Breakouts Relievers Due for Regression in 2020

The closer role is one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball. They can lose their fantasy value with a couple of blow-up performances. Teams are also electing to utilize a committee approach, often using their best reliever in high-leverage situations rather than cementing them to the ninth inning.  This makes it imperative to […]

ADP Reflections - Middle Infielders

With spring training underway and the start of the MLB season less than one month away, fantasy baseball draft preparation season is in full swing. As the MLB season draws near, player ADPs will shift as expectations change and more drafts are completed. Drafting early leaves more room for injuries to hurt fantasy teams, but […]

Justin Turner's X-Rays Come Back Negative

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner (hand) saw his X-rays come back negative after taking a pitch off of his knuckle during Wednesday's Cactus League matchup with the San Francisco Giants. Turner managed to dispel the majority of concerns during the game, as he hit a home run two innings after the incident. The […]

Chris Taylor Suffers Recovery Setback

Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor (shoulder) encountered a setback in his recovery process, and he will not play until he is back to 100 percent health, according to manager Dave Roberts. The team does not consider the ailment to be a long-term issue, and Taylor may be available for Opening Day. The 29-year-old's […]

Cody Bellinger Will Return To Lineup On Thursday

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger (back) will return to Cactus League action on Thursday. The 24-year-old has been resting since Sunday with a knot in his back, but he is back to feeling normal. Fantasy owners can breathe easier, knowing that Bellinger is at full health heading into the 2020 season. Expect the All-Star […]

Yandy Diaz (1B/3B, TB) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~260 CURRENT ADP: ~297 overall ANALYSIS: The Tampa Bay Rays took a chance when they traded for Yandy Diaz last year after he spent two years developing in Cleveland with partial playing time. In 2019, Diaz slashed .267/.340/.476 with 14 HR, 53 R, 38 RBI, and a 10.1% walk rate, despite missing 83 […]

Auction Draft Dollar Day Targets

There are multiple strategies available to drafters in auctions. It is one of the reasons auctions are so much more interesting and fun than snake drafts. They award owners the ability to maneuver their roster the way they see fit. One of the most popular strategies is a stars-and-scrubs alignment, meaning owners pay up for […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2020

This will be my sixth season with RotoBaller, and consequently, my sixth time participating in this bold predictions series. Over that time, I've amassed a fairly strong record with bold predictions, generally clocking in with a success rate of 30 percent. I correctly predicted Bryce Harper's MVP campaign in 2015 and Kirby Yates leading the […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Catcher

I've already revealed the 2020 Keeper Value Rankings throughout the infield: First Base, Second Base, Third Base and Shortstop. Now let's go behind the plate. 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 […]

Finding Over/Undervalued Power Hitters Using Expected Draft Values

A couple weeks ago, we introduced our Expected Draft Values and explained how they would help us identify both over and undervalued players of all types. Power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, with pitchers as well. Today, we'll look at four "power" hitters, as identified by our site projections. Stay tuned over the […]

ADP Reflections - National League Starting Pitchers

The draft season is in full swing. The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) has commenced on the NFBC site, and more and more draft data is filtering through to the masses. We’re now at the point where draft data is shaping draft strategies as people look for value against ADP. There are lots of great […]

2019 Busts Who Will Keep Junking It Up - Starting Pitchers

The term “bust” in fantasy baseball can have a few different definitions. The obvious meaning is a player whose lack of production stinks so bad we have to cut bait on him early in the season. The more common definition is a player who doesn’t live up to his draft-day value. Whether it’s a decline […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2020 Redraft Leagues (March Update)

The sun is shining in Florida and Arizona, and spring training games are underway. That means it’s time to update our redraft prospect rankings for 2020. We last looked at the key prospects for the coming season back in January when there was a lot of uncertainty around players' roles and potential playing time. As […]

Jimmy Nelson Resumes Playing Catch

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jimmy Nelson (lower body) resumed playing catch on Monday after the team had shut him down just four days ago. Manager Dave Roberts said that the best-case scenario for Nelson is to break camp out of the bullpen and then build up his arm as the season progresses. The 30-year-old is […]

Cody Bellinger Scratched Monday With Side Discomfort

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger was a late scratch from Monday's game because he "felt something in his side," according to manager Dave Roberts. The team does not believe this ailment is serious, and that Bellinger will be back in action by the end of the week. It seems as though the team is […]

2020 Third Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

The pool of third basemen for the 2020 dynasty season is jam-packed with talent. From budding stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rafael Devers, to productive veterans like Justin Turner and Mike Moustakas, no one should have trouble finding a useful bat to hold down the hot corner. That said, depth can breed confusion and […]

Josh Lindblom (SP, MIL) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~300s CURRENT ADP: ~320 overall ANALYSIS: Josh Lindblom began his professional baseball career at 21-years-old in the Dodgers’ minor league system, but he was never able to gain a foothold in the major leagues. Over his career so far, Lindblom has thrown 147 major league innings to go along with 497.1 minor league […]

FOMO and the Hype Machine

We’ve officially entered one of my favorite parts of the fantasy baseball season, the cavalcade of articles on sleepers, upcoming prospects, and breakout players. It’s a time of fresh starts, opportunity, and hope, but I’ve also come to wonder if it isn’t potentially distortive and misleading. Case in point: When Luis Robert signed a long-term contract […]

Evaluating OAA for Pitchers Changing Teams (AL and NL-Only)

Earlier this preseason, I looked deeper into Statcast’s new Outs Above Average (OAA) leaderboard, which identifies the best defensive infielders in the league. I used 2019 OAA to look at how a pitcher's new defense will affect his value in the 2020 season. The first article evaluated pitchers drafted inside the top 300 picks, so this […]

ADP Showdown: Keston Hiura vs. Ketel Marte

Heading into 2020 drafts, we see that second base is a relatively deep position. Of course, in terms of elite options, there are roughly seven choices at second base at the top of draft boards. As a result, you want to make sure you choose correctly to get the best value for one of your […]

Alex Verdugo: Redraft and Dynasty Outlook

Alex Verdugo is free. He is off to Boston and rid of the shackles of the Dodgers' outfield committee. With Mookie Betts as the major piece he was moved for, Verdugo will have an outfield spot with his name on it. Where exactly the Red Sox play him -- right field, in all likelihood -- […]

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Yandy Diaz

The Tampa Bay Rays took a chance when they traded for Yandy Diaz last year. He is a Cuban-born player that broke into the MLB in 2017 with the Cleveland Indians. After two years of developing with partial playing time, he was traded to Tampa Bay in a three-way package deal. Diaz will break camp as […]

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot Risers

Sweet spot percentage (SwSp%) is not the best-known Statcast measurement. It doesn't care how hard you hit the ball, just at what trajectory. Well, it doesn't care about that either, it's just a statistic, it has no capacity to care about anything. But what it measures is the number of times a hitter's contact is between […]

Joc Pederson Resumes Baseball Activities Friday

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson (oblique) played catch on Friday as he continues to recover from discomfort in his side. It remains to be seen whether Pederson will be available for Opening Day, but at the very least, he is trending in the right direction. The 27-year-old had a career year in the 2019 […]

Kenley Jansen Looking Revitalized In Cactus League

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is looking polished through the early portion of spring training. On Wednesday during a 9-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels, Jansen struck out the side in his only inning of work. In that appearance, his cutter was touching 92-94 mph, which is a significant increase from last season's velocity. […]

Mike Soroka Will Not Live Up to Draft Price Expectations

Every year there are polarizing players in fantasy baseball. These polarizing players leave no room for middle ground. They are the catalyst for Twitter debates, articles, videos, podcasts, and by the end of it you are forced to chose a side: are you in or are you out? For those of you thinking, surely there […]

Second Basemen Set to Breakout in 2020

The purpose of this article, as the title suggests, is to identify second basemen who have shown the potential to have a breakout season heading into 2020. These will be players that were likely on waivers at some point in your league during 2019 and may or may not have been added down the stretch. […]

Elite Starters and Pitching Trends Revisited

Last year I wrote a series [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] on whether we were properly valuing elite starting pitchers. The basic premise was that we were likely to see fantasy-relevant starters (not openers) throw fewer innings again in 2019. I hypothesized that if there were fewer and fewer starting pitchers providing 200 innings […]

ADP Cost Analysis: Gleyber Torres vs Max Muncy

Fantasy baseball is a great game, and there may not be a better time of the season than draft prep. The numbers are flying around, and the group texts are saying that it's Acuna's year to be No. 1 while others take the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach with Mike Trout. The […]

Evaluating OAA for Pitchers Changing Teams (12-Team Leagues)

Last week, I looked at Statcast’s new Outs Above Average (OAA) leaderboard, which they’ve used to identify the best defensive infielders in the league. My initial exploration of the metric was designed to identify pitchers who might have been lucky or unlucky last year as a way of mining for bounceback value or avoiding potential […]