All posts under "Preseason Prep" - Page 7

Ronald Acuña, Atlanta Braves - Brian Snitker answered the biggest question about the Braves on Tuesday, where is Ronald Acuña going to hit in the Braves lineup? The answer: cleanup. This is not the answer I had been hoping for...

Jung Ho Kang (3B-PIT) - Kang got a boost in value Monday, as he was named the team's starting third baseman. This spring, Kang is hitting just .179, but all five of his hits have left the yard, and for...

Can Anderson Repeat as a Top-50 Fantasy Hitter? Tim Anderson, SS, CWS Anderson notched 17 HR's and 15 SB's in 2017, putting him squarely on the map in fantasy circles. He then bested both of those numbers last season by...

In our continuing series on the Sabermetric Indicators that shape our player projections in our 2019 Draft Advisory Program. Today we'll take a look at some of the indicators that are defining our 2019 Pitcher projections: Bauer, Trevor Bauer had...

Blue Jays What impact does Vlad Jr.'s injury have on his fantasy value? Vlad Guerrero Jr. has suffered an oblique injury and is going to miss the rest of Spring Training. He was never going to make the major league...

The Pirates' Real Ace Chris Archer might have once been an ace and Trevor Williams certainly had a monster second half in 2018, but the real ace on the Pirates staff is SP Jameson Taillon. Taillon, who is slated to...

Looking around the camps of the Orioles, Brewers, and Rangers There were a couple breakout players for the Brewers, one from the bullpen and one at 1B. Josh Hader had shown a flash of what was to come in 2017,...

Is Aaron Nola for Real? After a good but under-the-radar 2017 in which Aaron Nola went 12-11 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP with 184 strikeouts in 168 innings, few saw him as a Cy Young contender in...

Black and Blues in Toronto Vladimir Guerrero Jr. suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain yesterday; the team estimates that he will need 3 weeks to recover. This shouldn't have a large fantasy impact as Guerrero was going to spend the...

Houston Astros: Carlos Correa Correa is just one season removed from slashing .315/.391/.550 but is getting drafted outside of the top 40 picks on average coming into the 2019 season. 2018 was easily Correa's worst season since reaching the major...

NEW YORK YANKEES: Johnny Lasagna to the rescue - It's looking more and more likely that the Yanks will open the season with both Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga (AKA: Johnny Lasagna) in the rotation, as Severino and Sabathia are...

Blue Jays Will this be the year that Randal Grichuk puts it all together? Randal Grichuk looks to be the Blue Jays OF that will receive regular playing time with Pillar, Hernandez, and McKinney fighting for the other two spots....

Minnesota Twins Breakout for Max Kepler? Even though the Twins have added a slew of offseason acquisitions, Kepler is among several young holdovers who Minnesota is expecting to breakout after several league average years. If his 6-12 2 HR, 4-walk...

Kris Bryant's Shoulder and the Erosion of his Power from the Inside Third of the Plate Everyone knows Kris Bryant suffered through a disappointing 2018 season. But if I were to ask most people in Chicago whether they thought Kris...

Will Archer Be an Ace? The Pirates sent nice a haul of young talent to Tampa Bay to acquire SP Chris Archer, who proceeded to record a 4.30 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 10.32 over 52.1 IP with his new club...

In our continuing series on the Sabermetric analysis that shapes our Player projections in our 2019 Player Projections Software. Today we'll take a look at some of the indicators that are defining our 2019 Shortstop projections: Baez, Javier Baez kicked...

Notes and News from around Spring Training camps Rotate Out the Barrel Milwaukee has a fairly long list of pitchers to fill out their 2019 rotation, but there are still question marks out there. The Brewers didn't sign and free...

Jake Bauers, 1B, OF, CLE Bauers should see time at both 1B and the OF for the Indians this season, and may already qualify at both positions to start the season. Bauers showed some power (11 HR's, 35 XBH's in...

ATLANTA BRAVES A couple injury and debut notes for the Braves: Dansby Swanson and Josh Donaldson are both expected to make their Grapefruit League debuts on Friday. Mike Soroka will hopefully get to throw again by the end of the...

Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton, 2019 Breakout? 5-5, 2 HR and 10 RBIs. That's what Byron Buxton has done in 2 spring training games thus far following a 3-3, 5 RBI day Monday. The damage has been done against guys who...

The St. Louis Cardinals have an undefined bullpen. Will they go with an experienced Andrew Miller, a young Jordan Hicks or neither? Meanwhile, the New York Mets are hoping for big seasons from young stars Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard. Just how likely are those two to produce full seasons?

Jake Lamb is expected to step up (in part) following the trade of Paul Goldschmidt. Lamb's education at 1B continued, where he'll be expected to play in tandem with 3B. Lamb struggled last season as his L/R splits remained quite...

The Spring Training games have begun and we're already knee deep in the fantasy baseball draft season! This is my sixth season covering relievers for Fantistics and writing A Closer Look. The game of baseball has transformed during that time...

Troy Tulowitzki, DJ Lemahieu, Tevor Cahill, Victor Robles, Yandy Diaz, Nick Pivetta, Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Josh Harrison, Byron Buxton, Ryan Braun, Drew Pomeranz, Eloy Jimenez, Jesus Luzardo

Looking around the camps of the Orioles, Brewers, and Rangers In a team flush with youngsters, there are a few veterans left in the Orioles' camp. Chris Davis is perhaps the one with the most to prove. His season of...

LA Dodgers: Who's in the Outfield? With the trade of Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to the Reds, the Dodgers suddenly no longer have an overabundance of outfielders. As things are currently constructed, Max Muncy and David Freese are set...

Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber: Just Another Prospect Bust? The year was 2016, the month was November and the Cubs were just mere days away from celebrating their first championship in 108 years. Kyle Schwarber had just gone from tearing his...

2019 HR/FB Rate: More than just Batted Ball Speed New baseball data continues to emerge yearly, continually granting us insight into a player's core skill/ability.  Indicators such as HR/FB rates are thankfully no longer looked at as blanket averages. As we have...

Entering the 2018 campaign, Cubs C Willson Contreras was widely regarded as a top-3 fantasy option at the position. After all, the then-25 year-old was coming off a strong 2017 season in which he batted .276 with 21 homers and...

Search, if you'd like, for reasons why Jacob deGrom will regress. Sure, you'll find them. For one, he is unlikely to sustain last year's 6.3% HR/FB rate. His 82% strand rate could foretell mild regression, and his .281 BABIP was the 2nd-lowest of his career. However, there are far more reasons to believe deGrom is poised for another Cy Young-caliber season.

Indians Notes There have been rumors throughout the offseason that the Indians may trade one of their top pitchers in order to cut payroll. Well, so far that hasn't happened, but the Tribe has lost more than half their starting...

Ronald Acuña Jr, Atlanta Braves - Ronald Acuña Jr the most hyped prospect to make his debut last season and he was everything fantasy owners could have asked for, and more. Acuña posted 143 wRC+ in 111 games while hitting...

Minnesota Twins: Power Surge in the Twin Cities? There is potential in Minnesota to have a lethal power combo in the middle of the lineup where Miguel Sano and Nelson Cruz Look to become the first pair of AL teammates...

Astros: Roberto Osuna Osuna is currently the sixth reliever getting drafted based on ADP, but he could finish the year as the league's highest scoring relief pitcher. The 24-year-old has had his share of off-field problems, but posted a 1.99...

World Series Champion - Boston Red Sox Can He Repeat? Can Mookie Betts repeat last year's MVP season? We think he can certainly come close. He turns 26 and is one of only a few players capable of going 30/30....

Fantasy baseball is back and J.T. Realmuto finally got traded.