2020 Fantasy Baseball Busts? Eduardo Escobar
The Arizona Diamondbacks finished the 2019 season with a record of 85-77, which was good enough for a second-place finish in the NL West but was not quite good enough to receive a Wild Card spot in the postseason. The strong finish came as a surprise to many fans, especially on the heels of what […]
2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Starting Pitchers
I've already revealed the 2020 Keeper Value Rankings for the hitters: First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Catcher, and Outfield. Now let's go to the rubber. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are […]
Late-Round Relievers - Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]
Four Late-Round Fliers for RBI Production
RBI production is a valuable stat in all fantasy baseball formats, but it is not always an easy stat to predict. Locating solid RBI production late in drafts becomes even more difficult. Ideally, you want players who will hit in the middle of lineups that are expected to score plenty of runs. Now, this may […]
JB's Bold Predictions for 2020
I'm going to let you in on a little secret... JB stands for "JUST BOLDNESS". Okay that's a lie... it's actually not a secret because I use that every year in my bold predictions intro. Nevertheless welcome to the latest rendition of RotoBaller's 2020 Bold Predictions. You have now come to the stop where you […]
Christian Walker (1B, ARI) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~195 CURRENT ADP: ~210 overall ANALYSIS: Heading into the 2019 season, Walker had amassed 99 career plate appearances over 61 games in four seasons. Then Paul Goldschmidt was traded, Jake Lamb picked up an early injury, and the flood gates opened for Walker. He had 603 PA over 152 games and slashed .259./.348/.476 with an impressive […]
10 Deeper Prospect Sleepers for Dynasty Baseball Leagues
We are inching closer and closer to Opening Day for the 2020 MLB season. That means that the Minor League season is also just around the corner. With that comes exciting new breakout prospects, as they rise up from both likely, and unlikely, places. In the past few years, I’ve recommended a number of key […]
2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Outfield
Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based on Keeper "Values." In the marketing world, Value can be defined as the extent to which a good or service (player) is […]
Late-Round Catchers - Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]
Yahoo ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players
Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]
Mike Leake Making Progress
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Mike Leake (wrist) continues to make progress, but it's still unknown if he'll be ready for Opening Day. Leake, recovering from left wrist surgery, looked good during in a controlled game on Tuesday, allowing three runs on 10 hits while striking out four in five innings. The right-hander has not played […]
Break the League: The ESPN Points League Ranker
It might always be in fashion to go after the worldwide leader but this not just some critique de rigueur of their points game and coverage. I actually have a soft spot for ESPN as they were home to my original league for years and our scoring is somewhat similar to their default settings. When […]
Breakout Infielders Who Will Keep Improving in 2020
Fantasy owners are always searching for a leg up on the competition. They are trying to find the down player who is due to bounce back or the breakout to avoid, who is due to regress. But the opposite is equally as valuable. Finding 2019 breakouts who will continue to improve brings an unexpected aspect […]
ADP Champ or Chump: Christian Walker and Luis Robert
Fantasy owners love prospects, especially shiny new toys that they've never had an opportunity to play with before. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was drafted very highly last season, but his fantasy production didn't really live up to his draft-day cost even after Toronto finished playing service time games with him. This year, Luis Robert is poised […]
Late-Round Starting Pitchers - Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]
Pierre Camus' 10 Bold Predictions for 2020
A wise man once said, "Bold predictions are the lifeblood of fantasy sports analysis." I consider myself pretty wise after all, so there you have it. You've undoubtedly read my past predictions columns where I declared that all predictions can be considered bold since we dare to presume that we can forecast the future. Projection […]
2019 Busts Who'll Keep Junking it Up - Infielders
Nothing grinds a fantasy owner's gears quite like a bust. Well, maybe unpaid league dues, but busts are a close second. It doesn't feel good to stare at your lineup all-season and watch a high draft pick torpedo your team's chances at glory. Spurned owners tend to avoid the players who've burned them, but a […]
Finding Over/Undervalued Second Basemen Using Expected Draft Values
A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four "power" hitters, as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]
MLB Spring Training Notebook - Injuries, Risers, and Fallers (3/10/20)
Welcome to the Spring Training Notebook for March 10, 2020, where we'll dive into a few of the bigger stories around Major League Baseball's Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. As we head through the thick of Spring Training 2020, players are starting to separate themselves in the eyes of their organizations with hopes of making the […]
Kole Calhoun (OF, ARI) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~280 CURRENT ADP: ~298 overall ANALYSIS: Kole Calhoun hit .232/.325/.467 with 33 HR over 632 PAs for the Angels in 2019 before signing with Arizona as a free agent. Thirty-three bombs are nothing to sneeze at, and his peripherals suggest that his power uptick was real. Calhoun's 22.9% HR/FB last season was […]
D-Backs To Be Mindful Of Luke Weaver's Workload
The Arizona Diamondbacks will be "cognizant" of starting pitcher Luke Weaver's innings total this year, according to general manager Mike Hazen. Weaver was limited to 64 1/3 innings in the big leagues in 2019 and has never had more than 140 1/3 innings in any one season. It could mean a tighter leash with Weaver's […]
ADP Champ or Chump: Kole Calhoun and Rafael Devers
Welcome! This column takes a deep dive into two player profiles to determine if they represent value at their current draft day cost or if you would be better off looking at similarly-priced options. We incorporate every grain of relevant data we can, including info from Baseball Savant, Roster Resource, FanGraphs, FantasyPros, and Baseball Prospectus. […]
ESPN ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players
Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]
Introducing the RotoBaller Points League Ranker Tool
Its time to shine some love down on point league players and help you crush your leagues with easy to understand and easy to leverage information that will put you streets ahead of the average competition. That's right, you over there who was thrilled last year to draft Ronald Acuna Jr. in the first round […]
Four Late Round Fliers For Home Runs
Last season, 129 Major League players managed to hit at least 20 home runs. The 6,776 home runs hit across the Major Leagues broke the previous yearly record by a whopping 671 long balls -- nearly the same difference between the second-highest year and the ninth-highest year. Regardless of whether or not the home runs […]
Joining the Launch Angle Revolution: Potential Power Risers
Launch angle has become perhaps the trendiest stat in all of fantasy baseball. If you turn on any podcast, you hear analysts mentioning that "if a player could only increase his launch angle, he could be a stud" (cough - Yandy Diaz - cough). Often, I think this analysis is oversimplified. Launch angle is obviously […]
Late-Round First Basemen - Targets and Avoids in 2020
Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]
2020 Shortstop Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues
As the season draws near, we realize suddenly that it's draft season. There is a large portion of fantasy baseball busy with mock drafts, rankings, sleepers, and more mock drafts. The Dynasty community, on the other hand, is looking to continue their dominance, rebuild, or in a worst-case scenario, stick their hands up in frustration. […]
Domingo Leyba Receives 80-Game Suspension
Arizona Diamondbacks infield prospect Domingo Leyba received an 80-game suspension on Friday after testing positive for Boldenone, which is in violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Leyba is ranked as the team's No. 30 prospect and has the skills to become a solid utility player for the Snakes at the major league level, but […]
Stephen Vogt Fine For Friday
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Stephen Vogt (elbow) left the Cactus League game early on Thursday after he was hit by a pitch on his right elbow, but he iced the elbow and said he should be fine for Friday. Vogt, 35, should be Carson Kelly's primary backup behind the plate in Arizona in 2020. The left-handed […]