Some hitters will boost your team's batting average while bringing down your home run pace, […]

Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues

Fantasy baseball draft prep never stops, lockout or not. As we all anticipate the start of spring training, many fantasy baseball drafts are already underway. To prepare our readers, RotoBaller's rankers -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano -- have updated their 2022 fantasy baseball mixed league rankings. This article […]

2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Outfield

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Building an Offense After Pick 100 - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

There are basically three large categories of players you'll draft in a fantasy baseball league: Hitters Pitchers Relief Pitcher One of the tougher things to nail down in a draft is when to dive into each of those groups. There are good arguments for going heavy at hitting early on, good arguments for quickly grabbing […]

High-Upside Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball: "Stuff" Edition

In the first analysis of my "finding high-upside starting pitchers" series, I looked in depth at swinging-strike rate. You can read that here. That analysis looked at overall SwStr% for every pitcher, taking into account all of their pitch types to one SwStr% number. In this article, I want to go a step further and […]

Bryan Reynolds Turned Down Two Long-Term Offers

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds turned down two long-term deals with the team before the 2021 season, according to a source. Reynolds finished 11th in National League MVP voting last year and was 16th in fWAR (5.5) last season. The 27-year-old bet on himself and made the right decision. The Pirates and Reynolds have yet […]

Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xBA) - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

There are stats for everything now. It's great, but it can also be overwhelming at times. Depending on where we look, we can tell ourselves all different types of narratives about a player. As a result, I've always been a proponent of identifying the stats that you find to be most useful/beneficial and focusing on […]

2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Relief Pitchers

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year, I thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. […]

Contact Rate Gainers - Statcast Review for Fantasy Baseball

As the MLB and MLBPA keep working towards ending the lockout and getting baseball back into our lives, we've been keeping the offseason content going by digging into some 2021 stats. While we all obviously want the lockout to end, this is a useful time to do your research and have a better understanding of […]

Late-Round Stolen Base Targets for Fantasy Baseball

Ah, stolen bases. It's a real love/hate relationship. They're fun, but they also seem to be dying out, which means fantasy baseball managers are hunting for them like Nicholas Cage hunting for his precious truffle pig. (Side note: "Pig" is such a gem. Forget whatever you think it's about and just watch it. It's so […]

Bubba's 2022 Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap

Even though Rob Manfred and the MLB owners decided to prolong the lockout and already cancel some regular-season games, we are drafting. I had the pleasure of partaking in the 12-team mixed league draft for Tout Wars on Tuesday. It is my second year in the league, and it is the second year for this […]