Updated Points League Rankings Risers and Fallers (July)

Is it feasible to do a weekly H2H league in 2020? Sure. Is it a great idea? Not really. With just under 10 weeks of actual baseball, the whole "sprint" metaphor will become real in a hurry. Total points leagues aren't as popular but make a lot more sense over the course of a 60-game season. […]

Blue Jays Denied Permission To Play At PNC Park

After the Toronto Blue Jays agreed with the Pittsburgh Pirates to hold their home games at PNC Park this morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has denied them permission. With the regular season officially starting tomorrow, the Blue Jays may have to play their home games at the stadiums of their scheduled opponents. Camden Yards […]

Ryan Braun Trending Toward Playing Opening Day

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder/first baseman Ryan Braun will serve as the team's designated hitter Wednesday in their exhibition finale versus the White Sox, Todd Rosiak of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Braun has been battling a number of minor injuries the past few days, with a sore left oblique being the most concerning of the lot. […]

Francisco Mejia, Austin Hedges To Split Time Evenly

San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler confirmed catchers Francisco Mejia and Austin Hedges will play equally this season. The even timeshare negatively impacts fantasy prospects for both players, especially Mejia as the more attractive signal-caller. The 24-year-old has notched a .714 OPS in 320 plate appearances across three seasons. A former top prospect with hitting […]

Blue Jays Will Play Home Games At PNC Park

According to a report, the Toronto Blue Jays will play their home games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the 2020 season. The players wanted to play in a big league stadium instead of their spring complex in Dunedin, Florida, or their Triple-A park in Buffalo, New York, and it looks like they got their […]

Yoenis Cespedes Expects To DH On Opening Day

New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes said he expects to be the designated hitter on Friday, July 24, when the team opens the season against the Braves. Because of injuries to his feet and legs, Friday will be Cespedes' first major league game in more than two years. The right-handed slugger is feeling good and […]

Fantasy Life Vests: Safe Hitters In A Season Of Chaos

Chaos is the name of the game when it comes to the 2020 Major League Baseball season. We've got a short season, a limited schedule, expanded rosters, universal DH, and the continuously looming threat of a global pandemic. In other words, we have a plethora of factors we've never had to deal with before as […]

10 Hitters Who Benefit from a Short Season

Baseball is finally back! After months of waiting, it’s time to get back to fantasy baseball. This year will look much different due to the short season as a 60-game sample size is going to make for some wacky stats. While fantasy baseball will never be more unpredictable, we can gain an advantage over our […]

MLB Injury Guide - Week of July 19th

Injuries are commonplace in all sports. Baseball has seen the rate of injury continue to rise over the past few years. In fantasy, if someone is not in the medical field, it is hard to gauge how long a player will be out and whether they need to be replaced in a lineup. Sometimes this […]

Universal DH Beneficiaries - RBI

With the advent of the designated hitter in the National League for 2020, NL lineup production will go up; it's inevitable. Pitchers will have a harder time of things in the NL, and hitters will produce more. It's what happens when a near-zero at the plate is replaced by a Major League hitter. Where that […]

Top 700: Updated Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (July)

Welcome back RotoBallers, we are quickly approaching the start of this crazy 2020 MLB season! The rankings team here at HQ has been adjusting their ranks all off-season, and now we our last major updates in place. Below you will find our staff's updated 2020 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 700) for mixed leagues, taking into a […]

Blue Jays Denied Permission To Play In Toronto

The Toronto Blue Jays have been denied permission from the Canadian government to play their home games at their home park in Toronto, according to an Associated Press source. The province of Ontario permitted the team to play in Canada, but the federal government has vetoed the decision amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jays will […]

Ryan Braun Could Return Sunday

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder/first baseman Ryan Braun could resume playing in the Brewers intrasquad matchups Sunday, Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that, "he's feeling good. He's been a little slowed by just the normal things, for him. Nothing of significance.'' Braun is 36 years old and is entering […]

The COVID Conundrum - To Drop or Not to Drop?

So….real, actual baseball games are almost upon us. Opening Day is July 23rd. And yet, we are still in the midst of a pandemic. At the time of my writing this, by my calculations, at least 90 players have had COVID-19 or have gone through the COVID Protocol due to players being traced back to […]

Attacking Offensive Categories with Z-Scores

The way to win at fantasy baseball is to generate the most aggregate value on your roster. One cannot win with just an average fantasy team; one must be better than the mean. To accomplish this, owners must spend their fantasy capital efficiently in acquiring talent. Finding and drafting undervalued players is the key. Of […]

One Last Mock! ADP Values and Reaches

As the sun prepares to rise on the 2020 MLB season (I'm all about hopeful metaphors these days), it also marks the end of draft season for fantasy baseball. This weekend will see a flurry of activity from fantasy league owners trying to figure out how to properly value players amid a global pandemic. Good […]

Underpriced Hitters According to ATC Projections

While nothing is guaranteed, we can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. Baseball is back, baby! Summer camp (I refuse to call it Spring Training 2.0) has now begun and Opening Day is set for July 23/24. Coming with the return are seismic changes; a universal DH, limited opponents, a […]

Introducing the MLB Baller Ranks

It’s my extraordinary pleasure to introduce The Baller Ranks, an up-to-date rankings sheet for player values. We wanted to roll this out back in March, but 2020 has had other ideas... Ideally, The Baller Ranks are not a set of pre-season rankings or draft recommendations. They are designed to be an in-season set of data-based […]

Schedule Factors - Hitters on the Rise

Now that MLB schedules are finally official, it's time we take a look at which hitters are going to be impacted the most. In order to fully breakdown the way in which a schedule may impact a hitter, we need to keep three things in mind: player talent, strength of schedule, and directional park factors. […]

Universal DH Beneficiaries - Runs Scored

For the first time in baseball history, the National League will employ the position of designated hitter. Besides making NL games more exciting to watch, this change should have two main effects. First, NL pitchers will see some level of decline in their ratios. It is inevitable when facing superior opposing lineups. The second change will […]

Rethinking DFS Strategies for a 60-Game MLB Season

The 2020 MLB season is going to be weird. In a 60-game season, previous in-season game performance holds limited value, making game-to-game projections unusually difficult across the entire season. Consider what some player production looked like 60 games into last season: David Dahl had a .457 BABIP Jose Ramirez had a .202/.303/.307 slash line Jake […]

Yoenis Cespedes Is Certain He Will Be Ready By Opening Day

On Saturday, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (heel, ankle) stated that he "know[s] for certain I will be ready [for Opening Day]." It appears that Cespedes is well on the road to full health ahead of the MLB season opener in late July. He will likely serve as the Mets’ regular designated hitter during […]

Astros Cancel Workouts On Saturday

The Houston Astros canceled their summer camp workouts again on Saturday. "As part of MLB’s testing and reporting plan, we were alerted that a staff member was potentially exposed to a COVID-positive individual outside the organization," general manager James Click said. It's a reminder that all it takes to jeopardize an entire team's health is […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Shifting Focus To First Base

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will shift his focus to first base during summer camp, according to manager Charlie Montoyo. "He's going to focus on 1B and DH," Montoyo said. Third base will be an option for Vlad, but it won't be his primary position anymore. Nobody realistically expected Guerrero to remain […]

Wil Myers Earning His Stripes Back

San Diego Padres outfielder Wil Myers may once again be a viable fantasy asset. With outfielder Tommy Pham sidelined indefinitely due to COVID-19, Myers is the front-runner to start in right field. The 29-year-old has maintained a positive outlook despite a tumultuous offseason of trade rumors while entering spring training as a rotational option. With Pham’s […]

Tigers Announce Positive COVID-19 Tests

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila announced on Wednesday that individuals in the organization have tested positive for COVID-19, but no names were released. Avila also said those that tested positive "were isolated, retested, and passed the protocols to permit them to resume baseball activities." The Tigers began summer camp workouts at Comerica Park last […]

Miguel Andujar Taking Reps At First Base

New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar is taking ground balls and throws at first base as he attempts to increase his defensive versatility. Andujar attempted defense at first base early in spring training, but the Yankees decided not to pursue that position for him at the time. With third base and left field clogging […]

Andrew Vaughn Getting Work At Third Base

Chicago White Sox first base prospect Andrew Vaughn has been getting practice at third base. Manager Rick Renteria said "He has all the makings of being able to play that position." A move to third base would likely allow Vaughn to get to the big leagues significantly faster, because Jose Abreu is firm at first […]

WPC+ Videocast: New ATC Projections for Hitters

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut are joined by Ariel Cohen to discuss his revised ATC projections for the 2020 MLB season. How should hitters be valued over a 60-game season and what can the projections tell us on draft day? Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts […]

Giants Suspend Workouts Tuesday

The San Francisco Giants have suspended their workouts on Tuesday, pending the results of coronavirus tests that they sent in over the weekend. It's an ongoing issue for Major League Baseball, as a handful of teams have been forced to cancel or delay their workouts because their COVID-19 tests haven't come back. Teams and players […]