My 2018 Ottoneu Portfolio

All auctions have completed for my nine ottoneu leagues (FanGraphs Points), so it’s time for me to lay out my portfolio of player shares once again. I made a concerted effort to have a more diversified portfolio than last year , where I owned two different players in ten out of eleven leagues, and two more in eight out of eleven leagues. Those four players really didn’t work out well for me (Pedro Alvarez, Cal Quantrill, Jaime Garcia, and Shawn Kelley), so I’m hoping my most owned players this season decide not to sink my (champion)ship hopes.

Before I run down my portfolio, please keep in mind that I am very much a value-based/price-sensitive drafter, so many of these players are ones I feel have been underrated by the ottoneu market. In addition, a few of these players were pop-up keepers dating back to last year. Without further ado:

Rhys Hoskins (seven teams, $15 average salary)

If I’m going to own one player across all but two of my leagues, I’m happy with it being a young surplus stud like Hoskins. I added him in every league I could last summer, so five of these shares were keepers (with one share I traded for in the offseason and one I won in a first year auction). I don’t see much separating Hoskins and Cody Bellinger, but I’ve found that Hoskins is cheaper to acquire. I’m obviously all-in on the young Phillies slugger this year, and unlike some chatter I’ve seen I don’t believe what we saw last year from him was a fluke.

Eric Thames (six teams, $16 average salary)

I’ll be honest, I don’t love Thames as an asset right now, especially at the price. This is another player I kept in many leagues after buying into him as a cheap flier last season, but the combination of a murky playing time situation in Milwaukee and a depressed ottoneu market (Thames had an average first year auction salary of just $10) makes me wish I had thrown him back in the auction pool to reacquire cheaper. I think Thames is still being underrated, but the risk is high.

Domingo Santana (six teams, $14 average salary)

I owned Domingo on six teams going into 2017 as well, so it’s more of the same here for me. Santana had a breakout campaign last year, with a .372 wOBA in 607 PA, but like Thames his status as a full-time starter for the Brewers is very much in doubt. Despite that, I’m still a believer.

Marcus Semien (five teams, $11 average salary)

I don’t love Semien, and he’s been consistently below average at the plate in his career, but at 27 he’s not too old to experience the long expected breakout. Plus, the price has been right, as my values project him to be a $14-$15 SS in ottoneu FGPts.

Alex Wood (five teams, $9 average salary)

One of my bold predictions that went right last year, I’ve long been a fan of the young Dodgers hurler. He may only pitch 130 innings, but I’m confident those innings are going to be high quality, making his $9 salary a bargain.

Luiz Gohara (five teams, $7 average salary)

It’s unfortunate that Gohara is beginning the year on the disabled list, but at least it’s an ankle injury and not an arm or shoulder issue. Gohara is another player I added in multiple leagues last year due to his favorable Steamer Rest of Season projections, and he’s a fashionable sleeper heading into 2018. I’m expecting lots of strikeouts and mediocre control, but that profile plays up in the FanGraphs points format, and I love his long term potential in a Braves rotation that is going to be stacked in a year or two.

Other players owned on four teams, with quick opinions:

AJ Minter ($8 average salary)- Love the skills and fastball/slider combo, but he cost more than I liked this auction season and he has durability/injury question marks

Neil Walker ($7 average salary)- I added him in a few leagues before he signed with the Yankees, so he was a value play. His outlook is up even more after the Bird injury.

Tommy Pham ($6 average salary)- Another keeper find from last season, Pham doesn’t need to do much to be worth twice what I’m paying for him, and there’s an excellent chance he’s worth three or four times as much.

Keston Hiura ($2 average salary)- I like owning prospects as much as the next guy, but I also like owning cheap prospects. Hiura is an advanced college bat who could advance quickly.

Triston McKenzie ($2 average salary)- TINSTAAPP, but McKenzie is a top 30 prospect and the price is right.

Michael Pineda ($1 average salary)- I just can’t seem to quit Pineda, even after a wretched and injury filled 2017. The good news is he’s super cheap and doesn’t take up a spot on my 40 man roster.

A few more notes on my ottoneu portfolio (nine leagues this year, eleven last year):
205 unique players owned (197 last year)
85 players owned in at least two leagues (102 last year)
39 players owned in at least three leagues (59 last year)
12 players owned in at least four leagues (34 last year)
6 players owned in at least five leagues (21 last year)

351 total players owned at the following salaries:

• 0 $60+ (0.0 per league)
• 7 $50-$59 (0.8 per league)
• 6 $40-$49 (0.7 per league)
• 6 $30-$39 (0.7 per league)
• 34 $20-$29 (3.8 per league)
• 70 $10-$19 (7.8 per league)
• 168 $2-$9 (18.7 per league)
• 60 $1 (6.7 per league)

Which players have you found yourself owning in your leagues? Let me know in the comments!