Jonathan Lucroy was a frequent guest of FanGraphs this season, but we left him on his own here at RotoGraphs. It’s not like he was ever on the waiver wire. FantasyPros recorded a price range of $3 to $24 for Lucroy, averaging $12. You can bet that will increase next year after turning in a $16 season per Zach Sanders. Read the rest of this entry »

I had big hopes for Brian McCann this season. He moved from a pitcher friendly stadium in Atlanta to arguably the best hitting venue for lefties in all of baseball (I’m willfully ignoring Coors Field…). He often spends time on the disabled list, but there was reason to hope a smattering of starts in the designated hitter role would keep him healthy AND lead to a career best in plate appearances.

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Philosophers keep their minds sharp by posing ethical dilemmas. Naturally, it follows that fantasizers like me should pose fantasy dilemmas. Yesterday, we talked over some ottoneu keeper conundrums. I’ll also use ottoneu for today’s puzzle. If you’re not familiar with the platform, fear not! You don’t need a working knowledge of ottoneu to participate today – I’ll explain everything. Today’s subject is:

How would you allocate $3 across these eight players?

Paul Goldschmidt $31
Edwin Encarnacion $25
Yasiel Puig $14
Corey Kluber $10
Greg Holland $10
Evan Gattis $4
George Springer $4
Dellin Betances $3

IMPORTANT: Ottoneu has unique parameters. This is a 40 man roster with a $400 budget. A top player like Goldschmidt could be worth $60. In this case, all eight players appear to have substantial surplus value, although not all are created equal.

UPDATE: The point of your allocation is to increase the cost of these players for the current owner. You are not bidding to win a player in this puzzle.

Rules

1. You may allocate your $3 in any way. You can bid $3 on one player, split the money $2 to $1, or drop $1 on three different players.
2. You may imagine that 10 other owners are also allocating $3. As such, your decision may be conditional on the actions of others.
3. There is no limit to years a player can be kept. In other words, your actions can be felt in future seasons.
4. I may cut any player. That has both positive and negative implications.

I’m not going to offer any additional guidance, at least not today (you can however, read up on ottoneu arbitration). There is no right answer, so be as creative and spiteful as the parameters allow. To the comments!

It is my intention to focus on an ottoneu topic once a week. The next milestone in the ottoneu offseason is arbitration, which will run from October 15 to November 15. I have arbitration specific content planned, and I’m sure Chad Young does too. However, with over a week before the process even begins, let’s focus our attention on other topics.

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Heading into the weekend, I want to talk about all the good things that happened this year. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about mistakes, miscues, and defeats. Failure is a critical component to learning, but to get the full value, you have to actually analyze your failings. Like I said, we’ll get there.

Let’s make today a celebration. Let’s revel in our successes. Take some time to brag. You know where to find the comments. I’ll kick things off.

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We at RotoGraphs are using the end of the season as an excuse to revisit some stuff we wrote in March. You may have noticed this already. When I originally made my predictions, I took some flak for being “not bold.” I maintained that the critiques lacked an understanding of probability. Looking back on my performance this year, I think my choices were plenty bold – or maybe crazy is the right word. Anyway…

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Agenda

1. Rage
2. Daily DFS
3. Huh?
4. Table

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Agenda

1. A Second Opinion
2. Daily DFS
3. Sunday Picks
4. Table

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Agenda

1. T-Minus Three Days
2. Daily DFS
3. Saturday Picks
4. Table

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Agenda

1. Ye Olde Innings Exploit
2. Daily DFS
3. Friday Picks
4. Table

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