Breakout Outfielders Who Will Keep Improving in 2020

The purpose of this article, as the title suggests, is to identify outfielders who had a breakout season in 2019 and should be expected to continue their success in 2020. The only stipulation I have set for this article is that they must have had their breakout performance in 2019. It does not matter if […]

Luke Maile Scratched From Lineup Friday

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Luke Maile (hamstring) was scratched from the Grapefruit League lineup on Friday with left hamstring tightness. Maile is day-to-day. He should be fine in the long run. The 29-year-old backstop hit just .151/.205/.235 with two home runs and nine RBI in 129 plate appearances over 44 games for the Blue Jays in […]

RotoBaller Friends & Family Industry Mock Draft: What the Experts Were Thinking

The RotoBaller Friends & Family Mock Draft has become an annual tradition where we gather some of the biggest names from the fantasy baseball world and put together a mock draft just as spring training has commenced. Thanks to RT Sports for once again hosting and providing a custom draft site where readers could follow […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Aaron Civale

With Mike Clevinger sidelined to start the year and Corey Kluber off to Texas, the Indians will rely on the emergence of Aaron Civale to bolster their typically-formidable rotation. Civale impressed in his rookie season with 10 starts, 57.2 innings pitched (IP), a 3-4 win-loss record, 2.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 46 Ks. Due to the […]

Gregory Polanco Playing The Field Wednesday

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder) will make his first spring training start in right field on Wednesday. Polanco will hit fifth against the Red Sox. The 28-year-old Dominican played in just 42 games in 2019 because of issues with his surgically repaired left shoulder, but he's without limitations this spring and is looking to […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Shortstop

If you're keeping up with the Keeper Value Rankings, you know we've already covered First Base, Second Base, and Third Base. Today, we will address Shortstop. These rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based […]

Chris Archer Scratched With Neck Tightness

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chris Archer (neck) was scratched from his Grapefruit League start on Monday against the Yankees due to neck tightness. It's not a good start to spring action for Archer, who is looking to bounce back after going 3-9 in 2019 with a career-high 5.19 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 143 strikeouts and 55 […]

2020 Outfield Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

We've been breaking down rankings for points leagues over the last couple of weeks in order to prepare fantasy owners for draft day. To check out previous analysis articles by position, click the following links: first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher, starting pitcher, relief pitcher. Outfield is obviously the deepest of all positions […]

Taking Out the Trash: Pitchers Who Should Junk Their Worst Pitch

Pitch mix changes can make or break a player’s season. That obviously goes for fantasy value as well as real-life. We've already seen how throwing an effective pitch more often could make a huge improvement a la Patrick Corbin. Sometimes pitchers just need to eliminate a pitch to see their numbers improve. Consider the following: Mitch […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pitcher Statcast

Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is evidence […]

Bases Loaded Podcast - All Things Fantasy Baseball w/ Nick Pollack (@PitcherList)

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is  joined by Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) and they discuss all things fantasy baseball! Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

Gregory Polanco To DH In First Two Spring Games

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder) will be used as a designated hitter in his first two spring games, according to manager Derek Shelton. Polanco isn't really limited at all physically in camp, but the Pirates are slow playing it with him after he's dealt with shoulder problems the last two seasons. Some fantasy managers […]

Finding Combo-Player Values Using Z-Scores and ATC Projections

Towards the end of last season, I asked the question – “Draft Speed or Pound the Power?” Loaded in this seemingly simple query are two contradictory approaches – one for power and one for speed. Power Approach 1: Home run totals are dramatically up in baseball these days. Therefore, there are many power bats available […]

ADP Showdown - Whit Merrifield vs Austin Meadows

Spring training is officially underway, which means baseball season is upon us! Maybe you haven’t started prepping for your drafts, but fortunately for you, there have already been plenty of drafts, which means that fantasy players out there have already begun dealing with tough draft position decisions. The outfield position is deep as always, but […]

2020 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Sell (Premium Content)

As draft day approaches in dynasty leagues, the window to sell-high on a big name has never been better. The first days of spring training are a chance to cash in on players who may have hit their peak value before the 2020 season begins. Bartering is a matter of risk vs reward. You hate […]

Keone Kela To Face Hitters Thursday

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Keone Kela (illness) is scheduled to face live hitters on Thursday after missing his first live batting practice session due to a viral infection. The Pirates have named Kela their ninth-inning closer heading into the 2020 season after he posted a very nice 2.12 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with one save in […]

Bases Loaded Podcast: Early Round Values

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) and Zach Braff (@BraffZ) and they discuss early round values. They go through and highlight a few players that are going inside the top 150 in ADP that offer a great chance to return profit. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast […]

2020 Second Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues but you must approach draft day with a different strategy if you wish to truly compete. Rankings themselves are a different beast altogether, as category specialists like Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon (stolen bases), Kyle Schwarber and Franmil Reyes (home runs), […]

2020 Second Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

As the season draws near, we realize more and more that it's draft season. There is a large portion of fantasy baseball busy with mock drafts, rankings, sleepers, and more mock drafts. The Dynasty community, on the other hand, is looking to continue their dominance, rebuild, or in a worst-case scenario, stick their hands up […]

Pablo Reyes Hit With 80-Game Suspension

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Pablo Reyes received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance. Reyes, 26 years old, can play the infield and outfield and made his MLB debut in September of 2018 while hitting .293 with three home runs and seven RBI in 63 plate appearances. He hit only […]

Keone Kela Dealing With Viral Infection

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Keone Kela (illness) didn't throw his scheduled live batting practice session on Tuesday because he's dealing with a viral infection. It's something that shouldn't keep Kela out for long. The 26-year-old (27 in April) right-hander will open the year as the team's ninth-inning man after posting an excellent 2.12 ERA, 1.01 WHIP […]

Adam Frazier Played Through Finger, Shoulder Injuries Last Year

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier (finger, shoulder) revealed that he played through a broken right index finger and separated shoulder in 2019. Frazier said he broke his finger in spring training and separated his shoulder on Opening Day, but he didn't want the team to disclose his injuries and he played 152 games. Despite […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Second Base

Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based on Keeper "Values". In the marketing world, Value can be defined as "the extent to which a good or service (player) is […]

Gregory Polanco Won't Be Limited In Camp

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco (shoulder) reported to camp on Saturday and will not have any physical limitations in workouts. Polanco had left shoulder surgery after the 2018 season and wound up playing in only 42 games last year because of complications with his shoulder. The 28-year-old Dominican says he's finally healthy, which could help […]

2020 Starting Pitcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues but you must approach draft day with a very different strategy if you wish to truly compete. All preseason long, RotoBaller has you covered with the latest rankings for all fantasy baseball league types. Here we present our points league rankings […]

Second-Half Improvements: Buy Into These Starting Pitchers

The second half of the season is always put under a microscope for starting pitchers. Fantasy players have a love for the second half of the season, as the belief is that pitchers who take a step forward could carry over that success the next season and perhaps even build upon it. But, as we […]

Mock Draft Review: Best Late-Round Targets

Last week, some members of the RotoBaller staff completed a 12-team mock draft for standard 5x5 format. After the draft, we each broke down our strategy and some of our favorite picks, which can be found here. However, I want to take a closer look at one portion of the draft in particular. Since we know that […]

2020 Relief Pitcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Often regarded as an inferior fantasy baseball format, points leagues offer a different style of boasting over your friends or coworkers similar to that of fantasy football. These setups are typically head-to-head formats for a one-week stretch where the player with the most points gets a win. Easy right? While it's true that roster construction […]

2019 Barrel Breakouts: Who's For Real and Who's Next?

As pitchers and catchers get even closer to reporting and most fantasy leagues prepare for their drafts, everybody is looking for a leg up on the competition - a way to get in on a guy before everybody else does. In this article, we're going to look for a way to identify hitters who improved […]

2020 Shortstop Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues but you must approach draft day with a different strategy if you wish to truly compete. Rankings themselves are a different beast altogether, as category specialists like Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon (stolen bases), Kyle Schwarber and Franmil Reyes (home runs), […]