K-BB% Gainers: Starting Pitchers to Watch in 2022
If I were on a desert island and had to pick just one statistic to take with me to evaluate starting pitchers for fantasy baseball purposes, I would choose strikeout-to-walk ratio. Would I have bigger problems than picking the best pitchers for my fantasy team if I ever found myself alone on a desert island? […]
Nick Mariano's Auction Draft Strategies and Tips (Premium Content)
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Hello, RotoBallers, and let me once again applaud you and your league for playing in the more entertaining format that is auction-based fantasy baseball. This is not a 101-level "how-to" guide, you'll need to know how to click "Bid" and whatnot. But I want […]
2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Starting Pitchers
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, I 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. […]
Closers and Saves Report for 2022 Fantasy Baseball Drafts
We're back! Baseball is back and we're still getting all 162 games, so there can be good news in 2022! While there are still some big-name relievers looming in free agency and likely some trades left to come, it's never too early to take a look at where each team's bullpen stands. Once the season gets […]
Adam Engel Had Surgery For Torn Labrum
Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Engel (shoulder) said that he had offseason surgery on his left shoulder to fix a torn labrum, which required five suture anchors to be used. The recovery from surgery allowed him to rest his legs after he dealt with hamstring issues last year as well, and he felt that his […]
EPL Betting Picks for Matchweek 30: English Premier League
Last week didn't quite go our way. Despite picking winners in all three games, we finished with a 72.5% ROI. That wasn't helped by Southampton's shock 2-1 home defeat against Watford where one less yellow card or one more goal would've seen us secure a profit on the game. It was a similar tale with […]
Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings (Part 2) - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues
Earlier, we broke down the first few tiers of starting pitcher rankings for 2022 fantasy baseball drafts. It's time to look at the rest of the starting pitchers that may be fantasy-relevant and worthy of a draft pick. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano, have updated our 2022 […]
Tony La Russa Expects Starters To Get Three Spring Starts
Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa believes that his starting pitchers will make at least three starts each while the team is in Arizona for Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The White Sox's rotation currently consists of Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel and Michael Kopech. There have been rumors […]
Michael Kopech Had COVID Last Month
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech said he had COVID-19 in the last week in February, but he feels that he'll be ready for Opening Day and to pitch every five days once the season begins. The White Sox said a few days ago that Kopech is a bit behind the other starting candidate […]
Mid-Round Starting Pitchers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets
Welcome officially to the 2022 fantasy baseball season! Now that an MLB deal is in place, a lot more fantasy drafts will be taking place -- and we're here as always to guide you through it. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players with upside that can provide […]
White Sox Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas
Along with the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox are among many teams talking to the Oakland Athletics about trading for starting pitchers Sean Manaea and/or Frankie Montas. The A's already have traded starting pitcher Chris Bassitt to the New York Mets and first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves, so their full rebuild […]
Michael Kopech Delayed Due To Illness
Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said starting pitcher Michael Kopech's build-up was delayed by an illness this offseason. However, the team is still treating him as a starter and expect him to be ready for Opening Day. The 25-year-old right-hander missed all of the 2019 and 2020 seasons and pitched in only 69 […]
Joe Kelly Not Expected To Be Ready For Opening Day
Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said the team doesn't expect relief pitcher Joe Kelly (biceps) to be ready for Opening Day as he continues to rehab from a nerve injury. The White Sox are likely erring on the side of caution after they recently signed the 33-year-old right-hander to a two-year, $17 million […]
Let's Overreact to Spring Training News and Tweets
Baseball is back, spring training is here, and every tweet from every beat writer is getting scrutinized to an outrageous level. It's wacky season at its best, but instead of shying away from that, we're going to lean into it. I've found some bits of news that are interesting and also, at times, amusing, and […]
Spin Rate: Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball
Spin rate has become one of the most recognizable Statcast metrics, with supporters of a given pitcher highlighting his spin rates to make their case. It has also become controversial as of late due to allegations of pitchers using foreign substances to increase their spin. Unfortunately, the baseball world has done a lousy job conveying […]
Vince Velasquez Agrees With White Sox
Free-agent right-hander Vince Velasquez agreed to an undisclosed deal with the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, pending a physical, according to sources familiar with the situation. Not much went right for Velasquez in 2021, as he had a 6.30 ERA and 1.48 WHIP with 101 strikeouts and 49 walks in 94 1/3 innings over 25 […]
Josh Harrison Signs With White Sox
The Chicago White Sox and infielder Josh Harrison have agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract with a club option for 2023, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Harrison is expected to slot in as the starting second baseman for Chicago after spending last season manning multiple positions for the Nationals and Athletics. In 138 […]
White Sox Add Joe Kelly To Bolster Bullpen
The Chicago White Sox and relief pitcher Joe Kelly agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for a third year, according to MLB.com. The deal is pending a physical, but Kelly should strengthen a White Sox bullpen that already includes Liam Hendriks, Aaron Bummer, Kendall Graveman, and - at least for now - […]
Craig Kimbrel Expected To Remain With White Sox
Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel has been the subject of various trade rumors this offseason. He has been linked to teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals and two of his former clubs, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. However, on Saturday, White Sox manager Tony La Russa was asked whether he […]
Updated Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues
Welcome back RotoBallers to some more preseason fantasy baseball rankings! RotoBaller is constantly working to try and bring fantasy baseball managers the best advice, especially during draft season. A big part of that includes regular updates to our tiered rankings for all formats. Our MLB rankers, -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, […]
Finding Clones of Stud Hitters at Cheaper Draft Day Costs
Fantasy baseball is, most of the time, a category-centered game. Unlike fantasy football, where all you want are raw points, the roto category format of baseball really separates certain players in terms of how they can help your fantasy team. Some hitters will boost your team's batting average while bringing down your home run pace, […]
Updated Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Roto Leagues
Fantasy baseball draft prep never stops, lockout or not. As we all anticipate the start of spring training, many fantasy baseball drafts are already underway. To prepare our readers, RotoBaller's rankers -- JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Ariel Cohen, Nicklaus Gaut, and Nick Mariano -- have updated their 2022 fantasy baseball mixed league rankings. This article […]
2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Outfield
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 […]
ADP Review - February Risers and Fallers
The fine people over at NFBC have really put together an awesome fantasy sports product. You can participate in fantasy drafts all year long, and the platform is just great. One of the coolest things they do is keep detailed ADP data. You can even select custom date ranges to limit the drafts you want […]
Three Hitters Set To Break Out Earlier Than Their Prime
In baseball, common sense would indicate that a player would break out when they reach their prime, which is around 26-years-old. However, development is not linear. We have seen plenty of players burst onto the scene with the first or second season and flourish, while others have taken longer than expected to develop. It really […]
High-Upside Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - Deeper Leagues Analysis
If you are drafting this early in the fantasy baseball season, you are probably playing in some pretty serious leagues. That means there is a good chance your draft is stretching past 300 picks. It is very tough to keep a large player pool sorted out in your head, and it's not hard to get […]
High-Upside Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball: "Stuff" Edition
In the first analysis of my "finding high-upside starting pitchers" series, I looked in depth at swinging-strike rate. You can read that here. That analysis looked at overall SwStr% for every pitcher, taking into account all of their pitch types to one SwStr% number. In this article, I want to go a step further and […]
EPL Betting Picks for Matchweek 29: English Premier League
Last week didn't go as we had hoped. We did expect goals in the Aston Villa versus Southampton game. Unfortunately, all four were scored by Villa. Then Norwich signed their own relegation agreement by losing comprehensively at home to Brentford, although we did manage to salvage some wins in both games. But our biggest losing […]
2022 Keeper Value Rankings - Relief Pitchers
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, I 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. […]
Post-Hype Hitters Ready To Break Out
In a day and age where prospect coverage is at an all-time high, we as a baseball community have never hyped up prospects to the extent we are currently. Once upon a time, prospects were seen as unproven commodities that we asset in trades for established big-league players. Now, they're the exciting new kid on […]