Valuable Long Relievers of 2020 and the Lingering Impact (Part 2)

In part one, we examined the bullpens in Toronto and Cincinnati. The circumstantial insanity of the 2020 MLB season necessitated some adjustments in strategy, both for big-league managers and fantasy baseball GMs. One of these adjustments, prompted by frequent doubleheaders and the three-batter minimum rule, was the greater use of long-relievers and a generally reduced […]

Phil Hughes Retires

Phil Hughes officially announced his retirement from baseball more than two years after throwing his last pitch. The 34-year-old right-hander announced on Twitter on Sunday what's been "fairly apparent ... these last couple years." Hughes won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009 and went 88-79 with a 4.52 ERA in 211 career starts […]

Valuable Long Relievers of 2020 and the Lingering Impact (Part 1)

The circumstantial insanity of the 2020 MLB season necessitated some adjustments in strategy, both for big-league managers and fantasy baseball GMs. One of these adjustments, prompted by frequent doubleheaders and the three-batter minimum rule, was the greater use of long-relievers and a generally reduced workload for rotation pitchers. That makes sense from the perspective of […]

Early Positional Breakdowns: Second Base - Bases Loaded Pod

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) and Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) get an early start on the 2021 positional outlooks. 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 […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings

Once again, I'll start by saying the 2021 baseball season is not guaranteed to be a normal one. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a world unencumbered by COVID-19 and talk about our silly little game as if a 162-game season will come next spring. Join me for my position-by-position […]

Biggest Brl/BBE% Fallers from 2020

Last week, I discussed the importance of the Brl/BBE% and examined some players who had improved the most in the shortened 2019 season. If you haven't yet taken a look at that, I would encourage you to because I also gave a detailed breakdown of why I like this particular stat. However, if you simply […]

DJ LeMahieu Remains Likely To Stay In Bronx

The New York Mets have checked in with free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu after the suspension of Robinson Cano, but the New York Yankees' high interest level still makes it very likely that they re-sign LeMahieu. "I'd say there's an 80% or higher chance that DJ LeMahieu is going to be a New York Yankee," […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Late ADP Options

Like a sitcom catchphrase from a bygone era, we all want more power. We'll take it early and we'll take it late but it always feels extra sweet when one of your final picks suddenly becomes one of the mayors of dong city. Looking at a player's exit velocities can tell us a lot about […]

Dodgers Agree With Tommy Kahnle

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a two-year deal with reliever Tommy Kahnle (elbow) on Wednesday, according to a source. Kahnle will receive $750,000 in 2021, $3.45 million in 2022 and a $550,000 signing bonus. The deal includes $750,000 in performance bonuses in 2022. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery in August while with the […]

Statcast Review - Noteworthy xBA/xSLG Hitting Leaders

Thanks to its abbreviated schedule, the 2020 MLB season resulted in some unusual outcomes. Michael Conforto posted the highest full-season BABIP since Ty Cobb in 1913, Luke Voit was on pace for 60 home runs, and Robbie Ray walked a ridiculous 18% of the batters he faced. xStats were not immune to that weirdness, xBA […]

Strike Zone Rate Analysis - Starting Pitchers

There are hundreds of metrics out there that describe pitchers. The richness of the available data is rivaled by no other sport. This can at times lead to information overload, leading us too far away from the core tenants of what success looks like. One group of statistics that are very simple and very helpful […]

Yankees Top Priority Is DJ LeMahieu

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that re-signing infielder DJ LeMahieu is the "No. 1 priority" this offseason. LeMahieu just finished a team-friendly two-year, $24 million deal and is one of the most attractive free agents this winter. He's been one of the most valuable players the last two years, winning the 2020 batting […]

MLB's Best Pitches by the Numbers

One of the most-often used algorithms in the data science world is called clustering. Clustering is defined, by Wikipedia, as: grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other groups (clusters) In baseball […]

Yankees Trying To Keep DJ LeMahieu

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team has continued negotiations with infielder DJ LeMahieu as the team tries to retain the American League MVP finalist. The 32-year-old is reportedly looking for a five-year deal in the $100 million range after the AL batting champion hit .364 in 2020. He's also slashed an […]

Statcast Review - Hard Hit/Exit Velocity Pitching Leaders

Pitcher contact quality can be a tricky attribute for fantasy managers to incorporate into their analysis. On one hand, pitchers are more at the whim of hitters when it comes to contact quality than the other way around. On the other hand, it certainly seems as though pitchers can exert meaningful control over their contact […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Early ADP Air% Exit Velocity

Looking at average exit velocity to project future power is not very useful compared to looking only at balls hit in the air. Because who cares how hard ground balls are hit? However, it can be even more useful to parse out those velocities into more refined bins and cast a more critical eye to […]

Top 250 Dynasty Prospects for 2021

The 2020 baseball season was unlike any year we’ve ever seen with its shortened season and schedule that can perhaps be best described as organized chaos. The absence of a minor league season played havoc with prospect prognosticators. The 2021 season — and perhaps beyond — will continue to present unique challenges as the pandemic […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings

The 2021 MLB season isn't guaranteed to be normal but I have hope that next spring will be much healthier. As such, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking series for the 2021 fantasy baseball season. How much weight do we give 2020? How […]

Gio Urshela Out Three Months After Elbow Surgery

New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (elbow) underwent surgery on Friday to remove a bone chip from his right elbow and is expected to be out for three months. He'll likely miss around half of spring training, which is set to begin in mid-February. Urshela was placed on the 10-day injured list with a […]

Starting Pitcher K-BB% Fallers: Who to Worry About

In part one of this mini-series, Sam Chinitz covered K-BB% risers from 2021. You can check that post out here. This article will take a look at the pitchers that went in the wrong direction. Strikeout to walk rate is so important to be mindful of when evaluating pitchers. No matter how you slice it, […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings

The upcoming 2021 season may not be normal -- going from 2020 to 2021 doesn't wave a magic wand -- but there's still comfort in baseball. As such, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking series for the 2021 fantasy baseball season. How much […]

Year-In-Review: Indians Pitching Staff

What a wild and wacky MLB season that was. Between the rule changes, schedule adjustments, and constant fear the whole thing could come crashing down, 2020 certainly presented a unique set of challenges to our national past time. One of the biggest challenges within the game, however, was hitting the Cleveland Indians pitching staff. The […]

Michael Brantley Could Be Backup Plan For Yankees

The New York Yankees are in need of more left-handed hitting, and they've had contact with four-time All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley. However, Brantley seems like a Plan B in case the team cannot re-sign second baseman DJ LeMahieu. Brantley will turn 34 in May and could be limited to a short-term deal because of his […]

Yankees To Tender Gary Sanchez

The New York Yankees plan to tender a contract to catcher Gary Sanchez on Wednesday, according to sources. Sanchez was replaced by Kyle Higashioka as the team's primary catcher in the playoffs after he hit just .147 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in the regular season. The two-time All-Star went 1-for-8 with a […]

Is Hard-Hit Rate Predictive?

Over the last 10 or so years, baseball fans have seen all kinds of new statistics pop in front of their faces. Some people really like these new metrics, and some people really do not. Judging by the fact that you are reading this article, I am guessing that you fall into that first grouping. […]

Projecting Power in 2021: Elite Levels of Air% Exit Velocity

Everyone wants more power, even more so when it comes relatively cheap. But even when pricey, you're going to need to draft a bomber or two. One of the best ways to see how a player's power is trending is to sift through their exit-velocities to see what they're saying. Most know by now that […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings

I think most of us would agree that looking forward to 2021 is a good idea. For me, that means immersing myself in the upcoming baseball season. While there's no guarantee COVID-19 won't affect the '21 season, I will approach ranks as if a traditional 162-game season is coming. Join me for my position-by-position ranking […]

Year-in-Review: Shane Bieber

2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber was just simply remarkable in every definition of the word this past season. He led the majors in a number of statistics such as ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122) and tied for the major league lead in wins (8) and quality starts (10). The deeper you look into […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

As we begin to look towards the 2021 baseball season, we can only hope that COVID-19 will be handled well enough to let the season run as normal. Since this is a mere early ranking exercise and we have so much ahead of us, let's just close our eyes and chat as if a 162-game […]

Aroldis Chapman's Suspension Reduced

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman's suspension for throwing near the head of Tampa Bay Rays infielder Mike Brosseau was reduced from three games to two games on Thursday after Chapman appealed the decision. Chapman will serve the suspension at the beginning of the 2021 season. The flame-throwing left-hander struck Brosseau out in the at-bat […]