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
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Break the League: The ESPN Points League Ranker

ronald acuna fantasy baseball rankings MLB Injury news DFS lineup picks

It might always be in fashion to go after the worldwide leader but this not just some critique de rigueur of their points game and coverage. I actually have a soft spot for ESPN as they were home to my original league for years and our scoring is somewhat similar to their default settings. When the Doubleday Legacy League began a decade ago none of us knew what we were doing. There wasn't a ton of information out there but at least ESPN had point rankings. And for that I was grateful.

The first lesson I learned was that those rankings didn't seem to work for our league. The projected points they offered seemed a little better but at the end of the year, the player's results never quite seemed to jive. Sweet, naive Nicklaus didn't understand anything about replacement levels and positional scarcities. Or how to use Excel, for that matter. But I wanted to learn. Yada, yada, yada, here we are. Trust is the message I continue to preach. Points players must be able to trust their content more than any other format. And to that end, it is incumbent on fantasy platforms to - at a minimum - make sure their content comes close to matching likely outcomes, given how certain player profiles will perform in their scoring system.  I suppose you could say I don't think they always hold up their end of the bargain.

This article will present RotoBaller's ESPN Points League Ranker Tool, which is designed to give ESPN Points League players a leg up on their competition. To read a general overview of our Points League Ranker tool, and the methodology behind it, check out this intro article we just published. You can read various analysis on fantasy baseball points leagues including undervalued / overvalued players and draft targets / avoids. And you can of course read the rest of this Point League Ranker series as well covering Yahoo, Fantrax and CBS platforms.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:

 

Bristol, We Have a Problem

There are two direct resources that ESPN makes available to points players for draft prep. The projected points based off of their site player projections (and the subsequent rankings) as well A.J. Mass's top-300 rankings. With few options available (if only there were a better one ;), these are the sources most new points players will lean on when drafting.

Unfortunately, there are not only the expected value differences between roto and points but there's also a real disconnect between ESPN's two sets of rankings: 1) Mass's rankings, and 2) the rankings based on EPSN's projected points). Taking a look at Mass's top-25 players, compared to ESPN's projected top-25 for points leagues, and it's easy to see how players new to points leagues might get confused about which players to target in a draft.

AJ Mass's Top-300 Ranks  - ESPN Projected Points Ranks 

PLAYER POS Mass Top-25 Projected Top-25
Ronald Acuna Jr. OF 1 26
Christian Yelich OF 2 10
Gerrit Cole SP 3 1
Jacob deGrom SP 4 3
Justin Verlander SP 5 2
Max Scherzer SP 6 4
Trea Turner SS 7 52
Mookie Betts OF 8 7
Francisco Lindor SS 9 20
Mike Trout OF 10 5
Cody Bellinger OF/1B 11 13
Jose Ramirez 3B 12 22
Shane Bieber SP 13 19
Trevor Story SS 14 78
Freddie Freeman 1B 15 14
Juan Soto OF 16 11
Nolan Arenado 3B 17 8
Walker Buehler SP 18 15
Adalberto Mondesi SS 19 255
Alex Bregman 3B/SS 20 6
Fernando Tatis Jr. SS 21 124
Starling Marte OF 22 67
Jonathan Villar 2B/SS 23 204
Whit Merrifield 2B/OF 24 82
Bryce Harper OF 25 27

 

We talked about Acuna already but what about Trevor Story? He's ranked #14 by Mass but is projected to score the 78th-most points. Or how about there being a 58-spot difference for Whit Merrifield? How is there a 181-spot difference for Jonathan Villar? I mean, I'm always okay with hating on Villar but how can these values be reconciled by the average user? And it's not just the top-25; the discrepancies are arguably more important the further you travel down the list.

Is it any wonder that people play points for the first time and are totally turned off by the experience and/or think the game is mostly luck? What's the player to believe? The projected-points ranks or the site expert ranks? Either? Neither?  Whether you're completely new to fantasy or are a convert from roto, good luck trying to wrestle any actionable intel out of what ESPN is offering you for research. Because unless you know how players fit into your particular system and draft accordingly, you'll be behind the eight-ball before the season even begins. You have to know your system before you can exploit it.

 

Strings That Control the System

There are really only two components that control a player's value in a given points system. What categories are scored and how rosters are required to be constructed. Both are supremely important and must be accounted for when judging player's worth.

Default Roster Size: 1 C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF (5) - MI - CI - UT - P (9)

While most will give consideration to how players can score points, not as many consider the roster restrictions of their platform. Head on over here for a more thorough explanation but roster size must be accounted for so replacement levels can be set.  Comparing 12-team leagues in ESPN to CBS, for example, the latter only uses three outfielders with no middle infield or corner infield slot. That translates to CBS players requiring 24 fewer starting outfielders, 12 fewer corner infielders, and 12 fewer middle infielders. That's 48 fewer starters total; 48 players that would be starters in ESPN but are on the waiver-wire in CBS, with default roster construction.

Default Point Scoring

Batting Points Pitching Points
Total Base 1 Inning 3
Run 1 Win 5
RBI 1 Loss -5
Stolen Base 1 Save 5
Walk 1 Strikeout 1
Strikeout -1 Earned Run -2
Hit Allow -1
Walk Allow -1

Hitter Takeaways

There's nothing in the scoring for total bases, runs, and RBI that throws the system out of wack, relative to the other point platforms. However, ESPN rewards players for stolen bases the least (1 point) and punishes strikeouts (-1) the most; it's these two categories that drive player values the most in the ESPN scoring system.

Pitcher Takeaways

Compared to the other platforms, ESPN rewards the most for an inning pitched (3 points) but the least for strikeouts (1 point), while punishing pitchers the most for earned runs (-2 points) and the most for hits and walks allowed (-1 point).

 

Solving the ESPN Points Puzzle

Even more important than projecting a player's statistics, points players must understand the language of how those statistics are translated into points in your system. Not only do you need to understand how different kinds of profiles will score, but you also need to understand what kind of changes in a player's scoring profile can be reasonably expected. For example, it's not just seeing that Ronald Acuna Jr. is was only the 28th-highest scorer on ESPN last year. It's also understanding why his highlight-reel season scored so poorly and what kind of improvements Acuna would actually need to make in order to justify the top-five pick required to roster him.

As mentioned above, the two biggest drivers of value for ESPN batters compared to other platforms are strikeouts and stolen bases. As it relates to actual point totals, it's really only the former in which a player can drastically improve his value. Each fewer strikeout is one less point that has to made up elsewhere so shaving points off of your K-rate can jump your point total up quickly. Acuna had a 26.3% K-rate last season, for a total of 188 K and 477 points. If Acuna dropped to a 20% K-rate, his point total would go up to 522 points, taking him from the 28th-highest scorer to the 19th-highest.

On the other hand, the only way that Acuna will significantly increase the number of points he earns from stolen bases is if ESPN changes the scoring to the two-points given at Fantrax and CBS. Think of it this way, even if Acuna had stolen 50 bases in 2019, he would've only scored 13 more points.  Acuna could've had 50 SB with a 20% K-rate last year and would've still just barely be a top-five batter, with his 535 points tying him Nolan Arenado for the 13th-highest scorer.

Are you starting to pick up what I'm laying down, in regards to it being difficult to change one's scoring profile? If Acuna had finished last season with 50 HR and 50 SB, his 544 points would've made him the 10th-highest scorer...Or, just nine points behind Marcus Semien. Can you hear me cluckin', big chicken? Know. Your. Platform.

 

Handling Your Staff

The public narrative of pitching being king in points is mostly true but also misunderstood. For one, not all pitching is as kingly from one platform to the next, not only in how they compare to batters but also how they compare to other pitchers. For two, scoring might not be as disparate as one would think. According to the ATC projections of recently crowned #1-ranker (and resident RotoBaller) Ariel Cohen, the top-100 scorers will consist of 31 pitchers and 69 hitters. The top-50 is projected to consist of 18 pitchers and 32 hitters. Overall, ATC projects the top 50 pitchers to score 19,562 points in 2020 and the top-50 hitters to score 21,745 points.

That's not to say you should draft only hitters; the pitchers that really separate themselves from their hitting counterparts are in the top tiers, both the elite hurlers and the ones right below. According to ATC, the top-three projected scorers in ESPN are pitchers, as well as four of the top-six. Elite starters are very, very valuable in a head-to-head format. But pitching isn't everything and there are many different ways to win in points; not all of them include just loading up on as many pitchers as you can grab.

 

Forced to Cheat

One of my biggest complaints about standard ESPN leagues is that they allow (and almost necessarily require) players to easily cheat the 12 starts per-week limit. Once you've reached the 12-start limit for the week, you will no longer get points from starting pitchers, regardless of them being in a starting slot. But not until the next day. Any extra starts that are made the day you cross the threshold will still be counted towards your total. So if you start the day having made 11 of your 12 starts and start five pitchers that day, you will show as having made 16/12 starts but will still get all of the points.

It's always been like this, everyone knows about it, and most exploit it as fully as they can. If you play in a private league then there's no issue because your commissioner can make corrections to anyone that makes too many starts. But that's not an option in public leagues. No wonder people get turned off by point leagues considering BS cheats like that exist. How mad would you be the first time you lost an important matchup because your opponent finagled the system to get 17 starts in a week?

Deep breath, Nick. Try to forget that the world's largest fantasy provider cares so little about their users that they refuse to make a simple fix to their scorekeeping that would greatly improve their product. Moving past the nefarious cheating that ESPN almost requires of its public players, let's cover some ways to make sure you don't sink your championship aspirations before the season even begins. For example, if you ever find yourself wanting to draft Adalberto Mondesi and it's not at least the 20th round, go ahead and just click, "remove from queue".

 

Keep Your Head On a Swivel

You have to go into any points draft as prepared as possible, with a good idea of how the system scores. But what you really need to avoid are the calamitous pitfalls that can quickly turn your championship dreams into nightmares, like wasting a premium pick(s) on players with real-life skills that are unlikely to ever translate to success in your chosen point system.

To help point out these most dangerous of players, I turned ATC projections into ESPN projected points, adjusted those points for replacement-levels, turned those adjusted points into dollar values, and then ranked players accordingly. I then compared those values to typical draft prices along with ESPN's featured points rankings, scanning for traps, on your behalf. And now, a public service announcement.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

You CANNOT draft the following high-profile names from ESPN's top-300 list. I don't care how much you want them, they won't be worth the price. Barring an extreme change in profile, drafting the players below will be just like being snatched up in a bear trap...Crack! No more fantasy season.

Players to Avoid in ESPN Points Leagues

1. Ronald Acuna, OF, Atlanta Braves

ADP: Top-Five
ESPN Top 300: #1
ATC Dollar Rank: #26

We already covered this but if a 50/50 season and 20% K-rate wouldn't have made Acuna a top-10 player last season, then how exactly will he be worth a top-five pick in 2020?

2. Trea Turner, SS, Washington Nationals

ADP: Late First-Round
ESPN Top 300: #7
ATC Dollar Rank: #58

  • Fact #1: ATC projects Turner for 20 HR - 99 R - 69 RBI - 40 SB - .286 AVG.
  • Fact #2: This is right in line with other major projection systems and would give Turner elite value in roto.
  • Fact #3: The above line won't make Turner a top-50 player in ESPN points.

3. Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies

ADP: Late Second/Early Third-Round
ESPN Top 300: #14
ATC Dollar Rank: #70

While I'm worried that Nick Mariano might challenge me to a duel over voicing such a grievous insult, you absolutely cannot draft Trevor Story. He's not going to be taken in the first round like in roto but you'll still likely need to use a second or third-round pick in order to roster the Colorado dynamo. Unfortunately, Story's never going to be able to out-slug or out-steal his way past his perennially high strikeout-rate.

4. Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, San Diego Padres

ADP: Late Second/Early Third-Round
ESPN Top 300: #21
ATC Dollar Rank: #138

Woof. Imagine how stoked you would be if you started your draft off by getting Acuna and Tatis. Bad news chummy; your team sucks.

5. Keston Hiura, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers

ADP: Sixth/Seventh Round
ESPN Top 300: #35
ATC Dollar Rank: #165

It's just nearly impossible to be elite on ESPN if you carry a strikeout-rate north of 25%. Like Trevor Story-lite, Hiura will have a hard time out-hitting the 30.7% K-rate that he posted in his rookie campaign.

 

The Points Pipeline Keeps Flowing

That wraps up this edition of Break the League but we've upped the ante on points coverage here at RotoBaller and now have dedicated tools and focused analysis to help you bring home the gold in 2020. Read about our platform-specific Points League Rankers here. If you're in an ESPN Points league, these rankers, which set behind our premium wall, are essential draft tools for you.

Our premium tools include customized rankings for each platform and utilize the exclusive projections of RotoBaller's Nick Mariano (2018's most accurate MLB ranker), to calculate projected points, points-above-replacement, and per-PA rates of scoring In the coming weeks, we'll have more and more analysis articles with the specificity you need to identify the best and worst players on your particular platforms. Stay with us, ye long-neglected points players. We come bearing gifts.

More Points Leagues Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Matthew Knies55 mins ago

Tallies Three Points In Victory
Alex Nedeljkovic1 hour ago

Sharp In Monday's Victory
Drew Doughty1 hour ago

Continues To Progress In Recovery
Rickard Rakell1 hour ago

Absent On Monday
Adam Lowry1 hour ago

Sustains Injury On Monday
Noah Dobson1 hour ago

Exits Early On Monday
Thriston Lawrence10 hours ago

Making PGA Season Debut At Farmers Insurance Open
Stephan Jaeger10 hours ago

Looks To Find Form At Torrey Pines
Lonzo Ball11 hours ago

Available, Starting Versus The Clippers
Ayo Dosunmu11 hours ago

Sitting Against The Clippers
Zach LaVine11 hours ago

Available Versus The Clippers
Sahith Theegala11 hours ago

Back In Action For Farmers Insurance Open
Justin Rose11 hours ago

Makes First Start In 2025 Season
Justin Lower11 hours ago

Shines At American Express
Kurt Kitayama11 hours ago

Returns To Farmers Insurance Open
PGA11 hours ago

Sungjae Im Misses Cut At American Express
Charley Hoffman11 hours ago

Continues Strong Start To 2025 Season
Taylor Moore11 hours ago

Finishes Strong At American Express
Max Greyserman11 hours ago

In Solid Early-Season Form
Austin Eckroat11 hours ago

Ready To Put Missed Cut At Sony Open Behind Him
Luke Clanton11 hours ago

Makes Debut At Farmers Insurance Open
Akshay Bhatia11 hours ago

Withdraws From Farmers Insurance Open
Kris Dunn11 hours ago

Cleared To Face Chicago
Nicolas Batum11 hours ago

Will Suit Up On Monday
Max Homa11 hours ago

A High-Upside Play At Farmers Insurance Open
Norman Powell11 hours ago

Good To Go Against Chicago
James Harden11 hours ago

Will Play On Monday Night
Ben Griffin12 hours ago

Looks To Build On Strong American Express Finish
Immanuel Quickley12 hours ago

Still Out On Tuesday
Paul George12 hours ago

Questionable For Tuesday Night
Jason Day12 hours ago

Aims For Another Win At Farmers Insurance Open
Andre Drummond12 hours ago

On The Injury Report Again For Tuesday
Cooper Kupp13 hours ago

Plans To Play In 2025, But Future With Rams Uncertain
Keegan Bradley13 hours ago

Eyeing Victory At Farmers Insurance Open
Chris Boucher13 hours ago

Could Miss Tuesday's Game
Dejounte Murray13 hours ago

Cleared For Action On Monday
Jett Howard13 hours ago

Could Return On Tuesday
Robert Williams III13 hours ago

Uncertain For Tuesday
Collin Sexton13 hours ago

Resting On Monday Night
Anfernee Simons13 hours ago

Tagged As Questionable For Tuesday
Peyton Watson13 hours ago

Likely To Play On Tuesday
Jamal Murray14 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Tuesday
Gary Harris14 hours ago

Could Return On Tuesday
Ziaire Williams14 hours ago

Ruled Out For Tuesday
D'Angelo Russell14 hours ago

Tagged As Questionable For Tuesday
Jalen Hurts15 hours ago

' Status Uncertain For NFC Championship
Chicago Bears16 hours ago

Ben Johnson Hired As Bears Head Coach
Alex Bregman19 hours ago

Astros Leaving The Door Open For Alex Bregman Return
Anthony Santander19 hours ago

Signs Five-Year Deal With Blue Jays
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen20 hours ago

Unavailable Monday
Timothy Liljegren20 hours ago

Returns For Sharks Monday
Mikael Granlund21 hours ago

Good To Go Monday
Renato Moicano21 hours ago

Gets Finished At UFC 311
Matthew Stafford21 hours ago

Contemplating His Future
Tyler Toffoli21 hours ago

Will Not Play Against Bruins
Merab Dvalishvili21 hours ago

Defends Bantamweight Belt At UFC 311
Charlie McAvoy21 hours ago

Out On Monday
Umar Nurmagomedov21 hours ago

Falls Short At UFC 311
Max Pacioretty21 hours ago

Unlikely To Play Monday
Kevin Holland21 hours ago

Gets Submitted At UFC 311
Serghei Spivac22 hours ago

Gets TKO'd At UFC 311
Jailton Almeida22 hours ago

Gets TKO Win At UFC 311
Saquon Barkley23 hours ago

Dominates Rams Again
Max Scherzer24 hours ago

Drawing Interest From Toronto
Jake Oettinger1 day ago

Sharp On Sunday
Jason Robertson1 day ago

Stays Hot On Sunday
Chris Kreider1 day ago

Scores In Sunday's Loss
Brendan Gallagher1 day ago

Busy On Sunday
Jakub Dobes1 day ago

Extends Winning Streak
Anton Forsberg1 day ago

Snaps Losing Skid On Sunday
George Pickens1 day ago

Could Be Traded If Steelers Add WR1
Jalen Hurts1 day ago

Confident He Will Play In NFC Championship
Detroit Lions1 day ago

Aaron Glenn At Top Of List For Jets, Saints
Las Vegas Raiders1 day ago

Raiders Planning To Make Big Push For Ben Johnson
Josh Allen1 day ago

Rushes For Two Touchdowns Against Baltimore
Kyren Williams1 day ago

Runs For Over 100 Yards With Costly Fumble
Matthew Stafford1 day ago

And The Rams Fall Short In Philly
Ray Davis2 days ago

Active On Sunday
Zay Flowers2 days ago

Officially Inactive On Sunday
Jonathon Brooks2 days ago

Undergoes ACL Surgery, Expected To Miss Entire 2025 Season
Zay Flowers2 days ago

Completes Pre-Game Workout Sunday
Reinier De ridder2 days ago

Reinier de Ridder Gets Submission Win At UFC 311
Jamahal Hill2 days ago

Gets Finished At UFC 311
Corey Seager2 days ago

Evan Carter Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training
Jiří Procházka2 days ago

Jiri Prochazka Gets Knockout Win At UFC 311
Islam Makhachev2 days ago

Defends Title With Submission Win At UFC 311
Tanner Scott2 days ago

Agrees With Dodgers On Four-Year Deal
Travis Kelce2 days ago

Breaks Record In Divisional Round Win
Sam LaPorta2 days ago

Makes Acrobatic Touchdown Catch In Loss
Amon-Ra St. Brown2 days ago

Leads Lions' Receiving Attack In Loss
Jahmyr Gibbs2 days ago

Highly Explosive Against Washington
Jared Goff2 days ago

Responsible For Four Turnovers In Playoff Loss
Alexander Romanov3 days ago

A Game-Time Decision Saturday
Simon Holmstrom3 days ago

Set To Return To Islanders Lineup
Erik Cernak3 days ago

Out Versus Red Wings
Seiya Suzuki3 days ago

Will Be The Primary Designated Hitter In 2025
Jacob deGrom3 days ago

Feels Good Heading Into Spring Training
Dansby Swanson3 days ago

Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training
Tanner Scott3 days ago

Cubs Are Among The Favorites To Land Tanner Scott
Los Angeles Dodgers4 days ago

Dodgers Sign Roki Sasaki
Ronald Acuña Jr.4 days ago

Ronald Acuna Jr. Takes Batting Practice
Jarren Duran4 days ago

Avoids Arbitration With Red Sox
San Diego Padres4 days ago

Padres Eliminated From Roki Sasaki Sweepstakes
MMA4 days ago

Umar Numagomedov Challenges For Bantamweight Title At UFC 311
Merab Dvalishvili4 days ago

Set For His First Title Defense
Renato Moicano4 days ago

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Beneil Dariush4 days ago

In Dire Need Of Victory
Kevin Holland4 days ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Alex Bregman5 days ago

Still Seeking Long-Term Contract
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.5 days ago

Blue Jays Have No Intention Of Trading Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Pete Alonso5 days ago

Declines Three-Year Contract From The Mets
Kyle Tucker5 days ago

Cubs Avoid Arbitration
Reinier De ridder5 days ago

Reinier de Ridder Opens Up UFC 311 Main Card
Jiří Procházka5 days ago

Jiri Prochazka Looks To Return To Win Column At UFC 311
Jamahal Hill5 days ago

A Slight Favorite At UFC 311
Arman Tsarukyan5 days ago

Gets Title Shot At UFC 311
Islam Makhachev5 days ago

Defends Lightweight Title At UFC 311
Pete Alonso5 days ago

Blue Jays In The Mix For Pete Alonso
Bud Cauley5 days ago

Withdraws From American Express
PGA5 days ago

LIV Golf And FOX Sports Agree To Broadcast Deal
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.6 days ago

Mets Have Checked In On Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Will Zalatoris6 days ago

Looking To Keep Momentum Going At The AmEx
Ha-Seong Kim6 days ago

Unlikely To Be Ready For Opening Day

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Josh Allen - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

2024-25 AFC Championship Preview: Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks

Welcome to the AFC Championship preview. This week, we are going to do things a little differently. With only four teams remaining, we will break down the matchup and discuss which players fantasy managers can trust in their postseason fantasy lineups. Kansas City punched their ticket to their seventh consecutive AFC Championship with a 23-14 […]


Mecole Hardman - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Injury Reports: Conference Championship Round Updates for Jalen Hurts, Mecole Hardman

The Conference Championship round is here! The Divisional Round was much more exciting than the Wild Card Round, with multiple games going down to the wire, as well as a massive upset. The Detroit Lions were many people's picks to win the whole thing, but they were sent home by the sensational Jayden Daniels and […]


Jalen Hurts - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, Draft Sleepers

2024-25 NFC Championship Preview: Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks

Welcome to the NFC Championship preview, an NFC rubber match between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles, who split their two regular-season matchups. This week, we are going to do things a little differently. With only four teams remaining, we will break down the matchups and discuss which players fantasy managers can trust in their […]


Ja'Lynn Polk - Fantasy Football rankings, sleepers, waiver wire

Rookie Flops: Ranking The 10 Biggest Fantasy Football Busts of the 2024 NFL Draft Class

We saw plenty of fresh faces in the NFL in 2024! The draft class was greatly hyped up, especially on offense. Let's be honest, embracing the unknown in fantasy can be a fascinating endeavor! We (the fantasy community) tend to overhype rookies. We don't want to miss out on the next generational talent. But for […]


Jayden Daniels - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Conference Championship Matchups Analysis

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another start 'em and sit 'em piece as we look ahead to the Conference Championship games! If you are new here, this matchups analysis and Start 'Em, Sit 'Em article will look at the best and worst matchups of the week.  There will be only two games this week as part of […]


Josh Allen - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

2024 RotoBaller Pickem Challenge (ESPN Pigskin) - And The Winner Is...

The 2024-25 NFL season was filled with dramatic moments and exciting games from start to finish. The NFL is the most competitive league from top to bottom, so nailing picks each week is no easy task. This year's RotoBaller challenge winner correctly picked nearly 74% of the 272 NFL regular-season games, so needless to say, […]


Derrick Henry - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

2024 RotoBaller NFL Challenge Winners - And The Champion Is...

The 2024 fantasy football season is in the books! What a season, RotoBallers. Fantasy football is always a fun, interesting, and long season - filled with injuries, breakout players, and different strategies. It takes stamina and endurance to win the marathon, and we're here today to recognize those who pulled it off. With 492 teams, […]


Ashton Jeanty - NFL Draft, Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings, Draft Sleepers

2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings (Pre-NFL Draft) - Ashton Jeanty, Tetairoa McMillan, Shedeur Sanders, Kaleb Johnson, Luther Burden, more

The 2025 NFL Draft will be here before you know it, and we're already thinking ahead to 2025 fantasy football drafts and rookie/dynasty drafts. Our NFL team has released its early 2025 fantasy football rookie rankings for the top 70 NFL rookies, before the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. These 2025 rookie rankings are released before […]


Terry McLaurin - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Conference Championship PPR Rankings for Fantasy Football - Saquon Barkley, Travis Kelce, Terry McLaurin, A.J. Brown, Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir, Zach Ertz

The Eagles, Commanders, Chiefs, and Bills are the last four teams standing in the fight for a Super Bowl LIX crown. As always, we have you covered for fantasy and DFS contests. In the overall rankings below, you'll see where Saquon Barkley, Travis Kelce, Terry McLaurin, A.J. Brown, Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir, and Zach Ertz […]


Brian Robinson Jr. - Fantasy Football Rankings Running Backs, Waiver Wire Sleepers, NFL DFS Picks

Conference Championship PPR FLEX Rankings for Fantasy Football - Khalil Shakir, Brian Robinson Jr., Xavier Worthy, Isiah Pacheco, Dyami Brown, more

The 2024-25 NFL season has been a blast, and it's time to crown AFC and NFC Champions. Whether you're still alive in a fantasy football league or are building DFS lineups, we're here to help. In the rankings below, you'll find out where key flex options like Khalil Shakir, Brian Robinson Jr., Xavier Worthy, Isiah […]


Saquon Barkley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Conference Championship PPR Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football - Saquon Barkley, James Cook, Kareem Hunt, Austin Ekeler, Isiah Pacheco

Unfortunately, just three games remain for the 2024-25 NFL season. However, that means we still have a little more time to compete in fantasy football and DFS contests. Nailing your running back picks is always key, so let's waste no time diving into the position. In the rankings below, you'll see where key ball carriers […]


Khalil Shakir - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Conference Championship PPR Wide Receiver Rankings for Fantasy Football - A.J. Brown, Terry McLaurin, Khalil Shakir, Xavier Worthy, DeVonta Smith

It's time to crown conference champions and see which two teams will battle for a Super Bowl LIX title. DFS contests continue all the way through the big game, so we're back to assist with your lineup calls. Navigate the rankings below to find out where key WRs such as A.J. Brown, Terry McLaurin, Khalil […]


Travis Kelce - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Conference Championship PPR Tight End Rankings for Fantasy Football - Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Dalton Kincaid, Noah Gray, Dawson Knox

While there are only two games this weekend, we know there are still plenty of ways to compete in fantasy football or DFS contests. That said, we'll be providing coverage all the way through Super Bowl LIX, and let's get things started with the always-tricky TE spot. Dig into the rankings below to see where […]