Top Targets in On Base Percentage Leagues

You’re in an on-base percentage league, and maybe you’ve switched that stat from average to OBP on your calculator and are totally ready to go. The thing is, some people are either working with a value sheet that was derived for batting average leagues — and even if they aren’t, we are all human, and our brains will let old habits back in once we leave our value sheet behind. In other words, there are obvious values that fall in OBP leagues, every time.

It might be a good idea to point them out.

To compare values, I simply ran the auction calculator for 15-team roto leagues (Steamer projections) with batting average, and then re-ran it with OBP, and then subtracted the two. Those with the biggest difference get highlighted here, with a top 50 table below.

Joey Votto
Carlos Santana actually leads the table below, but he seems so obvious. And maybe Votto is, too, but you have to remember that he’s elite in this regard. He leads the decade in OBP. He leads projections in OBP. The usually plus batting average makes some people forget his OBP value, but it’s the fact that he pairs that with his plus walk rate that makes him such a monster in these leagues. But maybe you’ve heard about this already.

Catchers
We’re just going to lump all these guys in one heading. Because catchers usually hang like a turd necklace around your team’s batting average — how’s that for imagery — and probably because they have the lowest batting average on balls in play of any position (usually around .285). Many of them have decent walk rates, though, so keep an eye on Chris Iannetta (whose backup is now upside-less, and whose plate appearance projections may be light), Alex Avila, Russell Martin, Derek Norris, and Miguel Montero. Even as catching as a group gets a slight boost from the change to OBP, these backstops stand out.

Big Slugging First Basemen
There might be a case to be made to wait for your first baseman in your typical OBP draft. Some of the bottom-dwellers in the position are there because strikeouts and power are positively correlated, and so therefore they’ve got bad batting averages. I certainly found it to be a good strategy in my TOUT wars mixed draft, where I waited on the corner infield, getting Chase Headley, Lucas Duda, and Nick Castellanos in the 11th, 12th, and 13th rounds. Duda in the 12th inspired his article — because I was using the Depth Charts projections (a hybrid of Steamer and ZiPs), he was a top-30 bat in an OBP league (worth $21.40). Now, 630 plate appearances might be a little rich for a guy that will probably get platooned often, so it’s safer to use Steamer as I did below ($15.60). But still. A top 30 type bat, with pick number #172… This is what I’m talking about.

Speed Still at a Premium
You’d think the hitters at the top of the lineups — the ones doing more of the stealing — would actually have decent OBPs. But it’s hard to find a lot of steals guys on this list. If you want more than 15 stolen bases with your OBP, then you’ll have to look at Joc Pederson (another one of my TOUT buys, backed up with De Aza in case he has to begin the season in the minors), Jason Kipnis, or Jimmy Rollins (if he’s going to keep walking). Desmond Jennings is only two slots off this list. Deep leaguers should remember that Jordan Schafer is much more acceptable in OBP leagues (and that Aaron Hicks is not looking great defensively in camp so far). And that Everth Cabrera is also more attractive when OBP is the measure.