The goal of the RotoBaller team is to always produce the highest quality content that can help readers and subscribers win their leagues in all sports. It is humbling when we receive confirmation from our peers in the fantasy sports industry that we are indeed delivering the goods.
The Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) recently released its list of finalists for their 2021 industry writing awards, and RotoBaller was nominated for an industry-leading 13 awards. The list of RotoBaller finalists included major nominations in six different fantasy sports.
“We are so honored and thrilled to have such an incredible team of writers,” said Alex Roberts, co-founder of RotoBaller. “The industry has more talented writers than ever, which makes these 13 nominations even more astounding and impressive.”
Blitzing the FSWA Football Awards
RotoBaller was nominated as finalists for a total of five FSWA fantasy football awards. The FSWA Fantasy Football Writer of the Year award is widely considered to be the most challenging and significant award to win. RotoBaller had two finalists named for the award, Michael F. Florio and Antonio Losada -- the 2nd time both writers have been nominated for this category (Florio also nominated in 2020, and Losada in 2019). Both writers were nominated for two FSWA awards each this year, as RotoBaller established a significant footprint in the football categories.
Florio is one of the rising stars in the fantasy industry, and he was also named a finalist for Best Football Article award. He had started his fantasy career covering multiple sports, yet he has leaped to the forefront for his in-depth fantasy football analysis on many platforms, including being a co-host of RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. Florio’s breakdown on why receiving is so essential for running backs was his featured piece that landed him among the finalists in both categories.
Losada is an advanced numbers cruncher who regularly guides RotoBaller readers to success with his comprehensive statistical studies, yet he makes his analysis palatable for all levels of players. His regular findings on NextGen stats were incredibly revealing. Like Florio, he was also nominated for a second award, Best Fantasy Football Ongoing Series.
Eric Samulski is well known to RotoBaller readers as a baseball sage with extensive playing experience, yet he is also a top-notch fantasy football analyst who specializes in defensive scouting and breakdowns. His weekly defense streamers and starters defensive columns featured large chunks of insights in tiers, and were so useful and well-constructed that he was also named a FSWA Finalist for Best Fantasy Football Ongoing Series.
Baseball Writing Diamonds
Samulski was one of four RotoBaller writers to earn two finalist nominations, as his background as a baseball player and evaluator has naturally translated into excellent fantasy baseball content. Eric was nominated for Best Fantasy Baseball Ongoing Series. Eric set up RotoBaller readers for ideal roster building with his pitching reports and outlooks.
Elliott Baas was also named a finalist for Best Fantasy Baseball Ongoing Series, the third Ongoing Series nomination for the RotoBaller crew in 2021, demonstrating the staff’s dedication to providing consistent outstanding content that readers look forward to every week. In each edition of his Surprising Pitcher Stats column, Elliott would uncover unique trends that would help fantasy baseball players pinpoint the best options to target.
A previous winner of Best Fantasy Baseball Ongoing Series, inaugural FSWA Hall of Famer Scott Engel was named a finalist for Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year for the first time in his distinguished career. A 12-time FSWA finalist, Engel has utilized credentialed media access to bring RotoBaller readers new and distinctive levels of fantasy insights from insider perspectives.
FSWA Award Versatility
RotoBaller was founded as a comprehensive Fantasy Baseball analysis site, and then grew to also become a top fantasy football destination. As the site has further expanded in scope, the commitment to content excellence in all fantasy sports has become recognized.
“Thunder” Dan Palyo is the model of the RotoBaller vision, as he covers several sports at high levels and is the overall DFS team lead. He was named a FSWA finalist for Fantasy Basketball Writer of the Year. Like Dan, Spencer Aguiar is a multi-sport contributor, and golf betting authority. His unique PGA Rankings Wizard article and data tool has generated the type of in-depth analysis that led to a Golf Writer of the Year nomination.
Engel was named a finalist for Racing Writer of the Year based on his frequent dives into deep Loop Data analysis along with his strategical NASCAR DFS tips. RotoBaller’s resident EPL expert, Jamie Steed, is a featured scribe for both baseball and soccer — he provided regular breakdowns that were so comprehensive, he was nominated for Fantasy Soccer Writer of the Year.
Bringing It Home
At the very core of the RotoBaller experience is the massive dedication to providing stellar Fantasy Player News coverage in all sports. A team leader in that charge is Keith Hernandez, a fantasy industry staple with high standards and a plethora of experience. For the third year in a row, Keith was nominated for Player Notes Writer of the Year for his continued outstanding work in providing Fantasy Baseball and Football news and analysis on the RotoBaller feeds.
“These incredible nominations represent all of us on the RotoBaller team,” Roberts said. “Everyone’s efforts and support for each other helps all of us maintain our drive to do our best in an industry where there is so much great content. We are very proud to be included among so many other fine and outstanding companies and writers who have been recognized for their hard work in 2021. It's great to have the FSWA at the center of it all, providing a platform for all the industry writers and contributors, and we can't thank them enough for the hard work that goes in every year.”