ADP Champ or Chump - J.T. Realmuto and Wilson Ramos
This week I am turning my attention to the position that gives most fantasy owners the biggest concerns, the catcher position. Every year there is at least one catcher who rises to the top of the position and ends up being drafted clearly ahead of the others. This season that catcher is J.T. Realmuto, who is […]
Catcher - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, and I’m here to continue RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series for points league and head-to-head (H2H) formats with the increasingly scant catcher position. Traditionally a thin position to begin with, catcher seems to be growing thinner every year as far as fantasy production […]
RotoBaller MLB Radio - Triple Play Pod with Caleb Frare
RotoBaller fantasy baseball experts Mike the Roto Cop, Anthony Aniano, and Danny Baseball take a look at the at latest fantasy baseball free agent news, and dig deep with MLB Pitcher Caleb Frare. In this podcast you will hear about: A.J. Pollock, Wilson Ramos Brad Brach, Marco Estrada Nick Castellanos Be sure to also tune into […]
Keon Broxton - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
2018 was a bit of a roller coaster for Keon Broxton with multiple trips between Milwaukee and Colorado Springs, about as much of a culture shift as one can find in the country. One city has good beer, the other is Colorado Springs. Whatever the context, the one thing that baseball fans know about the […]
Third Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
The hot corner is stacked like never before, especially with the anticipated arrival of mega-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Waiting on a third baseman won't hurt given the relative depth of the position. With the multi-position eligibility of several players on this list, one could easily grab several of these names within the first few rounds […]
Second Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to carry on RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series for points league and head-to-head (H2H) formats with the keystone position. Traditionally a scarce position in fantasy, second base has truly risen over the past few years, and truthfully I'd be happy […]
First Base - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers
It’s never too early to start looking toward the fantasy baseball season, so I’m here to kick off RotoBaller’s position-by-position rankings analysis series for points league and head-to-head (H2H) formats with the hard-hitting first base position. Traditionally a power haven, first base has a fairly clear top three tiers and then the floor starts to […]
Is Punting Steals a Viable Draft Strategy in 2019?
For readers who tune in to watch MLB games regularly, the phrase “small ball is dead” is becoming more and more the cliche. Managers do not feel the need to run as much, there is a decreasing rate of sacrifice bunts, and above all, no more hit-and-run as a primary offensive tactic. While many factors […]
Three Up, Three Down for Prospects - First Basemen
Power. Nothing else defines the position more than pure, raw power. If you have it, you better display it in abundance, or there will be concerns. If you are smaller in stature, there will be concerns. If your talent is just hit tool, there will be concerns. If your defense is lacking, there will be […]
Franmil Reyes - Petco Power Hitter?
Franmil Reyes hit 16 home runs in 87 games in his rookie campaign, a 30-HR pace. Historically, hitting home runs at Petco Park has been quite difficult. Since moving to the stadium in 2004, the Padres only have had six 30-HR hitters, ranking 26th in baseball in that time, and four of those were Adrian […]
Mets Agree With Justin Wilson
The New York Mets agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal with free-agent relief pitcher Justin Wilson on Friday. Wilson put up a 3.46 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 11.4 K/9 in 54 2/3 innings for the Cubs in 2018. The left-hander will merely be a lefty specialist as a setup guy with his new team […]
NL-Only Deep League Draft Targets
Objectively, deep-league AL or NL-only fantasy baseball is the best format to play this summer. For one, NL-only leagues were the original formats of fantasy baseball. With both an expanded and limited player pool, the unique challenges of balancing depth with team need come to the fore. While this writer might be in the minority, I […]
Mike Zunino - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
There are three distinct tiers at the catcher position entering 2019. Gary Sanchez and J.T. Realmuto stand alone as one and two. Behind them in no particular order are, Salvador Perez, Wilson Ramos, Willson Contreras, Buster Posey, and Yasmani Grandal. However, by season's end Mike Zunino may find himself in that discussion as the 12th […]
Jed Lowrie Signing Pushes Mets Prospects Aside (For Now)
The New York Mets recently added Jed Lowrie to their already-packed infield. In his age 33 and 34 seasons, he impressed with slash lines of .277/.360/.448 and .267/.353/.448, respectively. He also added a career-high 23 home runs in 2018, his first career All-Star season. Lowrie did show some regression in the second half of 2018 […]
Top 420: Points Leagues Tiered Staff Rankings (January)
Welcome back RotoBallers. Today we are here to start looking at points leagues and head-to-head (H2H) formats. In this column, you will find our staff's preliminary 2019 fantasy baseball points league rankings for January and the top 420 players. Over the next few days, we will also be publishing individual tiered rankings analysis columns for each […]
Nick Mariano's 2019 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. 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 […]
Jorge Soler - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
You’ve probably heard this one before, but for the umpteenth time, Kansas City Royals outfielder Jorge Soler is officially on sleeper watch. The 26-year-old has been flirting with a breakthrough ever since he made the move to the American League in 2016. Amid their World Series run, the Cubs were happy to part ways with […]
2019 Bullpen Outlooks - National League Central
Now that the National League East and all their moves have been covered, it's time to look at the NL Central and discuss the lack of movement in that division. Several teams in the NL Central could benefit from strengthening their relief corps, yet only one team has made any noise in free agency or […]
Diamondbacks Sign Wilmer Flores
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed free-agent infielder Wilmer Flores to a one-year, $4.25 million deal on Wednesday, according to league sources. He will make a base salary of $3.7 million with a $500,000 buyout on a 2020 club option worth $6 million. Flores was mostly a part-time player with the Mets in 2018, hitting .267/.319/.417 with […]
Mallex Smith - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a safe speed option on your fantasy roster that doesn’t completely drain all your other roto categories. With the sport changing to selling out for power instead of hitting for average and playing small ball, stolen bases have been a lost art. Not counting the strike-shortened 1981 and 1994 […]
ADP Champ or Chump - Peter Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Prospecting can be an excellent way to find value on draft day and beyond, but every year a couple are hyped to the point that you need them to reach their full upside just to break even on your investment. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. seems to be that guy in 2019, as he is currently being […]
NL Rookies to Target in 2019 Mixed Redraft Leagues
As the New Year has finally come, and fantasy football is over, at last, fantasy baseball draft season is right around the corner. With that comes mock drafts, draft previews, ADP analysis, and of course, player recommendations. This article will help owners get ready by looking to the National League All-Star team of rookies to […]
2019 Outfielders - Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings
Outfield is a unique position in the fantasy world. The best of the best reside in the outfield, with our consensus top two picks and nine of the top 25 overall players making this list. On the other hand, it is by far the deepest and easiest to gain late-round value if you choose to […]
2019 Relief Pitchers - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings
A tough position to evaluate is that of relief pitchers, as a lot of success for closers comes from success from teams. There are also a lot of bullpens by committee these days, further stifling the value of closers. That being said, only four of the pitchers that ranked in the top-10 in saves in […]
2019 Third Basemen - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings
We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the third base position. Even though it is only January, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli, and I have come up with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these rankings […]
2019 Starting Pitcher - Early Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings
We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with the second base position. The sun is still rising on 2019, but RotoBaller writers JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Chris Zolli and myself are here with our initial pre-draft rankings to give you a sense of player values as early as possible. As the offseason progresses, these […]
Michael Conforto Gets $4.025 Million From Mets
New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $4.025 million deal after he made $605,094 in 2018. While Conforto's average suffered a bit last season, he took steps forward by hitting 28 home runs and driving in 84 in 153 games. His lack of speed on the […]
Steven Matz Avoids Arbitration
New York Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $2.625 million deal. He made just $577,000 last season. While Matz doesn't have the upside of Jacob deGrom or Zack Wheeler, he finally was able to stay healthy in 2018 and make more than 22 starts. The left-hander […]
Zack Wheeler Earns Raise For 2019
New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $5.975 million deal with a $25,000 bonus. Wheeler made $1.9 million in 2018. The 28-year-old right-hander finally took the next step in 2018 and went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 179 strikeouts across 29 starts […]
Jacob deGrom Avoids Salary Arbitration
New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $17 million deal. It's a record raise in the arbitration process for a third-time arbitration-eligible pitcher. deGrom earned it by winning the National League Cy Young by going 10-9 with a microscopic 1.70 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 269 […]