Plate Discipline: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

No matter how high a particular player's BABIP may be, his average will be mediocre at best if he strikes out too much. This is why fantasy managers have known for years that players like Joey Gallo are potential drains on a fantasy team's batting average. Furthermore, players who whiff a lot tend to continue […]

Vinesh Kanthan Announced As Marlins' Director Of Baseball Operations

The Miami Marlins officially announced Vinesh Kanthan as the team's director of baseball operations Tuesday. Kanthan spent the past five seasons with the Texas Rangers, most recently as assistant director of baseball operations for the reigning World Series champions. He also held roles in sports science and analytics during his tenure. Kanthan was previously in […]

Dusty Baker To Join Giants As Special Assistant

Former Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker is expected to join the San Francisco Giants as a special assistant to the front office, per MLB.com's Maria Guardado. The 74-year-old, who managed the Giants from 1993 through 2002, also served as a special adviser to CEO Larry Baer from 2018-19. His storied playing and managing career will […]

Christopher Morel Likely To Serve In Super-Utility Role

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell and general manager Carter Hawkins said on Saturday that outfielder Christopher Morel will likely be used in a super-utility role again in 2024 rather than focusing on just one position. Morel has been working some at first base this winter and he's played every position but first base and catcher […]

Hitter Batted Ball Distribution: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy baseball managers 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. The league average batted ball distribution in […]

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Outlooks for Michael Busch, Yency Almonte, Jackson Ferris, Zyhir Hope - MLB Trade Analysis

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers hooked up on Thursday, January 11 for a trade that will have an immediate impact in all fantasy baseball leagues, but the deal could have tentacles that reach out for quite some time due to the players that were involved. The interesting part of this was two teams […]

Paul Goldschmidt Extension Talks Will Wait Until Start Of Season

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season, will need to wait until the start of the 2024 season for potential extension talks to begin. In regards to an extension for Goldschmidt, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters on Saturday"I think right now, […]

Michael Busch Expected To Play First Base In Chicago

The Chicago Cubs acquired infielder Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte earlier this week from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for lefty Jackson Ferris and outfielder Zyhir Hope. The Athletic's Keith Law thinks Busch is a natural first baseman and will almost certainly play there for the Cubs. He also has experience at second […]

Joey Votto Says He's Made "Major Improvements"

Free-agent first baseman Joey Votto said he's feeling better physically than he has in years after two months of rehab and strength training since the end of the 2023 season and believes that will be seen on the field, saying he's made "major improvements." Votto hasn't really gotten any bites in his first foray into […]

Braves Agree To Multi-Year Extension With Alex Anthopoulos

The Atlanta Braves agreed to a multi-year contract extension with president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos on Friday that will keep him with the team through the 2031 season. Anthopoulos was promoted to his current role in February of 2020 after joining the Braves as an executive vice president and GM in […]

Michael Chavis Inks Minors Deal With Mariners

The Seattle Mariners and infielder Michael Chavis have agreed on a minor-league deal for the 2024 season. The deal comes with an invite to big-league spring training. A former top prospect with the Red Sox, the 28-year-old is now with his fourth organization as he's struggled to put it together at the plate at the […]

Pete Alonso, Mets Avoid Arbitration

First baseman Pete Alonso and the New York Mets avoided salary arbitration on Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $20.5 million deal for the 2024 season, according to a source familiar with the deal. Alonso is fully expected to hit free agency following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, especially after he hired agent Scott […]

Diamondbacks Settle With Christian Walker

The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided salary arbitration on Thursday with first baseman Christian Walker by agreeing to a one-year, $10.9 million deal, according to sources. Walker had another strong season for the D-backs while helping them reach the World Series in 2023. The 32-year-old finished the regular season with a .258/.333/.497 slash line with a career-high […]

Andrew Vaughn, White Sox Settle At $3.25 Million

The Chicago White Sox and first baseman Andrew Vaughn have avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.25 million deal for the 2024 campaign. The young slugger took over full-time duty at first base following the departure of Jose Abreu in the 2023 season and went on to hit .258 with 21 home runs and a .743 […]

HR/FB: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

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. Most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier, though. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. […]

Mutual Interest For Pete Alonso To Finish His Career With Mets

The New York Mets' new front office has indicated a desire for first baseman Pete Alonso to finish out his career with the team, and Alonso has told teammates that his preference is to spend the rest of his career with the Mets. However, his agent, Scott Boras, has a long history of taking his […]

Marlins Hiring Rachel Balkovec As Farm Director

The Miami Marlins are hiring Rachel Balkovec as their new director of player development, according to sources. She comes over from the New York Yankees, where she spent the last two years as a manager in the minor leagues at Single-A Tampa, the first female to do so. The Marlins are in the midst of […]

Re-Drafting The 2012 Fantasy Baseball First-Year Player Draft - Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor, Yoenis Cespedes, and more

This is the third edition of a series here at RotoBaller from Benjamin Chase. The series explores previous First-Year Player Drafts and re-drafts those FYPDs with the information we've received since from drafted players and international signees that would have been eligible. This series shows that often the top guys in FYPD drafts remain the […]

Cardinals Add Chaim Bloom To Front Office

The St. Louis Cardinals are set to hire Chaim Bloom to their front office in an advisory role, according to sources. The Cardinals had been linked to the former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer, dating back to the beginning of the offseason. The 40-year-old was fired by Boston in September after the team was […]

Batter BABIP: Using Sabermetrics for 2024 Fantasy Baseball

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. However, it […]

Three Teams Showing Interest In Carlos Santana

The Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners are showing interest in free-agent first baseman Carlos Santana. Santana played with the Pirates and Brewers this past season, hitting a combined .240/.318/.429 with 23 home runs, 33 doubles, a triple, 86 RBI, six stolen bases and 78 runs scored in 146 total games. The 37-year-old veteran […]

Mariners Set To Acquire Luke Raley From Rays

The Seattle Mariners are reportedly set to acquire outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for infielder Jose Caballero. The potential deal follows up on a blockbuster trade in which Seattle sent former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for outfielder Mitch Haniger and right-hander […]

Giants Still Looking To Add Big Names In Free Agency

The San Francisco Giants missed out on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency, both of whom ended up with the rival Dodgers, but they remain interested in some of the biggest names available such as Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, and Matt Chapman. The club did ink Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee this winter […]

Way Too Early 2024 MLB Rookie of the Year Favorites

The temperature outside is near freezing here in the Northeast, there's a warm glow in the fireplace, and the ball that draws 2023 to a close has yet to drop in Times Square. So, you know what that means... it's the perfect time to speculate who will take home MLB Rookie of the Year in […]

Twins Bring In Niko Goodrum On Minor-League Pact

The Minnesota Twins have signed utility player Niko Goodrum to a minor-league deal. The signing is of the full-circle variety as the Twins drafted Goodrum in the second round of the 2010 draft while he debuted in the big leagues with the club for 11 games in the 2017 season. However, the bulk of Goodrum's […]

Jake Lamb Signs Minors Deal With Pirates

Free-agent corner infielder Jake Lamb and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a minor-league pact. The veteran has largely played third base in his big-league career but has also logged more than 400 career innings at first base as well. The 33-year-old most recently appeared in 19 games with the Angels in 2023, hitting […]

Jesus Aguilar Heads To Japan

Free-agent first baseman Jesus Aguilar signed an undisclosed one-year deal with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball on Wednesday. After 10 years in the big leagues, the 33-year-old veteran Venezuelan right-handed slugger will take his talents to Japan. He was released by the Oakland Athletics in June after hitting a weak .221/.281/.385 with five […]

Red Sox Hire Dillon Lawson As Hitting Coordinator

The Boston Red Sox hired Dillon Lawson as a hitting coordinator Monday, per The Athletic's Brendan Kuty. Lawson had served as the New York Yankees' primary hitting coach from the start of the 2022 season through the middle of last season, at which time the team released him amid major offensive struggles. While the Yankees […]

Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects Rankings (2024 Update)

Welcome back RotoBallers to the 2024 update of our MLB team's dynasty fantasy baseball prospects rankings for the 2024 season. This update includes a few changes/additions. First, while they may not be considered "prospects" in many leagues, foreign signees from Japanese or Korean professional leagues will be eligible in first-year player drafts, so they are […]

Alex Kirilloff To See More Time At First Base In 2024

Minnesota Twins first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff will likely see more time at first base in 2024 in an effort to limit injuries. Of course, he is also an option at designated hitter and could still see some time in the outfield depending on how the club's roster takes shape. The 26-year-old has a history of […]