Rafael Montero (SP/RP, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups
BALLER MOVE: Add in NL-Only Leagues / Dynasty Leagues ANALYSIS: The New York Mets are notoriously known as being one of the most indecisive franchises in the history of sports. However, you as a fantasy owner do not have the luxury of patience. This is where the acquisition of Rafael Montero comes into play. After Zack […]
Rubby De La Rosa (SP/RP, ARI) - Waiver Wire Pickups
BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues / NL-Only Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: A lot of the attention in the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation towards the end of Spring Training was geared towards Archie Bradley. This is a completely warranted opinion given the state of the rotation as a whole. However, an overlooked potential starter with […]
How to Use Positional Scarcity and Depth to Your Advantage
Position scarcity and depth are topics of great debate every draft season. Where the talent pool is deep, you can afford to wait. Where it is scarce, an early pick is often in order. During the work on my series of draft value articles using RotoBaller's ADP Draft Sleepers Tool, I examined the depth of […]
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 […]
Jenrry Mejia (RP, NYM) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Draft Late as a 3rd Closer in Mixed Leagues ANALYSIS: If post-save celebrations were ranked, The Mejia Stomp would have to be one of the greats. Granted there isn't a huge pool of post-save celebrations but it would still be up there. Jenrry Mejia holds a particularly low ADP at 223 for a player […]
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 […]
MLB Closer Breakdown: NL West Edition - 2015 Fantasy Baseball
We previously looked at the closer and bullpen situations in the AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, and NL Central. Today we chck out the NL West. Make sure to also bookmark our MLB Closer Depth Charts, which are updated every day for your viewing pleasure. Arizona Diamondbacks Head Honcho – Addison Reed ; Next […]
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 […]
Drew Storen (RP, WSH) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Draft in Middle Rounds of All Leagues. ANALYSIS: The Washington Nationals have an imposing team top to bottom. They have the power, the speed and the glory to set the baseball world on fire on offense. The pitching staff has tremendous depth that would rank high on many teams. In their bullpen, Drew Storen is […]
Zach Britton (RP, BAL) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Target Mid-to-Late Rounds in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Big time talent Zach Britton transitioned from elite starting pitching prospect to full time closer last season, and boy did that work out for the Orioles. Britton finished his first season in that role with 37 saves and a 1.65 ERA. The only thing holding Britton back […]
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 […]
Predicting the Top Ten Finishers for Saves in 2015
Saves can be one of the most volatile categories for fantasy owners. Often, a pitcher will have the closer’s role seemingly locked up only to be ousted after a slow start to the season. Many believe that the only key to racking up a lot of saves is to pick a closer for a winning team. […]
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 […]
Brad Boxberger (TB, RP) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Draft Target in Late Rounds of All Leagues ANALYSIS: A guy you’ll want to keep on your radar this year during your fantasy drafts is Brad Boxberger. Boxberger was the setup man last year for the Rays and more than excelled in his role. He posted a 2.37 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 104 strikeouts, 20 […]
Santiago Casilla (RP, SF) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Draft in mid-to late rounds in all leagues. ANALYSIS: How is it that the closer on the 2014 World Series Champions is considered a sleeper for 2015? The San Francisco Giants are the San Antonio Spurs of Major League Baseball. That means a sub-par year is to be expected, right? Santiago Casilla is […]
Top 10 Projected WHIP Finishers for Relievers: 2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings
In 1979 New York Times writer and inventor of rotisserie baseball Daniel Okrent created a statistic then-known as IPRAT, or “innings pitched ratio.” At a time when ERA and wins were all the rave, Okrent created a simple formula that would form the foundation of sabermetrics and eventually work its way into regular fantasy baseball […]
MLB Closer Breakdown: NL Central Edition - 2015 Fantasy Baseball
We previously looked at the closer and bullpen situations in the AL East, AL Central, AL West, and NL East. Today we chck out the NL Central. Make sure to also bookmark our MLB Closer Depth Charts, which are updated every day for your viewing pleasure. Chicago Cubs Head Honcho – Hector Rondon; Next in line – […]
Francisco Rodriguez (RP, MIL) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Target Mid-to-Late Rounds in All Leagues ANALYSIS: I just did a fantasy baseball draft, and let's just say that Francisco Rodriguez was taken much later than he should have been. Maybe it's the fact the he signed late this offseason, or maybe people just don't believe in his skill set. Well at his current ADP […]
Brett Cecil (RP, TOR) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Target Late in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Brett Cecil looks like a very attractive third closer for your fantasy team with an average ADP of 280. Cecil put up an elite 12.8 K/9 in 2014, which is up there with the best closers in the MLB. While Cecil wasn't closing in 2014, he's lined up to […]
MLB Closer Breakdown: NL East Edition - 2015 Fantasy Baseball
We previously looked at the closer and bullpen situations in the AL East, AL Central, AL West. Today we chck out the NL East. Make sure to also bookmark our MLB Closer Depth Charts, which are updated every day for your viewing pleasure. Atlanta Braves Head Honcho: Craig Kimbrel, Next in line: Jason Grilli Craig Kimbrel still finds himself among […]
Three Relief Pitchers Who Will Outperform Their 2015 ADP: Rankings Analysis
Reliever Hijinks Last season was my best year of fantasy baseball in the dozen years I've played, as I managed to secure championships in all three of my leagues. This was in spite of the fact that I endured what I'll lightly term as the season from hell as far as closers are concerned. Most […]
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 […]
MLB Podcast on RotoBaller Radio: Top Minor League Prospects For 2015
Preseason Analysis: Impact Dynasty League Targets 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 will […]
Five MLB Trade Candidates to Monitor
The Landscape Trades: they're the worst nightmare of AL and NL-Only League owners. But even in standard leagues, a player’s value can drastically change depending on his location. Often, players are traded from a bad team to a good situation. Other times, productive players are put into less important roles – a fantasy killer! Let’s take […]
MLB Podcast on RotoBaller Radio: Breakout Players Coming Out Of Spring Training
Potential Breakout Pitchers & Hitters For 2015 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 will […]
Cuban Defectors That Will Have Most Fantasy Impact In 2015
Cuba lost some of its top players as they signed blockbuster deals to come over and play in the MLB. Each team hopes their guy follows in the footsteps of last year’s Cuban defector Jose Abreu, who hit 36 home runs, 107 RBI and a .317 batting average, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2014. There […]
Pitch Framing Metrics: Impact On Fantasy Baseball Pitchers
I’m obsessed with Chuck Shaw wine from Trader Joe's. It’s a $3 bottle of hooch that smells like paint thinner mixed with alcohol. It stings the nostrils. But after a glass or two, it’s the best damn bottle of wine you can get for under $5. I happened to be drinking some of this wine […]
MLB Podcast on RotoBaller Radio: Closers & Catchers To Target Late
Preseason Analysis: Closer & Catcher Draft Strategy 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 will be […]
Craig Kimbrel (RP, ATL) - 2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis
CURRENT ADP: 50 RANKINGS STATUS: Fairly Valued ANALYSS: Craig Kimbrel has been the king of the fantasy closers since his first full season in the role in 2011, but somehow he has lost that distinction to Cincinnati's Aroldis Chapman heading into 2015. Nothing against Chapman, but Kimbrel should still be the first closer off the board on draft […]