Ottoneu Arbitration Omnibus V

Ottoneu arbitration began on October 15 and runs through November 15. This omnibus is a one stop shop for all the strategy and tactics you need to get through the process. The following omnibus is a recreation of the one I published the last three years. We’ve mostly said everything there is to say over the course of more than 10,000 words. But first, some background.

Ottoneu is the award-eligible fantasy platform hosted by FanGraphs. Think of it as dynasty-lite. You get a 40-man roster, a $400 payroll, and way too much freedom to manage your team your way. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the platform is named after former St. Louis Browns player Otto Neu who compiled a whopping zero plate appearances over his “career.”

Over the offseason, the price of every major league player increases by $2. Minor leaguers increase by $1. Then there is an arbitration process that can be done one of two ways. Most leagues use the allocation process which ultimately adds an additional $11 to $33 per team. This omnibus is intended for both forms of arbitration, but the allocation process does open more possibilities for strategery and thus has more words dedicated to it.

As I mentioned, there are two systems of arbitration: voting and allocation. An asterisk indicates that the article is intending for voting leagues. I’ve organized the omnibus into sections: intro, intermediate, and advanced.

Additionally, we have an awesome user community. Look for tools from Trey Baughn, Justin Vibber, and others to help you find surplus value targets and calculate surplus value for the arbitration process. If you’re an ottoneu player, then it’s well worth joining the ottoneu community on Slack.

Intro To Arbitration

*Ottoneu Arbitration: Strategies For the First Offseason Activity* – Fellow ottoneu-ist Chad Young describes the classic form of arbitration in which owners are asked to vote off one player on each team. While most leagues use allocations, this is a great place to start if yours still uses the voting system.

New And Improved Ottoneu Arbitration Process – Sir Young explains the allocation system in full detail along with the motivation behind creating it. Start here if you’re new to allocations and want to be thorough.

Ottoneu Arbitration Guide – Chad posits three of the most popular voting tactics: vote often, keep players keepable (but just barely), and avoid prospects. Use this post to get in the strategic mindset.

Arbitration Advice from the Community – The newest and freshest article about ottoneu arbitration offers advice on several key facets of the process. This is a great place to go to get a feel for the more advanced strategies and tactics.

Intermediate Level

Ottoneu Arbitration: A Guide For 2014 – In my first stab at ottoneu related writing, I outline my own tactics and considerations. At a high level, you can make your dollars felt over time by bidding on values or try to push players into the draft pool. Don’t forget to account for scarcity, stability, prospects, resource allocation, and collaboration.

*Ottoneu Arbitration: Examples From The Original League* – Want more help with voting leagues? Chad provides his process for selecting which player to nominate on a given roster. As an added bonus, it’s funny to see the names he selected and winnowed away. At the time, a $5 Danny Espinosa made the short list for one team while a $1 Edwin Encarnacion did not.

Ottoneu Arbitration: Who’s Getting Hit? – Chad takes a look at which players are getting the most attention during arbitration season. Unsurprisingly, a few names have proven most popular. Chad does a good job analyzing the selections, including which ones were smartest.

Ottoneu Arbitration: First Pass – I reveal my process and first round of selections in the league FanGraphs Staff Two. In the comments, we discuss the relative merits of clustered ($3 to one player) versus spread ($1 to three players) allocations.

Tinkering With Ottoneu Arbitration Selections – Fast forward a few weeks for an update to my “First Pass.” As the title suggests, this article focuses on how to tinker with your selections once other owners have made theirs. In short, ask yourself “what is my goal” and then identify which players don’t fit.

Advanced Level

Avoid Rookies With Your Ottoneu Allocations – This is a favorite topic of Chad’s and one in which I generally agree. He provides the math along with a nice two-by-two table that clearly illustrates the upside/downside of allocating to prospects.

Puzzling Through Ottoneu Arbitration – I turned to the readers for their thoughts and opinions via an arbitration puzzle. In this post, I select the most poignant comments for a slightly different perspective on how to approach allocations.

Ottoneu Tactics: Who To Arbitrate, Early Trade Thoughts: In this piece, I examine the tactic of targeting owners by quality. The basic premise: the best owners in your league might deserve a full $3 allocation even if their players don’t necessarily merit the attention.





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