Play Yahoo! Fantasy Football
Roto Arcade
  • Kris Medlen, dealing (Getty Images)

    If your fantasy pitching staff seems unfinished at the conclusion of your draft, don't panic.

    In nearly all leagues, a significant percentage of ownable pitching talent will go un-drafted. This is true for both starters and relievers. Every pitching category can be addressed in-season if you play in a standard fantasy format.

    Last year, during the second half of the season, there was no more valuable pitcher in our game than Kris Medlen. He went 9-0 after the break, striking out 95 batters in 95.1 innings, walking just 14. His second-half fantasy ratios were straight from the Dead Ball era: 0.94 ERA, 0.82 WHIP. But in most leagues, Medlen wasn't added until early-August.

    RA Dickey actually finished as the top-ranked fantasy starter last year in terms of full-season value, and he was still available in a majority of Yahoo! leagues as late as May 23, following an 11-K win at Pittsburgh. Dickey went un-drafted in the Friends & Family League in 2012, so it's not as if the experts were all over him.

    [Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

    Read More »from Fantasy Baseball 2013: Starting Pitcher Primer
  • Carter Country (USAT)I can't promise you Chris Carter will be a regular in Houston all season. I can't say much about Carter's defense, and I can't whistle an optimistic tune about his strikeouts.

    But if you're looking to find 25-30 cheap homers (and maybe a few more) in the current power-depressed rotisserie landscape, stay with me. It's time to investigate another late-round sleeper.

    Carter's raw power was on full display Sunday afternoon, as he connected for a pair of moon-shot homers in Kissimmee. Carter wasn't picking on some poor Double-A rag arm here; the round trippers came off Toronto star Brandon Morrow. Carter now has four homers this month in 42 at-bats.

    [Play Tourney Pick'em on Yahoo! Fantasy Sports]

    The pessimists in the crowd will quickly note Carter's .238 spring average and 14 strikeouts. Yep, that's part of the profile here. Even when you mix in four walks, Carter's OBP is below .300. But a .548 slugging percentage is enough for the Astros to overlook some warts, and Carter's right-handed power stroke should be a delightful fit for the Crawford Boxes in his new home park.

    Read More »from Grapefruit Juice: The case for Chris Carter
  • Bush will be no joke as a Lion, especially in PPR leagues (USAT)

    Roughly seven weeks ago the final seconds ticked off the Superdome clock. Confetti cascaded from the rafters. A champion was crowned. Baltimore fended off a late-charge by San Francisco to take Super Bowl XLVII. Its fans entered a perpetual state of euphoria. The rest of the pigskin community, however, mourned.

    Tears streamed down wing-stained checks. Jerseys went into hibernation. Fantasy discussions around the water-cooler subsided. Life became unfulfilled.

    The annual football famine was officially underway.

    Now multiple firings, several cuts and one bloated Joe Flacco contract later, the NFL is again a hot topic. In recent days, seismic trades (e.g. Alex Smith to KC, Percy Harvin to Seattle and Anquan Boldin to San Francisco) along with numerous address changes has pigskin at the forefront of the mind, particularly among fantasy zealots.

    That was a short offseason.

    Who gained the most value? Who didn’t? Here are my biggest fantasy Flames and Lames of this year’s free agent frenzy:

    Read More »from Free Agent Flames/Lames: It’s time to take Reggie Bush seriously again
  • McCutchen is coming off a caeer year (USAT)

    There typically hasn’t been a consensus when it comes to the middle of the first round this year, with many fantasy owners choosing between Andrew McCutchen and Matt Kemp. Both are five-category outfielders with big upside yet also possess some question marks. Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don have a difference of opinion. Let’s get to the debate.

    Pianow to open: When I'm making first-round picks or handling the blue chips in an auction, I usually take a floor-driven approach. Every player worth considering in the first round certainly has a major upside; I tend to focus on what the downside is, and how confident I feel in the given player giving me a solid return. There's plenty of time to shoot for the moon and stars later.

    With that in mind, I'm an Andrew McCutchen man for 2013. Matt Kemp, not so much.

    I know Kemp's ridiculous 2011 season is hard to ignore, but I'm more worried about the player we saw in 2010 and 2012. Kemp had all sorts of issues in that 2010 season (batting .249 and compiling a 19-for-34 stolen base record); some blamed his relationship with Joe Torre, while others pointed the blame at Rihanna, Kemp's squeeze at the time.

    [Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

    Read More »from Spin Doctors: Andrew McCutchen vs. Matt Kemp
  • So there's a new name atop the OF ranks in 2013 (USAT Images)

    Last season, the players who ranked first, second, fourth and sixth in terms of overall fantasy value were all outfielders. This spot gave us one player who went 30/40 in home runs and stolen bases (Mike Trout), and another who went 40/30 (Ryan Braun). Seven different outfielders gave us 20/20 seasons. Thirty-seven outfielders finished with at least 35 homers-plus-steals.

    Simply put, this position is a smorgasbord of stats. Among the outfielders, you'll find several of our game's most useful multi-category contributors — guys like Trout, Braun, Kemp, McCutchen, Heyward, Harper, both Uptons and both Car-Gos. You'll also find a collection of high-quality category specialists in the outfield — burners like Ben Revere and Michael Bourn, power hitters like Adam Dunn and Chris Davis.

    Whatever you need, you can get it at this position. Don't let the scarcity crowd talk you out of the upper-tier outfielders, because the elite players at this spot are beasts, fantasy's most productive assets.

    [Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

    Read More »from Fantasy Baseball 2013: Outfield Primer
  • Bush was all smiles in his new digs. (AP)

    On Tuesday, the lid popped off on NFL Free Agency. Almost immediately, snakes of all shapes, sizes and skill levels sprang out. Wes Welker, Reggie Bush, Steven Jackson and Mike Wallace were just a few brand names that changed addresses. Elsewhere, Ahmad Bradshaw, Greg Jennings and Fred Davis continue to wait patiently in the green room.

    On this week's gripping program, Andy Behrens and Brad Evans spun the March mayhem from a fantasy prospective. Is Reggie a legitimate RB1? What about S-Jax? Can Amendola avoid the injury imp and snare 100 passes? Where will Bradshaw finally plant roots?

    Meanwhile in Hour 2, we caught you up to speed on the latest happenings around the spring circuit. Tidbits on Aroldis Chapman, Zack Greinke and Jedd Gyroko were detailed. Also, which Grapefruit sensation, Julio Teheran or Alex Cobb, will make the bigger splash? We offered our two cents.

    Too busy running to the border for Cool Ranch tacos? No problem. Listen to the replays below:

    LISTEN TO HOUR 1 HERE (NFL)

    LISTEN TO HOUR 2 HERE (MLB)

    Read More »from The Fantasy Freak Show Podcast: Reggie the Lion, Baker’s bungle and Big Al
  • A healthy Deron Williams remains elite (USAT)

    Deron Williams has been a disappointment for fantasy owners this season. He currently ranks as the No. 34 ranked player on the year, which is hardly terrible, but he was drafted as a top-15 guy, and it’s taken him being the No. 9 player over the past month to get back into the top-50. Since joining New Jersey/Brooklyn 2+ years ago, Williams has shot 41.1 percent from the floor, well below his career mark (45.2). A big part of the problem has been health, mainly ankle issues. In fact, Williams has essentially stopped driving to the basket this season, averaging just 2.6 attempts at the rim per game, which is a career low by a huge margin. However, since receiving PRP injections in his ankles during the All-Star break, he’s looked like a different player with the pain now gone, averaging 23.3 ppg, 7.9 apg, 1.1 spg and 3.4 3pt while shooting 46.7 percent from the field over 13 games, highlighted by this terrific performance in which he set an NBA record with nine threes before halftime (he was 7-for-7 from downtown with three minutes left in the first quarter). You want a critique on the +/- stat? Look no further than that particular game’s box score, comparing Williams with Joe Johnson. The cortisone shot was actually Williams’ third of the season, so this by no means should be considered a problem completely fixed, but a full offseason of rest (he’s admitted playing in the Olympics took its toll last year) should do him good. One other minor area of concern at least worth pointing out when it comes to Williams’ fantasy value is that Brooklyn’s Pace (91.0) ranks dead last in the NBA, so hopefully that changes moving forward. Still, it’s nice to see Williams, who not that long ago was in the conversation as best point guard in the league, back playing well again.

    Last week I declared Blake Griffin’s alley-oop from Jamaal Crawford the leader for dunk of the year, but quickly a new candidate emerged.

    This guy needed to make a layup, a free throw, a three-pointer and a half court shot to win $50,000. He forgot one of them.

    Read More »from Mostly NBA Notes: Deron Williams, Ricky Rubio and John Wall all point guards on the rise
  • Tangled up in Blue (USAT)

    To some fantasy owners, Zack Greinke is a target player, a guy to chase after. Some other rotoheads consider him more of a fantasy conundrum, a tricky case that's not easily solved.

    I'm not losing any sleep with Greinke this spring; I'm not swimming in the spreadsheets and trying to read the tea leaves. Just give me a red pen and I'll do all I need to do with this commodity – strike him off my list. None for me, thanks.

    Zack Greinke.

    Okay, it's not quite that simple. I never really say never with any player who will post value. If I found myself in a draft or auction where everyone seemed to distrust Greinke then sure, I'd consider stepping in. But I don't think such a room exists.

    Greinke's physical status has been an issue over the last few days. He's dealing with a sore elbow and the club isn't sure if he'll be ready for the opening week of the season. He won't return to bullpen work until next week at the earliest, according to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports.

    [Play Tourney Pick'em on Yahoo! Fantasy Sports]

    The medical news hasn't taken a huge bite out of Greinke's fantasy stock, at least in the corridors I'm hanging out in. Most of the industry remains very bullish; consider the current rankings at Fantasy Pros. Greinke was the 17th starting pitcher taken Tuesday afternoon in the Yahoo! Friends and Family League, going to Derek Carty at the 6.12 slot (82nd overall). To put it in context, Gio Gonzalez, Kris Medlen, Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos and James Shields were still on the board.

    Read More »from Tip Drill: Crossing Zack Greinke off my cheat sheet
  • Lincecum sorrowful spring start has investors concerned. (USAT)

    Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on nine intriguing over/unders entering spring training.

    Former top-of-the-line fantasy starters Roy Halladay and Tim Linceucm have struggled mightily this spring. Who bounces back stronger?

    Andy – HALLADAY. He was actually having a nice spring (10.1 IP, 3 R, 2 BB, 9 Ks) until Tuesday's clunker. I'm giving him a mulligan. Not yet worried. Of course I haven't yet drafted him, either.

    Brad – LINCECUM. He's battled through blisters this spring, but his velocity is hovering in the 92-94 mph range and his confidence is back. Given the favorable pitching environment and strong lineup behind him, the cleaner-looking Prince of Darkness won't suck the life out of those who invest in his services.

    Scott – I have to go LINCECUM, who showed dominant form as a reliever late in 2012 (at least we know it's still in him). Halladay's 2012 was a hot mess, his velocity is down this spring, and he turns 36 in May. I don't see any reason to draft him unless it's an outright giveaway.

    Read More »from Over/Under: Comeback kid, will Lincecum regain All-Star form?
  • Brandon Belt, Cactus League hero (USAT Images)

    If it's March, it must be time to re-hype Brandon Belt. The kid is destroying Cactus League pitching, again.

    As of this writing, Belt is hitting .417/.432/.861(!) with four homers and nine RBIs in his 37 plate appearances. He was a monster during exhibition play in 2012, too, going 28-for-74 with three bombs and eight doubles.

    Belt's spring power surge didn't actually carry over into the regular season last year, you'll recall, as he hit only seven home runs over 145 games. But modest power has always been part of the projection. Belt delivered 76 extra-base hits across three minor league levels in 2010 (including 23 homers), and he cleared the fence 17 times in 2011, splitting time between Triple-A and the majors. He hit the ball plenty hard for San Francisco last year (25.6 line-drive percentage), though not usually on a trajectory that benefited the fantasy community.

    [Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

    Read More »from Brandon Belt, king of spring

Pagination

(4,763 Stories)

Meet The Roto Arcade Team