All posts under "Preseason Prep" - Page 5

A sophomore slump seemed almost inevitable for the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year, and for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what happened for much of the shortened 2020 season.

Boston Red Sox What kind of Fantasy value is there in the starting rotation? Chris Sale (Tommy John) should make his way back to the mound this season but the timetable for his return is still unknown at this juncture....

Dodgers Second Base job There isn't much in the way of competitions in Los Angeles this year, but second base is worth keeping an eye on. For now, Gavin Lux looks to be the favorite, but despite plenty of prospect...

Philadelphia Phillies J.T. Realmuto worth the price Fresh off signing the largest free-agent contract ever for a catcher, Realmuto has solidified his status as the top receiver in the game. He's been incredibly consistent over the past five years, slashing...

Minnesota Twins Byron Buxton..Finally? Byron Buxton evokes lots of feelings for fantasy Owners. The former second overall pick struggled during his first several years, before finally showing bursts in 2017 with 16 HR and 29 steals, only to miss almost...

Myles Straw, Starting Center Fielder? Myles Straw (OF - HOU): Stolen bases have become extremely scarce in fantasy baseball relative to other categories, and that's especially true in later rounds. Myles Straw is an outlier in that regard, owning a...

HITS LIKE MAYS, RUNS LIKE HAYES? Ke'Bryan Hayes (3B-PIT) showed that he could play defense in the minors, but there were concerns about his bat entering last season. Well, he eased those to some degree with a MLB debut in...

Indians Notes Who will replace Santana at IB? While Indians fans have mostly been mourning the trade of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets in January, less attention has been paid to the departure of 1B Carlos Santana,...

Ch-ch-ch-Changes Every offseason sparks the words of the old David Bowie song in my mind. This year is no different. Brewers- Infield changes- Milwaukee may have a completely new infield lineup than what they ended with in 2020. Daniel Robertson-...

Blue Jays George Springer The Blue Jays took the top hitter off the free-agent market by signing OF George Springer to a 6-year, $150 million deal. Springer is coming off a .256/.359/.540 slash line with 14 HR in 51 GP...

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...

Hi Folks, Welcome to the start of our 2021 Fantasy Baseball Season! The start of what is expected to be a full MLB season, post the 2020 abbreviated COVID-19 shortened season. As I have written in the past, the...

Howie Kendrick (1B/2B/OF/DH - WAS) - Between the opt-out of Ryan Zimmerman and the addition of a DH in the NL, Howie Kendrick's value has gotten a huge boost since we spoke to you last. Kendrick has been phenomenal since...

Zach Plesac (SP-CLE) - Plesac has beaten out Adam Plutko for the final spot in the Cleveland rotation. From a fantasy perspective, it's tough to get too excited about the 25-year-old, who debuted last season with a decent 3.81 ERA,...

Philadelphia Phillies Aaron Nola (SP) is expected to start the Phillies' season opener Friday vs. the Marlins at home. The 27-year-old right-hander will look to start his sixth big league campaign on the right foot after a mildly disappointing 2019...

PITTSBURGH PIRATES Gregory Polanco (OF-PIT) has tested positive for COVID-19, which explains why he has been absent from recent Pirates workouts. The 28 year-old's status for the immediate future is now in doubt, so thoughts (that I had, at least)...

While the Cardinals have yet to officially announce Carlson is off the Opening Day roster, it's a near certainty the team's top prospect will start the season at satellite camp.

Seattle Mariners Yusei Kikuchi Kikuchi left a lot to be desired in his rookie season with a 5.46 ERA and a 5.71 FIP over 32 starts, but several factors are in place for the 29-year-old to break out in 2020....

Minnesota Twins 2020 AL Batting Champ - Luis Arraez? If you are looking for a slightly under the radar player to approach the .400 mark in a shortened 60 game Season, Luis Arraez may be your guy. He burst onto...

Indians Notes Hernandez to Leadoff Cesar Hernandez, CLE The newly-acquired 2B is expected to bat leadoff for the Tribe this season, likely batting in front of Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor in the Cleveland lineup. Hernandez is never a high-end...

New Home, Sweet Home for the Rangers Every team is heading into unfamiliar territory in this unusual season but the Texas Rangers have another uncertainty facing them. They are moving across the parking lot from Globe Life Park to Globe...

Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays - Tyler Glasnow still has yet to report to Rays camp and the reason so far is undisclosed. Not exactly the best news for the Rays with the season just under two weeks away from...

Blue Jays Nate Pearson Before the shutdown, it was looking unlikely that Nate Pearson was going to make the major league club and was looking at a late-season call-up. The shortened season has given most teams a realistic shot at...

We are living in unprecedented times, a once in a century event has altered us, changing almost every dynamic in our daily lives. Yet in the not too far off distance, a glimmer of hope has reemerged: Baseball! Yes, it...

With the season still out in the horizon, it's a good time to once again dig back into the Sabermetric analysis that shape our projections inthe Fanitstics 2020 Player Projections Draft Advisory Program. These notes are just some of the...

St. Patrick's Day would be the day when teams joined the A's in wearing green uniforms. Unfortunately COVID19 is preventing any team from wearing any uniform The latest speculation puts the earliest that the 2020 Major League regular season can...

A SOLID FANTASY OPTION Pablo Lopez (SP-MIA) was far from a fantasy asset in 2019, as he finished the season with a 5.09 ERA, 7.7 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 111.1 IP. But as his 4.37 xFIP and 4.44 SIERA...

Can Matthew Boyd Break Out? It's been awhile since the Tigers had a true ace, but Boyd is probably the closest thing they have to one right now, which is saying a lot given his 31-47 career record and 4.92...

Boston Red Sox Delayed start to the season might aid ailing Sox After DFA'ing Hector Velazquez, the Red Sox signed former Astro Collin McHugh to a one-year deal. McHugh hasn't pitched since August 30th due to a flexor strain, but...

MLB Opening Day Delayed, Spring Training Cancelled MLB announced that Opening Day would be delayed at least two weeks due to the coronavirus, and that spring training games have been cancelled. At this point, it's impossible to predict, but it...

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels - With Shohei Ohtani scheduled to return to the big league mound in May, it sounds like the Angels are leaning towards having him start on Wednesday's for the team because of how many off...

Hudson had a monster season last year, finishing 16-7 with a 3.35 ERA. In one and a half seasons, Hudson is 20-8 with a 3.25 ERA. Needless to say, that tends to attract a lot of attention in fantasy baseball. However, there are some definite concerns with Hudson's profile.

Houston Astros Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers has never pitched in more than 130 innings in a season, but it's hard not to get excited about his career 3.24 FIP and 17.3% K-BB%. Over the past couple of seasons, McCullers introduced...

Mitch Garver (C - MIN) - I feel like Garver is still quite a bit undervalued despite his breakout 2019 campaign. He's going in round 11 on average right now, a round or so after Willson Contreras, which I find...

Indians Notes Carlos Carrasco, CLE Carrasco will have his next spring start pushed back a few days as he is currently dealing with mild elbow inflammation. Indians' manager Terry Francona made it sound like the issue is minor, but it...

Austin Riley (3B/OF-ATL) - Locked in a battle with Johan Carmago for the third base job, Riley took a step forward Friday, homering and drawing a walk off Boston's Eduardo Rodriguez. The walk is certainly encouraging after he posted a...