Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings

Hope springs eternal for the 2021 baseball season, but it's hard to imagine we'll be completely past COVID-19 by then. Plus, we could see opening salvos for the CBA debates to come. But for now, let's just close our eyes and dream of a perfect world and chat as if a 162-game season will come […]

Noteworthy xwOBA-wOBA Pitching Leaders

One of the oddities brought on by the shortened 2020 season was the number of qualified pitchers with huge gaps between their xwOBA and wOBA. In 2019, only seven qualified pitchers posted a wOBA at least 0.050 points away from their xwOBA in either direction, a number that ballooned to 52 pitchers in 2020. Of […]

Year-in-Review: Clint Frazier

With the 2020 MLB season in the books, the focus now shifts to the 2021 season. Coming off such a strange and unusual 2020 season, the biggest questions will revolve around just how much should fantasy players buy into small-sample-sized performances. That question will very much be surrounding Clint Frazier, the former top prospect who […]

Yankees Open To Trading Gary Sanchez

The New York Yankees are at least willing to listen to trade offers for catcher Gary Sanchez, according to two sources. Sanchez really struggled during a shortened 2020 season, as he was replaced as the starter in the postseason by Kyle Higashioka. The Yanks want a full understanding of what free-agent infielder DJ LeMahieu will […]

DJ LeMahieu Won't Accept Yankees Qualifying Offer

Infielder DJ LeMahieu will not accept the New York Yankees qualifying offer and will test the open market as a free agent, according to a source. LeMahieu was one of six free agents to receive the one-year, $18.9 million offer. The 32-year-old is a finalist for the American League MVP after winning the MLB batting […]

Year-in-Review: Luke Voit

The 2020 MLB season just ended, and it is already time to start preparing for the 2021 season. Let’s kick things off by looking back at one of the more significant standouts in the 2020 season, Luke Voit. Voit entered spring in a potential timeshare at first base for the Yankees, but after a late […]

Nick Mariano's Early 2021 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

Let's cut right to it: 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. It is time to decide how […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: Outfielders

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

2021 Fantasy Value First Looks: Shortstop

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

2021 First Look Fantasy Values: First Base and Second Base

The baseball offseason may officially begin with the end of the World Series but the projections offseason began last Thursday night with the release of the first Steamer projections for 2021. Created and maintained by mathematics teacher Jared Cross and his former students, Steamer remains the industry standard for non-aggregated projection systems, as well as […]

Can Yankees Retain DJ LeMahieu?

The New York Yankees will likely make a strong effort to re-sign infielder DJ LeMahieu and they already extended him a one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer, but MLB Trade Rumors predicts that he'll leave for the division-rival Blue Jays. The 32-year-old won the MLB batting crown in 2020 by hitting .364 with 10 home runs […]

Giancarlo Stanton Won't Opt Out Of Contract

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will keep the remaining $218 million and seven guaranteed years on his contract instead of opting out after two injury marred seasons. The soon-to-be 31-year-old hit .266 with 38 home runs and 100 RBI in his first season with the Yankees in 2018. He hit .288 with three home […]

Yankees Decline Options On Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ

The New York Yankees declined their 2021 options on outfielder Brett Gardner and left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ on Friday, making them both free agents. Gardner will receive a $2.5 million buyout instead of a $10 million salary, while Happ's deal didn't come with a buyout. The 37-year-old Gardner is the team's last player from the […]

Yankees Pick Up Option For Zach Britton

New York Yankees relief pitcher Zach Britton had his $14 million option picked up by the team on Thursday, keeping him with the Yankees through the 2022 season. Britton was characteristically excellent in 2020 with a 1.89 ERA over 19 innings, and the 32-year-old collected eight saves in closer Aroldis Chapman's early-season absence. Chapman's contract […]

Yankees Unlikely To Reunite With Didi Gregorius

Philadelphia Phillies impending free-agent shortstop Didi Gregorius said that he doesn't foresee the Yankees wanting to sign him this offseason. Current Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres battling injuries and defensive issues in 2020, hitting only .243 with three home runs and nine errors in 42 games. Gregorius hit .284 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI […]

James Paxton Back To Full Strength

New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton (elbow, back) is reportedly fully healthy and back to normal, according to agent Scott Boras. Given that Paxton is a client of Boras and will be a free agent this offseason, Boras's claims can be taken with a grain of salt, and fantasy managers should be reluctant to […]

Warning Signals in Shift Increases: Part One

Shifts work. Not all the time and not against everyone but eventually there is a sufficient amount of data on a player to be able to draw some pretty strong conclusions about what advantages can be gained by shifting. There are good reasons that Joey Gallo was shifted against 98.5% of the time in 2020. Not everyone […]

Lineup Order Risers and Fallers: AL West 2020 Review

It’s the offseason and there are about to be a bunch of moving parts. This allows for speculation in terms of players gaining or losing playing time, moving up or down a batting order and much more. The idea here is to highlight some lineup situations for each team and some potential winners or losers […]

FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (10/20/20): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

It was a circuitous route to get here, yet after a season chock full of potential landmines, the 2020 World Series kicks off Tuesday night. After a pair of thrilling Game 7’s left it feeling like it could have easily been the Astros and Braves taking to the diamond to crown the sport’s best in […]

Statcast Season Review: 2020 Barrel Leaders (Hitters)

The 2020 MLB season will always be one for the record books, even if everything that took place will have multiple asterisks attached to it. Evaluating Statcast numbers is a nice way to find hot and cold hitters, as well as underachievers and overachievers. Now that the regular season is over, let's reflect on the […]

Gio Urshela Doesn't Need Surgery On Elbow

New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (elbow) did not need surgery for a bone spur in his right elbow after the team was eliminated by the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. The 29-year-old will go with rest and recovery in the offseason. Urshela has played extremely […]

MLB DFS Cheat Sheet and Lineup Picks for 10/14/20 (Premium Content)

MLB DFS Premium Cheatsheet for 10/14 All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. With only two games on the slate, I'll be breaking down each game with my favorite pitchers and hitters from each. I would recommend using some caution here and responsible bankroll management as we have nothing but two-game […]

Gary Sanchez Not Locked Into Starting Role Next Year

New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is not locked in as the team’s starting catcher for 2021, with general manager Brian Cashman refusing to commit to Sanchez filling that role on Wednesday. Sanchez endured a miserable 2020 season with a .618 OPS and a 36% strikeout rate over 49 games, and catcher Kyle Higashioka started […]

Luke Voit Dealing With Plantar Fasciitis

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit (foot) has been dealing with plantar fasciitis and will wear a walking boot for the next week. Voit had been experiencing “foot issues” for most of the season, but the 29-year-old played through the injury to lead the league in home runs and post a .948 OPS. The […]

Luis Severino On Track For July Return

New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (elbow) has been throwing from 90 feet and is expected to rejoin the team in June or July of next season as long as he continues to avoid setbacks. Severino underwent Tommy John surgery in late February after experiencing forearm soreness during the 2019 postseason, and the 26-year-old […]

Aaron Boone Will Return As Manager In 2021

New York Yankees managing general partner/co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner said on Tuesday that manager Aaron Boone will return next season for his fourth year as the Yankees skipper, but also that he was "very disappointed" with the team's inconsistent play in 2020. Boone became the first big-league manager to win 100 or more games in each […]

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (10/14/20) - MLB DFS Lineups

It's Wednesday and we're still rolling through the AL and NL Championship Series with the main slate starting at 5:05 CT. The Tampa Bay Rays are on the verge of an impressive sweep over Houston as they're up 3-0 and will be throwing out their ace in Glasnow. The Braves barely held on to win […]

MLB DFS Cheat Sheet and Lineup Picks for 10/12/20 (Premium Content)

MLB DFS Premium Cheatsheet for 10/12 All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. With only two games on the slate, I'll be breaking down each game with my favorite pitchers and hitters from each. I would recommend using some caution here and responsible bankroll management as we have nothing but two-game […]

Daily MLB DFS Value Plays for FanDuel, DraftKings for 10/12/20 (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Below you will find our Premium DFS value plays for 10/12/2020. These picks will target low-priced players in the main slate. We have a 2-game main slate of playoff baseball on tap today, featuring Game 2 of the ALCS and Game 1 of the NLCS. […]

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS (10/11/20) (Premium Content)

Welcome to the ALCS everyone - we made it! We have a one-game slate on Sunday with a matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros for the AL pennant (everyone had this matchup in the ALCS, right? Right???). We will be pivoting with this article as we're looking at two similar, yet […]