Justin Bour (1B, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 30% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Justin Bour can’t hit lefties (0 HRs, .221 average in 75 PAs), but he absolutely destroys righties (23 HRs, .270 average). If you can utilize that effectively, then you have late round gold. Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire […]

J.T. Realmuto (CA, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 42% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: J.T. Realmuto can contribute in all five categories, but he just won’t excel in any. Getting 12 bombs and 10 stolen bases out of your catcher is a sneaky edge to have. Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups […]

Darren O'Day (RP, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 36% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Darren O’Day posted six wins, six saves, 82 K, a 1.52 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP last year. If Zach Britton goes down, he would become a great closer, but even without that he carries solid value as a ratio anchor […]

Anthony DeSclafani (SP, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 27% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Oblique injuries can be quite pesky, but before suffering one, Anthony DeSclafani was looked at as a fun sleeper type. He’ll be back at some point in April and hopefully finds the same success with his sinker and slider that he […]

Marcell Ozuna (OF, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 41% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Marcell Ozuna was left for dead last year as he was demoted to the minors after he was unable to live up to expectations. The year before, he hit 23 homers with 85 RBI. There aren’t many guys with as legitimate […]

Asdrubal Cabrera (SS, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 21% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Asdrubal Cabrera quietly hit 15 homers last season while hitting .265 for Tampa Bay. The Mets’ offense doesn’t get much love, but it can still party. Cabrera can provide some deep power out of the SS slot. Check out RotoBaller's entire […]

Trevor Plouffe (3B, MIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 46% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Trevor Plouffe went 74/22/86/.244 last season, and there is no reason to think he cannot replicate those numbers. There are even a few reasons to think the counting stats will climb a little thanks to the Minnesota offense improving as a […]

Jonathan Schoop (2B, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 32% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: One of the buzziest names coming into the season is still only owned in about a third of all leagues. Jonathan Schoop hit 15 homers in 305 AB last season, and while the average will drop from the .279 he posted, […]

Pedro Alvarez (1B, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, AL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 32% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: There’s still plenty of power in Pedro Alvarez’ bat (27 HRs last year), which now gets to call Camden Yards home. Why not give him a shot in deep mixed or AL-Only leagues? Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire […]

Yasmani Grandal (CA, LAD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Mixed Leagues, NL-Only leagues OWNED IN: 28% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Yasmani Grandal’s first half numbers were incredible (14 HRs, .282 average), and then he took a pitch to the shoulder and was never the same. While his forearm isn’t 100% heading into this year, his swing should be okay and a […]

Early Waiver Wire Look: Post-Draft Report for Week 1

After the Draft: Waiver Wire Pickups and Targets Hey everybody (Hey Dr. Nick!) and welcome to the special pre-Opening Day Waiver Wire analysis. Your team is drafted. You’ve already fallen in love with all of them. You may or may not have gotten a tattoo. Okay that’s all well and good but we all know […]

Breaking Down the RotoBaller Writers League Auction Draft

We here at RotoBaller HQ held our big writers’ league auction draft last night with some of the finest in the biz. We ran a 12 team roto league with 2 catchers, a CI and MI, 5 OFs, 8 P slots, and 5 bench. The auction budget was $260. Here are the results. Here’s the […]

Three Catchers Poised to Break Out in 2016

Ah yes, the ol' catcher slot. A treacherous minefield where most people seem to be playing for the "friendliest loss" with who they settle for at the position. Well fear not, as here are three players who are set to breakout in 2016. When I say breakout, I don't mean going from 0-to-100 just like […]

Nick Mariano's Heavily Owned Players in 2016

Alright folks, the big week before Opening Day is upon us and that means that draft lobbies are popping off like Who Let the Dogs Out just came on at a party. What? That’s not a thing? Don’t be ridiculous. I have plenty of teams already with a few more to be drafted and figured […]

Three Second Basemen Poised to Break Out in 2016

There's not much to say here as far as a fancy intro, as we know why we're here. Let's look at some second basemen who are poised to breakout in 2016. They may not be "breakouts" in the traditional sense of the word, but I believe they are valid players to reach levels that either […]

Three First Basemen Poised to Break Out in 2016

First base is the perennial powerhouse for baseball teams, real and fantasy alike. You want to get bombs out of the 1B slot. There are plenty of established options heading into 2016, with one of these names already creeping towards that territory but with room for more growth. The other two should see their first […]

Three Catchers Who Will Bust in 2016

We're here to peek in at some catchers who are going to underwhelm their fantasy owners this year. Given their price point in drafts, they are set to disappoint you all. Whether it is through performance, playing time, or both, they just have this aura of expectations about them that doesn't align with what I […]

Four Second Basemen Who Will Disappoint In 2016

Okay, so we need to begin with a relative definition for bust as I’m using it. This doesn’t mean the player will be absolutely worthless and do nothing in 2016. What it does mean is that they won’t be returning value on where you drafted them. Below I take a look at five second basemen […]

Nick Mariano's 10 Bold Predictions for 2016

Kyle, Kyle, Kyle, what hell hath you wrought on our poor readers? Look at the Pandora’s Box that’s been opened. Now it’s time for my shenanigans to fly out. Editor's note: Be sure to check out our fantasy baseball rankings assistant. We recently launched this handy new rankings tool - you can easily filter, sort, and export all sorts […]

Predicting the Top 10 Finishers for WHIP in 2016

The 2016 baseball season is coming in hot, but more importantly the 2016 fantasy baseball season is squarely upon us. In a standard 5x5 league, your starting pitchers are going to be accountable for four out of the five pitching categories, with one of those being WHIP. The Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched stat […]

Corey Knebel (RP, MIL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target Late in NL-Only Leagues CURRENT ADP: 498 ANALYSIS: Corey Knebel worked his fastball and curveball in very well together in his first real year in the majors, as he pitched 50.1 innings out of the bullpen with 58 strikeouts, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He was snake-bitten by an ugly […]

Sergio Romo (RP, SF) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target Late in NL-Only Leagues CURRENT ADP: 336 ANALYSIS: The reasons fantasy owners may have loved Sergio Romo in years past are the same reasons they should love him moving forward. That one bad stretch of giving up a ton of homers pushed Santiago Casilla ahead of him in 2014, and Casilla has […]

Carson Smith (RP, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~275 CURRENT ADP: 285 ANALYSIS: Carson Smith was traded from the Mariners, where he was in the mix for saves last year, to the Red Sox, where he is behind Craig Kimbrel and probably Koji Uehara. If you just want relievers for the sake of saves, Smith might not be someone to […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Third Base Rankings (March)

Oh yeah, you know you love yourself some hot corner action. Third base is one of those premier power spots where you know your team can’t be slouching. If you don't know us by now, the seven rankers are Brad Johnson, Kyle Bishop, Max Petrie, Harris Yudin, Jeff Kahntroff, Bill Dubiel, and myself. In case […]

Industry Mock Draft Reactions: Steals of the Draft

Welcome to the third installment of breaking down the industry mock draft that we hosted last Thursday. Yup, we’re getting into the meat of things by asking everyone who they thought the steal of the draft was. As is tradition, I’ll be following everyone’s thoughts with a brief commentary of my own because it’s my […]

Industry Mock Draft Reactions: Reaches of the Draft

Now we find ourselves with the final question to be answered regarding the industry mock draft that we hosted last Thursday. Now we’re looking at those go-go-gadget picks, asking everyone who they thought the reach of the draft was. As is tradition, I’ll be following everyone’s thoughts with a brief commentary of my own because […]

Industry Mock Draft Reactions: Most Regrettable Pick?

Back again with more insight into the industry mock draft that took place last Thursday. This time we’re looking at the picks that each of us wished we could give the ol’ Men in Black memory wipe to everyone else. Again, I’ll be following everyone’s thoughts with a brief commentary of my own because it’s […]

Curt Casali (CA, TB) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~380 CURRENT ADP: 415 ANALYSIS: Curt Casali put together an intriguing campaign in a very limited 2015 showing. He didn’t have a powerful bat in the minors, yet he hit 10 home runs in just 113 plate appearances for the Rays last year. Tampa Bay brought in Hank Conger to join Casali […]

Caleb Joseph (CA, BAL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~340 CURRENT ADP: 371 ANALYSIS: While Caleb Joseph is likely only going to be picked in deep leagues by owners who wantto handcuff Matt Wieters or are banking on Wieters getting hurt again, but Joseph's own bat has value. He hit 11 homers in 355 plate appearances last year while Wieters was […]

Dioner Navarro (CA, CHW) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~320 CURRENT ADP: 366 ANALYSIS: Dioner Navarro has double-digit power, but he’s also 32 this year and doesn’t have a full-time gig right now. The White Sox seem to have brought him and Alex Avila in to form a platoon, with Navarro handling lefties (he’s a career .270 hitter vs. LHP and […]