Last night was the auction for the FanGraphs Staff League, going into year 13 and still going strong. My recap will focus on how things went for me and my co-manager, Niv Shah, who built and runs Ottoneu. The goal is to share a lesson you can learn from us so you don’t the mistake we did. But if you want to see the full draft, you can! Eli Ben-Porat streamed the auction, so you can see how this played out live.
Transcript is now available
| 2:59 |
: Hi all – going to get this started in just a moment. This chat, for those who missed my update last week, is part of our expanded Ottoneu coverage. I don’t know yet how regular they will be, but there has been demand for chats, so we’ll keep doing them semi-regularly. |
| 3:00 |
: Happy to answer any Ottoneu questions, but I also cover keeper leagues in general on the Keep or Kut podcast, so I am open to any questions. Just know that whatever you are doing in your other keeper leagues, Ottoneu is better! |
| 3:01 |
: For any questions, when possible let me know the basics of league format. For Ottoneu, that just means scoring type, but any info you give me can help me give you a better answer. |
| 3:01 |
: Also, I am new to this chat thing, so if I mess things up…uh…sorry. I’ll do my best. Let’s go! |
| 3:02 |
: Which do you like less: $10 Nimmo, $8 Renfroe, $9 Happ, $3 Kwan? |
| 3:03 |
: I have Nimmo a good deal above the rest of those guys and given the price, I like Kwan a good deal more than the other two. Renfroe vs. Happ is pretty close to a tossup for me, so I’ll take the extra dollar saved and say Happ is my least favorite. But I like them all and wouldn’t be looking to cut any of them. |
This list is a little different than the others. First, RP in FanGraphs Points leagues, where saves and holds have value but are not a category, function fairly differently than in more traditional formats. You don’t need a closer, but having a middle reliever who never gets late-inning work isn’t ideal either. Role matters but it isn’t as simple as “go get the closers to pile up saves.” Second, I value RP differently than the market or any auction calculator. So we are going need a slightly longer intro before I just drop a table on you.
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When doing my rankings by position, I have to make decisions on who makes the cut to be ranked and who doesn’t. Based on projections, current roster percentages and other data, some players get ranked and others get left out. Before the cut deadline tonight, I wanted to provide an update on a set of players who missed that cut but maybe should not have. Six of these players are utility-only, and therefore didn’t go on positional rankings. Others just weren’t on my radar, so to speak.
The SP list is always the hardest to make. I am less confident in the projections for pitchers than for hitters, which means there is a lot more judgment required to make decisions. I also tend to be pretty adverse to paying market price for pitching. I tend to believe there will be pitching available via free-agent pickups. Plus, if you fall behind the innings-pitched pace because you aren’t comfortable with what you have, it is relatively easy to make up ground later in the year. So if I am not likely to pay market price for an ace, what should I recommend you do? In the end, I always decide to set tiers based on what I think is a fair price, even if I know that I will be value-shopping at the position. Read the rest of this entry »
OF is shallow and deep at the same time. There are very few elite OF I truly trust and get excited about – by the bottom of the OF2 level (back half of the top 20), I am looking at guys I like as an OF, but not more. But as you move down outside the top 60, there are still a bunch of guys I like as OF4/OF5 types. Strategically, that means I am going to often try to grab two of the top 20 and then just see who falls to me later.
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The first Ottoneu content appeared on RotoGraphs early in 2011, at the same time the at-the-time-new-to-the-world fantasy game lauched. That September, I became the first RotoGraphs writer dedicated to covering Ottoneu on a regular basis. Over the years, a number of writers have weighed in on Ottoneu strategy and a smaller number have regularly contributed Ottoneu content.
But we’ve never had a dedicated Ottoneu team – until this week.
There are two things that jumped out at me looking at 3B. First is that there are 6 really good, exciting bats at the top, and then a big tier drop. Second is that I run out of starters I really trust before I get to 12. I’ll be pretty focused on getting one of those top six via trade or auction this offseason.
After a holiday hiatus, we’re back at it with 2B today and we’ll be powering through other positions quickly. My goal is to finish this series in January and to make updates in February as new information comes out or my thinking changes. Second base has already been delayed because of new information and updated thinking.