Rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets
All of your fantasy baseball draft preparation needs collected in one place! Here you’ll find rankings, projections, cheat sheets, analysis and strategy; Check back every day for new content through Opening Day of the 2021 season. If this is your first time playing fantasy baseball, might we recommend starting with the basics: The Playbook: How to play fantasy baseball.
Don’t have a team yet? Create or join a league and then dive into the latest draft-prep material tailored for whatever format you prefer.
Rankings, projections, depth charts and cheat sheets
• Mass: Points league ranking
• Cockcroft: Head-to-head categories rankings
• Karabell: Roto leagues rankings
•
McDaniel: Top 50 fantasy rookies for 2021
• 2021 Player Projections and Outlooks
• Live Draft Results
• Cheat Sheet Central
• Cheat Sheet: sleepers, busts, rookies, closers
• Closer depth chart
• MLB depth charts
• Custom Dollar Value Generator
From our award-winning fantasy baseball analysts:
Mock Drafts
• March 10: H2H Points
• March 3: H2H Each Category
Roundtables
• What spring training buzz should you be buying?
• What’s the best approach to drafting closers in 2021?
• Best current draft-day values by ADP (March 9)
• Which rookie will make the biggest impact?
• 2021 Sleepers and Busts
• Who should go No. 6 if Betts, Acuna, Trout, Soto, Tatis are gone?
• Prominent players to avoid drafting
• Most debatable draft rankings
• What to take away from the shortened 2020 season
• Tout Wars takeaways from our four participants
From Eric Karabell
• Bold predictions for each AL team
• Bold predictions for each NL team
• The Do Not Draft list
• The Do Draft list
• Mid-spring closer competition update
• Sneaky Keepers: looking beyond prospects for long-term keeper league value
• Favorite, least favorite rookies for 2021
• 10 things to watch for in 2021
• Bullpen battles to watch
• Spring Training watch: Don’t overlook the Orioles
• Pitchers, hitters and Ohtanis to watch in spring training
From Tristan H. Cockcroft
• Tristan’s Twenty players to target in drafts …
• … and 10 to pass on at their current ADP
• Stock Watch: Reacting to the week’s injuries, news (March 26)
• Stock Watch: Mid-spring rankings updates
• Kings of Command: Breakout pitchers to draft this season
• Statscast spring training stats that matter
• Statscast speed metrics impact on SB and BABIP.
• How to use the Custom Dollar Value Generator
From Todd Zola
• How to use ADP to know when to draft high-variance players
• How much weight should you give humidors and ballpark dimensions?
• How the projections sausage gets made
Others
• Passan’s 2021 predictions unearth 10 draft-day gems
• McDaniel: Every team’s next MLB Rank player
•Starting pitcher “Work” Index: assessing pitcher workload risk factors
Spring Training Watch
• March 22: Value of catchers
• Spring Training watch: Houston has some problems (March 8)
• Spring Training watch: Don’t overlook the Orioles (March 1)
• Bullpen battles to watch
• Pitchers, hitters and Ohtanis to watch in spring training
• Bell on spring injury watch: who is ready to contribute?
Expert Leagues
• Cockcroft: AL LABR draft
• Karabell: NL LABR draft
Points League Corner
• Points League Rankings
• H2H Points league draft strategy
• Pitchers to value more in points leagues
• Hitters to avoid in points leagues
The Playbook: Become an expert in 9 innings
•Inning 1: How to play fantasy baseball
•Inning 2: League Formats: Which is right for you?
•Inning 3: Everything you need to know about auction drafts
•Inning 4: How to create the ultimate cheat sheet
•Inning 5: Optimizing your roster
•Inning 6: Nine must-follow tips
•Inning 7: Staying ahead of league trends
•Inning 8: Using advanced stats to get ahead
•Inning 9: Master the 2021 player pool
For Dynasty Leaguers
• Dynasty Top 300
• Cockcroft: Dynasty stock watch
• Karabell: winning right now in fantasy baseball dynasty league
• McDaniel: Top 50 fantasy rookies for 2021
• Karabell’s Sneaky Keepers: looking beyond prospects for long-term keeper league value
Fantasy Focus Baseball recent podcasts
LISTEN:: Late spring rankings adjustments
Eric Karabell and Tristan Cockcroft breakdown the rash of recent injuries: does Fernando Tatis Jr (0:45) fall and is Zac Gallen (5:50) now a player you need to fade? They discuss the breakout potential of the now well compensated Lance McCullers (16:10) and a “Statcast darling” (18:55) to consider before diving into the Blue Jays compromised bullpen (21:55) and your best hashbrowns!
LISTEN:: March 12: The Process Behind ESPN Projections
Todd Zola joins the show to discuss his projection process (1:42) before detailing the difference between rankings and projections (8:42). He also speaks to the impact of spring training on his final outlook on the season (13:12) and his top three takeaways from his process (15:12). Eric and Tristan address recent pitcher injuries (28:20) and answering your preseason questions (29:55)!
LISTEN:: March 1: Which Rookies Are Ready To Produce?
Eric interviews MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel to get a feel for when we see Wander Franco this season (1:00), if Randy Arozarena is a star in the making (2:10) and which other prospects are worth a look in 2021 redraft leagues. AJ Mass then joins Eric to talk about if Spring Training matters (16:30), what makes points league rankings their own entity (19:00), if the catch position is worth addressing early (27:21) and if now is the time to move on from Jacob deGrom in dynasty leagues (35:25)
In Case You Missed It: Fantasy Focus Baseball Archived Podcasts
From The Archives:
From 2020 :Dynasty league strategy: How to build a perennial contender
• From 2020 Karabell’s Dos and Don’ts of drafting
• From 2020 How to mock draft like a pro
• From 2020 The lost art of shadow-mocking
• From 2020 How to optimize your roster for stolen bases
•From 2020 Fantasy baseball’s lasting legacy
•From 2020 Matthew Berry’s untold stories of 40 years of fantasy baseball
•From 2020 Project “GOAT” celebrates 40 years of fantasy baseball