Jose Martinez Limits Rays Flexibility

The Tampa Bay Rays want to get the most out of outfielder Jose Martinez's right-handed power bat, but to do so they need him to play first base occasionally. Martinez was making slow progress defensively in spring training. As only a designated hitter or as a pinch-hitter off the bench, Martinez limits what the Rays […]

Austin Meadows, Yandy Diaz Expected To Share Leadoff Duties

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows and corner infielder Yandy Diaz are expected to share leadoff duties for the Rays, at least to begin the regular season. Meadows would hit at the top of the order against right-handers, with Diaz getting the nod against lefties. Meadows broke out by hitting .291/.364/.558 with 33 home runs, […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Freddy Peralta and Ken Giles

The conventional fantasy wisdom this season seems to be that you need to devote a lot of draft resources to pitching. The logic goes that ace starters are so much better than other arms that you need to have at least one before the end of the third round in standard 12-team leagues. Furthermore, experts […]

Third Base Deep Sleepers for 2020

Third base is arguably the deepest position in fantasy baseball, making the position ripe for late-round gems and sleepers. The considerable depth at the 3B position allows fantasy owners to sit back and wait rather than drafting one in earlier rounds. Indeed, the 25 third basemen drafted within the first 200 picks by ADP are […]

2020 Starting Pitcher Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues

Even with the baseball season delayed, many are looking for places to cast their stored up fantasy baseball energy. With no drafts or mocks to do, the Dynasty community becomes the primary source of enjoyment. Your team could be looking to continue their dominance, rebuild, or in a worst-case scenario, stick their hands up in […]

Shortstops Set to Break Out in 2020

The shortstop position is so deep this season. Breakout targets will likely be late-round picks or maybe not even drafted in most leagues. Some players might even be better left on the watchlist of the waiver wire. In years past, we've seen the likes of Jorge Polanco, Tim Anderson, and Marcus Semien all break out […]

WPC+ Videocast: Deep Draft Sleepers

Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut reveal their deepest sleepers for 2020 fantasy baseball drafts. These players are among their favorite late-round targets and undervalued picks. 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 RotoBaller Radio […]

CBS Undervalued and Overvalued for H2H Points Leagues

Over the past week at RotoBaller, we've introduced a brand new approach to preparing for Points Leagues. Typically, analysts give you general points league rankings. We have those as well at RotoBaller. However, this approach falls short. Analysis and ranks must be platform specific, because every platform (ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, NFBC, Fantrax) has wildly different scoring settings […]

Adjusting Fantasy Baseball Projections for a Delayed Opening Day

With a heavy heart I write this column. I truly wish that there would have not been a reason to write this column. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has now postponed the 2020 Major League Baseball season. In an effort to employ social distancing, local governments have made the tough call to forbid the gathering of large crowds. […]

Victor Reyes (OF, DET) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~400 CURRENT ADP: ~445 overall ANALYSIS: Reyes was a semi-popular sleeper since late last year after he batted .304 and stole nine bases in 69 games for Los Tigres. That excitement abated a bit when the organization signed veteran Cameron Maybin, who is essentially the same type of player at the same […]

Outfielders Ready to Break Out in 2020

Spring training is no more and the season has been delayed. That may unfortunately delay the ascent of budding young stars who were performing well this preseason and cementing a role on their team's Major League roster. Every fantasy baseball manager yearns to find the coveted breakout star; each of these players could potentially fit […]

Jamie Steed's Bold Predictions for 2020

Bold predictions can be the key to fantasy seasons. Predicting players who will outperform or underperform expectations by extreme amounts can win leagues. Bold predictions can also be entirely unhelpful, speculative thoughts that are just fun to consider. With that in mind, I do think that each of these predictions has a legitimate chance of occurring […]

ADP Champ or Chump: Michael Conforto and Mike Clevinger

In the wake of the coronavirus, Major League Baseball games won't be starting on schedule. While there are obviously more important things going on right now than fantasy baseball, we baseball junkies have to do something to distract ourselves from losing one of our favorite hobbies. One way to do this is to try and […]

September Power Surges That Might Be For Real

As we all sit and overanalyze spring training at-bats and pitch mixes, it's important to remember that the small sample sizes of a few half-games against essentially AAAA talent can often be misleading. Instead, I find it's far more telling to use late-season changes from the year before to try to identify who has made […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Starting Pitchers

I've already revealed the 2020 Keeper Value Rankings for the hitters: First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Catcher, and Outfield.  Now let's go to the rubber. Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are […]

Late-Round Relievers - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

JB's Bold Predictions for 2020

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... JB stands for "JUST BOLDNESS". Okay that's a lie... it's actually not a secret because I use that every year in my bold predictions intro. Nevertheless welcome to the latest rendition of RotoBaller's 2020 Bold Predictions. You have now come to the stop where you […]

ADP Reflections: Edwin Diaz and Jose Leclerc

Opening Day may be delayed, but fantasy baseball draft season is still in full swing. We’re now at the point where draft data is shaping draft strategies, as owners look for value relative to ADP. The sample of ADP available from early NFBC drafts has given us a good basis to ascertain if certain players […]

2020 Keeper Value Rankings - Outfield

Keeper Value Rankings are intended for Keeper Leagues in which a fantasy owner must forfeit a designated draft pick in order to keep a player into the upcoming season. These rankings are based on Keeper "Values." In the marketing world, Value can be defined as the extent to which a good or service (player) is […]

Roto Strategy - Is Punting Steals a Good Idea?

In fantasy baseball, there are two scoring categories that are somewhat exclusive to a certain type of player: stolen bases and saves. Saves are obvious; only closers can earn them. As such, fantasy owners must decide how important that category is to the overall construction of their roster. If we value the stat, we'll draft […]

Yahoo ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players

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 […]

Blake Snell On Track For Simulated Game Saturday

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (elbow) played catch on Wednesday and said his elbow was fine. However, it looks like he'll throw a simulated game on Saturday instead of facing the Blue Jays in a Grapefruit League game. Snell's couldn't find his command in his return to the mound in spring action earlier […]

Breakout Infielders Who Will Keep Improving in 2020

Fantasy owners are always searching for a leg up on the competition. They are trying to find the down player who is due to bounce back or the breakout to avoid, who is due to regress. But the opposite is equally as valuable. Finding 2019 breakouts who will continue to improve brings an unexpected aspect […]

Late-Round Starting Pitchers - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

Breakout Relievers Who Will Keep Improving in 2020

The closer role is one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball. They can lose their fantasy value with a couple of blow-up performances. Teams are also electing to utilize a committee approach, often using their best reliever in high-leverage situations rather than cementing them to the ninth inning.  This makes it imperative to […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - Injuries, Risers, and Fallers (3/10/20)

Welcome to the Spring Training Notebook for March 10, 2020, where we'll dive into a few of the bigger stories around Major League Baseball's Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. As we head through the thick of Spring Training 2020, players are starting to separate themselves in the eyes of their organizations with hopes of making the […]

Blake Snell Has Rough Outing In Return To Mound

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (elbow) walked four of the five batters he faced in his return to Grapefruit League action on Monday before being pulled. However, he was clocked at 97-98 mph with his fastball. Snell called his performance "ridiculous" and "brutal." The good news, though, was that the left's elbow felt […]

ESPN ADP Comparison - Overpriced / Underpriced Players

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 […]

Late-Round Shortstops - Targets and Avoids in 2020

Once you reach the middle-to-late rounds of drafts, it would be smart to consider drafting some upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can take a risk or two on a variety of different players, including a prospect, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even players with skills but have […]

Joining the Launch Angle Revolution: Potential Power Risers

Launch angle has become perhaps the trendiest stat in all of fantasy baseball. If you turn on any podcast, you hear analysts mentioning that "if a player could only increase his launch angle, he could be a stud" (cough - Yandy Diaz - cough). Often, I think this analysis is oversimplified. Launch angle is obviously […]