Bullpen Position Battles: National League
With spring training complete, the bullpen situations around the league have begun to clear up. While most teams have established closers that are simply putting in their obligatory work in preparation of the regular season, other teams have remaining questions that are in the process of being ironed out. Injuries or effectiveness are factors that […]
Jason Grilli (RP, ATL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 CURRENT ADP: 287.8 ANALYSIS: Yes, it's true that Jason Grilli had a very rough Grapefruit League showing, with a 6.75 ERA. He did strike out five batters in four innings of work, so that's encouraging. He also started pitching later than his teammates - his first action was on March 17. […]
Alex Colome (RP / SP, TB) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Target at end of drafts CURRENT ADP: 373 ANALYSIS: Alex Colome is a relatively unknown fantasy commodity pitching for the Tampa Rays. The 27-year-old Right-hander started 141 of the 145 games he pitched in the Minors, but may profile as a power reliever in the Show. Colome had an 88:31 strikeout-to-walk-ratio in 109.2 […]
RotoBaller Radio Presents: Fantasy Baseball ADP Sleepers And Breakout Candidates
RotoBaller is very excited about the start of the second year of RotoBaller Radio. You can find our new shows as always on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, YouTube, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Tuesday week RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and esteemed co-host's Josh Hayes will be discussing the most recent and relevant MLB news and information to get […]
MLB Podcast on RotoBaller Radio: 2016 Fantasy Baseball Catcher & Relief Pitcher Tiered Rankings
RotoBaller is very excited about the start of the second year of RotoBaller Radio. You can find our new shows as always on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, YouTube, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Tuesday night at 9:30 PM EST, RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and esteemed co-host Anthony Aniano will be discussing the most recent and relevant MLB news […]
Nick Mariano's Heavily Owned Players in 2016
Alright folks, the big week before Opening Day is upon us and that means that draft lobbies are popping off like Who Let the Dogs Out just came on at a party. What? That’s not a thing? Don’t be ridiculous. I have plenty of teams already with a few more to be drafted and figured […]
Dynasty Grinders Inaugural Auction Draft Recap
Finally Saturday happened. The Dynasty Grinders Auction is a 16-team, H2H dynasty league with a $500 budget. We geared up for a 480 pick auction draft. We set out to do it in one day, broken into 2-hour sessions with 20-minute breaks squeezed in to make sure nobody died. The picks went fast and furious. And all […]
Bullpen Position Battles: American League
With spring training more than halfway through, evaluations of battles within bullpens of the American League have started to clear up. While most teams have established closers that are simply putting in their obligatory work in preparation of the regular season, other teams have remaining questions that are in the process of being ironed out. […]
Top 400: Dynasty League Staff Rankings
Fellow RotoBallers.We are getting closer. Fantasy baseball drafts have already been taking place, and will be heating up over the next few weeks. Spring training already roaring, and the MLB season is near. With that comes the excitement of fantasy baseball drafts, and we are here to help you dominate them. Today we are bringing you our top […]
Predicting The Top 10 Finishers in Saves
Before we get to the list, how about some honorable mentions? Despite his struggles down the stretch last season, Shawn Tolleson had a terrific 2015. With a career-high K/9 rate and a career-low BB/9 rate, he was able to rack up 35 saves as Texas won the AL West division. With the Rangers now looking to build […]
Change of Scenery: Four Pitchers on New Teams in 2016
Another off-season complete, another game of musical chairs. Quite a lot of pitching talent has changed uniforms during this time, so RotoBaller is here with an update on four of the bigger names to don new garb. Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. Our rankings assistant tool […]
Top 500: Staff Rankings and Auction Values (March)
Fellow RotoBallers. We are getting closer. Spring training is is roaring, and the MLB season is near. With that comes the excitement of fantasy baseball drafts, and we are here to help you dominate them. Today we are bringing you our top 500 staff rankings, updated for March, along with our auction dollar recommendations (for those who […]
RotoBaller Rankings vs. ADP: Undervalued Relief Pitcher Targets
If you’re a regular reader of RotoBaller (and how could someone as smart, funny, and handsome as you not be?), you’ve doubtless already checked out our rankings assistant tool. We rolled our final preseason update last week. With draft season ramping up now, it seems like a good time to check our expert opinions against […]
Reliever Values in Saves+Holds Leagues
Ah, the saves+holds league. Welcome to a progressive community that embraces relief pitchers of all types, not just those fortunate few who selfishly hoard the game’s final outs. Here, players like Darren O'Day and Andrew Miller can flourish. Here, you need not worry about role stifling Dellin Betances’ value or (to use an example from […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Relief Pitchers (March)
It's only fitting that we close out the March rankings with the closers. Because these "firemen" are often on the hot seat, the value of a closer can change more quickly than any other position. While it is beyond the scope of this article, it is important to monitor the closer handcuffs as the season […]
Pedro Strop (RP, CHC) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~320 CURRENT ADP: 358 ANALYSIS: Over the last four seasons, Pedro Strop has improved drastically. His batting average against has dropped from .215 in 2012 to .165 in 2015, and his WHIP has gone from 1.34 to 1.00 over that same span. Additionally, his strikeout rate has jumped from 20.5% to 30.0%, […]
Will Smith (RP, MIL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 CURRENT ADP: 269 ANALYSIS: For the most part, the Milwaukee Brewers represent a fantasy baseball dead zone in 2016, but closer Will Smith gives owners something to get excited about. Last year, 64.7% of Smith’s pitches were strikes. This split aided him in holding batters to a .218 average, and earned […]
Kelvin Herrera (RP, KC) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~300 CURRENT ADP: 332 ANALYSIS: Kelvin Herrera’s average fastball velocity has stabilized between 96 and 98 mph for his entire career. This serious heat has led to a career average 23.9 K%, making him seemingly unhittable at times. The main storyline regarding the Royals’ bullpen has been the downfall of Greg Holland […]
Corey Knebel (RP, MIL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target Late in NL-Only Leagues CURRENT ADP: 498 ANALYSIS: Corey Knebel worked his fastball and curveball in very well together in his first real year in the majors, as he pitched 50.1 innings out of the bullpen with 58 strikeouts, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He was snake-bitten by an ugly […]
Sergio Romo (RP, SF) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target Late in NL-Only Leagues CURRENT ADP: 336 ANALYSIS: The reasons fantasy owners may have loved Sergio Romo in years past are the same reasons they should love him moving forward. That one bad stretch of giving up a ton of homers pushed Santiago Casilla ahead of him in 2014, and Casilla has […]
Carson Smith (RP, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~275 CURRENT ADP: 285 ANALYSIS: Carson Smith was traded from the Mariners, where he was in the mix for saves last year, to the Red Sox, where he is behind Craig Kimbrel and probably Koji Uehara. If you just want relievers for the sake of saves, Smith might not be someone to […]
Saves & Holds: NL Central Bullpen Depth Chart
With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected NL Central closers, setup men, and […]
The Waiting Game: 5 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
This article originally appeared on We Talk Fantasy Sports. You can follow Brant on Twitter @BrantChesser. Fantasy baseball drafts and auctions place owners in difficult situations at various times throughout each day. When should we draft the best player on the board? When should we fill out our roster? Quite a few owners would say […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Will Smith
In baseball, too many options is the best problem a team could have. According to 620 WTMJ's Greg Matzek, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell informed him that both Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith could get the nod as the team's potential closer. Throwing Cory Knebel into the late-inning mix, the Brewers have at least one […]
Three Potential Busts to Avoid on Draft Day: Teheran, Chapman, Hamels
This article first appeared on wetalkfantasysports.com by Jason Johnson. You can find him on twitter @y2trips. Now that I’ve covered three players that I’m really high on, let’s look at a few players that I think have zero chance to live up to their ADP. Please note that current ADP data has been pulled from FantasyPros.com's consensus, […]
Saves & Holds: AL Central Bullpen Depth Chart
With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected AL Central closers, setup men, and […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: 5 Busts Due for a Rebound
t’s really hard to admit when we have made a mistake. But sometimes, we look back on our fantasy season and we slap ourselves around for drafting a player who just didn’t cut it. The preseason hype was there, we were so excited to see the player tear it up, and he completely failed us. […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: 5 RP Sleepers
Non-closing relievers, with some exceptions, have limited value in most fantasy formats. As a result, they are often overlooked by many owners. However, a quality set-up man can help your ratios, boost your strikeout totals, and even vulture a few wins or saves. If your league counts holds, all the better. That's without acknowledging the […]
Five Deep Relief Pitcher Sleepers For 2016
Let's go digging for some relievers who don't have the ninth inning to themselves, but still have various degrees of intrigue to them heading into 2016. Carter Capps is wide awake at this point, no sleep to his stock. Will Smith and Jeremy Jeffress have been named as the candidates to get the closing opportunities […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Relief Pitchers (February)
Relief pitcher is possibly the toughest position to evaluate for your fantasy draft. There are only a handful who maintain a closer role for more than a couple of years, and the rest of the league is a carousel of mediocrity. Additionally, saves are such arbitrary statistics, since a closer has no control over whether […]