X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Getting Saber Smart: Fantasy Baseball Stats and Terms Glossary (Part 1)

In this series of articles, we'll take a look at some sabermetric stats which you'll hear tossed around many RotoBaller articles and many other sites as well.

The goal of these glossary pieces is to help you understand these statistics and how to use them in your fantasy baseball analysis. In Part 1 of this series, we'll look at BAPIP, Line Drive Rate, and HR/FB Rate.  You can also check out Part 2 of the series which focuses on pitching.

 

Hitting Sabermetric Statistics

 

BABIP

By Colette Morton and Dan Holden (DSCF0551) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsOf all the advanced metrics, BABIP is almost certainly the easiest to understand, and also the easiest to misuse. It stands for Batting Average on Balls in Play, and this title really does an excellent job of describing what the statistic is all about.

While traditional batting average numbers measure the percentage of at-bats that turn into hits (hits per at-bats), BABIP looks only at the balls the player was able to actually put into play (i.e. eliminating foul balls, outs, walks, etc), and then determines what percent of these were converted into hits (hits/balls-in-play). It's called a player's Hit Rate. A league average BABIP will usually fall somewhere around .300, but the best benchmark for an established player will usually be his career average number, rather than the league average.

BABIP is also a favorite stat for owners looking to excuse a player's recent performance. If a little known hitter goes on a tear? High BABIP, just some good luck, he'll regress. A star goes through a month-long slump? Low BABIP, just some bad luck, he'll regress. The issue with this is that it's a phenomenally lazy way to analyze players. Perhaps that star is getting unlucky, but maybe he's lost a bit of that footspeed that let him beat out ground balls a year or two ago, or maybe he's lost a bit of bat speed and isn't able to hit balls with the same kind of authority anymore. You can't know these answers just by looking at BABIP.

Best understood, BABIP is something like the 'check engine' light in your car. When somethings off about it, it's a signal to you to investigate further. Line drive rate, ground ball rate, fly ball rate, speed, health, mechanics, are all things that can influence a player's performance, and their BABIP, in addition to just plain bad luck. If you think somethings amiss, you would be wise to look at them too.

 

Line Drive Rate

By Keith Allison on Flickr [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

LD% is a pretty simple stat. Of all batted balls put in play by a player, the LD% is just the percentage of those balls hit for line drives. It's most useful for giving fantasy owners a bit more insight into a player's current batting average, and whether or not it's likely to rise or fall as time moves on. That makes sense intuitively.

A player hitting 20% or more line drives but only batting .200 is probably getting exceedingly unlucky (or is facing an aggressive shift like Chris Davis), while a player hitting .350 through May with a 12% LD% probably isn't making anywhere near enough solid contact to keep that up. Obviously, LD% doesn't tell the whole story, but it's probably the first number you should take a look at after a player's BABIP if you're looking to get a bit more insight at the state of their batting average talent going forward.

 

HR/FB

This is exactly what it sounds like. It's merely the percentage of fly balls (put in play) that a player hits for home runs. You can think of it like the batting average of home runs if you'd like. The league average HR/FB is usually around 10% most years, give or take a percentage point. The big sluggers will have higher numbers of course, with the very best of them having HR/FB rates somewhere north of 20% (for example: in 2013 when Chris Davis hit 53 home runs, his HR/FB percentage was an astounding 29.6%).

Large deviations in HR/FB rate can signal a change in a player's approach, an injury limiting their ability to drive the ball, a declining skill set or even luck. On its own, HR/FB doesn't really give you enough information to make this determination, but it can point you in the right direction more often than not.  A couple good quick examples of how to use HR/FB rate are with Jayson Werth and Jose Abreu. Before Werth's recent tear, his HR/FB rate was below 10%, far below his career average, and because everything else about Werth looked the same, he was a good candidate to turn it around, as he's begun to do.

On the other hand you have Jose Abreu, whose current 34.5% HR/FB rate would be the highest in the past 8 years. Only 2 players in the past decade eclipsed a 30% HR/FB rate - Ryan Howard did it 3 times and Jack Cust twice. Four of those five seasons were around 30-31%, so you can understand that Abreu's astronomical 34.5% HR/FB rate will likely decline a bit.  He should easily end up in the 43-45 HR range, but 50+ would be a stretch.

 

Super Two Deadline

Gregory Polanco Pittsburgh Pirates

Every season, there's that stud prospect in the minor leagues who you just KNOW would light it up in the majors. Spring Training rolls around, and your star-to-be spends all month hitting the cover off the ball, until you're convinced that he's the next fantasy MVP. It's crushing, then, when a player like this gets sent back to the minor leagues at the end of spring. But why? Usually that answer has to do with the player's “Super Two” status.

You're probably familiar with the way rookie contracts work by now. The first three years after a player is called up from the minor leagues, his major league team essentially gets to set his contract with little input from the player, followed by an additional three years of arbitration. According to the rules set out in the latest collective bargaining agreement however, certain players, the so-called “Super 2” status guys, are able to reach arbitration without having a full three years of major league service time.

This effectively gives them an extra year of arbitration-- i.e., their first six years with the team would look like this: league minimum, league minimum, arbitration, arbitration, arbitration, arbitration. Because arbitration salaries build on each other, this can have a huge impact on the total salary of a player over the extent of the contract, giving small-market teams with young stars a huge incentive to avoid Super 2 status if at all possible.

So what qualifies a player for Super 2 status?

a) He has at least two years of major league service time, but less than three.

b) His collective service time ranks within the top 22% of all two-year players.

The exact date at which a team can avoid Super 2 status changes each year, because its based on the service time of other players, but it usually falls somewhere around late June to early July.

 




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Oneil Cruz16 mins ago

Goes Deep, Swipes A Bag On Friday
Jonah Heim26 mins ago

Launches Two Solo Shots On Friday
Mookie Betts34 mins ago

Hits Two Long Balls
Eugenio Suárez42 mins ago

Eugenio Suarez Goes Deep Twice On Friday
Gleyber Torres7 hours ago

Homers, Departs Early With Side Injury
Josh Jung7 hours ago

Pulled Early On Friday With Neck Stiffness
Orlando Arcia10 hours ago

Resting On Friday
Jake Rogers10 hours ago

Heading To The Bench
Miguel Amaya10 hours ago

Taking A Seat On Friday
Kyle Freeland10 hours ago

Tosses Six Scoreless Innings
Kameron Misner10 hours ago

Smacks Walk-Off Homer
Alexander Canario12 hours ago

Mets Designate Alexander Canario For Assignment
Matt Moore12 hours ago

Opening Season On Seven-Day Injured List
Tyler Wade13 hours ago

San Diego Designates Tyler Wade For Assignment
Michael Fulmer13 hours ago

Starting Season In Triple-A Rotation
Oscar Colás13 hours ago

Oscar Colas Clears Waivers, Opening Campaign At Triple-A
Clayton Kershaw13 hours ago

To Face Hitters On Saturday
Patrick Corbin13 hours ago

Rangers Option Patrick Corbin To Triple-A
Brewer Hicklen13 hours ago

Tigers Acquire Brewer Hicklen From Brewers
Will Smith13 hours ago

Taking A Seat On Friday
Josh Lowe13 hours ago

Departs Early On Friday With Oblique Discomfort
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP
10
9
11
10
12
19
13
22
14
24
15
25
16
33
17
39
18
40
19
41

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Najee Harris - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Dynasty Fantasy Football Buy or Sell: Najee Harris, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason

One year ago, we discussed the futures of Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Aaron Jones as those free agents found new homes. This year's headliners are Najee Harris, Rico Dowdle, and Jordan Mason. Not quite the same. Still, with every transaction come implications for dynasty fantasy football rosters across the globe. Below, we […]


Romeo Doubs - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Early 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Undervalued NFC Draft Targets

While the 2025 fantasy football redraft season is still several months away, there is no such thing as being too prepared for your fantasy draft. Fantasy football is year-round, even for those who only play in redraft leagues. The landscape of fantasy football will change between today and the start of redraft season, with the […]


Detroit Lions Defense, Aidan Hutchinson - Fantasy Football DST Rankings, Streamers, IDP Sleepers

2025 Fantasy Football IDP Sleepers: Five Draft Targets

It's notably difficult to identify sleepers in fantasy football IDP leagues. The skill of the players in question is very important, but situation also plays a large factor, as does a recent history of injuries. Rather than bucketing them into groups, it's better to analyze each one individually, look at where they are in terms […]


Ashton Jeanty - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

Ashton Jeanty's Top Potential Landing Spots For 2025: Fantasy Football NFL Draft Outlook

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty will enter the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the best prospects in the class. Jeanty just ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns across 14 games this past college season. Those 2,601 rush yards were the second-most of all-time in FBS history, only behind Barry Sanders's 2,628 rush yards […]


Bhaysul Tuten - NFL Draft Prospects, Rookie Rankings

2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Mock Draft: 12-Team, Single QB

The 2025 NFL Combine has now been completed, so it's worth doing another mock draft to see where everyone stands after the league's pre-draft testing event. Overall, there were a few surprises, but the order of many players will remain the same. The mental domain of the original rankings, which have been fairly set in […]


Rashid Shaheed - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Later-Career Breakout Candidates

Typically, most NFL players break out in the early parts of their careers. Between the ages of 20 and 25 is when you expect to see the majority of players have their first big season. Some waste no time and put together excellent years while they're rookies, while some need more time to develop. These […]


Davante Adams - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

NFL Free Agency Tracker - Updates On Every Free Agent Signing (2025)

HuThe NFL offseason is starting to heat up, and the league's legal tampering period is set to begin on March 10 at noon Eastern. Free agents cannot officially sign until the new league year begins on March 12 at 4 p.m. Eastern, but deals will be agreed to, and news will be coming in quickly […]


Marvin Mims Jr. - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL DFS Picks

Early 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Undervalued Draft Targets For Every AFC Team

Fantasy football is year-round, even for those who only play in redraft leagues. Much will change over the next several months, including the rest of free agency, the NFL Draft, and training camp. However, it’s never too early to look at potential sleeper candidates and undervalued draft targets for next season. Therefore, let’s look at […]


Kirk Cousins - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Worst NFL Contracts: Seven Overpaid, Overvalued Players For 2025

Free agency is in full swing, and teams are handing out big contracts left, right, and center. Myles Garrett became the highest-paid non-QB just a few weeks ago, and Ja'Marr Chase broke that record almost instantly! But big contracts aren't always a success; just ask these teams. These teams had high hopes when they spent […]


Tank Bigsby - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Dynasty Sleepers - Undervalued Running Backs For 2025

Getting ahead of the game is the name of the game in any game, especially if that game happens to be dynasty fantasy football and you want to find underrated running backs to add to your rosters. The shelf life for many RBs isn't very long in the NFL, so it's a position you want […]


Najee Harris - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Outlooks For RBs On New Teams: Najee Harris, Javonte Williams, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason, Raheem Mostert, Elijah Mitchell, more

Free agency has fueled a massive wave of player movement that has transformed the fantasy landscape. This includes the results that have emerged after a collection of running backs garnered contracts that will launch them into new environments this season. These backs will be challenged to replicate the prolific numbers that were assembled by the […]


Ja'Marr Chase fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Dynasty Fantasy Football WR Rankings Analysis – Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Malik Nabers

There's no question that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson, and New York Giants wideout Malik Nabers are all elite receivers with sky-high production potential for fantasy football. Lousiana State University is WRU, without a doubt. This trio, along with Brian Thomas Jr., proves it. While we won't be covering […]


Caleb Williams - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Eight Best Ball Fantasy Football Players To Target For 2025

Fantasy football is an evolving game. While dynasty is the most popular year-round form of fantasy football, best ball leagues are gaining ground. The best part of best ball leagues is the ability to draft a million teams and not have to manage them during the season. It allows fantasy players to scratch the offseason […]