Four More Sleeper Prospects for 2020 Redraft Leagues
MLB Spring Training is here. The sights and sounds of baseball are everywhere. That also means fantasy baseball season is just around the corner. And with that comes hundreds of minor league players with dreams of breaking into the major leagues during the coming season. Many will. But others will not. Last week, we took […]
2020 Regression Candidates: Breakout Outfielders
Every season in MLB you can count on the fact that you will have breakout performances from players. Sometimes these breakout performances can be seen coming a mile away and sometimes they catch you entirely by surprise. Regardless of which type of breakout we see, you will almost always have to pay up for that […]
Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pitcher Statcast
Statcast metrics such as Barrels and Brls/BBE are great ways to evaluate a batter's performance, so it is only natural to assume that the metrics would be predictive for pitchers as well. As much as batters want to hit a Barrel every time, pitchers want to avoid them at all costs. Yet there is evidence […]
Rockies, White Sox The Front-Runners For Yasiel Puig
The Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox have emerged as the front-runners to sign outfielder Yasiel Puig. Puig is easily the biggest name left on the free-agent market, but he could have a home soon. Landing with either team would be enticing from a fantasy point of view, but the main question would be how […]
Carlos Carrasco Diagnosed With Minor Hip Issue
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (hip) was diagnosed with a mild strain of his right hip flexor Friday. The news comes with a sigh of relief, as the Indians look to keep their rotation as healthy as possible going into Opening Day. They've already lost starter Mike Clevinger for an extended period of time, and […]
Finding Combo-Player Values Using Z-Scores and ATC Projections
Towards the end of last season, I asked the question – “Draft Speed or Pound the Power?” Loaded in this seemingly simple query are two contradictory approaches – one for power and one for speed. Power Approach 1: Home run totals are dramatically up in baseball these days. Therefore, there are many power bats available […]
2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Third Base
Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based on Keeper "Values". In the marketing world, Value can be defined as the extent to which a good or service (player) is […]
2020 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Sell (Premium Content)
As draft day approaches in dynasty leagues, the window to sell-high on a big name has never been better. The first days of spring training are a chance to cash in on players who may have hit their peak value before the 2020 season begins. Bartering is a matter of risk vs reward. You hate […]
Bases Loaded Podcast: Early Round Values
Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) and Zach Braff (@BraffZ) and they discuss early round values. They go through and highlight a few players that are going inside the top 150 in ADP that offer a great chance to return profit. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast […]
Carlos Carrasco Dealing With Leg Injury
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (leg) experienced discomfort in his right leg during a workout Wednesday and is scheduled to undergo further testing and imaging Thursday. He walked into the clubhouse Thursday morning using one crutch under his left arm but was able to put pressure on both legs. While the extent of the injury […]
Relief Pitchers to Target for Holds
Hold on... there are fantasy leagues that reward middle relievers, not just starters and closers? Yes, there are, and leagues that reward holds are one of the fastest-growing segments of fantasy baseball as real baseball continues to diminish the role of the starter in favor of building deep bullpens with multiple relievers that throw 95+ […]
2020 Second 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 Second Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues
As the season draws near, we realize more and more that it's draft season. There is a large portion of fantasy baseball busy with mock drafts, rankings, sleepers, and more mock drafts. The Dynasty community, on the other hand, is looking to continue their dominance, rebuild, or in a worst-case scenario, stick their hands up […]
Bases Loaded Podcast - Relief Pitchers Preview
Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Jorge Montanez, Zach Braff and Mike Simione as they jump into their relief pitcher preview! 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! […]
Four Prospect Sleepers for 2020 Redraft Leagues
Recently, Rotoballer launched a list of the Top 50 MLB prospects for the coming year. The top of the list was populated by names such as Gavin Lux, Luis Robert, and Brendan McKay. These players, among others, feature a promising combination of talent and favorable playing time projections to suggest they’ll be the cream-of-the-crop among […]
Francisco Lindor Might Not Hit Leadoff
Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is in negotiations with the team on a multi-year deal, might not hit leadoff in 2020. Lindor has been the team's primary leadoff hitter for the last two and a half years. He's hit 70 home runs in the last two years and could be better off in the […]
2020 Starting Pitcher 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 very different strategy if you wish to truly compete. All preseason long, RotoBaller has you covered with the latest rankings for all fantasy baseball league types. Here we present our points league rankings […]
Mock Draft Review: Best Late-Round Targets
Last week, some members of the RotoBaller staff completed a 12-team mock draft for standard 5x5 format. After the draft, we each broke down our strategy and some of our favorite picks, which can be found here. However, I want to take a closer look at one portion of the draft in particular. Since we know that […]
James Karinchak Is A Relief Pitcher To Know in 2020
One of the lesser-known players that intrigues me for the 2020 MLB season is Indians relief pitcher James Karinchak. The former Bryant Bulldog was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in the 2017 draft and went on to have one of the most outrageous statistical seasons in minor league baseball history. As someone who […]
2020 Relief Pitcher 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 […]
Mike Clevinger Expected To Return To Game Action In 6-8 Weeks
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger (knee) is expected to return to game activity in six to eight weeks after having surgery on Friday to fix a partial tear of the medial meniscus in his left knee. With Opening Day almost exactly six weeks away, Clevinger shouldn't have to miss much time to open the […]
Mike Clevinger To Undergo Surgery On Knee
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger (knee) will undergo surgery on Friday after he suffered a partial tear of the medial meniscus in his left knee while working out at spring training this week. Clevinger has been on crutches, and a timetable for his return will be established after the surgery. The 29-year-old right-hander made […]
2019 Barrel Breakouts: Who's For Real and Who's Next?
As pitchers and catchers get even closer to reporting and most fantasy leagues prepare for their drafts, everybody is looking for a leg up on the competition - a way to get in on a guy before everybody else does. In this article, we're going to look for a way to identify hitters who improved […]
2020 Shortstop 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), […]
Domingo Santana Agrees To One-Year Deal With Indians
Outfielder Domingo Santana and the Cleveland Indians have come to terms on a one-year deal, pending that the 27-year-old passes a physical, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Santana had a .253 batting average last season for the Seattle Mariners. He hit 21 home runs and drove in 69 runs in 121 games […]
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), […]
Early ADP Thoughts - Outfielders
♫It's the most wonderful tiiiiiiiime, of the year!♫ Well, sort of. In much of the country, February brings terrible weather and generally feels interminable, despite being the shortest month on the calendar. This being a leap year, we get an extra day of it. Fun! But for fantasy baseball owners, fun is exactly what you […]
Cubs Add Jason Kipnis
The Chicago Cubs signed second baseman Jason Kipnis to a minor league deal on Tuesday. Kipnis can make $1 million plus incentives if he makes the team out of spring training. The left-handed swinging infielder has a good shot to make the team as a part-time second baseman. The Chicago native hit .245/.304/.410 with 17 […]
Cubs Close To Adding Jason Kipnis
The Chicago Cubs are close to signing second baseman Jason Kipnis to a non-roster, minor league deal on Tuesday. Kipnis doesn't have the same bat as when he was elected to his second All-Star team in 2015 with the Indians, but he could bring a nice left-handed bat to the keystone in a platoon role […]