Washington Nationals Pitching Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Washington Nationals Pitchers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball Welcome to what is quite possibly the best pitching rotation in the major leagues. Everyone knows Stephen Strasburg’s potential. Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman demonstrated their dominance over opposing bats last year. And the team landed Doug Fister, a #2 starter in most rotations, as the #4 man […...

Washington Nationals Lineup Analysis: 2014 Fantasy Baseball

2013 was a huge bust in D.C. Not only did the Nats under-perform, but the supremely talented team didn’t even make the playoffs. This season will be different. The major questions for 2014 are: How great will Stephen Strasburg actually be? Is this the season Bryce Harper jumps to elite status? Can Jayson Werth continue […...

Deep Sleepers: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Challenge (With a Crazy Twist!)

I’d like to try an experiment. I want to start a 12 team league where I don’t pick a single player until the 21st round. Sound crazy? Sure it does! I have three caveats: (1) when my spot to draft in the first 20 rounds comes up, I choose the player I would have normally selected […...

Five Under the Radar Outfielders - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Here we are: Session Six, the end of the line. After today, your anxiety and depression will instantly disappear, much like it did in Pittsburgh last season. We’re taking on a giant task by trying to decide on five not-so-obvious OF who are going to make leaps in 2014 and help your team for years […...

Five Under the Radar Shortstops - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Session 5! Look at what you’ve learned so far: Ike Davis doesn’t have eight hairy legs (1B Sleeper Keepers) and bite people while they sleep, Brandon Phillips is overrated (2B Sleeper Keepers) - did we talk about that? If not, we should have, Brett Lawrie is going to bust loose in 2014 (3B Sleeper Keepers), and the catcher […...

Five Under the Radar Catchers - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

You showed up again! Outstanding! This is four sessions in a row. Most people skip out on me by now. But hey, you can obviously see my online PhD from St. Leo’s is worth its weight in gold, right? So far, we’ve covered first base -Ike Davis! - second base, and third base. You didn’t even […...

Five Under the Radar Third Basemen - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Five Under the Radar Sleeper 3rd Basemen in 2014 Welcome to Session 3! Please come in and have a seat. Can I get you a bagel or something to drink? Okay, I just wanted to ask. Say, if you don’t mind my saying so, your demeanor appears a bit sullen today. The past few sessions […...

Five Under the Radar 2nd Basemen - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Five Under the Radar Sleeper 2nd Basemen in 2014 In session 1 we talked about 5 under the radar 1st baseman. Welcome to Session 2. Grab a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable. Yesterday, we applied some exposure therapy, mostly due to Ike Davis. I trust you’ve overcome your fear of Mr. Davis. If not, […...

Five Under the Radar 1st Basemen - Sleeper Keepers for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Five Under the Radar Sleeper 1st Basemen in 2014 Shall we start with Ike Davis?  Take a deep breath. That’s it, now exhale. Let’s keep breathing until your heartbeat is back to normal. I understand your fear. Keep breathing…in through the mouth, out through the nose. I said Ike Davis’s name early to get it […...

Washington Nationals Hot Stove: MLB News & Fantasy Baseball Analysis

  Hot Stove Report - Feast at the Nationals Buffet in 2014 Remember the 98 wins in 2012, bolstered by white hot teenage rookie Bryce Harper? Remember the heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLDS? Remember the controversial management decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg prior to the playoffs? Sure you […...

Selig as Guilty of Gambling as Rose: An Open Letter to Baseball's Commissioner

Dear Mr. Selig, I love the fact that you are finally cleaning up your sport. Kudos to you for that. And I realize you have a lot on your plate at the moment with the Rodriguez situation, other cheaters and all. But do you have time to answer a few questions? Ever since Ryan Braun […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: The Stink of Steroid Suspicion, and Waiver Pitching Help

A few days ago, while watching Sports Center with a friend who is a casual baseball fan, he said something that lit my fuse: “Chris Davis is on ‘roids. No doubt about it.” This statement came after the highlight of a monster blast by Davis to record his MLB-leading 41st home run (he’s since added another). […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: Underowned Stretch-run Sleepers

If you don’t read past the next paragraph of this article, that’s fine by me. In it, I ask one simple question: Why in Bill James’s sacred sabermetrical name is Hector Santiago so grossly under-owned? Santiago is so widely ignored it blows my mind. Sure, his 3-7 record is ugly on the surface, but how […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: Rehabbing Roster Help and More

I’m trying my best not to sing the chorus of Randy Travis’s “I Told You So”, but if you didn’t take my advice two weeks ago to dump Ryan Braun and get what you could out of him, well... I told you so. I know a guy who got Josh Hamilton for Braun the day […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: Ryan Braun's Risk, B.J. Upton and More

Do yourself a favor:  stop thinking about what will happen to Ryan Braun and dump him today! We’ve heard anywhere from a 50-game suspension to a lifetime ban as potential punishment for the wide-eyed Brewer.  I don’t own Braun in any of my leagues (we were all given a heads up on his situation in […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: Against Streaming, or In Defense of Averages

I don’t know if a tool to thwart this madness exists, but for the sake of parity I would love to see one implemented. If you know of one, especially on Yahoo!, please yell at me, pronto. Otherwise, stand up and scream if you are in a points league and you detest pitcher “streaming.” There’s […...

Fantasy Baseball Advice: More PED Fallout, Domonic Brown and Other Musings

The Big Hurt, Frank Thomas, spoke volumes in just a few sentences in this ESPN article by Jerry Crasnick: "When I played, guys all said, 'Let's get to the Hall of Fame,'" Thomas said. "Now guys are like, 'Let's do five years and make $150 million, and you're set for life. Who cares?' I think […...

Fantasy Baseball Advice: Impact Players Coming Back from Injuries, and Other Musings

With June call-ups chomping at the bit, everyone is looking for the next Shelby Miller or Matt Harvey at a bargain price. And a couple of solid pitching prospects are already on their way to The Show. But before we get to the might-be-studs, let’s peak at a few proven pitchers who will be coming […...

Fantasy Baseball Advice: May's Under-the-Radar Lineup

You’ve read the noise about all of the studs. Now it’s time to take a look at the quiet guys in the corner. They all want to get out on that dance floor, and they’re cutting some impressive moves while few people are paying attention. But sooner or later, somebody is going to slap them […...

Fantasy Baseball Advice: The Under-24 Fantasy All-Star Pitching Staff

Last week we introduced the All 24-and-Under Fantasy Hitters. Hopefully you have a few of those studs on your roster, especially in keeper leagues. This week, we’re talking about hurlers in the same age category. A few of these guys have been around for a while, either on a real MLB roster or hyped for so […...

Fantasy Baseball Advice: Mid-May Starting Pitcher Review

Let’s talk pitching. First up, what will the Reds do about their rotation situation when Johnny Cueto returns? Cueto pitched a rehab start in Dayton on Thursday and will soon be returning to Cincinnati. When he went down, Tony Cingrani burst onto the scene. Cingrani has pitched so well, it’s impossible to imagine him being […...

Fantasy Baseball Advice: The Under-24 Fantasy All-Star Offense

Head’s up dynasty league captains: this story is for you. Conventional wisdom used to say that a hitter’s prime year will arrive in his age-27 season. If that’s the case with this group, 2016 and beyond are going to be banner offensive years for fantasy owners. You may own one or a handful of the […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: Reynolds, Marte, Cingrani + Studs & Duds after Month One

Welcome to the 138th running of the Dusty Diamond Derby! We have our typical packed race this year, folks, as 750 of the country’s finest thoroughbreds vie to outrun the competition and focus their sights on a triple crown. Some of these colts and geldings are veterans of this race. Others have only recently been […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings: Halladay, Raburn, Catchers, Multi-Positionality

My apologies to the LaRosa’s Pizza franchise in Cincinnati that provides free pies to Reds' ticket-holders during home games when Cincy pitchers fan eleven or more batters. In my last article, I mistakenly identified a rival pizza chain as providing this awesome bonus. Looks like I swung and missed on that one! I also fanned […...

Fantasy Baseball Musings Week 5: Crawford, Jennings, Cingrani, Goldschmidt, Samardzija and more

If you want this article and other high-end fantasy baseball analysis delivered to you on a daily basis, sign up for our daily newsletter. Let’s start off with some trade suggestions: Jeff Samardzija (be honest, can you spell his last name without looking?) and Starlin Castro are good players on a very poor team, which is […...

Fantasy Analysis: Early Post-Post-Hype Sleeper Breakouts

Remember when Chris Davis was a huge prospect? Remember how we got excited about him in 2008 and how quickly we forgot about him after that? He hasn't forgotten. And now, at age 27, this dude is producing like a top-shelf stud. In his last 160 games (139 last year/21 this year as of 4/24/13) his line looks like […...

RotoBaller Week 4 Fantasy Baseball Musings: Zimmerman, Hill, Choo, Upton, Pujols and more...

If you own Ryan Zimmerman and/or Aaron Hill, I feel your pain (and, to a lesser extent, their pain). But this could be a moment to seize opportunity… for their replacements and for you. The Nationals shut Zimmerman (hamstring) down for 15 days, allowing Anthony Rendon (Harrisburg/AA) a chance to prove his prospect status legit. […...