Ben Hernandez Taken By Royals 41st Overall

The Kansas City Royals selected De La Salle Institute pitcher Ben Hernandez with the fourth pick of the second round (41st overall) in the 2020 MLB draft on Thursday. De La Salle has produced four big-leaguers, so Hernandez is in good company and was committed to Illinois-Chicago. He has a devastating changeup which ranks among […]

Royals Select Shortstop Nick Loftin Late In First Round

The Kansas City Royals selected Baylor shortstop Nick Loftin with the 32nd overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft on Wednesday. Loftin started his college career in left field before moving to shortstop as a freshman. His tools don't jump off the page, but he has a high floor and is more competent than flashy […]

Asa Lacy Selected By Royals At Fourth Overall

The Kansas City Royals selected Texas A&M pitcher Asa Lacy with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft on Wednesday. Lacy was widely considered the top overall pitcher in this draft. He was taken in the 31st round by the Indians in 2017 out of high school. The left-hander ranked third in opponent […]

Major League Baseball 2020 Mock Draft

The 2020 MLB amateur draft takes place later tonight and it will be unlike any draft we’ve seen. With owners crying poor and minor league systems set to be permanently compressed, the draft has been slashed from the normal 40 rounds to just five — although teams will be able to sign undrafted players as […]

Reassessing ADP - Picks 1-100 - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Jorge Montanez of RotoBaller (@Roto_Nino). They dive into recent ADP data. 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! Be sure to also tune […]

Point League Busts - Players to Fade

Points leagues can be a whole different ball game from your average roto leagues. When prepping for a points league, whether you're looking at ADP or online rankings, you're likely looking at data that is skewed by standard roto leagues. While it's good as a general starting point, some players simply perform better in one […]

How to Approach MLB Rookies in 2020 Re-draft Leagues

While the players and owners continue to trade demands for getting the 2020 season on its feet, we're going to turn our attention to fantasy. This article will specifically look at players who have yet to make their major league debut (or come up for more than the proverbial cup of coffee) and how fantasy […]

Eliminating Park Factors: Which Hitters Will Benefit Most

As Major League Baseball seeks a way to open the season in early July, one proposal has teams starting or playing the entire season in warm-weather locations (Arizona and Florida) or hub cities. That leaves fantasy managers to re-evaluate hitters whose parks impact their performance and value. For hitters, it’s primarily a matter of considering […]

RotoBaller MLB Mock: Revising Draft Strategy for a Short Season

With rumors of a proposed plan to start the MLB season becoming more of a reality, it is time to start mock drafting again. I joined some writers from RotoBaller to take place in a 12-team mock draft (full draft results here) for a traditional 5x5 rotisserie league draft with a 24-player roster. It was […]

Kansas City Royals: Top 10 Dynasty Prospects

We continue our look of the best prospects in each MLB team's farm system with the Kansas City Royals. Once the 2020 MLB season begins, it may turn out that Minor League systems will be more important than usual. Franchises are losing money during the pandemic layoff, so many teams will be looking for sources […]

Hidden Gems to Watch - 2020 Outfield Prospects

As we continue through this window of uncertainty, the chances of having a “normal” season are getting far less likely. While we still don’t have any concrete solutions for having a 2020 season, some ideas seem to be more likely than others. One such idea of implementing regular double-headers into an already-truncated season, with three […]

Third Base ADP Reflections

Third base is arguably the deepest position in fantasy this year, with plenty of highly productive options outside of the first 20 third basemen being drafted. The position is so deep that if a player isn’t a lock for an OPS above .900, doesn’t have positional versatility, or doesn’t offer stolen bases, then they may […]

Mid-Round Third Base Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

NL Players Who Could Benefit From Extended Rosters

Although we still don't have baseball, we're starting to get a lot of proposals on how we COULD have baseball this summer. The plans may wind up just being a fantasy, but, hey, this is a fantasy site, so it makes sense for us to take a look at it. One of the facets of […]

Three Shortstops Set To Bust In 2020

Shortstop is a fairly deep fantasy position, with fifteen shortstops going before the 150th pick on average and plenty of value to be found even later in drafts. The top-end of the shortstop group is particularly strong, with three shortstops owning top-10 ADPs. No other infield position group has had as many different players drafted […]

How a Revamped MLB Season will Impact Fantasy Baseball

No matter how this MLB season plays out it will look like something we have never seen before. Not only is the start of the season already delayed, but there is no definitive end in sight. If we do see baseball this season, the game is going to look very different. First, there will be […]

Second Basemen Likely to Return a Loss in 2020

As mentioned in my article covering 1B that we might be over-drafting, my goal in these articles is to point out players who might "bust" at their current ADP. The definition of a bust that I'm using is when you invest a large amount of draft capital in a player who doesn't hit the production […]

OPS Underachievers: Using Differences in xOPS to Judge Performance

Add a player's on-base-percentage to his slugging-percentage and you wind up with OPS. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy. But some things don't need to be complicated to be useful and descriptive. There are a hundred ways to judge a baseball player's performance but OPS remains one of the best proxies for quickly judging a player's overall offensive […]

AL Players Who Could Benefit From Expanded Rosters

Although we still don't have baseball, we're starting to get a lot of proposals on how we COULD have baseball this summer. The plans may wind up just being a fantasy, but, hey, this is a fantasy site, so it makes sense for us to take a look at it. One of the facets of […]

JB's Bullpen Method - Building Aces out of Relief Pitchers

If you read my Top 10 Draft Tips piece, you got a preview of the method I have been using for many years in fantasy baseball. It's really less of a method or strategy, and more a state of mind. The Bullpen Method is a lifestyle! I always speak about the importance of balance on […]

First Basemen Likely to Return A Loss in 2020

We all dream of drafting the sleeper pick who vastly outproduce his draft-day value and carries our team to victory. However, the truth is that those types of selections are few and far between. Often a player will give you more value than you would normally expect from his draft slot, but it's likely only […]

ADP Champ or Chump Spotlight: Keston Hiura

With the entire MLB world in a holding pattern due to Coronavirus concerns, now is a great time to delve more deeply into fantasy profiles than you ever have before. One player who warrants a closer look is Keston Hiura, the 23-year-old second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers. Hiura was a regular on top prospect […]

Third Base Draft Values - Late-Round Fliers

Host Michael Florio of RotoBaller Radio discusses the 2020 fantasy baseball season. In this episode, he brings you his fantasy baseball draft sleepers at the third base position. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch us on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio as well! Be sure to also tune […]

Break the League: Fantrax Points League Ranker

I never thought I'd ever say this but it looks like I'm going vegetarian for this article because there's no real beef here. Those that have been reading along with this series know that I've had some harsh words for ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS, as I think they often do a disservice to their points […]

Finding Value in Points Leagues: Middle Infield Edition

Welcome RotoBallers to my Finding Value in Points League Series! Points leagues are becoming more and more popular in the fantasy baseball world. They have long been my preferred way of playing, so the boom in popularity is great! One of the biggest differences between points and roto leagues is that more stats come into […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Top 150 Overall

In case you missed it, all preseason long I've been breaking down the top Keeper Values at each position. To get insight on any individual position, simply choose here: First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Catcher, Outfield, Starting Pitcher, and Relief Pitchers. Now, for your convenience, here are the Top 150 Overall Keeper Values for 2020. Keeper Value Rankings […]

September Speed Demons: Who Can Keep Up The Pace?

Earlier this preseason, I took a look at the hitters who experienced a power spike in the final month of the 2019 season in hopes of identifying adjustments that might lead to a 2020 breakout. Next, it's time to look at the players whose September stolen base numbers stood out from the rest of their […]

Shortstop Draft Sleepers for 2020

It is well known that the shortstop position heading into 2020 is really deep. Despite the positional depth, shortstops could dry up quickly if you wait too long to draft one, given roster constraints in many leagues require a starting middle infielder and a utility player. Owners willing to roll the dice until the middle-to-late […]

Break the League: CBS Points League Ranker

Much like their milquetoast television lineup, CBS points leagues are like a warm bath of mediocrity. Are they great? No-oooo, but are they awful? Also, no. I mean, you're never really going to want to watch a Chuck Lorre sitcom or the latest chapter in naval policing, but they can still serve a purpose. Because sometimes […]

Slow-Starting Pitchers to Avoid in Drafts

This baseball season is going to be like one we have never seen before. While we await word on when and how the season will play out, it is becoming clear that we will be dealing with a shortened season. I’ve written about how a delayed start will impact injured players and discussed how a shortened […]