2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Blake Swihart

2015 In Review Prior to the 2015 season, the Boston Red Sox had set themselves up with one of the best defensive tandems behind the plate; the combination of veteran Ryan Hanigan and up-and-coming Christian Vazquez, who's knack for impeding opposing run games raised plenty of eyebrows during his short stint in 2014. But after already […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Robinson Cano

2015 In Review Robinson Cano has played in at least 156 games every season for the past nine years, establishing himself as one of the most reliable second basemen in the game. Last year, however, he had his worst season in seven years, hitting just .287, picking up just 179 base hits (low for his […]

RotoBaller Rankings vs. ADP: Undervalued First Basemen

If you’re a regular reader of RotoBaller (and how could someone as smart, funny, and handsome as you not be?), you’ve doubtless already checked out our rankings assistant tool. We recently finished rolling out the February update, and we’ll have one final revision for you later in March. With draft season ramping up now, though, […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Jose Iglesias

2015 In Review August had finished and fall baseball had begun. It was the first month that Jose Iglesias batted below .290 after a surprisingly hot and consistent start to his season. The Detroit Tigers were about to taste an October without playoff baseball for the first time since 2010, looking up at the Kansas City […]

Five Deeper Options At First Base For 2016

There are some positions in fantasy baseball where one should avoid getting cute and creative as much as possible. First base is one of them. But drafts are a funny thing: one rarely knows how they will play out. That's before one mentions leagues with flex positions, such as UTIL or MI. Personally, I have made that mistake […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Dustin Pedroia

There are many out there who think Dustin Pedroia is a sleeper pick this season. He's certainly got a lot to prove after his injury-marred 2015 season. He's a player who bleeds for the game and he's going to be aiming to bring himself back to the upper echelon. The question is... is it a […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Five Runs Sleepers

Bringing runs across the plate is often seen as a one dimensional facet of the game. The guys who swat the RBI are saluted while many fantasy owners forget about the valuable run scored, an unglamorous statistic. I guess the R column just isn't as sexy as the HR or the SB. Overlooking the runs […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: 5 Busts Due for a Rebound

t’s really hard to admit when we have made a mistake. But sometimes, we look back on our fantasy season and we slap ourselves around for drafting a player who just didn’t cut it. The preseason hype was there, we were so excited to see the player tear it up, and he completely failed us. […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Three WHIP Sleepers

In 2015, every qualified starting pitcher who ranked in the top 30 of WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched) had a BB/9 under 3.00. 15 of those pitchers had a BB/9 under 2.00. There is a clear correlation between limiting walks and posting a low WHIP. When looking for WHIP sleepers, it’s ideal to […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Billy Burns

The Oakland Athletics outfielder had a nice rookie season in 2015. He put up a .294/.334/.392 slash line with 26 stolen bases and 70 runs scored, showing surprising promise. The steals left a bit to be desired, especially after he swiped 74 bags in the minors back in 2013. However, Burns was a nice player […]

Five Deep First Base Options: 2016 Draft Values

Every year, there are a handful of players that make a significant impact but garnered no recognition or any sort of hype whatsoever in the offseason. Whether it be for power, average, stolen bases, or anything else that brings a smile to fantasy owners’ faces, there are always deep sleepers lurking at the 1B position. […]

Five Sneaky Second Base Draft Values and ADPs

One of the positions that troubles many fantasy owners at the beginning of the season is second base. Where should I draft the elite players? How long should I wait for middle tiered talents? And finally, can I wait for some sleepers and cover second base later to acquire better talent at a different position? […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: 5 RP Sleepers

Non-closing relievers, with some exceptions, have limited value in most fantasy formats. As a result, they are often overlooked by many owners. However, a quality set-up man can help your ratios, boost your strikeout totals, and even vulture a few wins or saves. If your league counts holds, all the better. That's without acknowledging the […]

Five Deep Relief Pitcher Sleepers For 2016

Let's go digging for some relievers who don't have the ninth inning to themselves, but still have various degrees of intrigue to them heading into 2016. Carter Capps is wide awake at this point, no sleep to his stock. Will Smith and Jeremy Jeffress have been named as the candidates to get the closing opportunities […]

2016 Breakout Candidates: NL Starting Pitchers

The wait is finally over – pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training this week. Of course, here at RotoBaller we’ve been cranking out tons of preseason content for some time now. We might be a little obsessed with baseball ‘round these parts. But that’s okay, because so are you! And what better way […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Four RBI Sleepers

RBI total is often overlooked in fantasy baseball. We assume that because we are drafting the big names in the first few rounds, we think the star power will carry our lineups throughout the season. This is not always the case and we may find it hard to compete with other teams that are slugging […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Four Strikeouts Sleepers

Strikeouts are more prevalent in today's game than they've ever been. Real baseball teams are catching on to what fantasy owners have known for some time - a pitcher who can rack up the whiffs is almost always more valuable than one who can't. Well, they probably knew that before, but as baseball has evolved […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Danny Valencia

Few players have been around the block to the extent that Danny Valencia has by the age of 31 years old. In 2006, the Minnesota Twins took Valencia in the 19th round of the MLB Draft. Things were good for the Twins back then. Joe Mauer was coming into his own, and a veteran outfield […]

Can You Trust Yu Darvish in 2016?

The Texas Rangers are a team with serious playoff aspirations. Look no further than their interest in Ian Desmond for left field to see the team is willing to entertain all possibilities to contend in the AL West. The Houston Astros made a serious step forward in 2015 and the Rangers are the only competition […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Adam Wainwright

In sports, both real world and fantasy, injuries can really muddle a player’s overall value. Just like a Major League ball club may be bullish on signing a big name player who is returning from a significant injury to a big contract, a fantasy owner may hesitate to commit to drafting a big name player […]

Five 2016 Second Base Sleepers

After you get past the elite options at second base, guys like Jose Altuve, things can get a little iffy. Because of that, it is pretty easy to just settle for a low-end player, punt that position, or even worse, reach for an overvalued player. As we get closer to Opening Day, here are some […]

Buying Back In To Hunter Pence?

It's an even year, so you know what that means. The Giants are in line for another World Series. If that's going to happen, the team is going to need quality contributions from newcomers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, repeat performances from Matt Duffy and Joe Panik, and most importantly, a resurgence from their formidable right fielder, […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values? Raisel Iglesias

The hard throwing Iglesias came on the scene in Cincinnati last season and turned a lot of heads within the organization. He also made believers of the rest of the league of his true talent. Now he's one of the most popular "sleepers" in 2016 drafts. Will he turn in a big-time 2016 season for […]

Turning Two: Who is Breaking Out in 2016?

Welcome back to episode seven of Turning Two. To this point we've focused on stat-based material: who will hit 50 HR, who will win 20 games, who can put up a 20/20, who can hit .350, who can reach 50 saves, and who will post a sub-2.00 ERA. Now we'll shift to a broader topic: breakout players for 2016. Finding the […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Marcell Ozuna

Marcell Ozuna of the Miami Marlins may have had an underwhelming season in 2015, but all signs point to him bouncing back next season to his 2014 form. At this time last year, he was one of the most desirable, young center fielders in the game. With a current ADP of 286, Ozuna should definitely be given […]

Five Deep Sleepers at Catcher For 2016

Welcome to the war room. We’re investigating which deeper catchers could turn a nice profit for only the savviest of fantasy owners going into 2016. Catcher is an extremely volatile position, with most of them putting their bodies through the ringer during the course of the season. It isn’t a particular deep position, but rest […]

2016 Breakout Candidates: AL Starting Pitchers

The wait is finally over – pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training. Of course, here at RotoBaller we’ve been cranking out tons of preseason content for some time now. We might be a little obsessed with baseball ‘round these parts. But that’s okay, because so are you! And what better way to celebrate […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Byung-Ho Park

Okay, so you’ve heard some chatter about this Korean power hitter who the Twins signed this offseason, but you still aren’t sure what he brings to the table. Now it’s hard enough to project how minor leaguers will adjust to major league pitching, but to then add this international wrinkle to it means there’s no […]

Catchers: Five Draft Day Sleepers and ADP Values

Catcher is a position that can leave fantasy owners in a panic the longer they wait in a draft to pick one. If you find yourself holding out on the position late into your draft, here are five names to keep in mind that are likely to still be hanging around. They might not be […]