Biggest Brl/BBE% Fallers - Hitters

Welcome to part two of my pre-season series on 2021 barrel rate risers and fallers. In the first part, I looked at the players who showed the biggest barrel rate improvement in 2021 and broke down whether or not we should believe that success will carry over into 2022. In this article, I'll look at... Read More

Who's #1? Early Look at Picking First Overall

With the off-season fully underway and early drafts already taking place, it’s time to start looking at those players being selected first in drafts. This year offers a very different set of players than we’ve seen in recent memory. Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and Ronald Acuna Jr. have all fallen out of contention for first... Read More

2022 Fantasy Breakout Candidates - NL West

We have already broken down the top breakout candidates from the National League Central, National League East, American League West, American League East, and American League Central. In this column, we'll run down players from the National League West, one from each team, who could fit the bill and have breakout campaigns next season. One... Read More

Projecting Power in 2022: Increases in Air% Exit Velocities

Balls come and balls go but regardless of the current offensive environment in baseball, what hasn't changed is our fantasy love of power. But after the happy fun ball days of 2019 and 2020, the MLB went back to the lab in an attempt to deaden some of the bouncy ball hijinks. And deaden they... Read More

Nomar Mazara Lands With Padres

The San Diego Padres signed outfielder Nomar Mazara to a minor league deal that includes an invite to big-league spring training. Mazara was eligible to sign a minor league during MLB's lockout because he didn't finish the 2021 season on any team's 40-man roster after he was released by the Detroit Tigers in June. Mazara... Read More

Valuing Injured Players Returning In 2022

Last year's season-ending injury list is an All-Star team. It holds three of the best players in the game and plenty of other superstar adjacent players. Now, heading into the 2022 fantasy baseball season, we have to evaluate the value of these injured players. Should we be concerned about Ronald Acuna Jr? Is Jacob deGrom... Read More

K-BB% Fallers for Fantasy Baseball - Starting Pitchers to Watch in 2022

We opened up this two-part series in this post, where we went over the K-BB gainers in 2021. Now, it's time to look at the other side of the coin and some of the most notable fallers. In the first part, I reviewed why I believe this statistic to be the most important metric to... Read More

Arizona Fall League 2021 Wrap Up

The Arizona Fall League wrapped up on November 20th with a Mesa Solar Sox championship over the Suprise Saguaros. In this space, we will review the 2021 Arizona Fall League by highlighting players who were the most notable risers and disappointments based on their performance from a fantasy baseball perspective. Many of these prospects won't... Read More

Early One-Man Mock (Rounds 2-5) - 2022 Fantasy Baseball

I've already run through the first round of my one-man mock, which you can check out right here. Now, let's move on to the next few rounds with a look at how early drafts might shake out. I took roster construction into consideration so that a team didn't select three outfielders in the first three... Read More

Nick Martinez Technically Still A Free Agent

Right-hander Nick Martinez's four-year, $20 million deal with the San Diego Padres didn't quite make it through before the deadline on Wednesday night, so he technically remains a free agent with the sport's lockout beginning on Thursday. However, there's no reason to believe that the two sides won't finalize the agreement after a new Collective... Read More

Padres Sign Right-Hander Nick Martinez

The San Diego Padres agreed to a four-year, $20 million deal with right-hander Nick Martinez on Wednesday evening, according to sources familiar with the deal. The 31-year-old former Texas Ranger was excellent in Japan this past season for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, posting a 1.62 ERA. His contract with the Friars will include opt-outs after... Read More

Luis Garcia Signs With Padres

The San Diego Padres have signed relief pitcher Luis Garcia, according to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Per Heyman, the reliever will earn $7 million in two seasons, $500,000 of which is a signing bonus. The 34-year-old pitched to a 3.24 ERA and a 2.72 FIP in 33.1 innings for the St. Louis... Read More

Mariners Acquire Adam Frazier From The Padres

The Seattle Mariners are acquiring second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier from the San Diego Padres on Saturday in exchange for hard-throwing left-handed reliever Ray Kerr and outfielder Corey Rosier, according to sources familiar with the agreement. Frazier will give the Mariners an upgrade at the keystone and can fill in as an outfielder option if needed,... Read More

Cedric Mullins 2021 Year-in-Review

Cedric Mullins broke out and was one of the biggest surprises in fantasy baseball in 2021. He arguably was the biggest steal in 2021 drafts with an ADP of 408th overall on average in NFBC Leagues or the best pickup off the waiver wire. The 27-year-old rewarded fantasy managers who drafted him late or added... Read More

Mackenzie Gore And Three Others Added To Padres Roster

The San Diego Padres added four players to their 40-man roster Friday, most notably starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore. The others selected were pitchers Efrain Contreras and Steven Wilson, and infielder Eguy Rosario. Outfielder Jorge Oña and pitcher Reggie Lawson were outrighted to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move. Gore has had a tumultuous time... Read More

Noah Syndergaard to Angels - Fantasy Reaction

It seems like a lifetime ago that baseball fans were watching in awe as Noah Syndergaard broke into the league with his huge frame, his long flowing hair, and his triple-digit velocity. Thor, as he came to be known, seemed like a guy that would be one of the league's best starting pitchers on a... Read More

2021 Fantasy Baseball Batting Awards

We've put a bow on the 2021 season, with the Braves finishing off their surprising season with a World Series victory over the Astros. That leaves fantasy baseball managers to eagerly await an offseason of hot stove rumors and draft prep. Before all that takes place, it's only right to pay tribute to the players... Read More

End of Season Report Card - Starting Pitchers

Back in late April, I published the early season report card. It was a look at how the top drafted starting pitchers began their seasons and what we could expect from them moving forward. At the All-Star break in July, we revisited them and updated their grades with a midseason report card. We also provided... Read More

Padres Exercise Options on Pierce Johnson, Craig Stammen

The San Diego Padres announced several roster decisions on Friday, exercising their contract options on relief pitchers Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen and declining their contract options on outfielder Jake Marisnick and relief pitcher Keone Kela. Johnson and Stammen return to an excellent bullpen in 2022, one that may not feature Mark Melancon after the... Read More

Mark Melancon Heads Back To Free Agency

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Mark Melancon declined the option on his contract Friday, instead choosing to re-enter the free-agent pool. He will receive a $1 million buyout. This does not come as a surprise, as Melancon led the majors with 39 saves in 2021. He figures to do better than his $5 million option... Read More

Corbin Burnes 2021 Year-in-Review

One of the toughest decisions to make in 2021 drafts was what exactly to do with Corbin Burnes. We hadn't seen much of him at all in the Major Leagues before the 2020 season, and then we had less than 60 innings to go off of for Burnes from that 2020 season. While his performance... Read More

Padres Hire Bob Melvin As New Skipper

The San Diego Padres agreed to a three-year deal on Thursday for Bob Melvin to be their next skipper after they let Jayce Tingler go after a disappointing 2021 season in which the team finished 79-83 despite entering the season with World Series aspirations, according to sources. The Oakland Athletics had picked up Melvin's 2022... Read More

2021 Fantasy Baseball Pitching Awards

The World Series is underway, promising us a new champion this year. It will be followed soon thereafter by the announcement of the 2021 MLB Awards. Among those are MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and the usual annual hardware that is doled out to those most deserving. For fantasy baseball purposes, we view... Read More

Fernando Tatis Jr. Unlikely To Have Shoulder Surgery

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (shoulder) is unlikely to opt for offseason surgery on his troublesome left shoulder, according to sources. The decision isn't necessarily final, but it's tied to Tatis' belief that his shoulder is stable and will hold up moving forward. The superstar shortstop has partially dislocated his shoulder on at... Read More

Randy Arozarena 2021 Year-in-Review

Randy Arozarena came off one of the best statistical postseasons ever in 2020, slashing .377/.429/.831 with a .515 WOBA across 84 plate appearances. He won the American League Championship Series MVP and set the postseason record in hits (29) and homers (10) in 2020. The 26-year-old was selected inside the top-50 in re-draft leagues as... Read More

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (10/20/21): MLB DFS Lineups

Happy Wednesday, Rotoballers! After a wild ninth inning, the Astros and Red Sox play Game 5 of the ALCS less than 16 hours after ending Game 4. Houston exploded for seven runs in the ninth inning to tie the series at two, and they will try to steal one more game in Boston before the series... Read More

Shohei Ohtani - 2021 Year-in-Review

Baseball fans had the pleasure of watching Shohei Ohtani play a full season, doing things we've never seen done on the baseball field all year long. It was an incredible year, to say the least, for the probable American League MVP. This is essentially a double-article since Ohtani functioned as two completely different players (for... Read More

Arizona Fall League 2021 Preview

On October 13th at 3:30 pm EST, the Arizona Fall League kicks off! I am going to preview the Arizona Fall League from a fantasy sports perspective. Before digging into the players, let's get into the quick basics of what the Arizona Fall League (AFL) is. It's a six-team league that plays a 30-game schedule.... Read More

Bold, Bolder, and Boldest in 2021: A Post-Mortem

Ahh, the time-honored tradition of making bold predictions is upon us. We hem and we haw; we make outrageous claims like Adalberto Mondesi invented the question mark, and bicker about the proper definition of "bold". In the NotBurtatorium (totally a real word), however, we worry not about this or that definition. Our goals are simple... Read More

Trent Grisham Fails To Build On Breakout 2020 Season

San Diego Padres outfielder Trent Grisham finished the season with a .242/.327/.413 slash, 15 homers, 13 steals and 123 runs-plus-RBI in 527 plate appearances. After breaking out in a shortened 2020 campaign, Grisham battled leg injuries early in the season, ultimately disappointing as a player expected to provide OF2/3 value. Despite superb plate discipline, the... Read More