We chatted about the usual range of keeper, dynasty, ottoneu, and redraft topics. Check out the transcript.

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Hello and welcome. A couple weeks ago, I promised to work on Average Draft Position (ADP) for deep dynasty leagues. It’s a segment of the fantasy baseball community that is underserved by industry resources. Yes, there are a few dynasty specific sites that provide helpful coverage, but nearly all of the analysis is based on a given writer’s personal rankings and preferences.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. However, you would always check redraft rankings against ADP, right? Why not do the same in a dynasty league? Today, we take our first step in the right direction.

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The ottoneu keeper deadline has come and gone. The last week of January is always a frenzy of last minute trades and keeper decisions. I know I was up until midnight on January 31 negotiating a variety of swaps around the fringes of my rosters.

In recent seasons, I’ve developed a general approach to ottoneu FGpts formats – specifically with regards to offseason trading, the keeper deadline, and the draft. While I remain a huge proponent of zigging while others zag, I’ve also become rather predictable. This concerns me. However, the success rate and rationale behind my approach are air tight.

And so, what follows are three ottoneu rosters. I expect all three to finish somewhere around first place. Let’s use the comments to discuss the how’s and why’s.

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There are only 12 closers in major league baseball. And by this, I mean there are only 12 pitchers who, right now, feel like a 100 percent lock to be the Opening Day closer for their team. Barring injury of course. I won’t make you work for the list. Here it is in an early semblance of order:

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If you’re participating in an ottoneu league, chances are it’s reached a frenzied pitch over the last few days. The winter keeper deadline is tonight, January 31 at 11:59pm ET. All trades and cuts must be executed by that time.

For last minute keeper, cut, and trade advice, I recommend joining my personal BaseballATeam Discord server. Use the #ottoneu thread. The knowledgeable community of superfans loves to offer their opinions, and I’ll be around intermittently whilst tending to my own ottoneu decisions.

What follows are a series of deadline deals I struck earlier in the week. I’m updating this post as we speak with more trades! If you read this post on Tuesday, I’ve marked new deals with a snazzy —New Trade— logo.

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Welcome back to the Highly Custom League series. Today marks the seventh installment, one that was teased in the comments of the last post. It’s Public Trade Negotiations! Previous entries covered 2×2 Roto, Split Auctions, Roto-to-Head, Rotating Divisions, WAR wars, and Category Wars.

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We chatted about keeper choices and keeper decisions and keeper strategies. And keepers. Ottoneu keepers too. Read about ’em in the transcript.

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We could begin this post by spending some time getting to know Niko Goodrum and Tony Kemp. Instead, let’s start with some generalizations. They’re both in a weird sweet spot on the talent curve – good enough to start on a bad major league team yet not so talented that they must be in the majors. From a fantasy perspective, they have the potential to produce average or better numbers in multiple categories. This makes them interesting to us.

There are a lot of these players in the professional ranks. The difference between one and another often amounts to a single noticeable hot streak. Reaching into the past a bit, do you think Ryan Raburn has a 14-year career (parts of 12 major league campaigns) if he didn’t light September on fire a couple times? I don’t.

Goodrum and Kemp did enough in 2018 to lay the foundation for a solid major league career. However, their 2019 opportunities are strikingly different. The reason? Context.

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Hey there! We’ve had a bit of a layoff in our Highly Custom League series. We return today with the sixth installment – Category Wars. Previous entries covered 2×2 Roto, Split Auctions, Roto-to-Head, Rotating Divisions, and WAR wars.

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It’s prospect list season which means I’m reading a lot of words about teenagers. It’s not creepy because it’s for work. What’s your excuse?

If the various revolutions in baseball – air ball, tunneling, etc. – have taught us anything, it’s that everybody is a breakout candidate. Anyone with the potential to improve and the willingness to try something new could suddenly emerge from mediocrity into the land of stardom.

In the past, players who reached the majors were hesitant – to a superstitious degree – about changing the way they play. Now, Statcast and other analytic toolboxes have made tinkering with strength, mechanics, and approach easier than ever. Instead of blindly trying whatever a pitching or hitting coach suggested (hint, they often give the same advice to everybody), players have access to powerful, personalized data. Adjustments are built upon highly educated guesses. Not only is there less risk in trying to improve, it’s necessary to keep pace with the competition.

If any major league player can break out, the same is true of minor leaguers. However, our scouting lexicon – at least for public prospect lists – has been slow to update. What follows are three common phrases you can safely ignore when you encounter them.

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