by Patrick Cloghessy We have arrived at Labor Day Weekend. The unofficial end of summer can be a bummer, but every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. It’s goodbye endless nights and salty surf, hello crisp fall weather, pumpkin spice and pennant fever. From now until the final day of September, teams will…

by Mark Simmons When Branch Rickey first used coined “5 tool player”, his phrase separated Mays and Mantle as players in the game who could do it all. In BABS parlance, these elite, across-the-board talents are “triple-asset players.”  In the August update, there were 22 players who are credited with possessing at least some of…

by Chris Doyle With the bulk of the 2018 fantasy season in the rearview mirror, you’re likely in one of two camps: competing for a title or throwing in the towel. (There’s also a purgatory where you realistically don’t have a chance at winning but aren’t near the bottom either. Let’s hope you’re not there.…

by Mark Simmons The August BABS update provides a chance to compare her preseason draft rankings with the in-season skills she’s observed. Were there clues that led to breakout seasons? Were there warnings that foretold of coming flops? What can be learned and applied to 2019 draft prep? Let’s take a trip around the infield.…

by Patrick Cloghessy By the time you read this, it will have been days since David Bote (pictured) slammed the Cubs to a walk-off win last Sunday night. You will have seen it, read stories about it, bought the tee shirt. Inevitably, these stories will reference Bote’s newfound swing.  His swing is (of course) tailored to…

by Patrick Cloghessy Now would be a good time to remind ourselves that BABS’ in-season reports are dynamic, not static. The monthly database updates are part of a larger picture. In short, we should heed Ron’s advice in the comments of a recent Mark Simmons piece: “BABS has always worked best as a full-season rating…

by Chris Dowd With most fantasy trade deadlines approaching this month, we thought it was a good time to tackle a very real trade offer sent in by a reader and break down how BABS can be used to evaluate a deal. We tend to lean on BABS most heavily at draft time when all…

by Mark Simmons Below are profiles of several players who BABS has been virtually ignoring but whose ratings may be on the rise when the next update is posted. Ownership % are based upon ESPN leagues at the time of writing. Considering the vitriol posted on several message boards regarding Tommy Pham (F, no assets),…