Archive for Head to Head

Welcome back, fearless readers! With another week of cold and dark, fantasy-less days behind us, let’s look at a few more players who might just fulfill the exact criteria of what a sleeper truly is. Because if we’re not planting early flags, what are we even doing?

Last time out we looked at a couple of sleepy fellas for 2023, so if you want to check them out or go over our value criteria, please feel free to do so here. But considering that my two young children have equaled me going to no less than five Halloween events over the next four days, we should really go ahead and get down to business. Read the rest of this entry »

Of course, it’s never too early for sleepers! But first, we must decide, once and for all, what the actual definition of a sleeper is. No matter how long it takes, we must get to the bottom of this age-old question!

Oh my god, no we do not. I get the classical sense of what people generally mean when they say sleeper but for me, it’s just about anyone that I think is going to earn a lot more than I’ll have to pay to acquire them. Sleepers after pick #300? Obviously. Sleepers around #150? Yep. Sleepers in the top-100? You bet. Regardless of where you get them, it’s all about that ROI, baby. So, let’s get to napping. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, since I’m currently in one draft on NFBC, we do (technically speaking) have some fresh 2023 ADP data to obsess over. We’ll just have to play a little loose with the whole “average” part of the initialization. But regardless of sample size, there is valuable information to be gleaned from this particular draft. We just have to know what questions to ask, what should be noted, and what can be ignored.

Normally, looking at any one draft in a season is going to be mostly pointless but this first draft is different, partly because it can answer some general questions about the texture but also because of the pool of managers. I’m not saying that entering the first fantasy draft of the season makes you an expert player but I think we can safely say it makes you a bit of a degenerate. Again, being a degenerate doesn’t make you an expert (see; me) but this draft is filled with some names you know and love, as well as some highest-volume NFBC players going. AKA probably not total fools. Read the rest of this entry »

After the long grind, for many, it is a time to rest. A time to turn off your fantasy baseball brain for a few months, or maybe sink completely into fantasy football. Or, perhaps, just reintroduce yourself to those people who keep claiming to be your family. But one more important task remains before putting the 2022 season behind us – we must take stock, gleaning whatever lessons we can from both the highs and lows in search of a better process.

Now is the time to do so because as you sink into other endeavors, the memories will start to fade, with only the results remaining, while the path you took to get there fades into the background. But that path is what you need to remember for future success, noting what made things rough and where you ran downhill. Remembering you won or lost in 2022 won’t win you a single thing in 2023 if you don’t remember why. Read the rest of this entry »

Six more days, just one more turn around the rotation. Whether you’re in the final leg of a head-to-head run or are trying to scrape out every last stat in roto, every single sit/start decision could carry season-ending ramifications. Let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing, breaking down all the minutiae you need to make your best decisions, and packaging it all in some not-so-fancy color coding.

As per usual, we have no time to waste. Closing time, folks. Time to grab those belts. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ll only have 10 days of the regular season left after this weekend, with one normal week and one bizzaro halfy. Roto leagues get to scrape every last scrap of stat but for those in head-to-head leagues, this week might be it. One last week to rule them all.

Let’s keep giving you all the stats you need to whittle down these final oh-so-important choices, whether you’re searching for a particular category, or just need a solid outing. Over the past few months, we’ve looked at how to best evaluate matchups for left-handers, and right-handers, and how to mix in the changes in hitting environments. And how to pick who to keep, cut, or start when late-season strategies start coming into play in September. But in the championship weeks, everything becomes that much more magnified and we need all the tools you can get. Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks. That’s it. After (another) long, chaotic offseason, and five and a half months of action, two weeks is all that is left for those looking to secure gold. This isn’t June anymore and we can’t just casually shake off a blowup start from a starting pitcher, whether stud or streamer, consoling ourselves with thoughts of there being plenty of time to balance things back out. No, no, no – this is championship season, Indy baby, and one false step can send you plummeting out of contention like a grail-hunting nazi stepping on the wrong tile.

If you want to stack fantasy chips, you better stack your advantages as high as possible. Baseball is still going to occasionally baseball but all we can do is set ourselves up for success as much as we can.

Let’s get some trophies. Read the rest of this entry »

As we’re in the final (final) stretch of the fantasy baseball season, the magnifying glass needed for every pitching start chosen needs to be that much larger. To continue our recent theme of looking at the ways to make wiser choices in these regards, I’d only intended on adding a little context about the offensive environments according to stadium park factors. But as often is the case, down the rabbit hole I tumbled. And as we’ll see shortly, one cannot simply look at park factors from a single angle, as multiple agents of chaos must be accounted for. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve officially entered championship month and whether you’re in head-to-head playoffs or accumulating your way to the money in roto, our starting choices deserve a larger microscope. Choosing who to start and sit, whether stud or streamer, can have profound implications, with razor-thin margins in a category or two, often separating the ultimate winners and losers. And given the desire to manipulate particular categories, it’s not as simple as needing “good” starts because you might be in a situation where any start that ends with a win (or a strikeout per IP, zeroed ratios, etc) is good, and any start that doesn’t is bad, regardless of the other results. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s getting even later in the fantasy season and endgame strategies are starting to come into play. While it is possible to guide your offense toward specific categories, a greater impact can be made with how you direct your pitching, depending on which categories you are looking to massage, and so that’s where we’ll continue to focus.

Round 2…Fight! Read the rest of this entry »