Micah Johnson (2B, CWS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / Draft Target Late OWNED IN: 7% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: One of the hottest prospects in baseball, Micah Johnson’s sterling spring training has him positioned to open the season as the White Sox starting second baseman. His .455 batting average was trailing only Mike Trout’s .486 mark as of […]

Devon Travis (2B, TOR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / Draft Target Late OWNED IN: 8% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Acquired from Detroit in exchange for Anthony Gose this offseason, Travis arrived north of the border as one of the best contact hitters in the minor leagues, hot off the heels of a stellar campaign in which he batted .298/.358/.460 […]

Daniel Murphy (2B, NYM) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~130 Overall ANALYSIS: Daniel Murphy continues to be a low-profile fantasy player, producing solid numbers but not receiving his due from the fantasy community. His power and speed numbers digressed last year after his breakout 2013 campaign, but he ended up improving his AVG and OBP and increased his walk rate. Furthermore, he’s a lifetime .290 […]

Jose Altuve: 2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis

ADP: 13.3 RANKING STATUS: Overvalued ANALYSIS: Last season, Jose Altuve took both the real and fantasy baseball worlds by storm. He was the big story for the Houston Astros as he led the majors with a .341 batting average and paced the American League with 56 stolen bases With Altuve entering his age-25 season, many […]

Top Five Breakouts from 2014 Due for Regression

Many hitters have great years that seem to come out of nowhere. Players like Todd Frazier and Dee Gordon who perform at a high level, creating the expectation that they can repeat that level of productivity. The difficult part of every hitter's breakout season is the follow up season. Was that breakout year a fluke? […]

Spring Training Stock Watch: Fantasy Prospects On The Rise

  Over the last several weeks, we have touched on a few of the bigger name MLB prospects who have impressed this spring, solidifying their status as some of the games premier up and coming stars, like Mookie Betts, Kris Bryant, and Joc Pederson just to name a few.   As we near the conclusion […]

Top Five Dynasty / Keeper Second Basemen

Last week, I completed my first ever slow draft. Instead of a typical 60 seconds to make your pick, slow draft gives up to 8 hours to make a pick. This style of drafting could possibly take a couple weeks rather than the standard couple of hours. Needless to say, slow draft completely took over […]

Age 27 Hitters Primed For A Big Season

The Called Shot, The Billy Goat & The 27 Year Old Throughout its long history, the game of baseball has been surrounded by legends and folklore. Many of us are familiar with Babe Ruth’s called shot, where he pointed to the centerfield bleachers and hit a home run to that very same spot on the next […]

2015 Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy: How To Use Tiered Rankings

  What Are Player Tiers for Rankings? Over the last few years in fantasy baseball, the topic of player tiers or tiered rankings has become a trendy way to approach your draft. Often times, in real life, something that is trendy doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best course of action or the smartest idea. It […]

Dynasty/Keeper Deeper Dive: Devon Travis

It seems I have a thing right now for second base prospects picked in the 13th round. Just ask Micah Johnson. There haven't been many familiar names out of the top 300 picked in the 13th round these past ten years. The odds are not in favor of both Johnson and Devon Travis being successful. […]

Joe Panik (2B, SF) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 Overall in NL Only Leagues ANALYSIS: Panik, a former first rounder, joined the Giants in June after their experiment with Dan Uggla failed miserably. Panik does nothing special in terms of fantasy and his numbers are dependent on his AVG, but his minor league career shows that he can maintain a .300 […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Stock Watch: Opening Day Is Almost Here

Can you believe it? We are less than one week away from Opening Day when Jon Lester and the Chicago Cubs square off with the Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals. These two storied franchises are poised to write the opening chapter in a new rivalry on national television. The young upstarts, playing without […]

AL Only Deeper Draft Sleepers: Winter Hibernation Ends

The term sleeper is overused and commonly confused in fantasy sports. Too many people confuse the concept of a player being undervalued (i.e. a player getting drafted in the seventh round that is going to return fifth round value) versus a player being a true sleeper. When I think sleeper, I think Rip Van Winkle. […]

Hidden 2nd Base Draft Gems and ADP Value Picks

If you're looking to make a splash on draft day, you should give RotoBaller's ADP Draft Sleepers Tool a long, hard look. Part of our Premium Subscribers package, the Sleepers Tool allows you to compare a player's expected production against his top comparables going later in the draft. Frankly, it's a great resource for identifying […]

Top Five Shortstop Sleepers for 2015: Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis

  Five Undervalued Shortstops for 2015 So you've had a great draft, taking the best player available in each round. You are reasonably certain you will contend in all categories, and then you remember that you still need to fill a SS and MIF slot and it is Round 17. Ugh. While shortstop can be a […]

Scooter Gennett (2B, MIL) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft Target Late in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Scooter Gennett now holds the reigns at second base for the Milwaukee Brewers, since Rickie Weeks has departed. He's flying under the radar in most fantasy drafts with an ADP of 283, even thought many people feel he could end up being a top 10 player in a weak position. I tend […]

Three Batters Who Will See a Home Run Decline in 2015

Power Drought Coming? Each MLB season, the power numbers of certain hitters decrease. As fantasy players, we wish we could have seen it coming. In 2014, big names like Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, and Robinson Cano saw large dips in their home run numbers, each falling by more than 10 round trippers. Role players like […]

Auction Draft Strategy: How to Manage Your Budget

We previous looked at Part 1 (How to Prepare for Auction Drafts) and Part 2 (Five  Key Mistakes to Avoid Making) of our Auction Draft Strategy series. Today we look at how to budget your team's salary. The most important strategy for auction drafts is how to budget your allowance. Keeping track of how your dollars are […]

Top Five Second Base Sleepers for 2015: Hitters Who Will Outperform Their ADP

  Five Undervalued Second Basemen for 2015 You've got the strongest pitching staff in your league. Your outfield is stacked. You make sure to pick up a catcher early, pick up a hard-hitting first baseman, and - oh no - all of the decent second basemen are gone. It's common knowledge that one must focus […]

Neil Walker (2B, PIT) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~160 ANALYSIS: Neil Walker has been providing enough value to fantasy owners in recent seasons to warrant an ADP higher than 176. Yes, he has missed time due to injuries in the past three years, but he is still second in HR (53) among second baseman during that span. Aside from speed, Walker is going to be […]

MLB Podcast on RotoBaller Radio: Injury Updates & Spring Training Standouts

MLB Injury Updates & Spring Training Standouts RotoBaller is very excited about the launch of our very own radio station. You can now find our new shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Wednesday night at 9:30 PM EST, RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and co-host Anthony Aniano of DraftSmashers Radio […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Stock Watch: Veterans On The Rise

Earlier in the week here in the RotoBaller Stock Watch, we took a look at some fantasy prospects on the rise, who have a legitimate shot to break camp with a starting gig in-hand. A pair of prospects who we didn’t mention in that space, who went out and dominated on Wednesday night were Carlos […]

10 Bold Predictions for the 2015 Fantasy Baseball Season

  For the last few years, the staff over at RotoGraphs has been publishing their "10 Bold Predictions" series. These are typically among my favorite reads in the realm of fantasy baseball - and considering how much content I devour, that's saying something.   Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all, I'm […]

2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 300

Back in February, seven of the RotoBaller writers put together their consensus fantasy baseball rankings. Today, I'm branching out on my own to bring you RotoBaller's Top 300 for the 2015 fantasy baseball season. There's a number of players whom I like or dislike more than the expert consensus, so I'll add in a little bit of my […]

Howie Kendrick (2B, LAD) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target in Rounds 11-13 in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Howie Kendrick is the 15th ranked second baseman heading into 2015. How(ie) is that possible? Seriously though, Kendrick's .293 batting average ranked third behind two top-tier picks in Robinson Cano and Jose Altuve and it's not a fluke: his batting average over nine years in the league is […]

Top 5 Middle Infielders: MLB Prospects and Impact Rookies for 2015

  A Bleak Landscape In 2001, ten middle infielders hit at least 20 home runs. Rich Aurilia, with 37, would have been tied for second in baseball with Giancarlo Stanton and Chris Carter last year. That year? He was tied for second...among middle infielders, with Bret Boone. Alex Rodriguez's 52 bombs, which paced the American […]

Five Sabermetric Overperformers: 2014 Studs Due for Regression

Hitters and pitchers will disagree on the ratio - but there is a general idea in baseball that for every hard-hit out you make, a blooper will fall in for a hit. This idea that chance plays a part in the game is the concept underlying the definition of regression. A hitter can sting the […]

Three 2B Who Will Outperform Their 2015 ADP: Rankings Analysis

  Don’t Splurge On Questionable Results The second base market is shaping to be a minefield in 2015, with numerous options in the middle of the pack and few truly elite players. In such situations it is important to show patience during draft day and wait out the market. Someone in your league is going […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Stock Watch: Pederson, Ramirez, Tomas, Kang

  With March Madness in full swing, and the regular season still two weeks away, the temptation to take a break from the monotony of spring training is there for most fantasy owners right now. Heck, David Ortiz doesn't even care about these games, (though if you ask the Red Sox, he's just dehydrated).   […]

Auction Draft Strategy Part One: How to Prepare for Auction Drafts

Going Once, Going Twice... An auction is the most exciting way to draft in fantasy baseball, but it can also be the most difficult. For this article and the three to follow, I will be using the assumption that your league’s standard settings give you a $260 allowance. For those unfamiliar with the process, that is […]