Max Scherzer Progressing From Ankle Sprain

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (ankle), who sprained his left ankle during conditioning drills two weeks before spring training, is progressing and threw from 60 feet on Sunday. "He felt better -- he said he's about 80 to 85 percent," manager Dave Martinez said on Monday. The Nats are taking it day-to-day with their […]

Digging Into BB% Leaders - Cavan Biggio

When looking at a player’s stats, what we really want to know is how skilled he is, not necessarily just how a particular year happened to pan out. An output stat like walks can give us some meaningful information, but there is a lot more going on that might help us better understand how and […]

RotoBaller Mock Draft Review - Biggest Draft Value Picks

Welcome back RotoBallers! Today we're looking at some of the best value picks from our recent RotoBaller staff mock draft. You can also read about everyone's biggest draft reaches and regrets. As we steamroll into fantasy baseball draft season, the team here at RotoBaller continues to practice what we preach by partaking in mock drafts. […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - February 23rd

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We've at least made it through the first […]

Roster Construction Strategies from the Middle

Drafting a great roster is the vital base for a successful fantasy baseball season. In order to do that, you'll need to find an optimal draft position. All draft spots are not created equal. Finding the right spot for you is your first task. Everyone has their own preference on the best spot to start […]

Nationals Want Trea Turner In Heart Of The Order

Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner has long been the team's leadoff hitter, but manager Davey Martinez would prefer him as a middle-of-the-order bat, Mark Zuckerman wrote Monday. Turner did bat second or third for much of 2020 and certainly has the power to succeed as a lineup anchor, with 31 home runs in 181 games […]

Joe Ross Eying Fifth Rotation Spot

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross, who opted out of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus, is in a competition with Erick Fedde, Austin Voth and Rogelio Armenteros for the team's fifth starter role. Ross, who has had the most MLB success of the quartet, likely would have had the job last year before […]

Jeremy Jeffress Lands With Nationals

The Washington Nationals agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress on Monday that includes an invite to spring training, according to a source. Jeffress would earn $1.25 million with another potential $1.25 million in performance bonuses if he makes the team's big-league roster. The 33-year-old right-hander spent the 2020 season […]

Stephen Strasburg Feeling Great

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (hand, thumb) said he's "been feeling great" since he underwent surgery last August to fix carpal-tunnel neuritis after experiencing chronic numbness in his right thumb. Strasburg made just two starts last season before undergoing the surgery, finishing 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA over five innings. The 32-year-old right-hander started […]

2021 Shortstop Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

Once upon a time, shortstop was one of the toughest positions to fill in fantasy baseball, just a small notch above catcher. 10 years ago, we were prioritizing Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez near the top of drafts just because they filled that elusive shortstop spot. Sure, they were fantastic hitters – when healthy – […]

Jon Anderson's First Base Tiered Rankings and Projections

One way to improve at drafting a fantasy baseball team is to shift your focus away from straight-ordered rankings and into tiered rankings. This helps you identify spots in the draft where you need to prioritize a certain position and times when you can wait. The difference between the #2 and #3 first baseman is […]

RotoBaller Mock Draft Review - Biggest Reaches and Regrets

As we steamroll into fantasy baseball draft season, the team here at RotoBaller continues to practice what we preach by partaking in mock drafts. It's the best way to test out plans, gather information to have a better idea of what to expect for the real thing and try out new ideas you've been working […]

2021 Second Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

We continue to move past the chaos of 2020 and onto a new baseball season full of promise. For fantasy baseball managers, draft season is already upon us. RotoBaller's rankers, Pierre Camus, Big Pick Nick Mariano, and I have updated our 2021 Mixed League rankings as we now move on to evaluate the keystone position. […]

Are We Overvaluing Innings Pitched Projections?

One of the biggest questions that the 2020 season has caused for 2021 is concerning starting pitcher inning totals. The league leader in regular-season innings last year, as you've probably heard, was Lance Lynn with 84 innings. The average total for pitchers who made 10 or more starts was just 60 innings. In years prior […]

Don't Give Up On Carter Kieboom

Washington Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom hasn't responded in his first 165 big-league plate appearances so far, hitting just .181 while losing playing time to Asdrubal Cabrera last summer before being optioned to the team's alternate training site. But Kieboom hit .303/.409/.493 in 109 Triple-A games in 2019 and has a career minor league slash […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: HR/FB

Using BABIP to predict a player's batting average is great. Batting average is a category in many league formats, and every hit is an opportunity to steal a base or score a run. But most fantasy managers find the long ball sexier. Every HR comes with a guaranteed run scored and at least one RBI. […]

Top 250 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Part 2)

Welcome back RotoBallers to Part 2 of my dynasty prospects list, breaking down the 51-150 ranked prospects. You can also read Part 1 and Part 3 from a few days ago, looking at the 1-50 and 151-250 ranked prospects. RotoBaller's Top 250 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects list is back and refreshed for the 2021 season. Baseball has […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook - February 19th

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. I began this column a year ago, and made it about four or five articles in when Major League Baseball decided to shut things down, just like everything else around the globe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Well, things are at least a little more […]

Stephen Strasburg Fully Recovered From Wrist Injury

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, whose 2020 season ended early due to wrist surgery, is at full strength as spring training begins. According to GM Mike Rizzo, Strasburg is no longer in "rehabilitation mode" but "preparation mode" for the 2021 season. That should allay any concerns about the specific injury Strasburg sustained last year, […]

Juan Soto Due For A Contract Extension?

Washington Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto could be in line for a big contract extension after the Padres signed 22-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year, $340 million deal on Wednesday night. Soto is also 22 years old. He will make $8.5 million in 2021 and has four years remaining before he can reach […]

Max Scherzer Sprains Ankle

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (ankle) sprained his ankle on his landing foot two weeks ago, manager Dave Martinez said Thursday. Scherzer was doing offseason conditioning when he sustained the injury, but it's been characterized as a minor issue. Although he is currently not throwing because of it, this injury should not affect Scherzer's fantasy […]

2021 First Base Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

The chaotic, wild, and confusing 2020 COVID season is now thankfully behind us, am I right fellow Red Sox fans? But now is the hardest part in terms of fantasy implications from the pandemic as we try to decipher how much of 2020's statistics are actually viable data for 2021 projections. Small playing time samples, […]

Prospects to Know in 2021 - AL Central

The Super Bowl is over and we are officially on to baseball season! So what better way to celebrate the new baseball year than by talking about prospects? Last week, I took a look at the prospects to know in the NL Central. This week we're switching leagues and taking a look at five prospects […]

Outfield Preview: Part 1 - Bases Loaded Podcast

Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland), Zach Braff (@BraffZ) and Jorge Montanez (@Roto_Nino) continue to dive into 2021 positional outlooks. We take a look at the outfield position and dive into the top 25 in the NFBC ADP Since January 1st. Hope you enjoy. Subscribe to the Bases Loaded podcast, part of RotoBaller Radio's Podcast Network. Like and […]

Exploiting Early Strength of Schedule for Starting Pitchers

It's important to have a strong starting rotation for your fantasy teams. If you rely on too many high-upside arms with wide ranges of outcomes, you could be struggling to keep up in pitching categories the rest of the season, especially ERA and WHIP. High-volume pitchers with elite strikeout rates are hard to find in the […]

Sneaky Starters - Deceptive Pitchers Who Could Be Draft Steals

Earlier this week, I was reading Michael Ajeto's article on PitcherList about Brady Singer. In the article, Michael touted Singer's deception and mentioned a sign of that being Singer's Zone Swing Rate (Z-Swing%) minus his Chase Rate (O-Swing%). The premise of the concept was simple but one that stood out to me immediately. Z-Swing% measures […]

Deeper League Sleepers at Third Base

Fantasy managers are always on the lookout for the sleeper that can turn into a breakout performer. I've already reviewed the best deep sleepers at second base, so now let's turn to third base. When defining a breakout, I look at it as a player that can take a step forward to a level they […]

Relief Pitchers Set To Bust In 2021

Projecting relievers is notoriously tricky, and that’s especially true after an irregular 2020 season. As is prone to happen in small samples of performance, otherwise strong relievers sometimes have down seasons that are not entirely in their control. Still, some relievers are more likely to bust than others, and fantasy managers would do well to […]

Outfield Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

We've already gone around the infield with a look at first base, second base, third base, and shortstop. Let's head to the outfield now to break down the long list of outfielders that have fantasy relevance in 2021 and beyond. All of the players listed have outfield eligibility, although several will be used at shallower […]

2021 Catcher Rankings - 5x5 Mixed Leagues

The chaotic, wild, and confusing 2020 COVID season is now thankfully behind us, am I right fellow Red Sox fans? But now is the hardest part in terms of fantasy implications from the pandemic as we try to decipher how much of 2020's statistics are actually viable data for 2021 projections. Small playing time samples, […]