January Expert Mock Draft Analysis - Best of the Rest

Here at RotoBaller, 12 of our expert writers recently took part in an early mock draft for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. We've already shared those draft results, including our big board from RT Sports, accompanied by a series of articles analyzing each round. Here's the complete list of recaps, in case you missed it: Round 1 […]

January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 16-23

From the middle rounds, we segue into the tail-end of our early bird mock draft. The 12-team draft was done by RotoBaller’s MLB writers with order as follows: Chris Zolli, Harris Yudin, Troy Klauder, Kevin Luchansky, Pierre Camus, Max Petrie, Nick Mariano, Max Brill, Connor McEleney, Kyle Bishop, Mario Hernandez, and Andrew Le. As mentioned […]

2018 Home Run Risers and Fallers - What We Learned

Drafting sluggers is absolutely imperative in fantasy baseball. With homers on the rise, fantasy owners must be sure to prioritize the long ball this season. It seemed like every other fantasy-viable batter hit over 25 HR last year, didn’t it? At the same time, however, sluggers like Mark Trumbo (23 HR), Miguel Cabrera (16 HR), […]

NL Rookies Ready to Leap into Starting Lineups in 2018

Drafting rookies is always a tricky proposition. There are usually several first-year players who make a huge impact on fantasy teams, but they aren't always the ones we expect. Last year's NL rookie class featured studs like Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins, as well as solid producers such as Josh Bell and Ian Happ. On […]

January Expert Mock Analysis - Rounds 10-15

Spring training is getting closer and the RotoBaller MLB team opened up our first bags of peanuts and cracker jacks with a 12-team mock draft last week. For consideration, this 23-round mock draft was a traditional 5x5 league consisting of nine pitcher spots and the rest starting offensive slots (including two catchers). The lack of […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

It's time to round out our early points league rankings with a look at the bullpen. Relief pitcher values will fluctuate greatly throughout the season, so choosing wisely on draft day can save you a lot of grief. Here are the first round of RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball points league rankings for relief pitcher in the month […]

Luiz Gohara (SP, ATL) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~275 CURRENT ADP:  291 ANALYSIS: When you see a big lefty who throws gas, you take notice. Standing 6-foot-3 and armed with a high-90s fastball from the left side, Luiz Gohara has the raw tools to dominate in the major leagues. Signed by the Seattle Mariners at 16 out of Brazil, Gohara was traded to the […]

AL Rookies Ready to Leap into Starting Lineups in 2018

Conventional wisdom dictates that you can't win your league at the draft. You definitely can't, but good drafting of under-the-radar guys and youngsters can put you streets ahead of your competition. Last season gave us rookies in the American League such as Aaron Judge, Matt Olson and his teammate Matt Chapman, Mitch Haniger (until he […]

2018 Outfield - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

I have the honor of tackling the ever-so-deep class of outfielders for you, the esteemed points-league owner. We realize that many sites tailor their analysis toward the standard rotisserie league, but we love everyone equally. That said, we have to recognize that standard 5x5 categories are also much easier to create white-label rankings that anyone […]

2018 Shortstop - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

If you play in a head-t0-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense […]

Snake Drafts and the Subtle Art of the Snipe

For the last several years, I’ve played almost exclusively in auction leagues. It’s a personal preference that isn’t unique or “correct.” I have a lot of reasons for this preference. That’s not what we’re going to talk about today, though. Instead, let’s spend some time touting one of the virtues of traditional snake drafts – […]

2018 Third Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

If you play in a head-t0-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense […]

2018 Dynasty Baseball Strategy - Basic Asset Valuation

Dynasty baseball is a beautiful thing. In a redraft league, everybody is trying to win now. You all have the same goal. Dynasty formats allow for long-term planning. If your team is competitive, you'll value players differently than a rebuilding owner. This discrepancy makes it much easier to find mutually beneficial trades. Unfortunately, this same […]

2018 Strikeout Risers and Fallers - What We Learned

For the second straight season, we witnessed the highest strikeout totals in MLB history. There was an average of 8.25 strikeouts per MLB game in 2017, up from 8.03 strikeouts per game in 2016. Strikeouts have increased in baseball every year since 2005, and there is no indication that this trend will reverse any time […]

Using xwOBA as a Predictive Tool for Hitters

With spring training on the horizon, fantasy baseball draft season is in sight, as well. That means it’s time to pore over rankings, go through countless mock drafts, and do plenty of research trying to find that diamond in the rough other owners are undervaluing. Luckily, more statistics are available than ever before to determine […]

2018 Second Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

Aside from catcher, second base is amongst the shallowest positions heading into the 2018 season. Assuming a standard 10-12 team league, depending on the bench size it makes sense to roster only one 2B upon conclusion of your draft. If you can’t scoop up Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez or Anthony Rizzo, you may need to […]

2018 First Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

If you play in a head-to-head points league, or season long format, you already know how difficult it can be to find fantasy analysis tailored to the format. Not only are the traditional rotisserie and head-to-head arrangements more popular, but the very nature of points leagues makes them difficult to cover in a general sense […]

Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Buy or Sell - Pitchers

The dust has finally settled on 2017 and many of us are fully immersed in winter, which means it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our dynasty squads. Last season featured plenty of breakouts and many head-scratching performances, so where to go from here? The old adage of buying low and selling high is just as […]

Willie Calhoun is Coming...

Last season, the Rangers surprised the baseball world by trading superstar Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a return that, at the time, was deemed pretty sparse. The centerpiece was a little known, and maybe lesser-appreciated infielder named Willie Calhoun. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB draft, Calhoun started his […]

Top 100: MLB Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Prospects. For any fantasy baseball enthusiast, it's all about knowing about the prospects, rookies and call-ups. More than any other sport, baseball offers a fresh influx of rookie talent every year, both before and during the MLB season. And adding the right guy at the right time can be a league winner (see Aaron Judge and […]

Top 450: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)

In case you haven't noticed, we've already been cranking out all sorts of 2018 fantasy baseball rankings at RotoBaller HQ. It's only mid-January but you can already find preliminary staff rankings for mixed leagues, points leagues, AL/NL only leagues, dynasty leagues, top 2018 prospects, dynasty prospects and more. Today we are here to start looking […]

Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Buy or Sell - Hitters

The dust has finally settled on 2017 and many of us are fully immersed in winter, which means it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our dynasty squads. Last season featured plenty of breakouts and many head-scratching performances, so where to go from here? The old adage of buying low and selling high is just as […]

Dynasty National League Starting Pitchers - Top MLB Prospects for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back, RotoBallers. I'll be breaking down impact prospects in dynasty leagues by position over the next several weeks. I’ve already covered catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops and both AL and NL outfielders. Today I'm bringing you my top 20 National League starting pitchers - dynasty prospect rankings for 2018 dynasty baseball leagues. […]

Mets, Adrian Gonzalez Agree To Deal

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the New York Mets and free-agent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez have agreed to terms. Gonzalez was dealt from the Dodgers to the Braves in a salary dump. He was bought out by the Braves, and they will be on the hook for about $22 million of Gonzalez's remaining […]

Arodys Vizcaino And Braves Avoid Arbitration

The Atlanta Braves and relief pitcher Arodys Vizcaino avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.4 million deal, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Vizcaino had a nice season with a 2.83 ERA, 14 saves and 64 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings. He is shaping up to be the Braves closer entering 2018 and […]

2018 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We wind up our mixed league rankings analysis with a look at the most volatile position of all, relief pitchers. Whether you choose to grab a top-notch closer early or prefer to work the waiver wire all season, these early rankings will give you a good sense of where the current market values each reliever, before […]

Braves Release Adonis Garcia

The Atlanta Braves released third baseman Adonis Garcia so that he can purse an opportunity in the Korean League in 2018. In his three seasons in Atlanta, Garcia had a slash line of .267/.300/.414 with 29 home runs and 110 RBI over 244 games. In his absence next season, expect some combination of Rio Ruiz […]

2018 Starting Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

Welcome back to the early edition of RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball rankings! As a reminder, this round of rankings comes to you courtesy of Pierre Camus and Jeff Kahntroff, in addition to yours truly. Today, I’ll be taking a look at how we ranked starting pitchers. As you peruse the info below, keep in mind […]

2018 Outfielders - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It's a new year, and with that comes our first set of rankings for the 2018 fantasy baseball season. As a reminder, our first round of rankings comes to you courtesy of Pierre Camus and Jeff Kahntroff, in addition to yours truly. Today, I’ll be finishing up the hitter side of things with a look at […]

2018 Shortstops - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It's time to examine the glamour position of the infield, shortstop. Once considered strictly a defensive position, there are now a host of options that can fit into your fantasy lineup and deliver. 2017 saw 10 different shortstops score over 400 in points leagues. Speed was key component, as five qualified SS stole over 20 […]