Catcher: Points Leagues Rankings and Tiers

Welcome to this series of analyzing our site’s points league rankings, compiled by myself and Kyle Bishop. We’re good people, you should get to know us. Points leagues abide by different rules, with walks and strikeouts usually being of notable importance compared to typical 5x5 leagues. It’s not as simple as that of course, but […]

Predicting the Top 10 Finishers in Steals

While the juiced ball has raised home run totals across the board, stolen bases are becoming an increasingly rare commodity. In 2016, there were 14 players who finished with 30 or more steals, while 28 players robbed at least 20 bases. By contrast, 10 years ago there were 19 players who stole 30+ bases and […]

Champ or Chump: Jonathan Villar & Billy Hamilton

Fantasy baseball has always assigned more importance to the running game than its real life counterpart. Rotisserie leagues set steals as equally valuable to home runs, despite the fact that the latter are a guaranteed run on the board. As homers go up and steals decline, some are arguing that steals should be more of […]

Milwaukee Brewers Top MLB Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues

The Milwaukee Brewers seemed to be locked into that third spot in the NL Central for the longest time. Between 2009 and 2014, they were in third place four of those six seasons. Now since 2013, fourth place has seemed to be their permanent home as they have finished second-to-last in all but the 2014 season. […]

Jonathan Villar Rankings Debate: Comparing RotoBaller's Rankers

It's the fantasy baseball draft season. To us baseball nerds, few things are more exciting than arguing about player rankings. Today, we'll discuss and compare Jonathan Villar's RotoBaller staff rankings. He was ranked No. 17 overall by Brad Johnson, and No. 45 by Bill Dubiel. Throughout this series, we'll be using our February Staff Rankings to debate where […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 2: HR/FB%

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most owners find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. Many owners […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Breakouts to Believe In for 2017

Every season, a bunch of players produce way above expectations, and we spend the entire winter arguing over whether or not the improvement was genuine. Separating the men from the boys when it comes to last year’s breakout performances can be the difference between a championship season and bitter, abject failure for your fantasy team. After all, […]

Clearance Sale: Late Round Fliers for Stolen Bases in 2017

Welcome back, my thrifty shoppers, to the second edition of Clearance Sale. We here at Rotoballer are all about a good deal (have you seen our Draft Prep tools?!), and I am the king of good deals. Discount sales, expired goods -- I'm all about value. So to help you prepare for your drafts, we're […]

Neftali Feliz (RP, MIL) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~210 CURRENT ADP: 233 ANALYSIS: Neftali Feliz has had an up-and-down career since 2014, so he will look for consistency in 2017 as the best candidate to close out wins for the Milwaukee Brewers. Entering the season in a rebuilding phase, the Brewers may trade Feliz if he becomes desired by other […]

ADP Values for Fantasy Baseball: Relief Pitchers

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to another article in our series of early ADP value analysis for fantasy baseball. Today, we'll cover some undervalued and overvalued relief pitchers, to try and help identify draft targets and avoids based on ADP. Opening Day is still over a month away, but it's never too soon for draft prep. […]

Expert Mock Draft: Mariano in the Middle

I was fortunate enough to be invited to mock with some of the industry’s brightest on Thursday night, where I was able to test out how picking No. 6 in a 12-team roto league would go. Organized by fightingchancefantasy.com, I locked horns with folks such as Steve Gardner, Tim Heaney, John Halpin and Joel Henard […]

Los Angeles Angels: 2017 Fantasy Team Preview and Outlooks

Spring training is officially underway, and your fantasy draft preparations have likely begun in earnest. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. In these articles, we discuss each team's offseason moves, as well as their hitters, pitchers, and prospects. Today's installment covers the 2017 Los […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Relief Pitchers (February)

I don't care whether you've got snow on your lawn or not. All clubs have reported to Spring Training, which means it's springtime for all. We’ve been bringing you our February rankings updates over the past couple of weeks, and today we wrap up the series with our 2017 relief pitcher fantasy baseball rankings. This round of […]

Are Basestealers Undervalued in Fantasy Baseball?

Last year we heard rumblings of players and fans alike thinking the ball was juiced, as homers skyrocketed. We have also begun to hear teams mention over the years that outs on the basepaths might not be worth the risk of a stolen base. Then again, maybe it’s just my bias as an Orioles’ fan […]

Travis Shaw (3B, MIL) - 2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~275 CURRENT ADP: 311 ANALYSIS: Travis Shaw’s first full season in the majors got off to a good start, but he wasn’t able to keep the momentum going and ended up as the clear weak link in a stacked Red Sox lineup. Now in Milwaukee, he’ll get to play half his games […]

2017 MLB Closer Depth Chart: National League Central

The National League Central features the 2016 World Series Champions and baseball's darlings, the Chicago Cubs. But there are two other solid teams as well in the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds are likely in for long 2017 seasons, but that doesn't mean they are devoid of talent […]

Pittsburgh Pirates: 2017 Fantasy Team Preview and Outlooks

Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training, and your fantasy draft is likely just around the corner. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. In these articles, we discuss each team's offseason moves, as well as their hitters, pitchers, and prospects. Today's installment […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Starting Pitcher, Part One (February)

Pitchers and catchers have reported. A lot has happened in these last four-plus months, but none of what happened was baseball! I think I figured out the problem, you guys. Anyway, we’ve covered the position players in our ongoing February rankings update, so it’s time to move on to the mound. Today’s focus is the […]

Using SIERA to Win Your Fantasy Baseball League

Welcome back to the fantasy baseball classroom where we’re learning about winning strategies and advanced statistics that help us dominate. Previous lessons have been focused on hitters, as we’ve explored BABIP as well as hard-hit rates. Now we turn our attention to pitchers and their SIERA.Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and weekly […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Outfield, Part Two (February)

Yesterday, my colleague Kyle Bishop reviewed the meat of the outfield market. Today, we sort through the mid-tier guys and the scraps (tier six and below) with a keen eye for hidden treasures that could win you your league. Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Outfield, Part One (February)

Welcome back to our February rankings update! Today’s focus is the 2017 outfield fantasy baseball rankings (part one). Specifically, I’ll be covering the top five tiers today, and Jeff Kahntroff has offered his thoughts on the best of the rest in part two of the outfield rankings analysis. As a reminder, this round of rankings […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Third Base (February)

We're continuing our February rankings with our 2017 third base fantasy baseball rankings.  This is where a ton of the mashers live, so pay attention and dig in! This round of rankings features picks from Kyle Bishop, Nick Mariano, Bill Dubiel, Brad Johnson, Harris Yudin and Jeff Kahntroff. Today, Harris will examine the third base position, which remains extremely heavy at […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Shortstop (February)

The Super Bowl has come and gone, which means it's officially baseball season for the initiated. The 2017 fantasy baseball draft board is beginning to come into focus. Now it's time to delve into player rankings. We'll continue with our 2017 shortstop fantasy baseball rankings for February. This round of rankings features picks from Kyle Bishop, Nick Mariano, […]

2017 Keeper Values: Second Base Rankings - Tier Two

What's up RotoBallers. Welcome back to my series on keeper leagues. Today I'll be taking a look at second basemen keeper values for fantasy baseball (tier two)  for those of you deciding what players to keep for your teams. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 1: BABIP for Hitters

Hello fellow RotoBallers! Sabermetrics have become an integral tool for fantasy baseball draft prep, but a concise resource for understanding the basics can be difficult to find. This series attempts to define and explain all of the metrics fantasy owners may find useful, citing examples of how to use them in the process. Twenty advanced […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Second Base (February)

The Super Bowl has come and gone, which means it's officially baseball season for the initiated. The 2017 fantasy baseball draft board is beginning to come into focus. Now it's time to delve into player rankings. We'll continue with our 2017 second base fantasy baseball rankings for February. This round of rankings features picks from Kyle […]

ADP Values For Fantasy Baseball: Shortstops

RotoBallers, happy draft season! We are inching closer to Opening Day, and thankfully that means it’s time to analyze everything under the sun as soon we will soon be in the midst of our fantasy drafts. This article is going to take a look at a few shortstops to determine if their ADP is too […]

2017 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: First Basemen (February)

Welcome to our 2017 fantasy baseball first base rankings for February. Even though first basemen and designated hitter types have faced a tough free agent market this offseason, don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re not valuable fantasy baseball commodities. This round of rankings features picks from Kyle Bishop, Nick Mariano, Bill Dubiel, Brad Johnson, […]

Third Base Draft Values and Sleepers for 2017

RotoBaller's draft values and sleepers series rolls on! Today, we'll discuss some early third base draft values and potential sleepers for the 2017 fantasy baseball season. The quality and depth of the pool at the hot corner this season is astonishing. The top four players at the position are first-rounders, and at least a dozen more are worthy […]

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

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 Draft Position (ADP) data made available from the National Fantasy Baseball […]