2019 Points League Draft Strategy - Fantasy Baseball

When discussing fantasy baseball. An often neglected-but-entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both cumulative season-long and weekly head-to-head formats. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a player’s contribution […]

Top 420: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers. Today we are here to start looking at points leagues and head-to-head (H2H) formats. In this column, you will find our staff's preliminary 2019 fantasy baseball points league rankings for January and the top 420 players. Over the next few days, we will also be publishing individual tiered rankings analysis columns for each […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

Rays Finalize Deal With Avisail Garcia

The Tampa Bay Rays finalized their one-year, $3.5 million deal with free-agent outfielder Avisail Garcia on Friday. He can earn an extra $2.5 million in performance incentives based on plate appearances. The 27-year-old is convinced his disappointing 2018 campaign was the result of knee and hamstring injuries that caused him to develop bad habits with […]

White Sox Make $125 Million Offer To Manny Machado

The Chicago White Sox's offer to free-agent shortstop Manny Machado was for $175 million over seven years. With just the White Sox and Phillies believed to be interested in Machado, the White Sox decided to take a low-ball approach and go from there. One of the best shortstops both offensively and defensively was seeking $300 […]

AL Rookies to Target in 2019 Mixed Redraft Leagues

As the New Year has finally come, and fantasy football is over, at last, fantasy baseball draft season is right around the corner. With that comes mock drafts, draft previews, ADP analysis, and of course, player recommendations. This article will help owners get ready by looking to the American League All-Star team of rookies to […]

2019 Outfielders - Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Outfield is a unique position in the fantasy world. The best of the best reside in the outfield, with our consensus top two picks and nine of the top 25 overall players making this list. On the other hand, it is by far the deepest and easiest to gain late-round value if you choose to […]

Rays Closing In On Avisail Garcia

The Tampa Bay Rays are closing in on free-agent outfielder Avisail Garcia, according to sources. Garcia played in just 93 games due to injury in 2018 in his final year with the White Sox and hit a disappointing .236/.281/.438 with 19 home runs and 49 RBI. If he signs with Tampa, he should see consistent […]

2019 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

A tough position to evaluate is that of relief pitchers, as a lot of success for closers comes from success from teams. There are also a lot of bullpens by committee these days, further stifling the value of closers. That being said, only four of the pitchers that ranked in the top-10 in saves in […]

White Sox Offer Manny Machado An Eight-Year Deal

The Chicago White Sox offered free-agent shortstop Manny Machado an eight-year deal on Sunday and could be compelled to give him more years, according to league sources. The Phillies are also engaged with Machado, but at this point it appears they are more interested in trying to land superstar outfielder Bryce Harper. While the White […]

2019 Third Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the third base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

2019 Starting Pitcher - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. The sun is still rising on 2019, but RotoBaller writers JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli and myself are here with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these […]

Jose Abreu Settles With White Sox

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $16 million deal. An injury limited Abreu to just 128 games in 2018, and statistically it was his worst year in his five years in the big leagues. The Cuban hit .265/.325/.473 with a career-low .798 OPS, 22 […]

Alex Colome Gets $7.325 Million From White Sox

Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Alex Colome avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $7.325 million deal. Colome split his 2018 season with the Rays and Mariners and had a 3.04 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 and 12 saves, with 11 of them coming in Tampa early in the season. He posted […]

Jake Bauers - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

Jake Bauers exploded onto the fantasy landscape last summer only to fall off late in the season. It ultimately became a disappointing freshman campaign. And yet, Bauers was back in the news this offseason with a trade to Cleveland and a chance to demonstrate again what made him a top fantasy prospect coming into 2018. […]

2019 Catchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

Catcher is a tough position to evaluate, as many teams utilize multiple catchers and it is rare for one to play 140 or more games in a season. Wear and tear as a backstop limits offensive value for sure, but there are still a group of solid catchers that can contribute in multiple categories. Beyond […]

2019 Second Base - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. Even though we are just coming off ringing in the new year, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, and Chris Zolli have wasted to time coming up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values […]

2019 First Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the first base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]

2019 Shortstops - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings

It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series with the ever-so-glamorous shortstop position. Shortstop is rich at the top and while it boasts intriguing depth, this is not a position to wait on, especially if you also have a middle-infield […]

White Sox Agree With Jon Jay

The Chicago White Sox agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with free-agent outfielder Jon Jay on Monday. On a rebuilding White Sox club, Jay may be able to find a starting gig in the outfield, but he still doesn't have much of a fantasy ceiling. Jay will turn 34 in March and hit just […]

White Sox In Serious Discussions With Jon Jay

The Chicago White Sox are in serious discussions with free-agent outfielder Jon Jay, according to sources. Jay is a better real-life commodity as more of a fourth-outfield type than a fantasy one, as he hit just .268/.330/.347 with three home runs, 40 RBI, 74 runs scored and four steals in 143 games last year with […]

Kelvin Herrera Agrees With White Sox

The Chicago White Sox agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal with free-agent relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera on Monday, according to sources. The deal includes a vesting option for a third year. The 29-year-old reliever had a sharp 2.44 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 38 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings and 17 saves between the Royals and […]

Top 660: Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings (January)

Welcome back RotoBallers, and Happy New Year! Below you will find our staff's early 2019 fantasy baseball tiered rankings (top 660) for mixed leagues. In case you missed it, you can also see our tiered positional rankings as well. Four of our lead fantasy baseball analysts - Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, JB Branson and Chris Zolli - have analyzed the MLB offseason moves and […]

Statcast Review - Noteworthy Hitting Leaders (xSLG)

xSLG isn’t a stat you’ll find on the back of a baseball card or one you’d find on a baseball reference page. However, as far as advanced stats go, xSLG is pretty straightforward. It is the expected slugging percentage of a hitter based on hit probability his batted balls in play, regardless of outcome. So if […]

Teoscar Hernandez - Promising or Pretender?

Every new beginning signifies an end elsewhere. This was the case for Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez last season. The hard-hitting righty broke through in more ways than one in his first full year in the big leagues, finishing with a .239/.302/.468 line, and most importantly 22 home runs. The path to the plate […]

White Sox Officially Make Offer To Manny Machado

The Chicago White Sox have officially made an offer to free-agent shortstop Manny Machado. The White Sox remain interested in free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper, but they haven't made him a formal offer. The White Sox aren't believed to be willing to give either superstar more than a six-year deal, so we'll see if they are […]

Top 10 Dynasty Second Basemen - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Hey, RotoBallers. We have already started breaking down prospects in dynasty leagues, by position, beginning with catcher, outfield, and starting pitcher. Today I'm writing about my top-10 second basemen prospect rankings for 2019 dynasty baseball leagues. The second base position is a difficult spot to find natural players raised in the position. Most are positional migrants, kicked off their position to a […]

Top 10 Dynasty Outfielders - Fantasy Baseball Prospects

Outfield prospects are fascinating right now, as with the graduation of Ronald Acuna and Juan Soto, there are new names near the top of the rankings to learn. This does not mean a drop in talent though, as the current crop of players is easy to dream on for fantasy owners with a mix of […]

Please Let Brandon Belt Get Traded

A report recently came to light that the San Francisco Giants were making first baseman and owner of a genuine super-beard, Brandon Belt, available in trades. Apparently, there are teams interested in the oft-injured slugger, despite the whopping $48 million due to him over the next three years. It’s not terribly surprising that Belt is available, […]

Manny Machado To Meet With White Sox

Free-agent shortstop Manny Machado is expected to meet with the Chicago White Sox next week. The Yankees, White Sox and Phillies are the three teams believed to be pursuing the superstar the most. Chicago has plenty of money to spend and also just traded for Machado's brother in law, first baseman Yonder Alonso. Machado would […]