DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (7/23/20) - MLB DFS Lineups

WE ARE BACK! These are words that baseball fans have been waiting to hear for quite some time. For the opening night schedule we will have two games to get things started. The defending World Series champs will face the Yankees starting at 7:08 PM EST, followed by the Giants and the Dodgers. Be sure […]

MLB Betting Picks (7/23/2020) - Moneylines, Totals, and Runlines

The time has finally come! After weeks (and months) of thinking we'd never see Major League Baseball's Opening Day in 2020, July 23rd comes along to save the day. Man, what a weird season this is going to be though. I'm sure I don't need to run the circumstances by you, but if you need […]

MLB DFS Prop Picks for Thursday, July 23rd - Monkey Knife Fight

We have finally reached the start of the 2020 MLB Season! Just sit and let that sink in for a moment, folks. After four long months of waiting, we can finally start setting our lineups and get into the groove of fantasy baseball. Of course, along with the start of the 2020 season, comes the […]

DJ LeMahieu Could Start On Saturday

New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu could start at second base for Saturday’s game against the Nationals, according to manager Aaron Boone. LeMahieu is available off of the bench on Thursday, but the Yankees want the 32-year-old to get more live at-bats in before rejoining the lineup after he missed time with a positive […]

Tyler Wade Starting At Second Base Over DJ LeMahieu

New York Yankees infielder Tyler Wade is starting at second base for the team over DJ LeMahieu on Thursday. LeMahieu is still getting back into game shape after a relatively brief coronavirus-related absence, but the 32-year-old is likely to return to the Yankee lineup within the next week. Until LeMahieu returns, Wade will start at […]

MLB Streamers for Thursday, July 23rd

Welcome to the 2020 MLB Season! While the delay has now been well over four months, it is finally time to start the season and we here at RotoBaller could not be more excited! The season will be a sprint to the finish as the teams will be playing 60 games across 66 days and […]

Roto Category Deflations for Hitters in 2020

Things are going to happen fast in 2020. You’ll want to click that add button on hitters who are in the midst of hot streaks quicker than most seasons as a 10-day hot streak this year makes up for over 15% of the full MLB season - as opposed to just 6% in a full […]

RotoBaller Experts League No. 2 Draft Recap

Here at RotoBaller, there is no such thing as being in too many fantasy baseball leagues. Some of the writers here are lucky enough to participate in The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational, which pits writers, analysts, and experts from all across the baseball community against each other. One RotoBaller writer even started a relievers-only bullpen […]

Updated Points League Rankings Risers and Fallers (July)

Is it feasible to do a weekly H2H league in 2020? Sure. Is it a great idea? Not really. With just under 10 weeks of actual baseball, the whole "sprint" metaphor will become real in a hurry. Total points leagues aren't as popular but make a lot more sense over the course of a 60-game season. […]

Sauceda's Slants: Finding POWA in the Infield

We recently introduced our new hitter metric, POWA (which stands for Prediction of wOBA Attempt), to more appropriately align and weight new Statcast metrics to better predict future performance. You can read the introductory piece for the full details and a 2019 POWA leaderboard, but the gist of it is: POWA is nearly 10% more […]

Aroldis Chapman Still Testing Positive For Coronavirus

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is still testing positive for coronavirus as of Wednesday. Chapman is now mostly symptom-free according to manager Aaron Boone, but Chapman is ineligible to rejoin the team until he tests negative twice over a 24-hour period. Given that Chapman will likely need time to get back into game […]

Gerrit Cole Could Throw 100 Pitches On Thursday

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole may through 90 to 100 pitches against the Nationals on Thursday, according to manager Aaron Boone. The Yankees don’t appear to want to get too creative or cautious with their star pitcher, and for good reason. Fresh off of a season with a sparkling 2.50 ERA and 34% […]

DJ LeMahieu Uncertain For Opening Day

New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu may not play on Thursday as he continues to get back into game shape after isolating with coronavirus. LeMahieu rejoined the Yankees last Friday after testing negative for coronavirus twice over a 24-hour period, but manager Aaron Boone doesn’t want to rush the 32-year-old back into games. Even […]

Jordan Montgomery To Start On July 29

New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery is in line to start on July 29 against the Phillies, according to manager Aaron Boone. Montgomery was optioned to the team’s alternate site on Tuesday as a means to add relievers for a bullpen game on July 26, but the 27-year-old will be the team’s fifth starter […]

Closer Conundrum: What Does Managing Like It's The Playoffs Mean?

"In a 60-game season, managers will approach every game like it's the playoffs." We've heard that refrain over and over again as we prepare for the 2020 fantasy baseball season. In fact, I think I've written that sentence, or something similar, close to ten times already. But that statement brings up a natural follow-up question: How […]

Sauceda's Slants: More POWA to your Outfield

We recently introduced our new hitter metric, POWA (which stands for Prediction of wOBA Attempt), to more appropriately align and weight new Statcast metrics to better predict future performance. You can read the introductory piece for the full details and a 2019 POWA leaderboard, but the gist of it is: POWA is nearly 10% more […]

Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt Don't Make Opening Day Roster

New York Yankees pitching prospects Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt will start the season at the team's alternate training site. Manager Aaron Boone said the team thinks the 21-year-old Garcia needs more seasoning after his rough exhibition start on Monday against the Phillies. Schmidt's absence on the 40-man roster hurt his case for breaking camp […]

Michael King A Candidate To Open Third Game

New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael King earned a spot on the Opening Day roster as one of the standouts of summer camp, and the 25-year-old is a candidate to open the third game of the season against the Nationals, along with Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga. King is the team's No. 25 prospect, per […]

Yankees Option Jordan Montgomery

New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery was optioned to the team’s alternate training site on Tuesday. This was likely a short-term move to open up spots for relievers early in the season, as manager Aaron Boone announced that the team will have a bullpen day on July 26 to fill in for the recovering […]

Masahiro Tanaka On Pace For July 31 Start

New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (head) threw 20 pitches from the mound on Tuesday. Barring any setbacks, Tanaka is scheduled to throw around 40 pitches on Sunday, putting him in line to start on July 31 against the Red Sox. Tanaka is slated to miss one start with that timeline, giving the Yankees […]

Roto Category Inflations for Pitchers in 2020

Limited sample sizes are scary territory for pitching results and analysis. In this year’s upcoming 60-game season, starting pitchers are going to be maxing out with around 12 starts, meaning that just one or two blowup games could cause a pitcher’s season-long numbers to look quite ugly. So how do fantasy managers adjust? The key […]

Updated Third Base Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues (July)

Opening Day is quickly approaching, and we’ve got some updated fantasy baseball rankings here at Rotoballer. The 2020 season will be unusually uncertain, with even minor injuries potentially forcing players to miss significant portions of the season and a short season creating small samples of key stats. Certainty should be a little easier to find […]

Fantasy Life Vests: Safe Hitters In A Season Of Chaos

Chaos is the name of the game when it comes to the 2020 Major League Baseball season. We've got a short season, a limited schedule, expanded rosters, universal DH, and the continuously looming threat of a global pandemic. In other words, we have a plethora of factors we've never had to deal with before as […]

Essential Multi-Position Performers for the Shortened Season

We have already seen several players opt out of the season and others having their outlooks for the beginning of the schedule clouded by COVID-19. There will certainly be more players forced out of action, and some may even elect to walk away when they reach certain service time thresholds or if their team falls […]

Updated Outfielder Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues (July)

With Opening Day of the 2020 MLB season just a few days away, we have a new batch of updated fantasy baseball rankings for you here at RotoBaller. The unpredictable effects of COVID-19 and the implementation of the 60-game season will make the upcoming fantasy campaign the most unique we have ever seen. Not only […]

Introducing POWA - A New Hitting Metric Stickier Than wOBA

It can be fun to look back at previous things you’ve written, gaining a window into your state of mind in that moment. I originally wrote much of this piece back in March, when baseball seemed like a distant dream. From March: "The last few weeks have been challenging. In the grand scheme of things, […]

Aaron Hicks (OF, NYY) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ team leagues ROSTERED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Want to invest cheaply in a likely regular piece of the Yankees' offense who might've slipped past your opponents due to the long COVID-19 layoff? The switch-hitting, slick-fielding Aaron Hicks appears close to a return after recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in […]

James Paxton Still Trying To Find Velocity

New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton threw 84 pitches over five innings in a simulated game on Monday, and although manager Aaron Boone came away comfortable with Paxton’s performance, Paxton indicated that he’s still unsatisfied with his velocity. Paxton’s exact velocity from Monday’s game is unclear, but his fastball was sitting around 93 mph […]

Historically Fast Starters to Target

The 2020 fantasy baseball season will be unlike any that has existed before. A 60-game sprint to the finish will offer all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. One consequence that seems obvious, though, is that players will not have a chance to round into shape. Guys will need to be on top of their […]

Updated Relief Pitcher Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Mixed Leagues (July)

With Opening Day of the 2020 MLB season just a few weeks away, we have a new batch of updated fantasy baseball rankings for you here at RotoBaller. The unpredictable effects of COVID-19 and the implementation of the 60-game season will make the upcoming fantasy campaign the most unique we have ever seen. Not only […]