Felix Hernandez Has Chance To Win Rotation Spot

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Felix Hernandez has a chance to win a rotation spot with his new team with Cole Hamels (shoulder) expected to miss at least half of April. Hernandez has slimmed down and is confident that he's healthy enough to win a rotation spot in Atlanta. The six-time All-Star and former Cy Young […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - First Base

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

2020 Third Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues but you must approach draft day with a different strategy if you wish to truly compete. Rankings themselves are a different beast altogether, as category specialists like Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon (stolen bases), Kyle Schwarber and Franmil Reyes (home runs), […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. West

We've made it out west, folks! After covering every American League team and all of the National League East and Central, it's time for our final division of the winter: the National League West. The NL West has the bullpen that is likely to be the best in the National League. It also has one […]

Cole Hamels Won't Be Ready For Opening Day

Updating a previous report, Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Cole Hamels (shoulder) won't have time to build up for Opening Day, according to general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Hamels is dealing with a shoulder issue, but it's nothing serious. However, he'll miss at least three weeks in camp and won't have enough time to build up before […]

Cole Hamels Suffering From Shoulder Discomfort

Atlanta Braves starter Cole Hamels (shoulder) has not reported to Spring Training yet due to an irritation in his shoulder. Initial reports suggest that the injury is not a long-term concern, but there will be a reevaluation in three weeks, so it is not a guarantee that he will be ready for Opening Day. The […]

Biggest Fallers: K-BB%, Part 2

K-BB% is a valuable metric because it shows which pitchers can combine strikeout ability with pinpoint control. Pitchers with high K-BB% possess high floors and ceilings because even when they’re not accumulating strikeouts, they are still usually able to pound the strike zone. Name K-BB% '18 K-BB% '19 K-BB%-Diff ADP (NFBC) Patrick Corbin 24.80% 20.10% […]

2020 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Buy (Premium Content)

While redraft owners prepare for draft day, dynasty owners are scouring the trade market. The weeks preceding spring training are optimal to take a chance on young players who have yet to peak or may have question marks surrounding them. Not all buy-low scenarios will pan out as expected, but when playing the long game, […]

2020 NFBC Draft and Hold Strategy - Late-Round Hitting Category Boosters (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Draft strategies are challenging to master regardless of the league. Should you focus on elite starting pitchers? Do you load up on hitting early and devour all the pitchers in the middle rounds? When do you grab a catcher in two-draft leagues? There are […]

2020 First Base Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Often regarded as an inferior fantasy baseball format, points leagues offer a different style of boasting over your friends or coworkers similar to that of fantasy football. These setups are typically head-to-head formats for a one-week stretch where the player with the most points gets a win. Easy right? While it's true that roster construction […]

Sophomore Hitters Who Should Progress in 2020

We’ve been spoiled. In recent years, players such as Peter Alonso, Yordan Alvarez, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Aaron Judge have all entered the MLB ranks while performing at a high level. But it’s not supposed to be that easy for freshmen players. There are many examples of players starting out modestly in their rookie seasons […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Christin Stewart

Writing about Christin Stewart being a sleeper gives me a feeling of déjà vu, largely because I did the same thing 12 months ago. Stewart didn’t really do much in 2019 to warrant any fantasy relevance, yet here I am letting you know that the Tigers outfielder is once again a sleeper for 2020. Heading […]

Will the Real Shohei Ohtani Please Stand Up?

When he arrived in 2018, Shohei Ohtani was regarded as one of the most dynamic and difficult-to-value players in the league. After two excellent, but injury-marred seasons, that much hasn’t changed. We have a clearer sense of Ohtani’s talent, but drafting him is still a unique challenge. In fact, the fantasy owners I've talked to […]

2020 Catcher Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

Points leagues may seem like a slight variation from traditional 5x5 category scoring leagues, but you must approach draft day with a different strategy if you wish to truly compete. Rankings themselves are a different beast altogether, as category specialists like Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon (stolen bases), Kyle Schwarber and Franmil Reyes (home runs), […]

Introducing EDV - Expected Draft Values for Fantasy Baseball

Last March at RotoBaller, we kicked off a cool fantasy baseball research project, exploring what we're calling Expected Draft Values. This offseason, we’ve refined the approach and our research, and taken things a step forward. We're sharing this concept with the fantasy baseball world now, and hope it's as helpful to you as it's been […]

Biggest Fallers: K-BB%, Part 1

K-BB% is a valuable metric because it shows which pitchers can combine strikeout ability with pinpoint control. Pitchers with high K-BB% possess high floors and ceilings because even when they’re not accumulating strikeouts, they are still usually able to pound the strike zone. The list below shows pitchers with the highest drop-off in this rate […]

2020 RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Reactions

Over the last couple weeks, RotoBaller's roster has grown with several new faces to join our esteemed veteran corps. We figured it would be nice to roll out the welcome wagon with a February fantasy baseball mock draft, putting six "RotoNewbs" with six RotoVets. It was a snake draft hosted on Fantrax, a traditional 5x5 format with […]

Bases Loaded Podcast - Second Base Rankings Risers, Fallers and Sleepers

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Jorge Montanez of RotoBaller (@Roto_Nino). They get into their second base rankings risers, fallers and sleepers. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and Subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! […]

Mookie Betts and David Price to Dodgers - Fantasy Impact

For weeks there have been rumors of a potential Mookie Betts trade. It seemed Betts might be heading to the San Diego Padres, but recently another NL West team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, became involved in the trade discussions. Like most times, when the Dodgers get involved they get what they want. On Tuesday, Mookie […]

Analyzing Fly Ball Metrics: 2020 Negative Regression Candidates

Last week, I uncovered a few pitching casualties from the record-setting 2019 season, which saw an unprecedented amount of home runs hit and a "juiced" ball theory come into light. While the use of the defensive shift has caused more players to change their swing into a fly ball-oriented approach, this monumental increase in dingers […]

Undervalued Power Hitters: Fantasy Baseball 2020 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller Radio discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season and keeps you updated with all the latest news and analysis Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between 6-7 AM ET, every weekday afternoon from 1-2 PM ET, Saturday nights from 9-11 PM ET […]

Shane Greene Loses Arbitration Case

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Shane Greene lost his salary arbitration case against the team, according to a source. He'll earn $6.25 million in 2020 instead of the $6.75 million he requested. Greene put up a nice 2.30 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with the Tigers and Braves in 65 relief appearances last year. The right-hander also […]

Braves Not Actively Pursuing Kris Bryant

There have been no recent trade talks between the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves involving third baseman Kris Bryant. The Braves have been rumored to be interested in trading for Bryant ever since they failed to re-sign Josh Donaldson. Bryant also became more attractive as a trade commodity when he lost his service-time grievance against […]

Yonder Alonso Signs With Braves

The Atlanta Braves signed first baseman Yonder Alonso to a minor league deal on Tuesday, according to a source. Alonso hit an atrocious .199/.296/.346 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 121 games between the White Sox and Rockies last season. After clubbing a career-high 28 homers with the A's and Mariners as an […]

Biggest Risers and Fallers of 2019 - Relief Pitchers

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I have to admit, I just wrote 3000 words on relief pitchers so forgive me if I get a little brief with the intro and just allow you to jump into the meat. In this article, I look at 10 relievers whose value skyrocketed or plummeted in the 2019 fantasy season, spend […]

Pirates Considering Kevin Pillar, Billy Hamilton, Cameron Maybin

The Pittsburgh Pirates are considering outfielders Kevin Pillar, Billy Hamilton and Cameron Maybin as center field candidates now that they've traded Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks. Of the three, Pillar would likely be the most expensive free agent, but general manager Ben Cherington is familiar with Pillar from their time in Toronto. Pillar, 31, is […]

2020 First Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

We're not far from the start of spring training and draft season is almost afoot! In re-draft leagues, a ton of preparation and research goes into building a new squad for 2020. Dynasty owners scoff at this because they already have their core players established. The question then becomes of relative value. Who is still […]

2020 Early Bullpen Outlooks - N.L. East

It's Super Bowl Week, and that means a lot in football, sure. But what about baseball? It means anticipation. It means the free agent pool is drying up, and players are starting to make plans for Spring Training. We don't know much about the 2020 season yet, but there has been enough movement to at […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2020 Redraft Leagues

Freshmen players played a huge role in Major League Baseball in 2019 and rookies are poised to once again have a strong presence on your fantasy baseball teams in 2020. Rotoballer is here to help you decide which players are deserving of a roster spot as you open up the season with a list of […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Batted Ball Distribution (Hitters)

Fly balls can turn into home runs. Ground balls never do. It would seem as though fantasy owners want their batters to hit nothing but flies, yet this is not always the case. Why would this be? The answer, of course, comes down to batted ball distribution and the manner in which batters make contact. […]