So What is Ottoneu? (2024 Update)
(Editor’s Note: This article is a refreshed version of something Trey Baughn wrote in 2016. Many of the links point to old content that is still useful but may be outdated. We’re working to update that content this off-season.)
If you play Ottoneu, you probably know most of this, though skimming for a refresher never hurt anyone. But if you don’t play Ottoneu, if you are just a FanGraphs reader who sees the Ottoneu content we post but you haven’t yet actually tried Ottoneu, you might be wondering, “What is Ottoneu?” And I am here to tell you.
Ottoneu is a smarter, better brand of fantasy baseball. By design, it’s a fantasy platform engineered for serious, engaged baseball fans who don’t enjoy the term “off-season.” If you are reading FanGraphs, Ottoneu is probable something you shoudl check out. It’s the perfect fit anyone looking to join a competitive fantasy baseball league with a lot of cool features, a sabermetric-economy, and a massive community of passionate fans.
You can read feedback some of the first Ottoneu players here. You can also learn a lot more about the game from the FAQ, but here are some of the top reasons you should consider joining or moving your fantasy baseball league to Ottoneu this year:
1) Depth & Breadth
Ottoneu is deep. Standard leagues are 12 teams with 40-man rosters. The available player pool is massive, which means you have access to the full minor leagues so you can build for both the present (22-man starting lineup) and the future (prospects). But don’t let the size of the player pool intimidate you. It simply means you can target any player you want, build your roster any way you like, and keep any player that fits into your $400 budget.
2) Year-Round Baseball
Ottoneu never sleeps, so it’s not ideal for the casual baseball fan. Ottoneu is better suited for the hardball rat who follows the game as closely in the winter as they do in the summer. While Ottoneu’s economics differentiate it from the traditional dynasty format, you have the option to keep every single player on your roster from season to season, which means you may be negotiating just as many trades in December as you are July. Leagues and communities are active year-round, so the result is more options, more flexibility, and a much better fantasy baseball experience.
3) Scoring Formats for All
Ottoneu scoring comes in six flavors:
- Ottoneu Classic 4×4 Roto
- Old School 5×5 Roto
- FanGraphs Points Season-long Scoring
- FanGraphs Points Head-to-Head
- SABR Points Season-long Scoring
- SABR Points Head-to-Head
Ottoneu Classic 4×4 is the original Ottoneu scoring format and is a more sabermetrically-inclined approach to roto. Hitters are scored on HR, R, OBP, and SLG while pitchers are scored on K, ERA, WHIP and HR/9. Old School 5×5 is exactly what you expect – AVG, HR, RBI, R, SB for hitters; ERA, W, SV, WHIP, K for pitchers.
Both FanGraphs and SABR Points are points scoring systems based on linear weights. Hitters are scored the same in both formats, while SABR takes a more FIP-focused approach to pitchers.
For the points leagues, you can choose between season-long scoring (all 12 teams try to pile up maximum points from game 1 to game 162) or head-to-head, with each team playing between one and four other teams in a head-to-head matchup each week. Teams compete to have the best record.
4) Playoffs
If you want, you can end your season with playoffs. No matter which of the six scoring systems above you pick, you can choose to have playoffs or not. All playoffs are head-to-head and use your choice of the points scoring systems.
5) Player Auctions
All players in Ottoneu are purchased via auction, either in the annual Spring live auction draft or during the season via 48-hour free-agent player auctions. The market (your league) dictates player salaries, the primary reflection of player value, which makes leagues more dynamic, more economic, and more realistic. Gone are the days of lamenting your pick in the snake draft or missing out on a free agent because you could not get to your computer in time. If you want to own Cody Bellinger (Editors note: I updated a lot of this article, but I decided the reference to Cody Bellinger as a guy you would absolutely not want to miss out on needed to stay – it was true in 2016, it wasn’t true in 2021-22, but maybe it is true again??), you need only bid $1 more than your competition.
Resource: How to Calculate Auction Player Values for Ottoneu
6) Salary Arbitration
In addition to standard salary increases ($2 increase for each MLB player each year; $1 for any player with no MLB experience), Ottoneu leagues also use one of two forms of arbitration as a seasonal competitive balance measure: vote-offs or allocations.
In vote-off leagues, each team has one player voted off their roster by the rest of that league. That player becomes a free agent, but the team that they were voted off gets a $5 discount on them if they buy them back in the spring auction.
In allocation leagues, each team gets $25 to allocate to the other 11 teams in their league, adding between $1 and $3 to the salary of each of the other 11 teams.
Regardless of which process you choose, you’ll have the opportunity to increase the cost of players on rival rosters at the close of each season. A great deal of ink has already been spilled on the endless strategies behind Ottoneu arbitration because it’s one of the most unique, dynamic, and addictive features of the game.
7) Prize Leagues
Ottoneu offers six price tiers and all but the lowest tier offer prizes for first-, second-, and third-place finishers. Playing in a prize league is far from a requirement – Ottoneu managers tend to be committed and engaged regardless of prizes – but it’s a fun way to boost the competition!
8) The Ottoneu Prestige League
In 2021, Ottoneu introduced the Ottoneu Prestige League (OPL), a competition open to any team that finished top-6 in a standard league (i.e., a league that does not have any unique side rules that impact the economics of the game). OPL is a best-ball format pitting hundreds of teams against each other as they aim to finish at the top of the table, make the final 32, and then win a five-round, single-elimination, knock-out tournament. This brief paragraph does not come close to doing OPL justice, so click that link and check it out.
9) FanGraphs & RotoGraphs Integration
Ottoneu is fully integrated with FanGraphs. Let that sink in for a minute. You already read FanGraphs daily, so why not align your fantasy league with FanGraphs, too? Ottoneu stats, player pages, and features are interconnected with FanGraphs, further making it the clear choice for the advanced fantasy manager, and an easy transition for established leagues looking to move to a host with better analytics and support. Plus, we’ll provide you dedicated Ottoneu content right here at RotoGraphs.
10) A Massive, Engaged Community
One of the best aspects of Ottoneu is the massive contingent of game players discussing all things baseball (and football) 24/7/365. You can find the most active Ottoneu gamers on the official community site and on Slack, with an engaged community discussing all things Ottoneu. Complementing the already feature-rich platform, the Ottoneu community brings all owners together in one place to crowdsource player information, trade feedback, auction tips, keep/cut decisions, enhanced league communications, and a forum for recruiting new league owners. Even if you don’t play Ottoneu (yet), the community is a goldmine of daily baseball dialogue, strategy, and advice, and it is also the perfect place to dip your toe in if you have any interest in learning more about playing and joining Ottoneu. When you do play Ottoneu, you’ll want to get acquainted with the community as soon as possible, as it is an excellent resource for new Ottoneu players.
11) A Challenge Worth Taking
If you can’t tell, Ottoneu is premium fantasy baseball. It’s challenging, it’s analytical, and it might just be the best fantasy format you’ve never heard of until now. While more traditional fantasy platforms can offer a fun, casual experience, you should try your hand at Ottoneu this year if you’re reading RotoGraphs right now. Ottoneu will put your skills to the test and you’ll quickly become a better fantasy player because Ottoneu is a better fantasy game.
12) The Most Dedicated Designer
All these reasons above help make Ottoneu a refreshing change to the typical fantasy experience, but the thread that holds it all together is the dedication of its founder and developer, Niv Shah. He is Ottoneu’s single biggest advantage, spinning out new features and improvements in almost real-time, and often by request. Ottoneu was among the first to recognize the importance of treating Shohei Ohtani as a single player and in 2023 was the first to allow you to place Ohtani in both an SP and a util spot on the same day.
Not only is Ottoneu innovating in baseball, there are now Ottoneu Football and Basketball leagues.
If you have questions or technical issues, you can always contact Niv here as you get started.
Bottom line: If you play fantasy baseball and you read FanGraphs, you should play Ottoneu fantasy sports. You can find a list of available teams or post your interest in joining Ottoneu here.
Have questions about Ottoneu before diving in? We’ll answer them all in the comments.
More Ottoneu resources here:
Approaching the Trade Deadline
Production, Salary, Surplus, Value
A long-time fantasy baseball veteran and one of the creators of ottoneu, Chad Young's writes for RotoGraphs and PitcherList, and can be heard on the ottobot podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @chadyoung.
Great write up, as usual. May want to check for typos throughout if it’s going to be re-used each year.