Nick Mariano's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019

2018 was a banner season for baseball's Marianos, as Mariano Rivera was headed full steam ahead towards a unanimous Hall of Fame entry and yours truly was cruising with the most accurate fantasy baseball ranks of the season per FantasyPros, unbeknownst to me until recently. I'm still riding high off of that and you're all […]

Hitter Prospect Risers for 2019

We are thrilled to announce that Marc Hulet has recently joined the RotoBaller team! Marc is also the longest-serving, active writer at FanGraphs. For 10+ years he has been focused on MLB prospects and their fantasy baseball impacts. Follow along all season! I’m kicking off my tenure at Rotoballer with a two-part series looking at the […]

Kyle Bishop's 10 Bold Predictions for 2019

2018 was a season to forget for yours truly, both in terms of fantasy performance and hit rate on bold predictions. In the first three years as a participant in this feature, I connected on three per article, with a few others in the realm of respectable. Last year? An 0-fer, and most of them […]

Breakout Relievers Due for Regression In 2019

One of the hardest positions to pinpoint fantasy value for each season is a relief pitcher. You have your handful of dominant closers who are fantasy staples, but the remainder of fantasy value usually comes from surprise players who step into the closer role or are starters with reliever eligibility. With the progressing shift towards […]

More Later-Round Starting Pitchers - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]

One Dollar Bids - Auction Draft Targets

Auction drafts are an interesting animal. This especially comes through at the end of drafts. In a snake draft, that sleeper you really wanted may get picked just before your turn, but if he does get to your spot, he's yours. In an auction draft, someone you had tabbed as a $1 sleeper can be […]

When and How Do You Target Sleepers on Draft Day?

If you're the type of fantasy baseball enthusiast who enjoys the preparation as much as the draft itself, chances are you've been filing away names as potential under-the-radar breakout candidates. Maybe you've got your eye on a young utility player who is one injury away from regular playing time (not that anyone should be rooting […]

Predicting the Top 10 Home Run Hitters of 2019

Last year 14 players hit over 35 or more home runs; the year before that it was 18. The point is, narrowing such an impressive pool of players down to 10 is challenging. The list is realistic but I wanted to be slightly bold as well. It wouldn’t be much of a prediction if we […]

2018 Breakout Infielders Due for Regression in 2019

Nothing sinks a fantasy season quite like a bust, and the last thing we want to do as fantasy owners is deal with one of those headaches all season. Last year players like Brian Dozier, Marcell Ozuna, and Jonathan Schoop drove us mad, The goal of this article is to identify an infielder at every […]

Nick Mariano's Early-Round Avoids in H2H Points Leagues (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. There's insight out there for most anything, but coverage of points leagues […]

Spring Training Notes from the Field - Early Reactions

Finally, baseball is back. There might be no better feeling than being able to turn on the television and see a live game, even if it does not count for anything in the win column. While some of the players are new to fans, and some players even lack names on their jerseys, the energy […]

RotoBaller H2H Draft Strategy Primer

Fantasy baseball, much like the sport itself, it is one of the more complex to follow closely. Compared to fantasy football, in which nearly every league was head-to-head before the advent of best-ball, fantasy baseball comes in a variety of formats. Many leagues are roto-style, 5x5 category-scoring, with cumulative season-long stats. While that is the […]

Expert Mock Draft Reactions - RotoBaller Friends & Family

On February 13, 2019, we assembled a group of industry experts to take part in the second annual RotoBaller Friends and Family Expert Mock Draft. Our participants represented multiple sites, including: CBS Sports (Heath Cummings) The Athletic (Nando Di Fino) Fantasy Alarm (Howard Bender) Fangraphs (Alex Chamberlain) RotoWire (Tim Heaney) Mastersball/ESPN (Todd Zola) GuruElite (Ray […]

Khris Davis Expected To Return Friday

Oakland Athletics outfielder Khris Davis (calf) is expected to be in the Cactus League lineup on Friday against the Padres "if everything goes well," according to manager Bob Melvin. Davis has been held out with a left calf strain and must run the bases on Thursday pain-free before he is cleared to play on Friday. […]

Top 10 Starting Pitching Prospects - 2019 Fantasy Baseball Redraft Rankings

"There is no such thing as a pitching prospect." For fantasy owners who have lived and died by this mantra, this article might be a bit of a jinx. Often when the fantasy community gets in on a player, they break, or roles change. Some of this is the odds with pitching, but otherwise, the […]

Khris Davis Could Make Spring Debut Thursday

Oakland Athletics outfielder Khris Davis, who has been dealing with a left calf strain since the start of camp, is nearing game action and could make his Cactus League debut as soon as Thursday, according to manager Bob Melvin. Davis should be fine as long as he doesn't suffer any setbacks. The A's slugger has […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Nathan Eovaldi and Dallas Keuchel

Somewhere Dallas Keuchel is looking at Nathan Eovaldi’s four-year contract for $67.5 million and is wondering how he remains unsigned. He might be having similar thoughts about Patrick Corbin’s six-year, $140 million contract, but at least Corbin will be 29 to start the season and is coming off a Cy Young-caliber season. By contrast, Keuchel […]

Later-Round Outfielders - Targets and Avoids

Once you reach the later rounds of drafts, you start thinking about upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. These are the rounds to take risks on more unknown commodities like prospects, forgotten-about veterans, players returning from injuries or players that have previously showed promise but haven't put it all together yet. […]

ADP Champ or Chump - Nelson Cruz and Shohei Ohtani

For fantasy managers, a player with only DH or Utility eligibility can be difficult to own because he creates lineup issues that limit flexibility. For the last decade, Nelson Cruz has been one of the most prolific hitters, and he’s shown few signs of slowing down, except for his shrinking defensive capability. Similarly, Shohei Ohtani […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball Part 10 - Pitcher Batted Ball Distribution

The league average batted ball distribution in 2018 was 21.5% liners, 43.2% grounders and 35.4% flies. We have previously seen how pitchers may specialize in either grounders or fly balls. Fly ball pitchers have a BABIP advantage over their ground ball-inducing counterparts, since fly balls (.117 BABIP in 2018) consistently have lower BABIPs than worm […]

Khris Davis Able To Swing The Bat On Sunday

Oakland Athletics designated hitter/outfielder Khris Davis (calf) was able to take more at-bats at the team's minor-league camp on Sunday. He is making his way back from a strained left calf, and might be able to start playing in Cactus League spring games later this week. Davis has been one of the most consistent power […]

Mike Fiers Works In Simulated Game

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Mike Fiers was in line to start the Cactus League spring game Sunday, but he threw 60 pitches in a simulated game at the minor-league complex instead. There isn't anything to worry about, however, as managed Bob Melvin didn't want him to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a division […]

Marco Estrada Trying To Hide His Pitches This Spring

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Marco Estrada has a changeup that is considered one of the best in Major League Baseball. However, he throws it often and has received feedback that he's been liable to tip his pitches in the past. "I've been told that before," Estrada said. "Especially out of the stretch, it's a little […]

ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players on Yahoo

Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]

ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players on CBS

Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]

ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players on ESPN

Average Draft Position (ADP) is a must-have piece of information when it comes to drafting. While every league is different and may have a particularly aggressive or conservative group of owners when it comes to certain players, it’s the best tool we have when analyzing players’ value. Now, instead of just talking about total ADP […]

Winning Strategies For Your Dynasty League Startup Draft

Some people enjoy playing fantasy baseball one season at a time, drafting a new roster every year. Others are fascinated with drafting a team and managing it year after year towards multiple championship trophies. The latter individuals are best suited to play in dynasty leagues. For rosters to be competitive annually, they have to possess […]

Nick Mariano's 2019 Draft Sleepers List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. It's everyone's favorite pre-draft word to throw around and likely threatens to take the top spot on some Google Analytics the closer we get to that premier fantasy baseball draft season. Yup, we're talking about sleepers. But let's just get this out of the way: […]

Early-Round Fantasy Baseball Draft Q&A with The King

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Industry legend Scott Engel has joined RotoBaller as a featured contributor, building on 20-plus years in the fantasy industry. “The King” is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s (FSWA) Hall of Fame and a two-time FSWA award winner.  When you are making […]

Ramon Laureano (OF, OAK) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 175 CURRENT ADP: ~195 overall ANALYSIS: A 16th-round pick by the Houston Astros back in 2014, Ramon Laureano went largely overlooked as a prospect, rarely featuring in lists of notable farmhands. The Astros didn't bother to protect him on the 40-man roster after a disappointing 2017 season in the minors, and […]