First Base Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

The first base position has some high-end options such as Freddie Freeman, Cody Bellinger, and Jose Abreu. All are typically going in the top 40 of most mixed-league drafts. But getting one of the top guys isn't imperative. There are plenty of other viable alternatives available later in drafts. Whether it is power, batting average, or […]

Hidden Gems To Watch - 2021 Outfielder Prospects

When we talk about prospects, almost everybody wants to gravitate to the names at the top of the various lists; the guys like Wander Franco or Julio Rodriguez. The ones we've deemed "generational talents" or determined will "win you your league." But the issue, as we've seen with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is that predicting prospect […]

Later-Round Category Targets - Stolen Bases

The stolen base is like no other category in the rotisserie game. It is correlated to no other category that is used in fantasy and is influenced by "specialists" (meaning players who only contribute in one category) way more than any other as well. Steal attempts have also been trending downward in recent MLB history, making […]

Hidden Gems To Watch - 2021 Pitching Prospects

With pitchers and catchers reporting, Major League Baseball is bearing down on a return to normalcy for the 2021 season. With the MLBPA rejecting MLB’s offer of a delayed start to the 2021 season, opening day is now officially scheduled for Thursday, April 1. When analyzing the pool of pitching prospects for 2021, there are […]

Four Players Set to Break Out at Third Base

I previously identified breakout candidates at second base, so now it's time to move on to the hot corner. When defining a breakout, I look at it as a player that can take a step forward to a level they never reached before. This doesn't mean it has to be a "sleeper" or someone who […]

Deeper Draft Sleepers - First Base

Don't look now, but baseball season is on the horizon. Actually, go ahead and look as it is beautiful to see the calendar shrink as each day brings us closer to the crack of the bat and, hopefully, the roar of the crowd as America (and Toronto!) creeps back towards normalcy. It's never a bad idea […]

Diamonds in the Pen - Deep Reliever Draft Targets

When it comes to building a pitching staff in fantasy, most managers focus solely on starting pitchers and closers. And that makes sense. In standard scoring, those pitchers are the ones who are going to make the greatest contributions to wins, strikeouts and saves. A guy that comes in and tosses a scoreless frame in […]

Catcher Draft Targets for All Leagues

Enough with the catcher slander! As fantasy baseball drafts heat up, all I keep reading about is how we're "forced" to draft catchers and how they can tank your roster. Catchers are people too! I could use thousands of words writing about the value of catchers and how the grind of their defensive job and […]

Austin Riley (3B, ATL) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 185 CURRENT ADP: ~206 overall ANALYSIS: With the power being the strength in his game it was encouraging to see him not selling out for power as much in 2020. He hit more line drives (30.7%) but unfortunately he saw a big jump in ground balls. Up to 42.1% from 25.6% […]

Keegan Akin (SP, BAL) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers

Keegan Akin made his MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles during the 2020 season and the former second-round draft pick didn't disgrace himself. Akin ended the season with a 4.56 ERA and 1.44 WHIP from his eight appearances (six starts) as well as striking out 35 batters in 25.2 IP. Akin is expected to start the […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 2)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Outfield, and of course, Starting Pitcher Part One. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/17) - Jorge Polanco Leaves Game

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]

Starter Prospects that Could be Impact Relievers in 2021

In many ways, Major League Baseball is getting back to normal in 2021. Most importantly for sports fans and fantasy baseball fanatics, this means that the season will be 162 games after experiencing a stunted 2020 season. However, the sudden spike back to 162 games from 60 contests creates headaches for MLB managers. Lance Lynn […]

2020 Breakout Infielders Who'll Keep Improving

In a recent article, I outlined a methodology to determine which breakout 2020 seasons from hitters would be built off of into 2021. Upon further reflection, however, I’m unconvinced that that methodology the best way to spot breakouts that will continue to improve, in large part because of its reliance on evaluating the stickiness of […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Third Base

Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]

Chasen Bradford Signs Minor-League Deal With Braves

The Atlanta Braves signed reliever Chasen Bradford to a minor-league deal on Tuesday, according to Jeff Passan. The 31-year-old missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Bradford last pitched with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. He owns a 3.89 ERA and 6.6 K/9 through 104 innings in his MLB career. Bradford bolsters […]

Marcell Ozuna Hits First Homer Of Spring Tuesday

Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna went 1-for-3 with his first home run of the spring on Tuesday in a loss to the Red Sox. Ozuna accounted for all of the Braves' runs in the loss with his three-run blast to left with one out in the third inning. After a slow start that saw Ozuna […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/16) - Luis Robert Scratched Monday

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]

Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Injury Updates

Injury updates tend to change often during Spring Training. "Soreness" is a common theme as players get back into game shape. I will be giving the most recent available injury updates from the offseason. These updates will undoubtedly change as Spring Training continues. As we get closer to Opening Day, some injuries are much more […]

2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 1)

We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, and Outfield. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on early spring training action. You can […]

Austin Riley Clears COVID Protocols, Will Return Wednesday

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley has cleared the league's COVID-19 protocols and will return to the lineup on Wednesday, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Riley last played on Thursday and was penciled into Monday's lineup before being removed just prior to the game's start. Riley hasn't shown power this spring, but he's been […]

Freddie Freeman Goes 1-for-2 Sunday

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 1-for-2 with a walk in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Freeman has started the spring slow by going just 2-for-11 with a run scored across his first six games. This is nothing to sweat as the Braves are just easing Freeman into action. He had […]

Chris Martin Will Make Debut In Next Two Days

Atlanta Braves reliever Chris Martin will make his Grapefruit League debut within the next two days, according to manager Brian Snitker. The Braves skipper noted that Martin is healthy and that everything is fine with him. He's just been pitching in simulated games as opposed to live ones. The 34-year-old righty was excellent for the […]

Top 20 Outfielders - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

If you’ve played fantasy baseball for a while, you know how hard it can be to find enough quality outfielders to field a competitive team all year long. The good news for fantasy managers is that there are some big names on the way, thanks in part to the 2020 amateur draft which had a […]

Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers

With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]

Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends

Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]

Top 25 Starting Pitchers - Dynasty Prospects Rankings

Pitching is an important element of any successful Major League Baseball team — real or fantasy. Coming off a truncated season in 2020 and facing another unique season ahead, pitching prospects will be more important than ever in 2021. MLB managers will be faced with a full 2021 season and, after throwing reduced innings last […]

Ozzie Albies Struggles Continue Saturday

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Albies is now just 2-for-13 with a home run and one RBI in his first six spring games. It is still early enough in the spring where Albies can rebound and put together a string […]

Ian Anderson Strikes Out Seven

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Ian Anderson struck out the first four Boston Red Sox batters that he faced on Saturday. In total, the rookie hurler whiffed seven batters over 3.1 innings but he also struggled with his command. He allowed three runs on a walk and four hits, including a solo home run. Through two […]

Michael Florio's Hitters to Target

Every year, one of the articles I look most forward to writing is about the players I am targeting in my drafts. It not only allows me to talk about the players I know I am high on and go into my drafts hoping to select, but it also forces me to look over my […]