All posts under "Fantasy Strategy" - Page 3

Buckle up, folks! The 2021 closer carousel has officially begun and it's not even April! From injuries to position battles, Spring Training has revealed just how fragile many of the closing situations are amongst most of the league. For fantasy...

The Statcast age is upon us! Baseball stadiums around the league have joined the tech revolution and are filled with high-speed cameras and sensors designed to capture and measure every aspect of America's Past Time. The result? Statistical detail beyond...

Hi Folks Hi Folks, If you play in a Rotisserie league, our software is designed to give you the opportunity to favor the more predictable categories in your league.  Instead of each category having an even "1" weighting, it's...

Swinging strike rate, or the percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss, is one of the most powerful tools for any fantasy player to utilize when attempting to evaluate starting pitcher performances. The calculation of the...

Strand rate, or left on base percentage (LOB%), measures the percentage of baserunners a pitcher leaves on base over the course of an entire season. At its core, strand rate is simply a measure of the number of runners that...

Ask a sabermetrician what his or her favorite statistics are that measure the quality of a pitcher and xFIP is bound to be a frequent answer. So what is xFIP and why do statisticians prefer it over a more widely...

For years, baseball managers have practically competed in mini chess matches mid-game as they both sought the elusive "platoon advantage". In fact, these strategic moves - designed to give their team a higher probability of a favorable outcome - ultimately...

Batting average on balls in play, or BABIP, is usually associated with offensive players. After all, it's primarily an offensive statistic. Nonetheless, BABIP against is the adaption of that statistic for pitchers and it's just as useful for them as...

In The Field OF Austin Meadows left Thursday's game early with oblique soreness. This is not good news for those that have him because the Rays will be careful with him with the playoffs right around the corner. He was...

It's tough to believe, but we've reached the final edition of A Closer Look for the 2020 fantasy baseball season! It's been a challenging year in many ways, but as always, it's subscribers like yourself that make producing fantasy content...

The divide between the upper class and lower class is growing larger, at least as it relates to baseball closers. The very good bullpens continue to get stronger and the closers continue to produce, while the weaker bullpens were hit...

In The Field 3B David Fletcher has been placed on the 10-day IL with an ankle injury. The Angels offense has been dismal and Fletcher had been one of the few bright spots. This means increased playing time for newly...

In The Field 2B D.J. LeMahieu has been placed on the 10-day IL and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a sprained thumb. He was on fire (.411/.456/.534) prior to the injury. The Yankees will play Tyler Wade at...

Like most pitchers in 2020, the variance has been extremely difficult for fantasy owners to manage. We're officially about 33% of the way through the baseball season, but just 7 teams have one player with all their team's saves....

In The Field OF George Springer is considered day-to-day with a wrist injury. Manager Dusty Baker said nothing is broken or fractured which is a huge plus. Shohei Ohtani (elbow) returned to the lineup on Thursday and promptly went yard....

In The Field OF Bryon Buxton (foot) made the Opening Day roster but wasn't in the lineup Friday night. He is expected to be ready at some point this weekend if not early next week. C Tom Murphy was placed...

In normal seasons, the column that typically gets written this week (leading up to July 31st) would be filled with hypothetical statements and advice about how to handle the various movement expected in the closer pool. The same is true...

Today would have been the start of the 2020 MLB season, but as you are probably already well aware of, that start has been pushed forward into an undetermined future. As we endure through one of the most difficult times...

This morning on SiriusXM Fantasy Radio, we're discussing Barrels & Exit Velocity. Below are some of the player notes contained in our 2020 Fantasy Baseball Draft Advisor Program, highlihgting the guys that stand out in these categories. Barrels According to...

Swinging strike rate, or the percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss, is one of the most powerful tools for any fantasy player to utilize when attempting to evaluate starting pitcher performances. The calculation of the...

Sabermetricians are generally viewed as experts on statistics, so go find your favorite sabermetrician and ask him the ERA of Pitcher X in the MLB. Chances are, he might not even know what it is. Now ask the same sabermetrician...

Statistics sometimes have a funny way of coming full circle. If you rewind the clock back a decade or two, our "advanced" metrics were using player's splits, specifically handedness and home/away. To this day, a player's handedness splits are frequently...

Home Run to Flyball Rate (HR/FB) is one of the most straightforward statistics that we use for fantasy baseball since it's simply telling us what percentage of flyballs are hit for home runs. The metric is calculated by taking total...

In The Field OF Ender Inciarte could be back next week. He has been able to do some running. Inciarte is unlikely to return to an everyday role which severely limits his fantasy appeal. 1B Anthony Rizzo was able to...

As we wrap up A Closer Look for another season, I like to use these final columns as a way to start getting an edge on the competition for the upcoming draft season. Teams are calling up their top prospect...

In The Field OF Ender Inciarte (hamstring) has started jogging but is still a couple of weeks away from returning. OF Nick Markakis (wrist) has started throwing but hasn't hit yet. OF Austin Riley is playing in rehab games at...

Ah, do you smell that? That's the sweet, sweet smell of victory. It's so close, yet the next two or three weeks will likely feel like the longest of the year. With the NFL season starting, it's possible you've lifted...

In The Field OF Ender Inciarte (hamstring) is likely going to miss the rest of the season which means that the Braves have an open outfield spot. In the time since Inciarte went on the IL the Braves have gone...

In The Field OF Nick Markakis has been out with a fractured left wrist since July 27. The Braves have gone with OF Ronald Acuna, OF Ender Inciarte, and OF Adam Duvall has regulars since then. OF Austin Riley started...

Within the next week, we're going to be about 75% of the way through the baseball season. From a figurative standpoint, that means we're rounding third base on this fantasy baseball season. While it's probably too late to make a...

The trade deadline has come and passed and from a closer perspective, it turned out to be a lot of pomp and circumstance over nothing. Well, nothing is a strong term, but some of the tremors we felt leading up...

In The Field SS Dansby Swanson was placed on the 10-day IL with a heel injury. He is in the middle of a strong breakout season (.265 AVG, 17 HR/7 SB) so hopefully, this injury does not turn into something...

Happy trade deadline weekend!! Unlike some seasons, the list of sellers and buyers remains murky, at best. With so many teams on the cusp of a wild card race, it's quite possible we see a quieter than normal trade deadline....

In The Field C Jonathan Lucroy is expected to miss three weeks due to the fractured nose he suffered in the home plate collision with the Astros. SS Carlos Correa (ribs) has started a Triple-A rehab assignment and should be...

Welcome to the first official edition of A Closer Look of the second half! As I wrote about two weeks ago and touched on in last week's first half awards ceremony, the trade deadline is looming and will be upon...

Welcome back to baseball! Hopefully everyone had a wonderful All-Star break and found the time off enjoyable and rejuvenating. We're just a few weeks away from baseball's non-waiver trade deadline and we're certainly in the midst of the most important...