Top 250 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Part 3)

Welcome back RotoBallers to Part 3 of my dynasty prospects list, breaking down the 1-50 ranked prospects. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2 from a few days ago, looking at the 51-150 and 151-250 ranked prospects. RotoBaller's Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects list is back and refreshed for the 2021 season. Baseball has […]

Jon Anderson's First Base Tiered Rankings and Projections

One way to improve at drafting a fantasy baseball team is to shift your focus away from straight-ordered rankings and into tiered rankings. This helps you identify spots in the draft where you need to prioritize a certain position and times when you can wait. The difference between the #2 and #3 first baseman is […]

Jake Lamb Agrees With Braves

The Atlanta Braves agreed to an undisclosed one-year deal with free-agent corner infielder Jake Lamb on Sunday. The 30-year-old left-handed slugger had 59 home runs and an .843 OPS for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016 and 2017, but he has battled multiple injuries in the last three seasons. After he hit 30 long balls in […]

RotoBaller Mock Draft Review - Biggest Reaches and Regrets

As we steamroll into fantasy baseball draft season, the team here at RotoBaller continues to practice what we preach by partaking in mock drafts. It's the best way to test out plans, gather information to have a better idea of what to expect for the real thing and try out new ideas you've been working […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Hitter Batted Ball Distribution

Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy owners want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not always the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution and how batters make contact. The league average […]

First Base Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball first base rankings and 1B draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of three different MLB players at the first base position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to […]

Ryan McMahon Could Return To 2019 Prominence

Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon took a step back in 2020 (.215/.295/.419 in 52 games) after hitting 24 home runs in 141 games in 2019, but he has the tools to return to prominence from a power perspective this season. He has a 46.2 percent hard-hit rate since 2018, including a 43 percent mark in […]

Change Of Scenery Could Be Great For Nate Lowe

Texas Rangers first baseman Nate Lowe slashed .282/.401/.497 with 20 home runs in 121 games for Triple-A Durham in the Rays organization from 2018-19, but he had just 245 plate appearances in 71 games at the major league level in 2019 and 2020 for Tampa. But the left-handed slugger with an 11.9 percent career barrel […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Has Yet To Unlock His Potential

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman/third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be just 22 years old on Opening Day, and his 12 batted balls with at least a 115 mph exit velocity since he debuted in 2019 are five more than any other player has since the start of that season. Last year, Guerrero had a […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In Much Better Shape

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman/first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. spent the offseason working on his fitness, something that he has improved significantly heading into the 2021 season. While Guerrero is trying to earn back some playing time at third base, the Blue Jays expect his improved fitness to upgrade his production at the plate. His […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: HR/FB

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Batting average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. […]

Top 250 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Part 2)

Welcome back RotoBallers to Part 2 of my dynasty prospects list, breaking down the 51-150 ranked prospects. You can also read Part 1 and Part 3 from a few days ago, looking at the 1-50 and 151-250 ranked prospects. RotoBaller's Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects list is back and refreshed for the 2021 season. Baseball has […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - February 19th

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Well, things are at least a little more […]

Playing For Keeps: Making Keeper Decisions for 2021

Spring training is officially underway, and with that comes the start of fantasy baseball draft season. While the majority of people participate in redraft leagues, keeper formats are also popular, and fantasy managers in those leagues are already weighing their decisions on which players to retain and which to toss back into the pool for […]

Trey Mancini Reports Early To Camp Thursday

Baltimore Orioles first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini "looked really good" during Thursday's training sessions, per manager Brandon Hyde. Mancini fielded ground balls and hit as well. The 28-year-old missed the entirety of the 2020 season receiving treatment for colon cancer, so it is great news to see him back on the field. Mancini posted career numbers […]

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Working Out at 1B, 3B, OF

The Blue Jays organization is looking to increase Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s versatility this spring by having him work out at first base, third base, and in the outfield. A shortstop when he signed, the Cuba native has played a number of positions already in his career but was kept mostly to the outfield in 2020. […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - February 18th

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Well, things are at least a little more […]

Mitch Moreland Signs One-Year Deal With Oakland

The Oakland Athletics and first baseman Mitch Moreland agreed to a one-year Major League contract, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Moreland adds a left-handed bat to a largely right-handed A's lineup and figures to get most of his at-bats as a designated hitter while also filling in occasionally for Matt Olson at first base. […]

Top 250 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Part 1)

RotoBaller's Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects list is back and refreshed for the 2021 season. Baseball has undergone a lot of change over the past 12 months due to the pandemic and no area of the game has been more heavily impacted than the minor leagues. Since this time last year, Minor League Baseball has […]

2021 First Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

The chaotic, wild, and confusing 2020 COVID season is now thankfully behind us, am I right fellow Red Sox fans? But now is the hardest part in terms of fantasy implications from the pandemic as we try to decipher how much of 2020's statistics are actually viable data for 2021 projections. Small playing time samples, […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Batter BABIP

The most accessible of the fantasy-relevant advanced stats is BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls In Play. It simply measures a player's batting average on balls in play, with outcomes such as strikeouts and home runs removed from consideration. In general, the league average hovers around .300, a nice round number to remember. Many know […]

Blue Jays To Play First Two Homestands In Florida

The Toronto Blue Jays will play the first two homestands of the regular season at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, because of Canadian government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue Jays start off with a three-game series at the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers before a homestand with four games against […]

Brad Miller Agrees With Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with free-agent infielder Brad Miller on Wednesday. The 31-year-old left-handed bat will bring versatility around the infield at second base, shortstop and first base. He spent the shortened 2020 season with the Cardinals and hit .232/.357/.451 with seven home runs and 25 RBI in 142 […]

Marlins Acquire Reliever John Curtiss

The Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays completed a cross-state trade on Wednesday morning. The Marlins acquired relief pitcher John Curtiss in exchange for first base prospect Evan Edwards. Curtiss was outstanding in the shortened 2020 season, posting a 1.80 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts in 25 innings with just three walks. It was […]

Travis Shaw Returning To Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers signed free-agent third baseman/first baseman Travis Shaw to a minor league deal on Tuesday. The 30-year-old had 30-plus home runs and a 3.5 fWAR in 2017 and 2018 with Milwaukee but slumped badly in 2019 and was sent to the minors for most of that season. The left-handed slugger posted a .717 […]

Prospects to Know in 2021 - AL Central

The Super Bowl is over and we are officially on to baseball season! So what better way to celebrate the new baseball year than by talking about prospects? Last week, I took a look at the prospects to know in the NL Central. This week we're switching leagues and taking a look at five prospects […]

Rockies Sign C.J. Cron To Minor League Deal

The Colorado Rockies announced on Monday that they have signed first baseman C.J. Cron to a minor league contract with an invitation to their 2021 MLB spring training camp. In a limited 42 at-bats for the Tigers in 2020, Cron hit four home runs, to go with eight RBI and a brutal .190 average. Despite […]

First Basemen Set to Bust in 2021

When it comes to fantasy baseball strategy, there's typically one thought motivating any owners' desire to draft a first baseman or select one off the waiver wire: to be a run producer. Even if they're not going to help much in the batting average or steals category, all can be forgiven if they're hitting home […]

Luke Voit Fully Healthy

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit (foot) is fully healthy and ready to participate in all baseball activities. There was never any reported doubt that Voit would be ready to go for Opening Day after suffering from plantar fasciitis during the 2020 season, but injuries can be tricky and it's good to see Voit […]

2021 All-Value Team: Pouncing on ADP Fallers

One of the most common ways to get ahead in fantasy baseball is to be on the right side of small sample-size overreactions. After the 2020 season that saw just 60 regular-season games for each team, there is sure to be a lot of this as we approach draft season for 2021. Most hitters will suffer […]