12-Team Best Ball Auction #1

As part of the socially distanced festivities here at FanGraphs, I will be hosting a series of best ball auctions on Fantrax. Entry for this first league will be free. The only requirement is availability for the draft which be held at 11:00am ET on Friday.

I know this is an awkward draft time for many of you. The intent is for this to be the first of many such auctions, some of which will even run during reasonable nighttime and/or weekend hours. With that out of the way, shall we explore the settings?

First, what is best ball? To the, uh, best of my knowledge, it derives from the eponymous golf game wherein two players on the same team each take a shot and choose the “best ball” for their next shot. In our fantasy circles, it means your best players are automatically scored on a weekly basis. Weeks run Monday through Sunday in our case.

All you need to do is roster some hitters and pitchers, and the software does the rest. There are no lineup decisions, trades, waiver moves, FAAB, or any other transactions. Rosters are set to eight utility hitters, two starting pitchers, two relievers, four general purpose pitchers, and 12 bench spots.

We’ll be playing a 12-team mixed-league. The auction budget is $260. Since it’s best ball, we have to use points scoring. For this first league, I’ve opted to implement ottoneu’s FanGraphs points rather than Fantrax’s zany default points scoring. If you’re unfamiliar with FGpts, they are outlined here. Consider this a loose analog to wOBA and FIP with saves and holds tacked on to bolster reliever value.

If you’d like to join the league please contact me on Twitter @BaseballATeam or email Pitchin432 on Yahoo. Fair warning, I will be holding three spots in reserve for my patrons.