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Catcher Draft Targets for All Leagues
Enough with the catcher slander! As fantasy baseball drafts heat up, all I keep reading about is how we're "forced" to draft catchers and how they can tank your roster. Catchers are people too! I could use thousands of words writing about the value of catchers and how the grind of their defensive job and […]
Hitter Targets Under $10 - Salary Cap League Values
Snake drafts are the more common method, but salary cap leagues offer a more complex flavor to your draft day. That's not for everyone, and that's fine; part of the beauty of fantasy baseball lies in its high degree of customizability. Salary cap drafts take longer, and they're much less straightforward than snakes, but for […]
Colin Moran (1B, PIT) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values
BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 375 CURRENT ADP: ~411 overall ANALYSIS: The departure of Josh Bell in a trade to the Washington Nationals has opened up a full-time spot at first base for Moran who put up his most impressive power numbers last year. Moran led the Pirates in 2020 with 10 homers in 52 games (having hit […]
Jared Walsh (1B, LAA) - 2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers
Jared Walsh burst onto the Minor League scene in 2019 after hitting 36 homers in 98 games and received a call up to the Angels. Prior to that, Walsh had 49 homers in 361 Minor League games so his power outburst came as a surprise. Walsh didn't have a great start to his MLB career […]
2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 2)
We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Outfield, and of course, Starting Pitcher Part One. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on […]
Josh Bell Hits Third Home Run Of Spring
Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Mets. Batting from the right side, Bell went the opposite way for this third homer of the spring- and his second to the opposite field. The switch-hitting first baseman now has nine hits in 11 spring […]
Carter Kieboom Still The Likely Starting Third Baseman
Washington Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom, despite a rough spring, still looks like the team's starting third baseman. Neither Starlin Castro nor Luis Garcia have received repetitions at third base, and neither general manager Mike Rizzo nor manager Dave Martinez have indicated Kieboom's job is in jeopardy. Kieboom has hit just .160/.222/.240 this spring, but […]
Sam Chinitz's 10 Bold Predictions For 2021
The 2021 MLB regular season is less than one month away, so it’s time for some bold predictions. Last year’s bold predictions didn’t pan out too well for me; if we’re being generous, two out of the ten predictions hit -- and that’s including Corey Kluber posting a sub-3.00 ERA (which technically happened, even if […]
MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/17) - Jorge Polanco Leaves Game
Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]
Starter Prospects that Could be Impact Relievers in 2021
In many ways, Major League Baseball is getting back to normal in 2021. Most importantly for sports fans and fantasy baseball fanatics, this means that the season will be 162 games after experiencing a stunted 2020 season. However, the sudden spike back to 162 games from 60 contests creates headaches for MLB managers. Lance Lynn […]
2020 Breakout Infielders Who'll Keep Improving
In a recent article, I outlined a methodology to determine which breakout 2020 seasons from hitters would be built off of into 2021. Upon further reflection, however, I’m unconvinced that that methodology the best way to spot breakouts that will continue to improve, in large part because of its reliance on evaluating the stickiness of […]
2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Third Base
Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]
Starlin Castro Strong In Spring Return
Washington Nationals second baseman Starlin Castro, whose 2020 season ended in August with a broken wrist, is hitting .348/.400/.609 in spring training. Castro is already penciled in as the team's starter at the keystone and performed decently well in just 63 PA last season, hitting .267/.302/.450. His .299 xwOBA was not great but that figure […]
Jon Lester Set To Debut Thursday
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jon Lester is lined up to make his spring debut with the team on Thursday. Lester had parathyroid surgery this offseason but Washington's plans to have him as their fourth starter this season are on track. Lester struggled mightily in 2020, with a 5.16 ERA that was right in line with […]
MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/16) - Luis Robert Scratched Monday
Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're into our third week of spring training games and […]
2021 Starting Pitcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues (Part 1)
We now move on to starting pitcher in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, and Outfield. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on early spring training action. You can […]
Max Scherzer Strikes Out Seven On Monday
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer allowed two hits while striking out seven across four scoreless innings on Monday against the Cardinals. After getting a late start to the spring due to a left ankle sprain, Scherzer has looked like the elite fantasy pitcher managers expect, allowing just two runs on three hits and two […]
F.O.M.O - Bases Loaded Podcast
Mike and Jorge get together to discuss players they have a fear of missing out on this draft season. 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 […]
Stephen Strasburg Leaves With Minor Calf Injury
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg left his Sunday spring start with a calf injury, but said he would have continued had it been a regular season game. If the doctors aren't worried, then you shouldn't be either. This does point up Strasburg's floor, however, as someone who has only made 30 or more starts […]
Launch Angle Analysis - Potential HR Risers
With the onset of Statcast data, we can now better predict which hitters may be due for a power surge. Before recent years, we only had things like hard-hit rate and home runs per fly ball ratios to look to as predictors of future changes in home run rates. Now that we have launch angle, […]
Top 10 Tips for Fantasy Baseball Snake Drafts
Before I begin, let me caveat everything I say with this: I don't consider myself to be some sort of expert master fantasy player. I've only been playing fantasy baseball for a little under a decade. But as soon as I started to immerse myself into this game we all love, my main focus was […]
Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 2 Lineup Trends
Welcome back RotoBallers! We are entering week three of Spring Training already, and with that came a lot of things we saw in week two. But of course, my week one review also still has very relevant information as well. Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and […]
Top 25 Starting Pitchers - Dynasty Prospects Rankings
Pitching is an important element of any successful Major League Baseball team — real or fantasy. Coming off a truncated season in 2020 and facing another unique season ahead, pitching prospects will be more important than ever in 2021. MLB managers will be faced with a full 2021 season and, after throwing reduced innings last […]
Juan Soto Back In The Lineup Saturday
Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto (illness) is back in the lineup Saturday against the Mets. Soto was sent home on Wednesday after feeling sinus discomfort, though he tested negative for COVID-19- and it was never viewed as anything too serious. The 22-year-old will bat second against New York. Soto owns a career .972 OPS with […]
2021 Keeper Value Rankings - Second Base
Many many years ago, I noticed the managers in my long-time keeper league were consistently making terrible keeper decisions year after year. Instead of taking their money every year thought I would help them out and find a good set of Keeper League Rankings to share with them. What I found was quite disturbing. There […]
Nationals Encouraged With Carter Kieboom
Although Washington Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom is not having a statistically impressive spring, manager Davey Martinez sees encouraging signs, writes Mark Zuckerman. "His swing looks really good," according to Martinez, "...I like some of his at-bats so far." But Zuckerman points out Kieboom's lack of walks or home runs this spring and his pedestrian […]
Victor Robles Walking, Stealing Bases In Early Spring
Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles is having a nice spring so far with four walks, four steals in four tries and a .250/.429/.438 triple-slash line in 21 plate appearances. Those walks and on-base percentage are key, with the Nationals hoping Robles can be their leadoff hitter in 2021. Robles' career to date (.250/.320/.407) doesn't justify […]
MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/12) - Severino Beginning Build Up
Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]
2021 Outfielder Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues
We now move on to the outfielder position in our mixed-league rankings analysis series. If you missed them, here is our review of Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base and Shortstop. RotoBaller's rankers, JB Branson, Pierre Camus, Nick Mariano, and Ariel Cohen have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings once more based on early spring training action. […]
Juan Soto Still Battling Sinus Discomfort
Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto (illness) remained out of the spring lineup on Thursday due to sinus discomfort. Soto has tested negative for COVID-19, according to manager Dave Martinez. "He's been sick for a couple days," Martinez said. "I just want to make sure he's OK. … It was just me being cautious. It's still […]
