The Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) continues to recognize RotoBaller.com as one of the top content providers in the fantasy sports industry. For the fourth consecutive year, RotoBaller writers and analysts attained double-figure totals as finalists for the annual FSWA writing awards. A total of 11 RotoBaller staffers were named as finalists for 12 awards covering the calendar year of 2023 after an independent panel of judges reviewed their submissions. Winners will be announced live on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio in late-February 2024.
RotoBaller leadership and management have always strived to maintain an emphasis on excellence and high editorial standards when building its content team and in its day-to-day operations. The RotoBaller brand is associated with exceptional levels of core tenets such as attention to detail, in-depth analysis, editorial packaging, and dedication to delivering enjoyable, informative, digestible, and distinctive content.
“We are so excited that our outstanding team of writers, analysts and editors are being recognized for their stellar work,” said RotoBaller co-founder Alex Roberts. “These nominations are a testament to all of their hard work, and our collective high standard for quality analysis and content. To be considered among some of the most accomplished names in our space makes me and everyone else on the RotoBaller team extremely proud.”
🔥 We're so proud of all the incredible writers, editors and contributors at #RotoBaller!
It's an honor to be part of such a great team - these nominations for Fantasy Sports Writers Association awards mean a lot to everyone.
Good luck to all the talented industry finalists! 🏅 pic.twitter.com/NqFkdf6deC
— RotoBaller (@RotoBaller) February 2, 2024
RotoBaller FSWA Award Finalists: The Excellent 11
Here is a quick rundown of all RotoBaller writers that are finalists for an FSWA award, and the category for which they received the award nomination:
- Scott Rinear - Football Writer of the Year
- Brandon Murchison - Best Football Series
- Ariel Cohen - Baseball Writer of the Year
- Elliott Baas - Best Baseball Series
- JB Branson - Best Baseball Article
- Byron Lindeque - Golf Writer of the Year
- Byron Lindeque - Best Research Article
- Brad Camara - Player Notes Writer of the Year
- Alex Fischbein - Player Notes Writer of the Year
- Jordan McAbee - Racing Writer of the Year
- Euan Leith - Soccer Writer of the Year
- The Toolshed (Eric Cross and Chris Clegg) - Best Baseball Podcast
Gridiron Greats
RotoBaller’s Scott Rinear is in impressive company as he became the eighth RotoBaller staff nomination in the past four years to be a finalist for the most sought-after FSWA award in the industry, Football Writer of the Year.
Scott joins multi-time award winner Eric Samulski, FSWA Hall of Famer Scott Engel, and nationally recognized analyst Michael F. Florio as some of the other recent RotoBaller nominees for the award.
Rinear’s comprehensive data-driven approach to breaking down matchups, identifying prime team defense options, and analyzing schedules provided superior advantages to his regular readers.
Football Writer of the Year finalists
Scott Rinear
Gary Davenport
Seth Woolcock
Adam Harstad
Doug Orth
Rich Hribar
Reginald James— FSWA (@FSWA) January 30, 2024
Veteran RotoBaller analyst Brandon Murchison is aiming to win the Best Football Series award for the second time in his writing career. He has been playing fantasy football against top competition for over two decades, and the experience is reflected in his analysis. Brandon’s weekly “Booms And Busts” column on RotoBaller helped newer and experienced fantasy players gain weekly edges on their opponents with its easy-to-read, yet in-depth rundowns of unique start and sit options.
Best In The Ballpark
Ariel Cohen is widely regarded as one of the premier fantasy baseball experts in the industry, and he continues to add to his already impressive collection of honors. He is a two-time FSWA award winner while also having finished first in FantasyPros rankings accuracy and achieving consistent first-place finishes in accuracy for his annual ATC projections.
For the second consecutive year, Cohen is a finalist for the Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year award. One of Ariel’s highlighted articles for the 2023 season was a deep dive into how the MLB rule changes were going to impact the fantasy baseball landscape. He interviewed several industry experts for their takes and then carefully dissected the responses.
Elliott Baas was named a finalist for the Best Baseball Series for the third time in four years. His “Are You For Real?” feature shined a regular spotlight on surprising starting pitcher performances and determined who was a breakout performer or an illusion. Elliott’s insights included scout-like evaluations of each pitcher’s arsenal.
Baseball Article of the Year finalists
JB Branson
Carlos Marcano
John Foley
Ryan Bloomfield
Scott White— FSWA (@FSWA) January 30, 2024
For the third time in four years, a RotoBaller writer has been named as a finalist for the Baseball Article of the Year award. JB Branson’s revelatory feature of how he heavily emphasizes utilizing relief pitchers on his fantasy staffs was a fascinating look at a unique and proven approach.
From the audio side, “The Toolshed” is a finalist for Best Fantasy Baseball Podcast. It features 2021 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year Eric Cross, and 2023 IBWAA MLB Writer of the Year award winner Chris Clegg, who both supply elite weekly rundowns of the most relevant MLB prospects and dynasty targets.
Two On the Tee
Known as “The Model Maniac”, Byron Lindeque is a finalist for two FSWA awards this year. He is a finalist for Golf Writer of the Year, after also being a finalist for the award last year in 2022. Lindeque is also a finalist for Research Article of the Year. His deluxe Ryder Cup research guide and rankings were the ultimate map for PGA success. Byron leans on his own custom golf data models to deliver top-notch PGA DFS and betting research and advice.
Research Article of the Year finalists
Byron Lindeque
Nick Pollack
John Foley
Scott Barrett
Kyle Borgognoni— FSWA (@FSWA) January 30, 2024
Notable Newsmakers
RotoBaller is widely known as an elite source of Fantasy Sports player news analysis, and trusted by many sites across the industry to help power their platform with timely news and trusted information. The player news desk content is featured across RotoBaller platforms, and also on industry-leading partner sites such as Sleeper, FFPC, RealTime Fantasy Sports, Fleaflicker and many more.
This year the player news team is being highlighted again with two more FSWA finalist nominations. Keith Hernandez was a finalist for this category from 2019-2022 (four years in a row), and won the award in 2021. This year, Brad Camara and Alex Fischbein are both contenders for the award. Brad is both a RotoBaller news desk lead, and also a lead NFL/MLB editor for the site, while Alex is a concise and informative fantasy basketball analyst.
More Elite Fantasy Analysts
Jordan McAbee has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best NASCAR DFS analysts in the industry. The Fantasy Racing Writer Of The Year finalist also does much more than just deliver winning NASCAR picks for weekly events. He also provides in-depth Loop Data breakdowns and qualifying reports while also setting standards as a supplier of driver news.
Racing Writer of the Year finalists
Jordan McAbee
Stephen Young
Seth Woolcock— FSWA (@FSWA) January 30, 2024
Euan Leith is once again a finalist for Soccer Writer of the Year, after being nominated last year in 2022. He compiled his own weekly Fantasy Premier League roundtable and rankings on RotoBaller equipped with comprehensive insights and also gathered other staff experts for regular “roundtable” features.