2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Relief Pitchers (March)
It's only fitting that we close out the March rankings with the closers. Because these "firemen" are often on the hot seat, the value of a closer can change more quickly than any other position. While it is beyond the scope of this article, it is important to monitor the closer handcuffs as the season […]
Will Smith (RP, MIL) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~250 CURRENT ADP: 269 ANALYSIS: For the most part, the Milwaukee Brewers represent a fantasy baseball dead zone in 2016, but closer Will Smith gives owners something to get excited about. Last year, 64.7% of Smith’s pitches were strikes. This split aided him in holding batters to a .218 average, and earned […]
Carson Smith (RP, BOS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~275 CURRENT ADP: 285 ANALYSIS: Carson Smith was traded from the Mariners, where he was in the mix for saves last year, to the Red Sox, where he is behind Craig Kimbrel and probably Koji Uehara. If you just want relievers for the sake of saves, Smith might not be someone to […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Starting Pitchers, Part 1 (March)
Our starting pitching rankings will be split into two parts. Today's edition will examine only the top five tiers of starters, as determined by our staff's composite rankings (which differ a bit from my own evaluations where noted). Using the composite rankings to guide discussion helps to highlight personal preferences while also providing a more balanced view of […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Outfield, Part 2 (March)
Smoothly transitioning from yesterday's top four tiers to today's best of the rest, let's start my overvalued/undervalued list with a player who recently snuck up from tier 5 to tier 4 and thus snuck his way into this column. Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up […]
Starlin Castro (2B/SS, NYY) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~190 CURRENT ADP: 204.7 ANALYSIS: At age 25, Starlin Castro has a chance to continue a late-season run that salvaged an otherwise bust of a 2015 season. While the move away from Chicago's stacked, young lineup isn't great, Castro was not in an ideal fantasy situation there. He is projected to bat […]
Luis Severino (SP, NYY) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~145 CURRENT ADP: 156.3 ANALYSIS: In 11 starts following his mid-season call-up in 2015, Luis Severino lived up to the hype that made him the Yankees’ most highly-regarded prospect. Over that span, he compiled a 2.89 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Batters made contact on 78.7% of Severino’s pitches, but were only […]
Tom Bellucco's 10 Bold Predictions for 2016
Fellow writer Kyle Bishop had a great idea for us "experts" to come up with a plethora of bold predictions. So far we've see the 10 bold predictions from Kyle and Max. Now it's my turn. I like to think I did fairly well on my more conservative predictions last year (believing in the Gerrit Cole, […]
The Waiting Game: 5 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
This article originally appeared on We Talk Fantasy Sports. You can follow Brant on Twitter @BrantChesser. Fantasy baseball drafts and auctions place owners in difficult situations at various times throughout each day. When should we draft the best player on the board? When should we fill out our roster? Quite a few owners would say […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Outfield, Part 1 (March)
This is the fourth and final update to our outfield staff rankings. Once again, I was joined by colleagues Kyle Bishop, Bill Dubiel, Brad Johnson, Nick Mariano, Max Petrie, and Harris Yudin. In case you missed them, you can see our updated March tiered rankings and analysis breaking down our thoughts for catcher, first base, […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Third Base Rankings (March)
Oh yeah, you know you love yourself some hot corner action. Third base is one of those premier power spots where you know your team can’t be slouching. If you don't know us by now, the seven rankers are Brad Johnson, Kyle Bishop, Max Petrie, Harris Yudin, Jeff Kahntroff, Bill Dubiel, and myself. In case […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Shortstop Rankings (March)
Welcome to our final round of rankings. We've been guiding you throughout the offseason and it has all culminated to this. These rankings will be your guide in fantasy drafts, and while they shouldn't be seen as an end-all, be-all assessment, it's wise to have an understanding of where the market values the players you […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Rankings: Second Base (March)
It seems like only yesterday that we kicked off our preseason coverage back in December with the first round of our RotoBaller staff rankings. Just kidding – it feels like an eternity whenever we’re waiting for baseball to return. But the weather is warming, the days are getting longer, and spring training is in full […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Will Smith
In baseball, too many options is the best problem a team could have. According to 620 WTMJ's Greg Matzek, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell informed him that both Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith could get the nod as the team's potential closer. Throwing Cory Knebel into the late-inning mix, the Brewers have at least one […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered First Base Rankings (March)
Many fantasy baseball drafts have already been held, and there are more on the way. I finally have a drafted team to look over every single day and check for injuries (so far, so good), so all is right in the world. But for those of you who have yet to draft, we've got the rankings and […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Tiered Catcher Rankings (March)
Welcome to our final round of rankings. We've been guiding you throughout the offseason and it's all culminated to this. These rankings will be your guide in fantasy drafts, and while they shouldn't be seen as an end-all, be-all assessment, it's wise to have an understanding of where the market values the players you seek. […]
Raisel Iglesias (SP, CIN) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~130 CURRENT ADP: 145 ANALYSIS: The hard throwing Raisel Iglesias came onto the scene in Cincinnati last season and turned a lot of heads, and he has quickly become one of the most popular sleepers in 2016 drafts. Even though Iglesias went 3-7 in 16 starts last season with a 4.15 ERA, […]
Industry Mock Draft Reactions: Reaches of the Draft
Now we find ourselves with the final question to be answered regarding the industry mock draft that we hosted last Thursday. Now we’re looking at those go-go-gadget picks, asking everyone who they thought the reach of the draft was. As is tradition, I’ll be following everyone’s thoughts with a brief commentary of my own because […]
Three Potential Busts to Avoid on Draft Day: Teheran, Chapman, Hamels
This article first appeared on wetalkfantasysports.com by Jason Johnson. You can find him on twitter @y2trips. Now that I’ve covered three players that I’m really high on, let’s look at a few players that I think have zero chance to live up to their ADP. Please note that current ADP data has been pulled from FantasyPros.com's consensus, […]
2016 Outfield Prospects and Dynasty Rankings
This is an outfield prospects omnibus, a one stop clearinghouse for all of the profiles I created in the last month. With this post finished, I'll have just enough time to whip through starting pitching before we're too deep into dynasty draft season. You can also read about catchers, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base. Mostly, […]
Industry Mock Draft Reactions: Most Regrettable Pick?
Back again with more insight into the industry mock draft that took place last Thursday. This time we’re looking at the picks that each of us wished we could give the ol’ Men in Black memory wipe to everyone else. Again, I’ll be following everyone’s thoughts with a brief commentary of my own because it’s […]
Tanaka and Stroman Look Healthy, Injuries Strike Freeman and Cabrera, Joc Pederson Named Starter
Fantasy Baseball Spring Training News and Notes for 3/12/16 Tanaka, Stroman Look Healthy After 2015 Injuries Initial questions regarding the health of starting pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and Marcus Stroman, two AL East pitchers who had their 2015 shortened by injury, have been answered with smiles after recent Spring Training outings. The Yankees' Tanaka, ranked 29th […]
2016 Bust Candidates: AL Starting Pitchers to Avoid
The wait is finally over – spring training is in full swing. Of course, here at RotoBaller we’ve been cranking out tons of preseason content for some time now. We might be a little obsessed with baseball ‘round these parts. But that’s okay, because so are you! And what better way to celebrate the advent […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: 5 Busts Due for a Rebound
t’s really hard to admit when we have made a mistake. But sometimes, we look back on our fantasy season and we slap ourselves around for drafting a player who just didn’t cut it. The preseason hype was there, we were so excited to see the player tear it up, and he completely failed us. […]
2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Three WHIP Sleepers
In 2015, every qualified starting pitcher who ranked in the top 30 of WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched) had a BB/9 under 3.00. 15 of those pitchers had a BB/9 under 2.00. There is a clear correlation between limiting walks and posting a low WHIP. When looking for WHIP sleepers, it’s ideal to […]
Five Deep First Base Options: 2016 Draft Values
Every year, there are a handful of players that make a significant impact but garnered no recognition or any sort of hype whatsoever in the offseason. Whether it be for power, average, stolen bases, or anything else that brings a smile to fantasy owners’ faces, there are always deep sleepers lurking at the 1B position. […]
Five Sneaky Second Base Draft Values and ADPs
One of the positions that troubles many fantasy owners at the beginning of the season is second base. Where should I draft the elite players? How long should I wait for middle tiered talents? And finally, can I wait for some sleepers and cover second base later to acquire better talent at a different position? […]
Aaron Hicks (OF, NYY) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
BALLER MOVE: Target ~270 CURRENT ADP: 289 ANALYSIS: Aaron Hicks, dealt from the Twins to the Yankees in November, was a first-round pick and a well-regarded prospect, but is 26 years old and hasn't amounted to much in the majors yet. He'll also start the year as New York's fourth outfielder. Still, he managed to […]
Five 2016 Second Base Sleepers
After you get past the elite options at second base, guys like Jose Altuve, things can get a little iffy. Because of that, it is pretty easy to just settle for a low-end player, punt that position, or even worse, reach for an overvalued player. As we get closer to Opening Day, here are some […]
2016 Breakout Candidates: Young AL Outfielders To Target
Here at RotoBaller we’ve been cranking out tons of preseason content for some time now. We might be a little obsessed with baseball ‘round these parts. But that’s okay, because so are you! And what better way to celebrate the advent of draft season than to profile potential breakouts and busts? Last week’s series focused […]