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Fantasy Value In a 50-Game Season: Starting Pitchers
Having now passed the ides of June, there is still no start date for the 2020 season and no guarantee that we'll even ever get one. MLB and the MLBPA continue to pass proposals back and forth, with each side taking their turn at rejection. This puts baseball in a situation where Commissioner Rob Manfred is […]
Four Yankees Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus
Four New York Yankees employees have reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. None of the positive tests appear to be players, but additional MLB-related coronavirus cases put the season even more at risk than it already was. The Yankees are moving their spring training back to New York with rising cases in Florida, but even the […]
ADP Champ or Chump: Mike Minor
How will the shortened MLB season impact the fantasy game? This question is foremost on many owners' minds, and one of the most common responses has been to value workhorse pitchers who rack up decisions more highly. Owners are encouraged to draft studs like Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, but realistically you won't be able […]
Aaron Hicks Ready For July Opening Day
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks (elbow) confirmed that he will be ready to play if the season starts in late July. Hicks has enjoyed a setback-free recovery from Tommy John surgery so far, and he’s been taking batting practice and throwing from 160 feet over the past few weeks. With the talks between MLB […]
MLB Draft Review and More with Chris Welsh - Bases Loaded Podcast
Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Chris Welsh (@IsItTheWelsh) and they dive into the MLB draft. 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 […]
Infielders Ready to Break Out Late
Finding value is crucial on draft day and finding just one or two players later in drafts that provide better numbers than projected can give you a significant edge on the competition as you bid for fantasy glory. All too often, we look for the new shiny object in drafts thinking they’ll come up to […]
Aaron Hicks Filmed Taking Batting Practice
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks (elbow) was filmed taking batting practice as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. Hicks appears to be in line for a healthy start to the season (whenever that me be) as expected, and fantasy owners should expect him to claim a starting job in the Yankee outfield. […]
Yankees Agree With Five Undrafted Pitchers
The New York Yankees agreed to terms with five undrafted free-agent pitchers following the conclusion of the 2020 MLB draft last week. Due to the shortened draft this year, all 30 teams may sign an unlimited number of high school and college players who went undrafted for a maximum of $20,000 each. The list of […]
Judge Rules MLB's Letter To Yankees Should Be Unsealed
A New York judge ruled on Friday that a letter from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to the New York Yankees addressing a 2017 investigation of the team should be unsealed. The Yankees have made an emergency appeal before the letter is to be unsealed on June 19. The Yankees and MLB have the chance to […]
Trevor Hauver, Beck Way Conclude Yankees 2020 Draft
The New York Yankees selected Arizona State second baseman Trevor Hauver with the 99th overall pick in the third round in the 2020 MLB draft on Thursday. The Yanks closed out their draft by selecting Northwest Florida State right-handed pitcher Beck Way in the fourth round (129th overall). New York had only three draft picks […]
Does James Paxton's Spin-Rate Adjustment Matter?
Players frequently enter spring training in, "the best shape of their lives," but offseason programs rarely seem to pay significant dividends. The extended offseason may have provided some players with the opportunity to make unusually significant adjustments this year, though. One example of such an adjustment is Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton, who recently announced that […]
ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Underachievers with SIERA (Part 2)
Welcome back RotoBallers to my Lie Detector mini-series (you can read part one here). Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin […]
Yankees Select Austin Wells With First-Round Selection
The New York Yankees selected Arizona catcher Austin Wells with the 28th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft on Wednesday. The Yankees liked Wells enough to take him in the 35th round out of high school in 2018, and they've now drafted him a second time. The left-handed catcher has power to all fields […]
Major League Baseball 2020 Mock Draft
The 2020 MLB amateur draft takes place later tonight and it will be unlike any draft we’ve seen. With owners crying poor and minor league systems set to be permanently compressed, the draft has been slashed from the normal 40 rounds to just five — although teams will be able to sign undrafted players as […]
Fantasy Baseball Insider Report: Shortened Season Alters Strategies
The award-winning Fantasy Baseball Insider Series continues on RotoBaller, this time with in-depth takes on the shortened season from a former MLB executive and current broadcaster. Every year, Scott Engel talks to prime MLB sources to get exclusive nuggets of information. On the condition of anonymity, former and current players, executives, scouts, media members and […]
Reassessing ADP - Picks 1-100 - Bases Loaded Podcast
Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) is joined by Jorge Montanez of RotoBaller (@Roto_Nino). They dive into recent ADP data. 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 […]
Diving Into Pitch Counts For a Shortened Season
Pitchers who produce a ton of innings are a rare commodity in today’s game, with those who consistently put up 200 or more innings becoming increasingly valuable. However, with a potential shortened 2020 season and no innings limits, will this playing field be leveled? At first thought, one might think that pitchers with assumed limits […]
How to Approach MLB Rookies in 2020 Re-draft Leagues
While the players and owners continue to trade demands for getting the 2020 season on its feet, we're going to turn our attention to fantasy. This article will specifically look at players who have yet to make their major league debut (or come up for more than the proverbial cup of coffee) and how fantasy […]
Fantasy Baseball ADP Risers - Head-Scratching Trends?
Welcome to Part Two of the ADP Risers and Fallers series, where I will examine key changes from March to the present day. If you missed Part One, where I evaluated injured players and prospects, you can read it right here. Those were the easy risers and fallers. In this article, we will delve into […]
Eliminating Park Factors: Hitters That Will Suffer Most
While optimism continues to grow surrounding the likelihood we will have baseball in 2020, there are still a few hurdles to clear, and plenty of unknowns regarding the parameters. While the universal DH seems like a near-certainty at this point, other important factors- like how many games will be played and where they will take […]
Overvalued and Undervalued Starting Pitchers
Spring training is often the time when players start climbing up or freefalling down draft boards. This year, however, without a full spring training to draw from, there is less talk of a pitcher with a new and improved change-up, and fewer managers blowing smoke, influencing fantasy owners. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of value […]
ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Overachievers With SIERA (Part 2)
Welcome back RotoBallers to my Lie Detector mini-series (you can read part one here). Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin […]
Luis Severino Recovering From Tommy John Surgery
New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (elbow) is reportedly progressing well from his offseason Tommy John surgery. Severino underwent the surgery in February, and if he can continue to progress without setbacks then he should be healthy for the start of the 2021 season. Severino is a fantasy ace when healthy with an impressive […]
Outfield Draft Values - Later Round Fliers
Host Michael Florio of RotoBaller Radio discusses the 2020 fantasy baseball season. In this episode, he brings you his fantasy baseball draft sleepers at the outfield position. 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 into […]
ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 ERA Underachievers With SIERA
Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin a pitcher's ERA, albeit in a different manner. Although technically a backward-looking evaluator, SIERA […]
How to Approach High Stakes Leagues in 2020, Part 2
While we await confirmation that there will be a season, and clarity on how it will play out, there's plenty of fantasy baseball prep work to do. Sure, it's impossible to nail down definite strategies or exact player values with so much uncertainty surrounding the season. But we can at least start to figure out […]
ERA Lie Detector: Finding 2019 Overachievers With SIERA (Part 1)
Skills-Interactive ERA (or SIERA) has been around since 2011 when it was introduced at Baseball Prospectus by Matt Swartz and Eric Seidman before moving to its current home at Fangraphs. Much like xFIP, SIERA attempts to quantify the skills that underpin a pitcher's ERA, albeit in a different manner. Although technically a backward-looking evaluator, SIERA […]
James Paxton Adding Fastball Spin
New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton has altered his fastball grip to produce a higher spin rate with the pitch. Paxton tends to throw his fastball up in the zone, and the pitch is complemented by a solid curveball. As a result, if Paxton successfully adds spin to his fastball then he’s likely to […]
Giancarlo Stanton Taking Batting Practice
New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton (calf) has been taking batting practice as he continues to recover from a calf strain suffered early in spring training. The Yankees have been optimistic that Stanton would be healthy for the start of the season, and taking BP is a strong sign in that direction. Stanton is sometimes […]
Aaron Judge Not Yet Swinging
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (rib) has yet to resume swinging, indicating that he still hasn’t had an additional CT scan. Judge is scheduled to undergo a CT scan sometime soon, but he hasn’t swung pain-free since the beginning of spring training and is unlikely to start swinging before getting a clean scan. Until […]
