Chad Young’s 1B/Util Tiered Rankings for 4×4 Ottoneu

This one always leads to a bunch of questions, since I typically drop util-only players into the 1B/Util list and those guys fall into three camps. There are the true util-only types. There are guys who we expect to earn eligibility elsewhere sometime soon. And then there is the camp of one: Shohei Ohtani.

(If you want, you can skip the intro and my thoughts on the position, and go right to the rankings. As a reminder, my process and a long FAQ on my rankings can be found in my rankings preview.)

Let’s start with Ohtani: he’s really good at baseball. I suspect this isn’t news to anyone reading here, but it is worth saying again. He’s really good at baseball. And part of that really goodness is that he managed to break traditional fantasy baseball models because he has managed to be a really good hitter and a really good pitcher. And that makes him hard to rank.

So, first, a quick primer on Ohtani in Ottoneu, if you aren’t familiar with how he is used. Ohtani is a single player (because, you know, he is one person) however he can take up two spots in your lineup: Util and a pitcher slot. This may seem counterintuitive (how is he one person in two lineup spots?) but this is exactly how the Dodgers use him. They don’t put him in as a starting pitcher and just get credit for his offense. They don’t have to choose one or the other. On days he starts, they turn in a lineup card that shows Ohtani twice. In Ottoneu, you can do the same. This means that you can have Ohtani in your lineup at Util every single day and capture every one of his starts, without sacrificing offense to do it. It also means that if you want to skip an Ohtani start at Colorado but still get his bat in Coors, or bench his bat against Paul Skenes but still get his pitching stats against the Pirates, you can do those things.

So the price you see for Ohtani below is high. But it accounts for him to be something like a $60 bat (maybe more) and a $20 arm (again, maybe more). He’s alone in that $78-$90 tier and I think you could make a case for him up to $95 or so.

As for the other utility guys, you can treat the true-DH’s as they are ranked here. Joc Pederson, Marcell Ozuna, Jesse Winker, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rendon (who is not officially retired, I don’t think), are ranked as utility guys and will be utility guys.

That final camp – the guys we expect to get eligibility – are a little tougher. My notes on Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto call out where I think they fall if they end up eligible at third base. For Okamoto, I would happily bid assuming he gets 3B-eligibility. For Murakami? Not so much. It sounds like he is going to camp as a 1B and while third could be in his future, reports are he is closer to being a DH than he is to manning the hot corner. Adding first would boost his value a buck or two, but not a ton.

Sung Mun Song 송성문 is likely to be eligible for at least one middle infield spot, and may add others, but I don’t think the bat is exciting enough to move the needle regardless. He could be interesting to speculate on, though. Adrian Del Castillo and David Fry are both theoretically catchers on teams that already have two catchers. Fry will for sure play the field, and if he ends up 3B/OF/C again, that combination in a lefty-masher is pretty interesting points leagues, but harder to play in 4×4. The multiple spots – and catcher in particular – would make it work at a low price, though. Del Castillo, I suspect, isn’t going to get catcher time and I am not interested in him as a util-only bat. The last name is Xavier Isaac, who I expect lands gets 1B-eligibility, but that doesn’t really change his valuation, for me.

Beyond that, remember that first base will play a little deeper than this list suggests, because there are plenty of players at other spots that can fill-in at first in a pinch. No, you won’t want Jorge Polanco to be your regular 1B when he can start for you at middle infield, but whatever team has him has a little less need for additional depth at first. That can add up.

4×4 1B/Util Rankings for Ottoneu