Biggest Fallers of 2020 – Relief Pitchers

In an abbreviated 60-game season, a large number of relievers previously considered to be lockdown closers or dominant set-up men struggled consistently, ultimately resulting in a negative impact on their fantasy value. As we previously did with RP risers, we will now look at the biggest fallers of the 2020 season as we gear up […]

Statcast Review - Hard Hit/Exit Velocity Pitching Leaders

Pitcher contact quality can be a tricky attribute for fantasy managers to incorporate into their analysis. On one hand, pitchers are more at the whim of hitters when it comes to contact quality than the other way around. On the other hand, it certainly seems as though pitchers can exert meaningful control over their contact […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Early ADP Air% Exit Velocity

Looking at average exit velocity to project future power is not very useful compared to looking only at balls hit in the air. Because who cares how hard ground balls are hit? However, it can be even more useful to parse out those velocities into more refined bins and cast a more critical eye to […]

Top 250 Dynasty Prospects for 2021

The 2020 baseball season was unlike any year we’ve ever seen with its shortened season and schedule that can perhaps be best described as organized chaos. The absence of a minor league season played havoc with prospect prognosticators. The 2021 season — and perhaps beyond — will continue to present unique challenges as the pandemic […]

Biggest Risers of 2020 – Relief Pitchers

In 2020, we saw a large number of relief pitchers, previously not in the upper tier of fantasy rankings, breakout or bounce back from 2019 decrepitude. Below we will take a look at a few of the biggest relief pitcher risers of the 2020 season as we gear up for 2021 drafts in the spring. […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings

The 2021 MLB season isn't guaranteed to be normal but I have hope that next spring will be much healthier. As such, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking series for the 2021 fantasy baseball season. How much weight do we give 2020? How […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings

The upcoming 2021 season may not be normal -- going from 2020 to 2021 doesn't wave a magic wand -- but there's still comfort in baseball. As such, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking series for the 2021 fantasy baseball season. How much […]

Adam Duvall Non-Tendered By Braves

The Atlanta Braves declined to tender a contract to outfielder Adam Duvall on Wednesday, making him a free agent. Duvall was the team's only arbitration-eligible player not tendered a contract. The 32-year-old was second on the team with 16 homers during the shortened 2020 season. The power hitter is projected to receive between $4.4-$7.1 million […]

Braves, Johan Camargo Avoid Arbitration

The Atlanta Braves and infielder Johan Camargo agreed to a $1.36 million deal for the 2021 season on Wednesday to avoid salary arbitration. Camargo will turn 27 on Dec. 13 and helped the team win the first of their three straight division titles, serving as the starting third baseman for the majority of the 2018 […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Elite Levels of Air% Exit Velocity

Everyone wants more power, even more so when it comes relatively cheap. But even when pricey, you're going to need to draft a bomber or two. One of the best ways to see how a player's power is trending is to sift through their exit-velocities to see what they're saying. Most know by now that […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings

I think most of us would agree that looking forward to 2021 is a good idea. For me, that means immersing myself in the upcoming baseball season. While there's no guarantee COVID-19 won't affect the '21 season, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking […]

Faster and Furious: Pitchers With Rising Velocity

The shortened 2020 season resulted in some small sample size related caveats surrounding analysis heading into 2021, but fastball velocity is largely immune from that issue. Fastball velocity is extremely quick to stabilize, and even a few pitches can provide fantasy managers with a reasonably clear understanding of a pitcher’s velocity. Further supporting that notion […]

Braves Sign Charlie Morton To One-Year Deal

The Atlanta Braves signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a one-year, $15 million deal on Tuesday. The 37-year-old has developed a reputation as a big-game pitcher in the postseason after finishing Game 7 of the 2017 World Series with the Astros and winning Game 7 of the American League Championship Series this year with the Rays. […]

Mike Soroka Resumes Throwing

Atlanta Braves right-hander Mike Soroka (Achilles) has resumed throwing nearly four months after he had surgery to fix a torn right Achilles. The 23-year-old suffered the injury on Aug. 3 against the Mets and had surgery several days later. In 2019, Soroka finished sixth in the National League Cy Young race and second in the […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

As we begin to look towards the 2021 baseball season, we can only hope that COVID-19 will be handled well enough to let the season run as normal. Since this is a mere early ranking exercise and we have so much ahead of us, let's just close our eyes and chat as if a 162-game […]

Analyzing Fly Ball Metrics: Pitchers to Trust in 2021

Welcome back to some 2020-2021 offseason fantasy baseball analysis! I recently took a look at pitchers who could see a decrease in performance next season based on their fly-ball metrics from this season. Some of these metrics included home run-to-fly-ball ratio, fly-ball rate, and average launch angle. To reiterate the value of this type of […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings

Hope springs eternal for the 2021 baseball season, but it's hard to imagine we'll be completely past COVID-19 by then. Plus, we could see opening salvos for the CBA debates to come. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a perfect world and chat as if a 162-game season will come […]

Braves Sign Drew Smyly To One-Year Deal

The Atlanta Braves signed left-hander Drew Smyly to a one-year, $11 million deal on Monday. The 31-year-old went 0-1 with a 3.42 ERA in five starts and two relief outings for the Giants last season after San Francisco signed him to a one-year deal in January. He was released by the Rangers after going 4-7 […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings

As usual, I'll start by saying the 2021 baseball season may still be affected by COVID-19. Maybe even more labor disputes just for a curveball. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a perfect world and chat as if a 162-game season will come next spring. Join me for my position-by-position […]

Freddie Freeman Wins NL MVP

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman won the National League MVP award on Thursday. Freeman received 28 of the 30 first-place ballots. Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts finished second and Padres third baseman Manny Machado came in third. The 31-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks before the delayed Opening Day in late July and had […]

Angels To Pursue Freddie Freeman?

The Los Angeles Angels hired Atlanta Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian as their new general manager on Thursday, potentially making it more likely that the Southern California native Freddie Freeman will be targeted by the Angels next offseason. LA will also be clearing future Hall of Fame first baseman Albert Pujols' contract from their […]

Josh Tomlin Returns To Braves

Right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin agreed to a $1 million deal on Wednesday to return to the Atlanta Braves for a third season. The deal includes a 2022 team option worth $1.25 million. The 36-year-old went 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 17 games for the Braves in 2020. Tomlin was much better as a reliever […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: Third Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

Let's cut right to it: the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. It is time to decide how […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: Outfielders

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

2021 Fantasy Value First Looks: Shortstop

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman Win Silver Sluggers

Atlanta Braves outfielders Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna, first baseman Freddie Freeman and catcher Travis d'Arnaud all won Silver Slugger Awards on Thursday. The rest of the National League Silver Sluggers included San Francisco Giants second baseman Donovan Solano, San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres third baseman Manny Machado, Washington Nationals outfielder […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: First Base and Second Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Braves Interested In Adam Wainwright

The Atlanta Braves are interested in free-agent starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, 17 years after he pitched for current manager Brian Snitker at Double-A Greenville. The 39-year-old would provide the Braves mostly inexperienced rotation with a veteran presence. The two-time Cy Young runner-up is a free agent after 15 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but […]

Warning Signals in Shift Increases: Part One

Shifts work. Not all the time and not against everyone but eventually there is a sufficient amount of data on a player to be able to draw some pretty strong conclusions about what advantages can be gained by shifting. There are good reasons that Joey Gallo was shifted against 98.5% of the time in 2020. Not everyone […]