Anthony Rendon Goes Deep Against Brewers

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon went 1-for-2 Monday with a home run against the Brewers in Spring Training. The 30-year-old slugger rounded the bases for the first time of the 2021 exhibition season as the Angels are banking on Rendon to have a huge season. The team's prized free agent signing of last […]

Dexter Fowler Off To Quiet Start

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler is trying to establish himself with his new team. The veteran is very familiar with manager Joe Maddon from their glory days with the Cubs, but the 34-year-old's production has been on the slide ever since. Fowler has played only 271 games over the last three seasons and has […]

Justin Upton Homers Twice

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Justin Upton popped two home runs in his two plate appearances Monday against the Brewers in Spring Training. The veteran is perhaps the healthiest he has been in several seasons and has shown flashes of a bounce-back season in the making through the early parts of camp. It is a small […]

Andrew Heaney Roughed Up In Spring Start

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney gave up four runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings Monday against Brewers. Control was an issue for Heaney, walking three batters, one of those resulting in a run in the first inning. It certainly is fair to cut the 29-year-old some slack as he works on fine-tuning […]

Relievers Set to Break Out in 2021

As the calendar flips to February and more leagues start drafting, it's time to dive into everybody's favorite topic: breakouts. For now, we'll ignore the increasingly common facial breakouts from pandemic-related stress and focus on relief. Relief pitching, that is. When looking for draft targets at relief pitcher, almost everybody just turns their eyes to […]

Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups

Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and […]

Jon Anderson's Outfield Tiered Rankings and Projections

I continue to press forward on my own personal rankings series. Today we tackle the beast that is the outfield. Check out the rest of the series at the links below if you haven't already! First Base Second Base Shortstop Third Base Starting at the top, here's that juicy tier one full of first-round talent.Be […]

Top 10 Second Basemen - Dynasty Prospect Rankings

Finding a quality second baseman in fantasy baseball is no easy task. In 2019, 16 second basemen posted a 100 wRC+ or better. However, only six managed at least a 120 wRC+ (one of whom got caught for illegal substances). The numbers were fairly similar in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The position has seen some […]

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot% Risers

While the 2020 season may not have given us much of a sample to evaluate outcomes (home runs, doubles, flyouts, etc.), the core events of exit velocity and launch angle stabilize more quickly and can be stickier than combination statistics like ISO or BB%. Two of our FSWA Writer-of-the-Year Finalists, Eric Samulski and Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Finding Over/Undervalued First Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021 […]

2021 Relief Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

We continue to move past the chaos of 2020 and onto a new baseball season full of promise. For fantasy baseball managers, draft season is already upon us. RotoBaller's rankers, Pierre Camus, Big Pick Nick Mariano, Ariel Cohen and I have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings as we now move on to evaluate the […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pull%

We have previously determined that fantasy managers generally prefer batters to hit the ball into the air to have a chance at a home run. Yet, all fly balls are not equal for this purpose. A player can maximize his power production by pulling the ball in the air. One way to illustrate this is […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Late-Round Fliers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Howdy, RotoBallers! I hope you're ready to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. We’re here to dig a little deeper into the draft room and look for players that would be wise to take a flier on in the late rounds. 2021 might […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Sleeper has started to lose its meaning in fantasy sports, becoming an SEO must for articles despite no real consensus on what it means. So let's get my definition out of the way first. Sleepers are not necessarily meant to be names that no one […]

Shohei Ohtani To Pitch On Normal Turn In Rotation This Year

Los Angeles Angels outfielder/pitcher Shohei Ohtani will pitch every fifth day this year, barring a rest day. The Japanese right-hander was originally locked-in to pitch on a specific day, though the Angels plan to use him similarly to their other starters in a six-man rotation. Health-willing, Ohtani is looking to be a two-way player this […]

Mike Trout Batting Second On Friday Against Athletics

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will make his third start of the spring and bat second against the Athletics on Friday. Trout has one walk and one hit in four plate appearances so far, though this will be his first appearance in the two-hole after batting cleanup in his first two games. The three-time […]

2021 Dynasty Leagues: Top Trade Targets (Premium Content)

While redraft owners prepare for draft day, dynasty owners are scouring the trade market. The weeks preceding spring training are optimal to take a chance on young players who have yet to peak or may have question marks surrounding them. Not all buy-low scenarios will pan out as expected, but when playing the long game, […]

Starting Pitcher Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

As the 2021 MLB season approaches, it's a good time to take stock of the dynasty landscape. We've examined hitters at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and outfield. Now it's time to dive into the player pool for starting pitchers. Starters are increasingly difficult to project long-term with the steadily-increasing limitations being placed on […]

2021 Dynasty Leagues: Players to Trade Away (Premium Content)

The wide range of projections for the 2021 Major League season leaves dynasty managers with more questions than ever. How do you value prospects who didn't get the benefit of a minor league season? How much stock do you put into 2020 stats? Is this the time to be aggressive in the trade market or […]

Nick Mariano's Auction Draft Strategies and Tips (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. We 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 to help you go from the […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/4) - Realmuto Nearing Return

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We've finally made it to (real?) baseball games. […]

Joe Maddon Would Like David Fletcher To Steal More Bases

Los Angeles Angels second baseman David Fletcher is one of manager Joe Maddon's favorite players because he's a throwback and gritty player who makes elite contact, gets on base by any means necessary and is a top defender at the keystone. But Maddon would like if it Fletcher became "more of a base-stealing threat" in […]

Max Stassi Not Ready For Games

Los Angeles Angels catcher Max Stassi (hip) isn't ready to appear in Cactus League games after having left hip surgery after the 2020 season, but he is taking part in full workouts and is getting close to making his spring training debut. Barring a setback, Stassi is expected to be ready for the start of […]

Angels Being Flexible With Jaime Barria

Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jaime Barria threw a simulated game on Wednesday instead of seeing action in a Cactus League game. The Angels are waiting to see if Barria will be given an extra year of minor league options because of the shortened season in 2020. If he is out of options, he'll make the […]

Brandon Marsh Being Held Out With Arm Injury

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Brandon Marsh (arm), ranked by MLB Pipeline as the team's top prospect, has been held out of playing defense for precautionary reasons with a minor arm injury. Marsh has still been able to serve as a designated hitter and is expected to be in the lineup on Friday. The 23-year-old left-handed […]

Dylan Bundy With Nice Spring Debut

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Dylan Bundy picked up right where he left off from last year's breakout season, as he tossed two scoreless innings against the Rangers in his spring debut on Wednesday. Bundy had a 3.29 ERA in 11 starts in his first season with the Angels in the shortened 2020 season, and […]

Griffin Canning To Make Spring Debut Thursday

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning will make his spring debut Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Canning performed respectably in 2020 by posting a 3.99 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts across 56 1/3 innings pitched. He will be part of an Angels six-man rotation in 2021, so his innings will likely be limited, […]

Shohei Ohtani Goes Yard Wednesday

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Shohei Ohtani had a great day at the plate Wednesday as he went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and a walk in a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The home run was an absolute mammoth shot to dead-center and marks the beginning of a hot spring for Ohtani, who […]

2021 Keeper Value Rankings - First Base

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 […]

Lineup Takeaways - An Early Look at Spring Training Trends

As many of you know, tracking lineups is what I am all in on this 2021 season and with it comes an influx of data and information right away. Going forward, a weekly article will occur - especially as we get into more tangible information and data. However, I wanted to get ahead of the […]