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 […]

Michael Conforto (OF, NYM) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~200 CURRENT ADP: 217.7 ANALYSIS: While Mets nation is stoked to have Yoenis Cespedes and his decked-out Polaris back for at least another year, it's the player manning left field who they should be hyping. Michael Conforto made the leap from Double-A to the bigs in July and produced a solid stat […]

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 […]

Change of Scenery: Four Hitters on New Teams in 2016

It happens every year. For numerous reasons, including free agency, impending free agency, teams heading in new directions, or just plain old chemistry issues, players move from team to team. From the Yankees buying Babe Ruth to the Angels signing Josh Hamilton, we’ve seen these moves work out in all sorts of different ways. Now its time […]

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 […]

RotoBaller Rankings vs. ADP: Undervalued Shortstops

If you’re a regular reader of RotoBaller (and how could someone as smart, funny, and handsome as you not be?), you’ve doubtless already checked out our rankings assistant tool. We'll be releasing our final update next week. With draft season ramping up now, though, it seems like a good time to check our expert opinions […]

Five Deeper Starting Pitcher Targets For 2016: National League

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies Nola was impressive in his rookie 2015 campaign-- a 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 68 strikeouts in 77.2 innings pitched. He owns a 2.57 minor league career ERA, including a 3.58 ERA in Triple-A earlier in 2015, and was a top-50 prospect in baseball before cracking the big leagues last year. He […]

Turning Two: Matt Harvey versus Stephen Strasburg

Welcome back to episode nine of Turning Two. Here's a recap of the topics discussed to this point: who will hit 50 HR, who will win 20 games, who can put up a 20/20 season, who can hit .350, who can reach 50 saves, and who will post a sub-2.00 ERA. We shifted to player-specific material, such as breakout candidates and busts for 2016. Now […]

Wilson Ramos (CA, WAS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~280 CURRENT ADP: 295 ANALYSIS: Wilson Ramos was able to stay relatively healthy last season, setting a new career-high in at-bats (475) and RBI (68). His power stayed roughly the same, but his batting average fell 28 points from 2014. Additionally, his strikeout rate went up and his walk rate down for […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Five Runs Sleepers

Bringing runs across the plate is often seen as a one dimensional facet of the game. The guys who swat the RBI are saluted while many fantasy owners forget about the valuable run scored, an unglamorous statistic. I guess the R column just isn't as sexy as the HR or the SB. Overlooking the runs […]

Ian Desmond (SS, TEX) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~100 CURRENT ADP: 113.3 ANALYSIS: The erratic play of Ian Desmond, the long-standing shortstop for the Washington Nationals, has brought up some uncertainty about his draft stock. Fantasy owners can view Desmond as an aging player in a physically demanding position who is starting to decline, or as a player who still […]

Tanner Roark (SP, WSH) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~320 CURRENT ADP: 340 ANALYSIS: Tanner Roark spent most of 2015 in the Nationals' bullpen, and didn't even have much success there (4.38 ERA, 1.306 WHIP), but he should really be in the starting rotation. In 31 starts in 2014, Roark finished with a 2.85 ERA, a 1.092 WHIP and a 138/39 […]

Saves & Holds: NL East Bullpen Depth Chart

With the 2016 fantasy baseball season approaching, bullpen depth charts can be tricky to decipher when entering your fantasy drafts. Projections of who will be vital to their respective team and to your fantasy team will be analyzed over the course of the next two months. Below I've identified the projected NL East closers, setup men, and […]

Jayson Werth (OF, WAS) - 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~190 CURRENT ADP: 306 ANALYSIS: Jayson Werth is entering his age-37 season, and he's averaged just 111 games per season since 2012 due to a variety of injuries. 2015 was the worst season of his career, and the end is nigh for the 13-year veteran. That said, Werth was pretty awesome in […]

Catchers: Five Draft Day Sleepers and ADP Values

Catcher is a position that can leave fantasy owners in a panic the longer they wait in a draft to pick one. If you find yourself holding out on the position late into your draft, here are five names to keep in mind that are likely to still be hanging around. They might not be […]

Washington Nationals Top MLB Prospects for 2016 Dynasty Leagues

When a team finishes 83-79 with the unanimous NL MVP and a Top-5 NL Cy Young finisher, it is not often categorized as a complete failure of a year and a total disappointment, but that’s exactly what was thought of the Washington Nationals’ 2015 season. Prior to the start of the season, the Nationals were […]

2016 Outfield Prospects and Dynasty Rankings - NL East Edition

It's been awhile since I offered up the top catching prospects for dynasty leagues (also first base, second base, shortstop, and third base). With the fantasy season fast approaching, we'll spend the next few weeks blitzing through outfielders and pitchers. There is a daunting quantity of outfield prospects. Anytime you're feeling overwhelmed by a task, […]

Five Undervalued NL Starting Pitcher Targets for 2016 Drafts

The National League is simply loaded with elite pitching. You could miss out on most of the top ranked guys and still find yourself with an abundance of options heading into the middle rounds. Still, it's important to know what you're looking for when those later rounds approach and there are holes to fill at […]

2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft Values: Ian Desmond

Whatever are we going to do with Ian Desmond? Coupled with the fact that we are not even sure what team he will be playing for at the moment, the erratic and streaky play of Desmond at the plate screams uncertainty for the 2016 fantasy baseball season. He has been the longstanding SS of the […]

Early Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: The Fourth Round Pitching Run

The lineup (in draft order): Jacob Bogardus, Brad Johnson, Alex Brock, Harris Yudin, Max Petrie, Josh Leonard, Ross Williamson, Andrew Miller (from The Fantasy Fix), Nick Mariano (myself), Tom Bellucco, Brian Dunshee (also from The Fantasy Fix), and Edward Suletan. We put together a traditional 5x5 redraft 23 round mock with 2 catchers, a corner […]

2016 Second Basemen Keeper Values: The Other Guys

The Keeper Valuation Formula uses the players’ age, draft round, number of teams in the league, current stats, projected stats, games played percentage, positional value, and some secret squirrel statistical math. The product is a TRUE Keeper Value for each player. These players did not make it into my Top Five Second Basemen Keeper Values, but […]

Nats Make Offer For SP Leake

The Washington Nationals have made an offer to free agent starting pitcher Mike Leake, according to CBS Sports. The Nats lost Jordan Zimmerman to the Detroit Tigers during free agency. The replacement appears to be Leake for what could be around five years in the range of $75-80 million. nats have made mike leake an […]

Tigers Sign Jordan Zimmerman: Leaves Big Hole In D.C.

The Detroit Tigers have agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract with free agent pitcher Jordan Zimmerman, according to CBS Sports. This is huge news for a Tigers team that has been trying to replace Max Scherzer after losing him to the Washington Nationals last off-season. Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal to leave […]

Who Ya Got: Rendon or Longoria?

Going by ESPN's average draft position, Anthony Rendon and Evan Longoria were seen as roughly equivalent assets in 2015. Rendon went 38th overall on average in ESPN leagues, while Longoria's ADP was 40. Granted, their aggregate ADPs on the major platforms, per FantasyPros, saw a much wider gap (29 for Rendon and 57 for Longoria). […]