Your Keeper Questions, Answered
Not long ago, I wrote about Carlos Carrasco as a potential (but probably not) top five pitcher. The comments section of that article unexpectedly turned into a keepers quiz. Should I keep Luis Severino or Steven Matz? Which two of Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Cole Hamels should I hang onto? If an article about Carrasco bubbled over into keeper questions, then surely there is demand for third party input.
I would have published this article sooner. As you may have noticed, I have been publishing in absentia. It would be a cruel trick to ask for your keeper questions and then never respond. If all went according to plan, I should be back home today. I may be too jet lagged to answer your questions immediately, or maybe not. We’ll see. I’ll get to them soon though.
So, hit me with your keeper conundrums. Try to keep it as concise as possible. Let me know your keeper rules, costs, and who you’ve narrowed down as your choices. I’ll either provide an answer in the comments, or I may write a future article on the topic of your team.
Get to it.
Edit: I somewhat underestimated the response rate I’d receive. Going forward, it will be some questions answered. Everybody who has already left a comment will receive some kind of response. Please feel free to help each other too!
You can follow me on twitter @BaseballATeam
6×6 16 team h2h dynasty league that allows for 4 big league keepers and 2 rookies.
Rank these players according to who you would keep. A few I own, a few I’m targeting in trades.
Machado
Springer
JFer
Marte
Altuve
Dee
Sano
Matt Carpenter
Pretty much as you list them. I’d bump up Sano a few spots. Ordering them more specifically would probably depend on the composition of the rest of your roster. i.e. do you need HR or SB more?
he only keeps 4 big-leaguers. I’d say you’re looking at the composition of his roster, at least the majority of it 🙂
Hi there, I’m just wondering who you think I should keep in my keeper league. We keep 3 players per year, they take place of the first three rds in the draft. It’s a 16 team Standard 5×5 weekly match up style. I have the options of Chris Davis, Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Harvey, Starling Marte, JD Martinez or Ryan Braun?
I thought dynasty means you keep the majority of your team.
I guess it depends on how you define it. I figure any league that allows you to keep players forever at no cost is a dynasty, while keeper basically makes you turn your roster over every few years through graduated cost structures.
In any case, yes, that is basically my team and I can only pick four.
I’m gonna go for a trade that allows me to end with Machado, Springer, Sano and Marte.
Machado
Springer
JFer
Sano
Marte
Altuve
Dee
Keep 2 of 3 – rizzo, miggy, pollock. No rounds/prices, keepers count as first 2 rounds of the draft
Rizzo’s the easy one. I assume you can keep these players beyond 2016 too, so deciding between Miggy and Pollock includes future considerations. Cabrera will eventually decline – he may already be doing so – but I think I’d play it safe and keep him. You may have a shot to re-draft Pollock in the 1st round.
I’d go Rizzo and Pollock as it keeps the CI or DH spot open, allowing for more flexibility through the draft.
Also: Father Time remains undefeated, and Pollock is nearly 5 years younger . . . that + the positional edge is enough for me to give him the nod.
Pollock is a bit overvalued (late first round/early second round) and Miggy still rakes. Don’t outsmart yourself.
Miggy and rizzo are safer imo
How much playing time will Alexander Guerrero get this year and what will he look like in the playing time he gets?
200 PA? You’ll get some power, a terrible OBP, and too many strikeouts.
You are not going to like me for having this conundrum, but here it is. I can keep three of Trout, Harper, Rizzo, Correa and Kershaw. Each year we can up to three, which replace your first three picks–the rest is redraft. OBP/SLG instead of AVG/HR, and we use SV+HLDs. Trout and Harper have to stay, but for the third pick, all three have been frontrunners in my mind at some point.
This is easy actually. It’s Trout, Harper, and Kershaw.
Did you win your league last year with those players? Does everyone in your league hate you? If not, why?
Proof you are never out of it in head to head: This team destroyed the league in the roto categories–I also had Sonny, Heyward, Thor, Sano–but in the semifinals, when all I needed was some strong innings to get me to the finals, my three aces combined for ~15 innings of bleh on the second to last day. My opponent went on to lose to the (I think) #6 seed. Silver lining: I went from 4th to 2nd on the last day in my other league which has a much higher buy-in.
14 Team H2H. We keep 8 players. One utility spot in standard starting roster.
Potential Keepers:
1. Buster Posey
2. Jose Abreu
3. Ben Zobrist
4. Nolan Arenado
5. George Springer
6. Michael Brantley
7. Prince Fielder
8. Jacoby Ellsbury
9. Hanley Ramirez
Your bubble guys are Zobrist, Ellsbury, and HanRam. So do you want speed with some power (Ells), power with some speed (Hanley), or versatility with a buttload of Rs (Zobrist)?
Ellsbury is a cut!
Standard 12 team Roto with OBP instead of BA and QS instead of Wins. Keepers have 3 years of eligibility before being returned to the pool. 4 keepers total, with at least 1 pitcher and 1 hitter.
Year one keepers are kept in the round they were drafted (FA/waiver pickups = last round) and then the following years they move up 2 rounds.
My potential group includes AJ Pollock, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, Anthony Rendon, Brandon Crawford, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker, Luis Severino, Drew Smyly, and Dellin Betances/Andrew Miller. Right now I’m leaning towards Pollock/Seager/Pederson + Stroman.
I’m not super high on Pederson, but I think your gut is a perfectly fine use of resources. I might do Rendon, but I assume he has less keeper eligibility which might push the calculus back to Pederson.
Stroman is a good choice, however I don’t think you can go wrong with Severino or Walker either. Overall, these are tough but similar choices. Trust your analysis.
18-team points league with six keepers. (Snake draft/no salaries) Top SP score 1000 points, and top bats score 750-800 points.
I will keep Freeman, Machado, Sale and G. Cole. Who would you prefer for the last two keepers to try to compete in 2017 and 2018?
SP Danny Salazar
SS Addison Russell
OF Billy Hamilton
RP AJ Ramos
OF Matt Kemp
I’m leaning towards Salazar and Russell.
Keep Hamilton. Russell a little too risky to give back those swipes.
Definitely Salazar. I worry about Ramos since he shares his bullpen with Carter Capps who is arguably the best reliever in baseball when healthy (it’s not a strong argument, but the point can be made). Kemp is inconsistent. That leaves Russell who is a breakout away from fantasy relevance, and Hamilton who ruins multiple categories.
Depending on the closer market, I might do Ramos with the idea of replacing him with somebody else next winter. Russell is a reasonable choice too, I just don’t know how rapidly he’ll improve.
12 Team 5×5 Team H2H Keeper league, 6 Keepers at 0 cost. Must keep 6.
Harper, Betts, Arrieta, Sale are already being kept.
Last 2 are up for debate out of these.
Syndergaard, Springer, Votto, Bautista, Strasburg.
Tough list. Thor and Springer due to age and health. Of course, Springer’s had his share of injuries too.
Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.
I would keep Harp, Betts, Sale, Springer, Bautista, and Votto.
NL only, 11 team, 5×5. Must keep 7-15. Inflation tends to run 15%.
Inciarte 6, Dickerson 12 (can add a year if I take him to 17), D. Peralta 6, D’Arnaud 11, Kang 7, Hundley 7, Cueto 15. Other options: Scherzer 31, Peavy 9, Broxton 2, Watson 1. If I don’t want to keep 7, I can call up Lucas Giolito as one of my 7.
Scherzer at $31 sounds like a steal in an 11-team NL only. Am I missing something about your format?
Since you have Giolito waiting on your milb roster, I’d go with the cheaper Dickerson. Hard to guess what we’ll get out of him.
I’d probably bump Hundley for Scherzer. Hundley shouldn’t be too hard to re-acquire at a reasonable price.
Well, I thought he was a good price last year when I bought him for $31, but not a lot of players over $30 get carried over in this league. With inflation, he’s a good deal.
One interesting rule is we submit our keepers two weeks ahead of draft day, but can make one change on draft day. So there is some gaming going on with keeper lists. Scherzer is a good one to add to the keeper list on draft day because in draft prep people will be planning on putting him on their roster!
In my keeper league, I’ve been offered two years of Josh Donaldson for three years of Xander Bogaerts, the minor league contracts of Dansby Swanson and Alex Jackson, and a first-round minor league draft pick. I have Corey Seager to replace Bogaerts and Swanson and Jackson aren’t core guys for me, and the rest of my team looks primed to contend with the help of Donaldson. But how do you feel about the risk involved in trading so many pieces for one guy – and a very plunkable one at that – who’s one injury away from screwing me royally? How do you evaluate risk in keeper situations like this?
I’d do that deal. Risk comes with any deal. Donaldson has a pretty good recent history of not missing much time. Sucks to lose Bogaerts but the reward more than justifies the risk.
It seems like an overpay to me, but I’m used to the values in my deep 20-team dynasty. A guy like Swanson would cover about 3/4 the cost of Donaldson. That said, it’s a solid aggressive move if it’s going to earn you a championship. Just watch out for paying for 2015 Donaldson when that performance was almost beyond his ceiling.
7×7 with obp, slg, QS, holds. 11 teams, five keepers per team as first five picks in draft. I also have Stroman as a free keeper as my last rd pick. No prices, can keep as long as we want. 10 hitters, 1550 IP cap (so basically K/9)
Which five do you keep?
J Upton
Dickerson
Rendon
Sano
Buxton
Carrasco
Sale
Syndergaard
Thanks in advance
I’d keep Sale, Carrasco, Syndergaard, Sano and Upton.
This league is shallow enough that you can let Buxton go and get the next iteration of him (or re-draft him later). Sale and Carrasco are musts, and I’m also very high on Syndergaard. I think he has top 5 pitcher potential – possible as soon as this year.
Picking two of the remaining 4 is a challenge. Rendon seems to be trending down and Dickerson’s one of the hardest players to peg at the moment. So I might lean JUpton and Sano. It might depend where Upton lands though.
In a 7×7 league with only 5 keepers, and using both Saves and Holds, SP is very devalued. SP contribute in only 5 of the 7 pitching stats. RP contribute in 5 of 7 as well. You can win pitching by mixing the two types of pitchers.
Offensive players contribute in 7 categories, though realistically most guys don’t steal too many bases. It is better to maximize your offensive talent.
I would not recommend keeping any more than 2 pitchers and I’m not sure keeping more than 1 is really that smart in this format.
Need 4 of Cueto (3rd); Lester (5th); Darvish (20th); Liriano (23rd); and Syndergaard (24th).
Rounds increase 2 every year (So Cueto will be a 1st round keeper in 2017 if I wantd to keep him).
It’s 5×5 h2h, which leans pitchers super heavy in terms of value. For example, in the first 30 picks last year, 9 were pitchers with Felix, Scherzer, Bumgarner, Price, Greinke and Hamels all off the board before pick 15.
I assume you’d ditch Cueto given the length you can keep him (just for 2016 really) and cost to retain (although he will likely go top 20).
That said the main question is if you’d trade any of the non-Cueto’s, i.e., take the best offer for one and be happy keeping Cueto….i imagine I can get a decent return (probably draft picks) for Syndergaard or perhaps Darvish…
I think I’d happily settle for the last three and either of Cueto or Lester. If you wanted to make a trade, I would hang onto Thor (that’s becoming a theme in these responses) and target a Liriano swap. Maybe Darvish if somebody is particularly bullish.
Thor and Darvish are must-keeps.
I am in a 3 keeper league, I have Clayton Kershaw and Nolan Arendo locked in as keepers right now. The last keeper is a bit of a conundrum, the choice for the last keeper pick is between Miguel Cabrera or Mookie Betts. Who should I choose?
Ooh that’s a tough one. Because your keeper format is so shallow, I’m inclined to take the best player for 2016 with no regard for future value. That’s Cabrera. It’s not a guarantee he’ll outperform Betts, but it’s very likely.
Keep Inciarte or Ben Revere
Inciarte
I agree, he’s just a little more well-rounded. But Revere will be better in R and SB (and maybe AVG).
I’m in a 16 team, 5×5 cat w/ OBP league which rosters 25 MLB and 15 MiLB players. All minor league players are kept, and 9 major leaguers. I’m in a prime contention phase at the moment and have been offered Bautista for Glasnow and Benintendi. Acceptable value?
Oh that’s a painful situation. If you’re ok with cursing yourself for years to come, it’s a solid win-now move. Glasnow and Benintendi happen to be two of my favorite prospects. I think they’ll both be monsters – possibly nearly as good as Bautista individually – but there’s always bust risk with every prospect.
I’m in 5×5 roto league. We get to keep 5 players. Who would you keep from…
G. Stanton
R. Bruan
N. Arenado
M. Harvey
J. Fernandez
D. Keuchel
I want to let Braun go and keep the other 5 am I crazy?
Any trade possibilities? I think Fernandez and Harvey are both more valuable than Braun but not sure I’d be comfortable keeping 3 pitchers, 2 with recent TJ history.
Ditch Braun, keep the other 5.
Either Braun or Harvey is the drop . . . do NOT let any of the other 4 get away. But for sure explore a 2-for-1 trade if your rules allow it. Find a team with a thin top 5 and offer Braun and Harvey for his/her top dog.
This is good advice. If there is no trading, I concur with dumping Braun. Not sure how much life he has left, and it’s hard to thrive with no supporting cast.
…although Stanton seems to thrive with very little support.
(True, Ryan Braun is not quite Gio Stanton, but still.)
Points league with BB/k ratio emphasized for pitchers and hitters (extra positive point and negative point for each). Example: Victor Martinez was #1 hitter in 2014.
Get 15 total years to keep. Keeping: Sale (4), Pollock (2), Stroman (1), T. Walker (1). Seven more years for considering Cueto (3), C. Martinez (2), C. Gonzalez (2), Beltre (2), D. Ortiz (2), Yelich (2), Wong (1).
I would drop Cueto and Beltre from this mix.
It seems inefficient to keep Ortiz since he’ll be retiring. So CMart, Cargo, Yelich, and Wong seems to be the 7.
Keep 4 players – 16 team head to head league with OBP, SLG, XBH for hitters and K/BB, WHIP and QS for pitchers.
Harper and Stanton are no brainers but then I have to pick between Joey Votto, JD Martinez, Felix Hernandez, Chris Archer, Corey Kluber and Tulo. I’m leaning towards Votto and JD Martinez. Archer scares me with all of those sliders. Felix looked hurt at times last year.
I also made the courageous decision to trade Noah Syndergaard for an extra first round pick at the trade deadline. I cashed in since I thought he would get shut down for before the playoffs and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep him anyway. I plan on using my picks to draft stud pitching early if I keep 4 hitters.
Thank you for the help
I’d keep Votto and Archer, myself. Votto just kicks so much ass in OBP leagues, and Archer is an absolute stud without the same name value as guys like Sale.
So here’s the easy part – Not Tulo.
Honestly, I think I’d keep one of the three pitchers (you can make an argument for any of them) and JDM. I know not keeping Votto in an OBP league is crazy talk, but I don’t see why anybody would pitch to him next year. He’ll be an OBP monster, but the other categories could lag far behind.
That said, you’re right in that it should be easier to redraft one of the pitchers if you opt to keep 4 hitters. So maybe that is the optimal plan.
I have 8 guys in the top 10 and have won my league the last three years and am in desperate need of advice as to how to play this fantasy baseball thing so I want to ask a question on some website and then I’ll do whatever they tell me to do.
For some reason I’m reminded of computer nerd on the “Make Love not Warcraft” Southpark episode. What a badass.
Keep Bo Jackson and Donald Rumsfeld. Cut Walter Cronkite.
12 Team H2H Standard keep 5. If there are overlapping rounds push one back a round.
Kershaw (1st round, 4 years control)
Bautista (1st round, 3 years control)
Encarnacion (1st round, 1 year control)
Greinke (3rd round, 4 years control)
Springer (14th round, 3 years control)
Arenado (15th round, 3 years control)
Kipnis (4th round, 4 years control)
Buxton (25th round, 4 years control)
Bumgarner (1st round, 4 years control)
Ooooooh . . . this is a hard one.
I could see going with all of the 1st rounders plus Arenado if you are in it to win it this year, and it looks like you ought to be. I don;t care that there’s only 1 year of Encarnacion since he’s a FA at year’s end so no guarantee to be back in Toronto (same for Bautista, as I understand it).
So Kershaw, Springer, and Arenado are just too good to pass up imo. I think that leaves me picking Bautista and Bumgarner for the remaining selections.
12 team, auction league – $260 budget, no keeper limits, OBP rather than BA – all prices 2016 cost:
Khris Davis – $6
Steven Souza – $5
Randal Grichuck – $5
Victor Martinez – $5
Kevin Gausman – $5
Jaime Garcia – $5
Souza, Grichuk, and VMart. Cut the others, they’re replaceable.
Thanks Brad. Another question, I have Scherzer $42, am I chasing stats from last year if I keep him at that price? Meaning, are his WHIP and Ks repeatable?
10-team mixed roto league (Yahoo). Keep six.
My would-be keepers:
Goldschmidt
Altuve
Arenado
Scherzer
Arrieta
Chapman
But I also have DeGrom, Puig, and Dozier. So do I keep the strong list of six, or do I keep just one starter and trade an ace? Who is a shorstop/OF to target in exchange for Arrieta or Scherzer?
Not sure I’d keep Chapman over DeGrom with the potential suspension. I’d try shopping Chapman/Arrieta to a top heavy team that needs an extra keeper
DeGrom is an easy keeper for me. He’s ahead of Chapman on my list.
Others beat me to it, but definitely keep DeGrom over Chapman. If you go the trade route, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, and Manny Machado are the cream of the crop. I happen to like Lindor a lot too; others think I’m crazy.
Who would be your top 5 prospects in an inagural dynasty league draft?
I’ve been building prospect lists by position for another site. I’m not done yet. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for this yet.
10 team H2H Cats: R HR XBH RBI SB AVG; K QS W SV ERA WHIP
Keep 5:
Hosmer, Donaldson, Dozier, Trout, A. Jones, Tulo, Pence, Kluber, deGrom, Teheran and Quintana are my best.
Thank you.
Trout
Donaldson
DeGrom
Kluber
. . .
Last one is a toss up between Hosmer and Dozier and Tulo.
Yea you’ve got the easy part. I was kind of leaning towards Jones as the fifth. Second base is sooo deep so let Dozier walk in a 10 teamer. You could justify locking in Tulo under the same logic rather than Jones.
10 Team H2H Keeper (7) Mixed League. Keepers slots are the first 7 rounds of the draft. Unlimited Control.
Hitting: R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OPS Pitching: Ks, QS, W, SV, ERA, WHIP, K/9
Thinking my 7 will be:
1B Jose Abreu, CWS
2B Jose Altuve, Hou
2B/SS Carlos Correa, Hou
3B Kris Bryant, ChC
3B Miguel Sano, Twins
P Chris Sale, CWS
P Jose Fernandez, Mia
Other Options:
P Max Scherzer, Wsh
P Madison Bumgarner, SF
P Matt Harvey, NYM
1B Joey Votto, Cin
Think I got my best 7?
I’d go Scherzer over Fernandez. Scherzer is a top 5 200 IP ace, why tempt fate with a guy coming off of TJ, who will be on an innings limit? Fernandez is the sexy choice, Scherzer is the smart one.
I would drop Abreu and keep either Scherzer (best now) or Bumgarner (still excellent and a lot younger than Scherzer).
I’d go a step farther and keep Scherzer and Bumgarner over Abreu and Sano. There are a lot of ways Sano could wind up disappointing, and you already have arguably the best keeper league 3B. You can focus your early draft on hitters and closers with maybe a value pitcher thrown in.
13 team league where most teams have 5 starters and 3 closers
Already have Fernandez,Gray, and Strasburg for starters and have Cody Allen as my only closer
Who should I keep: Street or Rodon
I was leaning towards street but am afraid Rodon’s potential will come back to make me regret it
That’s a difficult one as it’s a question of win-now versus trying to develop a stud. That comes back to your disposition as a manager and preferences.
13 team, 5X5 standard ROTO, 4 keeper auction league with $260.
Have C. Correa for $3 and Keuchel for $6. That’s in stone.
For the other two would you rather have McCann & Doizer for a total of $15 or Machado and N. Cruz for a total of $32.
We’re moving from 1 Catcher to 2 so catchers will be at a premium.
I’d definitely rather have Machado. Is there a reason it has to be him and Cruz. The values might favor McCann or Dozier.
5×5, $1000 salary cap league. $5 each, do I keep Billy Hamilton or Danny Salazar as my last keeper? Here is my current roster:
C
1B Edwin Encarnacion
2B
3B
SS Ian Desmond
CI
MI
OF Giancarlo Stanton
OF Starling Marte
OF Mookie Betts
OF
UTIL
SP Madison Bumgarner
SP Tyson Ross
RP Aroldis Chapman
P
P
P
P
I’m not a big Hamilton fan. He’s so difficult to manage properly. That said, you have some of the right guys to balance out his problems. I’d still go Salazar who I think has a shot at becoming a top pitcher someday.
13 team 6×5 league with OPS as the extra hitting stat. Redraft but we get one keeper, the player must be ranked outside of the CBS top 50 at the time of the draft in March. Keeper costs you the draft pick in the round where he is ranked (i.e., 100th rated player would cost an 8th round pick).
I had Michael Brantley, Yu Darvish and Zack Wheeler all stashed on my DL last year as potential keeper candidates. Assuming an injured Brantley falls out of the top 50, whom do you hold on to?
I’d lean Brantley, but either him or Darvish are solid choices.
Need to keep 2 of these Keepers in these rounds I drafted them in:
– Cain: Round 24
– Odor: Round 22
– Soler: Round 7
– Fernandez: Round 13
– Votto: Round 2
Standard Roto 5×5 but OPS replaced AVG and QS replaced W’s. Thank you!
Bobby
Cain and Fernandez. Easy choices for me.
Yep. If the league is very deep (I suspect it isn’t), then I’d consider Odor too.
10 team 5×5 obp. 7 keepers. 7 keepers replace your first 7 rounds drafting. Rest is just a normal draft.
1) Trout
2) Harper
3) Rizzo
4) Arenado
5) Miguel Cabrera
6) Kluber
7) Justin Upton
8) Xander Bogaerts
9) Strasburg
I’ve ranked them in the order I think I should keep them in.
Bogaerts in, Upton out (unless he signs in Colorado).
Agreed.
5×5 $400: James Shields at $21? I keep thinking drop him, but I always seem to fall apart on pitching.
Depending on how many teams . . . but in a 12-team league, I drop him at that price.
Echoing lesmash, context matters. It’s usually possible to find a couple Shields quality pitchers with $21.
I want to keep 3 pitchers, and have to choose from:
Strasburg
Fernandez
Harvey
De Grom
Syndergaard
W, K, ERA, WHIP, QS count for SP.
Seems like a cant-lose, but I’m a little worried about Strasburg/Fernandez health-wise, and don’t know which of the Mets trio I trust most. Or is my best bet to throw darts at a dart board and trade the rest for hitters?
Yeah, these are good problems to have.
I go with Fernandez and DeGrom for sure, then probably Strasburg. Thor a close 4th and Harvey a close 5th.
If you can trade, then you probably should. I agree that you’re not really going wrong with any 3 of these guys.
Auction league. $250 budget. Keepers may be kept indefinitely, but with $5 added to their yearly salary. QS, SV, SO, ERA, and WHIP as categories.
Do you keep Zack Greinke for $31? I was leaning towards yes when I assumed he’d remain a Dodger, but playing in AZ scares me.
I would trade Greinke if I could at that price. I see that as too much downside risk.
That’s a bubble price imo. I think you could redraft him at a similar valuation (or a similarly talented pitcher like Bumgarner).
If you’re keeping very few players, I might be more inclined to hang on.
In a $260 5×5 13-team keeper league (keep 8). My top 5 keepers are very solid (LoCain, JD Mart, Machado, Dozier and Arrieta) for a combined cost of $41. We also have a minor league system where I own and will call up Sano, C Seager, McCullers, D’Arnaud, and Piscotty without using any of my 8 spots.
My options for the last 3 keeper spots are Brantley ($3), Revere ($3), Joc ($4), Tyson Ross ($6), Grichuk ($2) and J Upton ($31). Each of them comes with their own issues – performance, injury, playing time or price. Which 3 of these 6 would you go with as of today?
Brantley’s injury rules him out. Go with Grichuk and Ross for sure, then probably Pederson.
Brantley’s such a good value that I’d keep him despite that he’ll clog the DL for awhile. Just by value, I think I’d also roll the dice on Joc and Grichuk. They’re both high risk – high reward. Maybe go with Ross since you have plenty of OFers and only the one pitcher. I happen to like Grichuk more than Pederson, but I know that’s not a popular opinion.
In a 14 team keeper. 6×6 rotisserie with OBP instead of Avg and SLG as the extra category (R, HR, SB, RBI are the others). I need to pick two out of the following outfielders: Jorge Soler (as a 21st round pick) Joc Pederson (as a 21st round pick as well) or Stephen Piscotty (as a 24th rounder). Which two players would be better?
Piscotty is the most stable of the trio. I think you could flip a coin for the other two, you’re hoping for a breakout in both cases.
12 Team Al-Only Roto Standard Categories $260 budget, $5 inflation for keepers, unlimited keepers, no bench spots
Should I keep these guys (prices are after inflation):
$38 Jose Abreu
$33 Sano
$6 Valbuena
$28 Tulo
$7 JBJ
$8 Pillar
$6 Eovaldi
$6 Karns
I already am keeping $11 Carrasco, $16 Kluber, $27 Mookie, $9 Alex Gordon (assuming he stays in AL)
THANKS!!!
I don’t have AL only values yet so that makes this a little difficult. I think I’d be cutting JBJ and Karns. I like Eovaldi as an upside play. Pillar and Valbuena should earn their contracts with some warts included. I’d probably bite the bullet on the expensive guys too, although it’s often sub-optimal to own over $30 guys in these formats.
6×6 8 team league. Allows 8 keepers
7 sure Keepers:
Bryce Harper
Francisco Lindor
Xander Bogaerts
Jake Arrieta
Dallas Keuchel
Max Scherzer
Kenley Jansen
Help me pick one of these 4 players:
José Abreu
Nelson Cruz
Miguel Sano
Yoenis Céspedes
Abreu or Sano.
Drop Kenley Jansen and keep both Sano and Abreu. Your lineup needs some pop.
12 team 5×5 (OBP and QS replace Avg and W). 25 man roster. 1 utility. 260 budget. Keep 4:
Wade Davis: $2
Roberto Osuna: $1
Miguel Sano: $5
Justin Turner: $1
Joey Votto: $29
Corey Kluber: $10
Jake Arietta: $15
Leaning towards Osuna/Davis/Sano/Turner at 9 total. Should I replace Turner with Votto?
Justin Turner is cool and all, but there’s no way you keep him here. Kluber and Arrieta are your top 2 keepers. I’d go Sano and Davis for the other two.
NEW 14 team 6×6 dynasty OBP and SLG instead of avg. No restrictions on 30 players kept. Is Sano worth a top 75 pick? He is 3b/1b for the 2016 season. Thanks.
Yes.
Yahoo Standard 12 Team 5×5 mixed, 1 Util, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF.
Keep 3:
Jose Abreu
Starling Matre
Charlie Blackmon
Todd Frazier
Kyle Schwarber
Miguel Sano
Stephen Strasburg
Marte, Schwarber (C eligible), and either Blackmon or Sano.
Std 5×5 11 team $310 cap Can keep 12
Need help with last 2: Calhoun $11, B. Crawford $6, A.J. Ramos $6, or Quintana $11
Other keepers:
OF McCutchen $29
OF Blackmon $31
C Schwarber $6
SS Correa $23
U Sano $9
P Syndergaard $13
P Fernandez $23
P Stroman $6
P Iglesias $6
P Davis $11
Thanks
Crawford if it’s a MI league. Ramos.
Mixed 12 team keeper, $250 cap, NFBC style rosters (5OF/CI/MI etc)
Keep or Trade?
J. Reyes $28
Braun $33
Kemp $21
Bruce $15
Thanks!
Braun and Kemp are the only guys you might be able to keep or trade. And I would push them on others.
I need 3 players out of these 4 selections: Arrieta in the 6th, Cole in the 5th, Sano in the 17th, and Darvish in the 16th.
Pitcher strikeouts are highly weighted in the league. Can keep for the next 3 years, at a round higher than the year before. Sano seems like a no brainer.
Thanks!
Even though he’s a nice bargain, I think I’d let Darvish go and opt for the healthy guys. Alternatively, you could roll the dice on value and drop Cole. But I wouldn’t.
12 team, 5×5 league with 6 keepers, no salaries, can keep people as long as you like.
Do you prefer
A) Machado, Kipnis, Freeman, or
B) Altuve, J Fernandez, Bautista?
Machado’s the best keeper out there. Group B has the second through fourth best ones. I think I’d lean A with the idea of upgrading beyond Kipnis and Freeman in future seasons.
16 teams keep 13 major leaguers each plus 3 minor leaguers. 5×5 with OBP instead of AVG and TB instead of HRs. I only have 6 or 7 obvious keepers and a bunch of borderline guys after that (Sandoval, Jay Bruce, Marcell Ozuna, Andrus, Melky, K-Rod). Given that so many players are kept (~200), am I not as screwed as these uninspiring names might indicate? Or should I work to trade my keeper slots for future assets
Yea that’s not ideal. It might be time for a rebuild.
10 team 5×5 roto league (SB+BB-K Combo & TB replaces SB & HR)
We keep 4 and redraft the rest. You can keep a guy 3 times before he reenters the draft pool.
Here are my considerations: Stanton, Rizzo, Pollock, FHernandez, Kluber, Carrasco, DGordon, Bogaerts, and Cespedes.
Thanks for any advice you can give me!
Well if all can be kept 3 times, I’m going with the first three and Bogaerts. I assume that’s not actually the case though.
I have kept Stanton, Rizzo, Felix, and Kluber 1 time each. All the others I just drafted last year.
10 Team league. 10 keepers, 4 year ownership cap with escalating keeper prices for each year of ownership. Format is 6×6, HR/R/RBI/NSB/AVG/OPS x K/W/SV/ERA/WHIP/K/BB. Teams have U, MI/CI, 4 OF and 5 SP. See below for players with keeper prices out of $260 budget (all but first 4 would be in yr 2 of ownership).
Goldschmidt $39
Arenado $13
Springer $20
Marte $27
Hosmer $1
DeGrom $8
Darvish $1
Stroman $1
M. Franco $3
D’Arnaud $0
Pederson $5
Odorizzi $7
Glasnow $1
Odorizzi is kind of take him or leave him in such a shallow league. Otherwise, I like them all.
14 Team Roto. Standard 5×5. $260 budget 2 C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, 5 OF, U, 9P
Keep 10: I feel as if the top 9 are as follows (no particular order)
1) Franco 3
2) Cain 14
3) Martinez 9
4) Pollock 14
5) Stroman 1
6) Travis 1
7) Inciarte 1
8) Corbin 3
9) Fernandez 15
Which of these guys would you keep in the last spot?
Soler 6
Tomas 6
Nola 1
Santiago 3
Ziegler 1
Ross 2
Stephenson 2
Gosselin 1
Any disagreements on the top 9? And if not, who is #10 in your eyes?
Martinez is JD (just for clarification)
Is that Joe Ross? I think I agree with your 9. I might do Soler as 10th. Or bump Inciarte for Soler and Nola. You’d have to be patient with Nola though (as in wait a few years to see if he turns into Cliff Lee or Doug Fister).
Yes, it’s Joe Ross. Sorry for the lack of clarity.
ottoneu 5×5. Keep or cut: $6 Parra, $6 Hundley
5×5 standard roto league, each of the following can be kept for 2 more seasons:
8th round Carrasco or 9th round JD Martinez
15th round Polanco or 14th round Hosmer
Late rounds, keep two of: Cory Seager, Syndergaard, Salazar or Odor
Thx Brad.
Is there a reason they have to be split this way? Because I’d definitely cut Polanco and Hosmer here, leaving you with four of Carrasco, JDM, Seager, Thor, and Salazar. I’d cut Odor too just because 2B is so deep.
harvey, de grom, or jose fernandez: keep 2.
bryant, schwarber, & sano: keep 2.
DeGrom and Fernandez
Bryant and Schwarber
Always helpful to hear an expert’s input with our unusual system:
Max 6 keepers, lose first round pick, then second and so on. No limits how long per player. 10-team H2H 6 cat
Obvious: Goldschmidt, Correa, Bumgarner, Strasburg
On the fence: Tulo, Votto, Wainright, Darvish
Also have Rendon, Salazar and McCullers
I’ve finished third, first and third the last three years, so I feel confident playing to win rather than waiting on potential future assets.
I would consider trading some on the fencers for mid-round picks or packaging for another star if you see anything obvious there.
Thanks!
By all means, trade for improvements. I think I’d lean Votto for the fifth pick. You don’t have a must-keep sixth pick in my opinion. But I bet you can trade your way there.
I’m going to be keeping seven SPs in my 14-team 7×7 Roto league.
Cats are Ks, SV, QS, ERA, WHIP, K/BB, WIN %
Here are the candidates:
Bumgarner
Wacha
D. Salazar
Corbin
Teheran
J. Ross
Berrios
Dan. Norris
Matz
Stroman
R. Ray
A. Wood
I threw the space in there to show my current thinking as to who to keep…would you keep the same seven?
You need to keep Stroman, I would cut anyone Corbin and below, choosing Berrios first. Unless there there is contract length, price, etc. factored in.
Yeah Bum Wacha Salazar Stroman are locks. You gotta get Stroman in there. I’d be inclined to round it out with Wood Ross Corbin but its really all preference at that point.
No. Stroman and Matz are two of your better guys. Dump Teheran and Berrios. I’m also not a huge Joe Ross fan (I don’t dislike him either) so I might consider Wood or Ray for the last spot.
5×5 NL only league. $260, 10 teams but unconventional big rosters.
Need to pick 4 of the following bats to keep at +$3:
$1 Danny Espinosa, $1 Nick Hundley, $1 Yangveris Solarte, $5 Jung-Ho Kang, $9 Khris Davis, $15 Anthony Rendon, $25 Anthony Rizzo.
Thanks for doing this!
Rizzo, Rendon, and probably Kang despite the missed time.
Standard 5×5 $260 NL-only league. Inflation usually runs 25-30%.
Nick Hundley at $9?
David Wright at $25?
J.J. Hoover at $13? (Yes, I know this will be clarified later on)
Aaron Altherr at $5?
Adonis Garcia at $3?
Yes to Altherr. No to Garcia and Hoover. I don’t have NL Only values yet, so I can only say that Hundley and Wright smell reasonable-ish.
10 team league with standard scoring. Keep three for first three rounds. Keep players for unlimited time with no penalty. Keeping Kershaw for sure. I need to keep two of McCutchen, Bautista, Correa and Machado. I am thinking about going youth. Any advice? Thanks!
go the youth at the premium positions Wiz. then ya set
Tricky. Definitely Machado. As shortstop is pretty ugly, probably Correa too. But it’s so painful to cut McCutchen…
I really hate the idea of cutting Cutch. Had him for the last 4 years now and he is just so well-balanced. I was considering trying to keep him to make a trade mid-season, but with keepers like Machado and Correa, I think I have to go with a youth movement.
If you offered Cutch + one of Correa/Machado/Kershaw for Trout or Harper, you might get some interest.
I’m in a 12 team H2H with standard 5×5 cats + OPS; $260 auction budget
I have a $6 d’Arnaud, $11 Duda, $6 C. Seager, $17 Puig, $11 Buxton, $11 Dickerson, $6 D. Peralta, $25 Fielder, $11 Gardner, $11 Carrasco, $11 Richards, $8 Darvish, $6 Giolito, $6 Urias, $9 Giles and $19 Robertson. Can keep up to 13. Carrasco, Seager, Dickerson and Giles seem like locks for me to keep. Who else should I keep and who should I cut from this list?
A lot going on here. My gut says to add TDA, Puig, Darvish. That leaves six more of eight. Think I’d cut Urias (unlikely to reach MLB this year). Fielder, Buxton, Robertson, or Giolito are also on the chopping block. Hard to whittle it down to the exact one you should cut.
12 team, 5×5, H2H league (4 OF start and a max of 10 rostered P), keep 6 guys with a 7th coming from our minor league roster (5 guys) that you “called up” and exceeded rookie PA’s or IP’s that season. They move up 2 rounds each year from where drafted, if a FA pick-up they are a 25th rd., or start in the 20th if they were the “call up” (Matz missed the 50 IP so I can pull him up right away next season):
Harper – 14th rd.
Machado – 15th rd.
Springer – 16th rd.
Correa – Call up – 20th rd.
Gerrit Cole – 15th rd.
Price – 15th rd.
Pretty set on the guys above, looking for my last guy between:
Lorenzo Cain – 13th rd.
Abreu – 2nd rd.
Pence – 9th rd.
Hamels – 5th rd.
OR go (admittedly) crazy with Khris Davis, Devon Travis, or Profar in the 25th rd. as very low risk options?
considering how cheap and top quality those first 6 are,I’d lock up the power at 1B with Abreu with a market price 2nd round pick.
I was leaning that way myself… As you can imagine I have been a fringe team waiting on this core to come along for a few seasons now… Abreu is likely the better win now type of keeper but as I am sure you can also tell, I like late round value too!!!
I think the answer is Cain. But I’m a big Travis fan too. Probably not enough to take him over Cain though.
Mine should hopefully be easy, but some confirmation is always nice. 12-team, standard cats. Keep 3, 2 long term and a one year keeper
Two for sure long-term:
Mike Trout
Kris Bryant
Choose between these two for next year only:
Marcus Stroman
Corey Seager
The league does skew very pitching heavy and due to trades my first pick this year is in round 4. Still gotta keep Seager right?
Seager then grab a pitcher with your first pick. (I like Seager over Bryant too).
Yep. Seager.
Fun! Thanks for doing this. Happy New Year.
I won my 5×5 Roto, 14 team, $260 Auction, 9 Keeper (with prices that raise over years) very competitive league last year! Which means I did not trade for good keepers like I did the year prior. I have good players, but they cost too much:
Without any doubt keepers:
Arenado – $22
Harper – $28
Arrietta – $8
deGrom – $8
Thor – $1
The remaining options (4 more slots to fill):
Hosmer – $18
Bogaerts – $18
Rendon – $15
Braun – $22
AJ Ramos – $1
C. Allen – $12
C. Martinez – $12
I am leaning to keeping: Hosmer, Bogaerts, CMart and Ramos.
Here is why:
There is just no way I will get a SP with the same skill as CMart for $12. He will prob be a top 15 pitcher still available after keepers, and having a staff of Arrietta, deGrom, Thor and Cmart for $29 to start the draft is AWESOME.
Hosmer and Bogaerts are two young players with a good prospect pedigree and have been healthy on good teams. Braun and Rendon are both coming back from injuries. If one of Hos or Bog take the next step in development I will have a star for under $20. They are a very good bet to at least return value.
Closers in this league always go for a lot during drafts, as many of the guys grabbed for cheap last year are kept. Even though Allen is a better player and an ok deal at $12, going the $1 route gives me more money to spend on my #2 RP. So it is Allen and a 3$ guy or Ramos and a $15 guy.
That is what I am thinking, even though Braun and Rendon may be the highest ranked guys on many boards, I think my plan makes the most sense as I do not want to tie that much money up on keepers. But it feels wrong to keep a $1 Ramos over a $15 Rendon. Hence my conundrum.
league positions: C,C,1b,2b,3b,SS,MI,CI,OFx5,UTLx2 SPx6,RPx4
I think you lock up that MI with Boegarts and Rendon. Then take the one dollar closer to stay cheap and avoid paying for saves in the draft. And Hosmer at 18 is probably too good to pass up. You should be able to replace Martinez and Allen for relatively close to 12 bucks.
The only one I’m not sure I agree with is Hosmer over Rendon or Braun. Well, CMart does seem replaceable too – but you’ll need to dig hard to find the right guy.
So I’m thinking Ramos, Bogaerts, Rendon, and one of CMart, Hosmer, or Braun.
Cool. Yeah… Braun’s back just scares me. And at $22, I can spend that and get a pretty solid OFer.
I think I am going to have to wait until others start sending in their keepers and see what is going to be more available at auction… 1b or SP, and base the choice of Hos or CMart on that.
Standard H2H.
Harper
Donaldson
Kipnis
Bumgarner
Kluber
Kuechel
Keep 4.
Not Kipnis. Definitely Harper and Donaldson. Of the 3 pitchers, you have tough choices ahead.
As much as I love him, I might cut Kluber.
Traditional espn 5×5 league, how do u rank these
Kenta Maeda $1
cameron maybin $1
Odor $7
Russell Martin $1
Kipnis $20
Stroman $3
Rich Hill $1
Stroman, Odor, Kipnis, Martin, Maeda, Hill, Maybin.
I think.
Pitcher keeper question. $200 budget, QS
Equal total prices for each option
1 year of Sale and Carrasco (who I want to believe in, but he drove me insane last year)
Or 4 years of Sonny and 3 of Archer
That’s difficult. Could you do Sale and Archer? Gray reminds me a little of Matt Cain in that I’ll never be comfortable using him.
Bless you for doing this! I’ve looked at this over and over and can’t decide who to keep. 12 team keeper league, I can keep 8 of these guys. The number next to their name is the round I will lose a draft pick in. For example, keeping Schwarber at 19 means I won’t get my 19th round draft pick. Next year, Schwarber will cost me my 16th round pick (each keeper moves up 3 rounds annually). Here’s the guys:
Swihart 35
Trumbo 18
Rendon 13
Addison Russell 24
Javier Baez 29
Grichuk 8
Schwarber 19
Jose Bautista 15
Billy Hamilton 30
Brett Anderson 36
Wade Davis 16
Ken Giles 17
Shelby Miller 18
Rodon 11
Eduardo Rodriguez 33
I’m thinking Schwarber, Davis, Giles, Bautista, Hamilton, Russell, Baez and Miller. But I change my mind a lot. Help! Thanks!
So the 7 I immediately gravitated to were Swihart, Russell, Schwarber, Bautista, Hamilton, Davis, and Giles. Torn between Rendon, Baez, Miller, and ERod for the last slot. Might just play it safe with Rendon.
As tough as Hamilton is to manage, he’s still a top 10 round player. He’s a huge bargain here.
Does $2 CMart’s shoulder scare you enough that you wouldn’t trade for him?
Well that depends on what I’d be trading. I’d definitely keep him for $2, but I wouldn’t part with a top keeper.
Write an article about the myriad dynamic valuation questions in my 6×6 H2H keeper league with the following riffs on traditional scoring categories:
QS instead of W (boosts value of SP, both relative to RP and relative to B)
K9 instead of K (boosts value of RP relative to SP)
HD as 6th pitching category (depresses value of SP relative to RP, and perhaps relative to B)
As you can see, many of my parenthetical hunches stand in contradiction to each other and maybe wash out, so maybe the right answer is to accept mainstream valuations as relatively applicable. In addition to the above considerations, I think the QS and K9 rules also affect valuation WITHIN the SP position, with the gap between aces and filler widening as compared to standard leagues.
To me, this all makes the questions of whether to wait on SP in drafts or whether to prioritize B keepers over SP keepers endlessly fascinating. I’ve done some of my own work attempting to address this, but I’d be very interested to see someone wiser tackle it.
***On second thought, maybe just send your results to me directly so my league-mates can’t see***
In short, you’re right that SP values are shaken up by QS and K/9. Your elite SPs really shoot up in value because you can’t scrape value with an Erasmo Ramirez type. But it’s also easy to overstate the difference. Wins generally also require over 6 IP and less than a 4.50 ERA. They’re just less predictable.
As for the HDs, they actually devalue relievers more than SP. Because holds are always available on the wire, and all but a few pitchers top out around 20 Hds for a season, I would ignore the category entirely. You’ll have some weeks where you can stream a victory in that stat.
12 team 6×6 with OPS and Holds. Keep 6 forever based on round drafted. Goodbye Schwarber?
Trout (1)
Donaldson (5)
Abreu (8)
Schwarber (12)
JoFer (13)
Dee (19)
Springer (20)
No. I’d dump Abreu, Fernandez, or Dee. Those are all painful moves but I see too much ceiling for Schwarber and his C eligibility for the next year or two is huge.
First year of a 12-team keepers league. It’s a fresh draft and I am torn on who to take with my #14 and #26 picks. I’m debating between Kris Bryant and Machado at #12 and considering Jose Fernandez at #26. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
While I have rough position rankings hammered out, I haven’t even thought about a top 30 yet. So it’s a little early for me to help you here. These smell fine although that looks early for Fernandez imo.
Based on two drafts I’ve been in lately, Bryant and Machado will be gone by #12. Either one would be a good value there, I’d lean Machado.
12 team H2H keeper 10×7 with OBP, hits, 2B, 3B, TB and K/9, CG as additions to 5×5 categories. Six keepers per team as first six picks in draft (keep forever, no salaries). Positions – C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OFx3, Util, SPx3, RPx2, Px3.
Planning to keep Harper, Machado (SS eligible for 2016), Kershaw, Betts.
Need to pick 2 from:
Votto
Arrieta
Bogaerts
Rendon
Lindor
Votto, Arrieta and Bogaerts are currently my current top choices for the final 2 spots. Typically lean towards hitters over pitchers as keepers, especially with this league format, but not sure how much Arrieta’s value, Votto’s age and/or Machado’s SS eligibility should sway that.
So pitchers look heavily devalued here. Arrieta is a candidate for the second best pitcher though…I’d have to do too much analysis to give you good advice here. I don’t have much experience with unbalanced formats like this.
Can you trade? It’s a shame to drop one or both of Bogaerts and Lindor.
4×4 old school AL-only.
$260 cap.
Luis Valbuena $11 with 3b/1b eligibility.
Yes?
No?
$11 looks a little steep to me. I’d be targeting him around $6. That said, paying a small premium for him won’t be a disaster.
Incidentally, Valbuena’s our bubble guy in a keep 28 dynasty. Deciding between him and Zack Cozart. It would be Valbuena without a second thought if we didn’t already have our 1B/3B/CI/DH spots filled and a need for a MI.
12 team dynasty, no limit years to keep. 6×6 OBP and Holds. Need to keep the last 7 of 16. Lucroy, Wong, KSeagar, DPeralta,Shelby Miller, Stroman, Rosenthal, Moncado and Mazzara. OF consists of Stanton, Betts, Dickerson and Crush. SPs are anchored by Max and Carrasco. Which two from the aforementioned don’t make the cut?
Your outfield depth has me leaning against Peralta. I dislike Miller. I think it’d be him or Wong I cut loose last. There’s a chance Lucroy is fried too. In fact, if it’s a 1 C league, it’s too easy to find a viable C to keep him over the others.
5×5 Ottoneu. $36 Tulo, $35 Hamilton, $53 Miggy. All seem somewhat expensive given their risk. My team is very dependent on Hamilton for SB’s. Which, if any, should be kept at those values?
Maybe Miggy. Probably Miggy. Tulo could make look dumb, but I’d let him walk. Scouts were complaining about his loss of explosiveness – often a permanent problem when an injury isn’t present.
Try to redraft Hamilton for much less. Those steals are great, but there’s no reason to pay $35 and deal with the nightmare of managing around him. Unless you have a $14 Harper up your sleeve.
Keep 7. Roster 27 players. Salary cap limit 270. Standard scoring. I’m trying to balance long term options/value with high price/high end players.
Planning to keep:
Mookie-$9
Price-$25
Additionally, I could keep 5 of the following, broken into the more expensive/proven guys vs. young upside/cheap value.
Tulo ($27); Blackmon ($31); Braun ($30); A. Jones ($30); Cespedes ($29); Hosmer ($18); Kipnis ($23);
Moustakas ($4); Aaron Judge ($3); Bradley Zimmer ($3); Trea Turner ($6); Orlando Arcia ($3); Jose Berrios ($3).
Leaning towards: Braun/Blackmon as my two more expensive keepers. I don’t want to just keep all the $ guys because I’d like some longer term value plays.
Let’s lock in Blackmon and Braun since they’re guys you like. I’d hang onto Hosmer, Kipnis, and Zimmer of the remaining options. If Blackmon is traded, switch to Moustakas or maybe Tulo.
Zimmer is a massive risk, high reward prospect in my estimation. The flame out risk is pretty high but he could be George Springer if he sticks.
Thanks! I really appreciate the effort. I looked at this thing last night and wondered if you realized what you had gotten yourself in for.
In short, no I did not. Luckily I’m still jet lagged so I was able to knock out 100+ responses while y’all slept. I think I’m about tapped out now.
14-team, 5×5 roto and keep 10 (forever) league. Balanced roster & struggling with the last two slots. Down to Matz, Giles, Britton, Pineda, Cobb & Conforto. If anything I’m light on speed & durable arms. Thoughts?
I think I’d go Britton and Giles unless saves are easy to come by for some reason.
$300 Salary cap, I’m currently at $335. 6×6 with obp and slg, qs and sv+hd. I have a lot of value but I also have some pricey stars:
Trout $39
Stanton $34
Kershaw $35
Votto $28
I think they’re all worth it but what about Carrasco at $19 or Schwarber at $17? Seager $15?
Is the better strategy here to try and trade a high price or two away? Or to drop the lower priced guys and try to get them back at auction?
Shop the expensive guys. I doubt you can get the less expensive guys in the auction. They’ll all go over $20. I’m pretty sure Votto’s the weakest value.
Ten-team rotisserie league with $305 budget, 27-man roster, active lineup of 9 hitters and 9 pitchers, categories: OBP, R, HR, RBI, SB, QS+W, ERA, S, K/BB:
Can keep only 10 of:
C Kyle Schwarber $4
1B Edwin Encarnacion $40
1B Ryan Zimmerman $17
2B/SS Addison Russell $4
SS Ketel Marte $4
SS/3B Jung Ho Kang $4
OF Bryce Harper $42
OF Jason Heyward $16
OF Shin-Soo Choo $12
OF Billy Burns $4
SP Michael Wacha $17
SP James Shields $16
RP Trevor Rosenthal $12
RP Francisco Rodriguez $8
RP Ken Giles $4
Harper, Schwarber, Giles, Rosenthal, Heyward, Kang, Russell are the easy ones. I happen to like Marte, Burns, either K-Rod or Choo, but arguments can be made for others. $40 EE and $17 Zim look overpriced to me.
12 team 5X5 league. Fourth keeper = JD-Mart or Dee Gordon?
I’m a huge JDM fan. Likewise, I see a lower floor than most for Dee.
5×5 12 Team H2H League that uses OBP instead of AVG and QS instead of Ws. 11 Keepers.
I have narrowed down my final selections as follows (Need to Keep 2 from this list)
Travis D’Arnaud
Jung Ho Kang
Michael Conforto
Ben Zobrist
Randal Grichuk
Raisel Iglesias
Alex Cobb (keeping Cole, Kluber, Archer at Pitcher)
————————–
Keeping Already For Sure: D. Gordon, Votto, J-Up, Betts, Heyward, Maikel Franco on offense.
Tough choices here. Let Cobb, TDA (if 1 C), and Kang go. Injuries. Seems like you’re strong in the OF so no Conforto and Grichuk. That leaves a utility Zobrist and Iglesias.
These are all fascinating long-term plays. So if you have a gut feel regarding which will “breakout,” trust it.
Ten-team rotisserie league with $305 budget, 27-man roster, active lineup of 9 hitters and 9 pitchers, categories: OBP, R, HR, RBI, SB, QS+W, ERA, S, K/BB.
Can stash three prospects of:
2B Jose Peraza
2B Trea Turner
SS J.P. Crawford
SP Jon Gray
SP Blake Snell
RP Shae Simmons
Their league-minimum salaries do not count against the $305 salary cap.
Crawford, Turner, Snell. Not close for me on the others
I immediately arrived at the same opinion.
Should I trade Giolito, JP Crawford, and Urias for Gerrit Cole? I’d also be able to open up two keeper spots to hang onto Francis Martes and Anthony Alford in the trade. Any thoughts?
Hard to say. In my 20-team, keep 28 of 45 dynasty, definitely not. In a 12 team, smaller roster league, probably yes.
Long term, I’d expect at least one of Giolito or Urias to match Cole in production. And Crawford looks can’t miss too. I’d be loathe to part with them.
Martes and Alford are much less certain.
4 keeper (forever) 16 team 5×5 league. Betts or Sano?
Thanks!
Betts.
Thanks, awesome to see you answer all these questions.
4×4, AL-only, 11 teams, $260 budget, up to 13 Keepers. Keep Brantley at $19? I currently have Mookie ($24) and JD Martinez ($25). I don’t know which rumors to believe about when Brantley return (late April? Mid-June? Post All Star Break?). Also, in my league, players who are injured to start the season typically go for less at auction than their market value. Keep Brantley?
I think so. Somebody is liable to be bullish in the draft.
10 team league, 260 budget, pitching is overvalued (top 110 SP will be owned by midseason)
Cut, keep for 1 year at same price, Keep for two years at +10 per year, keep for three years at +15. Cutting an extended player takes 50% of the contract out of next year’s budget as a penalty.
Who to cut, keep, extend, etc.
Cueto 11
Smyly 4
Beltre 31
Lackey 1
Leaning towards cutting Beltre, keeping Smyly and Lackey at current price. Not sure how much to extend Cueto.
I’d go the 2 year option for Cueto.
Various Fangraph writers have been hyping Rubby De La Rosa for a while now. I have him in my dynasty league at the league minimum. Is it worth using a roster spot to keep him in hopes of turning a profit in future years? Safe to assume I’d be replacing him in the auction with a Gallardo level arm.
I also like Rubby. Without knowing more about your opportunity costs, I’d lean towards protecting him.
I can keep any of these 2 outfielders for life.
Harper
Conforto
Buxton
Soler
Joc Pederson
Gallo
I’m obviously keeping harper but am torn on the last spot
Buxton for the upside, though Soler is tantalizing too.
Yea that’s tough. Not Gallo. I’d try Buxton too.
I would go Conforto, but I am a big mets fan so I am biased.
Buxton or deGrom total 5 x 5 value over the next 4 years? If you had to choose one 10 different times, how many times would you choose Buxton?
3 or 4 times for Buxton. deGrom is a proven ace now. Buxton is a scouting report and minor league numbers.
Keep 3 players, 1 Pitcher 1 Batter and 1 of your choice. Kept at Round they were drafted in last year. Unlimited contract length. Head to Head Roto with 25 categories. You can only keep 3
Trout (20)
Springer (20)
AJ Pollock (15)
Carlos Rodon (20)
Matz (20)
Severino (20)
Stroman (20)
Manny Machado (6)
Do you HAVE to keep a pitcher? Because the values say to do Trout, Springe, and Pollock. Otherwise, it’s either Sev or Stroman with Trout and one of Springer/Pollock.
Am I my brother’s keeper?
Are you Lorenzo Cain? Probably so, then.
It depends.
16 team H2H 6×6 (with BB and IP). $260 budget each year. Keep up to 12.
Sure fire Keepers for context:
Trout $17, Encarnacion $21, Strasburg $16, Carasco $14, Cain $5, Machado (at short) $30, Dickerson $12, Dozier $20.
That leaves up to four spots, considering from these guys:
Iwakuma $15, Sonny Gray $16, Ryu $11, Chapman $16, Scherzer $42, Greinke $35
Other guys I probably shouldn’t consider but will still list:
Yan Gomes $4, Murphy $12
Who are the final four?
Well Gray and Chapman. Obviously I like Scherzer and Greinke. Not sure you can afford them. I wouldn’t keep the others.
I can keep four, 1.Trout 2.Machado 3.Votto 4. F.Hernandez or Chris Davis?
Let’s see where Davis signs. Not that his power is very stadium dependent. But he’s much more attractive in Baltimore than say San Francisco.
I lean Davis only because you can offset his weaknesses and take full advantage of his strengths.
12 team h2h points defending Champ…
Can keep 3 guys….already keeping Abreu rd 4 and Pollock rd 8. Should my last keeper be Arietta rd 3 or Sano rd 12? Pitching always flies off the board early in this league. Won with Scherzer, Arrieta, Lester, and Wacha leading the staff last year….more of the same or is Sano too good a value to pass up?
I’d consider cutting Abreu actually. I like Abreu, but I see him as a such a small value at Rnd 4 in a keep 3.
Oh boy, look at this thread go! Here’s my question:
10 Team Roto, $260 auction
OBP instead of AVG, QS instead of W
Keepers increase in price by $3 each year. Please pick 5:
Rizzo ($26)
Chris Davis ($24)
Dee Gordon ($20)
Abreu ($17)
Bautista ($16)
Arrieta ($16)
Bogaerts ($11)
Pollock ($9)
Salazar ($4)
Rizzo ($26)
Bautista ($16)
Arrieta ($16)
Bogaerts ($11)
Salazar ($4)
Pollock
Arrieta
Bautista
Rizzo/Davis/Abreu (use your preference)
Bogaerts
Love Salazar at $4 but can’t find a place for him.
Thanks Brad and Francis.
I’m warming up to the idea of keeping Dee Gordon over Xander. Paying twice the price (but still getting some value) for 50+ steals at 2B is nice. Aside from him and Altuve, are there any other MIs with that kind of speed and an everyday gig?
AL-Only 6×6 (H, OBP, R, RBI, HR, SB and INN, ERA, WHIP, net wins, K-BB, S). Keep 8 and resets every five years. Three seasons before the next reset. I have some keeper decisions:
Kipnis
Adam Jones
Seager
Betts
Tulo
Carlos Gomez
Calhoun
Stroman
Carlos Santana
A. Gordon( if he stays in AL)
Alcides Escobar
Thinking I would keep the first eight, but Santana’s high OBP makes it tough and Gordon could be tough to drop depending on where he lands.
Gordon over Calhoun if he lands with the right team. You might regret dropping Santana, but he may be UTIL only by 2017.
18-team mixed 5×5 using OBP, only one catcher and two UT. Inflation is pretty high since we have deep minor leagues and we’ve been around long enough that most of the good players came through our minor league draft.
I’m pretty sure I’m keeping these five:
Chris Davis $17
Dozier $8
Kyle Seager $15
Calhoun $12
Trout $25/2019
which means I need to pick five more out of:
Kike Hernandez $7
Forsythe $1
Valencia $5
Altherr $4
Canha $1
Colabello $6
Doolittle $1
Eickhoff $4
Fiers $3
McGee $4
Tanaka $22
Arodys Vizcaino $5
Altherr is the easy one imo. The rest are tough choices. I like Valencia for 2016 but not so much beyond that. I can’t tell why Forsythe succeeded more last season than in the past. Your three “closers” all lack job security. Tanaka is a little expensive and Fiers is a little hard to project in Houston. That covers all the names I’d consider.
12 team H2H, keep 8 keep forever no cost.
R RBI HR Ave SB 2B 3B BB K for hitters, points-leagueish.
W, L, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, CG for pitchers.
need to choose 2 of these 3 if I don’t pull a 2-for-1: hosmer, odor, cueto. (keeping trout, stanton, betts, encarnacion, schwarber, kershaw). who gets the ax? would have said cueto but SF setup is zesty and he gets a few CG. hosmer is boring but was pretty valuable last year across the board. don’t know what to think of odor ….
Well the good news is that they’re all good options. Given your roster, I’d probably let Hosmer go.
10-team NL-only 5×5 using AVG, normal roster construction.
Definitely keeping:
Goldschmidt $20
LeMahieu $2
Pederson $5
David Peralta $8
Schwarber $13
Arrieta $15
Tyson Ross $6
which leaves four more out of:
Chris Owings $5
Ben Paulsen $6
Jason Hammel $8
Kenley Jansen $26
Tanner Roark $2
Hector Rondon $10
Joe Ross $10
Arodys Vizcaino $10
Rondon, Ross, Vizcaino. Can you afford Jansen? Probably not, right? I still think Owings will hit, but I bet you can get him for $1. DBacks will probably land a 2B from somewhere.
12 team roto keeper league, can keep players as many seasons as you like. 8 x 8 scoring: standard 5 x 5 categories plus OBP, Batter K, XBH, Pitcher BB, Holds & QS. I finished 3rd last season, I get to keep 11. I have already traded away my draft picks in the 1st and 5th rounds, I draft in the #10 spot, regular (not snake) format. So without a 1st rd pick, my first pick will be #22 (after about 125 players are kept)
I have pretty much settled on Buster Posey, Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, Ryan Braun, A,J. Pollock, Corey Dickerson, Matt Harvey, Gerrit Cole & King Felix Hernandez as my first 10.
I had been debating between Andrew Miller & Lucas Giolito all off-season, and had recently been leaning toward Miller, but the Aroldis Chapman trade has me re-thinking that now. I could go Giolito as #11, but other options include Zach Britton (I thought he was just below the line keeper-wise), Clay Buccholz, Dan Wheeler, Alex Reyes. I also have D.J. Lemahieu, but I don’t see him as a keeper ahead of that group. Miller still has value, but it seems less so, as closers still have more value in my league, even with holds also a category. Britton is good, but I think of Chapman, Kenley Jensen, Craig Kimbrel & Wade Davis as the only closer worth keeping, and probably Dellin Betances as the only setup worth keeping (the same manager who has him also has Kimbrel). I am still thinking Giolito, but I am hearing very positive stuff about Wheeler’s health, and Reyes’ suspension is only going to delay his development by 50 games. And then there’s Britton, who isn’t quite the sexy K machine, but has been very productive nonetheless. Thoughts on what I should do?
I’m a huge Britton proponent. He’s very good. I think you could flip a coin between him and Giolito. But if you’re trying to win, maybe take the guy who will produce next season (Britton).
Why the interest in going half in on a keeper/dynasty league? I see and have played in several keeper leagues where the norm is keeping 4-8 players. I find it weird to keep some players and to also have a draft. Some weird trades come from these keep a few also. I now either play in total redraft leagues (fanatasy baseball) or keep all dynasty (fantasy GM)
The advantage of the middle ground is that “rebuilding” usually means one season. Rebuilding in a dynasty could take half a decade. Especially if more than a couple teams feature prospect rosters.
Pick three and if possible why…Thanks in advance!
5×5 OPS (instead of average, K/9 instead of Ks)
Donaldson 3rd round last year of contract
Correa 12th round 2 years remaining
Goldy 1st round 2 years remaining
Schwarber 12th round 2 years remaining
Darvish 15th 2 years remaining
Syndergaard 23rd round 2 years remaining
I’m leaning towards Donaldson, Correa and Syndergaard, but would keep the others if a trade materialized. Curious to hear if you would rank them differently
I think I’d do Correa, Schwarber, and Thor. But if you can keep 3 total, then I could see why you’d want to stagger contracts by keeping Donaldson.
Would you keep Francisco Lindor for three years at $15 per season in a 11 team AL only 5X5 $260 max budget or two years for $10?
I have been stung a couple times in the past taking the three year route with younger unproven players (Jurickson Profar)
Go for the $15 option. Of course, there is risk. I think it’ll work out for you.
10 team OBP-league, 30 player rosters, and keep 10. I already have Polanco (Rd 17) and Puig (Rd 24) in RF, but also have JD Martinez (Rd 8.) OF spots are individual (LF, CF, RF) and have two DH spots
Assuming I can’t trade Martinez, I am left deciding between him, Gallo (Rd 26) and Swihart (Rd 28.) Could you rank the keepers in your preferred order? I have NO current Keepers in 3B/LF or Catcher.
Because the league isn’t deep, I think I’d take the best player without regard to position. So that leaves me saying JDM, Swihart, Gallo for my order of preference.
Puig (CF/RF), Springer (CF), Correa (SS), Sano (SS/3B), Schwarber (C/LF)in a keep 3 avg/run/hr/rbi/sb 18 team league?
Springer, Correa, Schwarber.
Those are some damned good options. Hope you can make trades. Target Trout, Harper, etc.
12team 5×5, keep w/o penalties.
Puig or Carlos Gomez?
Puig, on age/potential alone. Gomez is trending downward past few years and is losing his athleticism, which was his greatest asset. Puig will frustrate you too I am sure, but at least has the chance of improving and even getting traded to a better hitting ballpark eventually. Both are risky and likely injury prone, but both are explosive and fun to watch and own too.
Woof. That’s a toughie. Puig is such a headache at times, but I think you have to gamble on his youth and athleticism.
Thanks for the response.
What if became Puig vs. Tulo. I still have to go Tulo right?
12 team, 5×5 ottoneu league.
Kimbrel $32
Upton $30
Heyward $24
Trumbo $22
Kipnis $22
Holliday $17
Panda $14
Papelbon $14
Brantley $13
A Miller $10
J Peralta $8
Benoit $7
W Flores $5
C Hernandez $4
M Taylor $4
D ODay $3
C Smith $3
Yes or no on each, Thanks.
Kimbrel $32 – No
Upton $30 – Probably
Heyward $24 – Yes
Trumbo $22 – No
Kipnis $22 – Yes
Holliday $17 – Maybe
Panda $14 – Doubtful
Papelbon $14 – No
Brantley $13 – yes
A Miller $10 – lean yes
J Peralta $8 – no
Benoit $7 – no (unless you think he closes over Cishek)
W Flores $5 – no (he should cost under $3 in auction)
C Hernandez $4 – maybe
M Taylor $4 – maybe
D ODay $3 – maybe
C Smith $3 – no
Hope that was helpful.
Thanks!
5×5 OBP, instead of AVG, (1 Catcher and 5 OF’s, also a MI, CI, and Utility.) Can KEEP 6:
I plan on Keeping Bryant (3B/OF), Correa (SS), Betts (OF), Schwarber (C/OF), and C. Seager (SS), but need to decide on my final guy. Please help me choose, or if I should switch out anyone from my first 5.
The contenders for my final spot are….
Russell (SS/2B) I am seriously worried about him being buried in 8 or 9 spot and have Correa and Seager already.
Yelich (OF) I am worried about his GB%, injuries, lack of pop, but he gets on base and they are moving fences in.
Soler (OF) had a disappointing season, GB% high, playing situation?, but has made upside and hits ball hard.
Conforto (OF) I like him, but people seem to think he won’t get much better it seems, can he hit lefties, and I don’t like that ballpark.
Baez (SS/OF) contact problems, playing time, and where will he be, but seems to have the highest upside of the bunch with power/speed/MI combo.
Bird (1B) playing time is the only concern I have, as I love him at that ballpark, but 1B are not scare position to fill and I could likely draft an older guy with same production.
I even created a survey for help, but I think Russell is getting too much on name recognition and not enough hit for likely hitting in the 9th spot for this next year and possibly longer.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WBDPG3M
Anyone? I will take advice from anyone, as I also weigh in on my thoughts of other posters to help them. Please?
I think it’s Yelich. Maybe Soler. Yelich is the only actualized talent on this list. You’re hoping for breakouts from the rest.
Okay, roto league, counts ops, keeping Schwarber, Harper, Goldie, Machado, Bumgarner, Lester. Need to choose one more of Freeman, Joey Bats, Addison, Xander. Note….Machado qualifies at SS
Bautista. Maybe also Bogaerts over Lester. 3B is shallow too, so there’s nothing wrong using Machado there.
Keep 12 H2h, many, many categories, offense has Freeman, Hosmer, Kipnis, Addison, Harper, Heyward, Conforto, Schwarber. Pitching set with Strasburg and Fernandez. Need to choose two: Moustakus, Verlander, Familia, Raisel Iglesias, Garrett Richards. I have Tanaka and dislike him also. Thanks so much for this thread!
Probably Familia for one of them. Perhaps Iglesias or Richards for the other.
12 teams. Must keep 10 and we can keep players forever without any costs or penalties whatsoever. LF/CF/RF instead of OF spots, and 2 UTIL spots.
I’ve got 9 keepers pretty much locked:
Schwarber(C/LF)
Abreu
Bryant(3B/RF)
Upton
Betts(CF/RF)
Braun
Kershaw
Scherzer
Archer
My 10th spot comes down to Rendon(2B/3B), Soler, Stroman, or Wade Davis. I’m very much leaning towards Soler right now…
I always tell people to trust their guts. I think it’s more fun that way. My advice is to go with Rendon or Davis though. I think you have more than enough OF depth for pre-draft.
16 Team keeper 6X6 H2H OBP/SLG/SB/R/HR/RBI & QS/S/H/ERA/WHIP/K
7 Majors Keepers 2 Minors keepers. Players can be kept 3 times except 1st rounders who can be kept once. Keeper clocks don’t start til 130 AB or 50 IP. You give up a pick in the round the player was picked and it moves down one round each subsequent year.
Here are my keepers:
Majors:
OF Stanton Round 1 2016
OF Betts Round 28 2016,2017
OF Springer Round 28 2016.2017
DH Sano Round 17 2016,2017,2018
SP Price Round 1 2016
SP deGrom Round 28 2016,2017
SP Harvey Round 15 2016,2017
Minors
SS Seager Round 29
1b Reed Round 29
I decided to keep Price as my “ace” instead of Votto. Reason being, 1b is so deep and I lose my first round pick to keep Stanton. Since its 16 teams, I won’t pick til #19 based on my third place finish and Price won’t be there. I do have the first pick in the 3rd round after a trade. Snart move?
That’s a very good start to a rotation in a 16 team H2H. Plus pitching can carry a team far – so long as it stays healthy. Nice that’s you’re getting a free Seager too and have Reed in the wings.
In other words, I like your plan.
Thanks. We’re going into year 12 and the teams who build good rotations tend to have more success. The team that bounced me in round 2 last season has Arrieta, Scherzer and Miller (to go along with Bryant, Arenado and Dee Gordon) coming back. Gotta keep up with the Jones’s. I also added extra picks in the 4th, 6th and 9th rounds.
12 Team AL Only Roto, $260 Budget, 9 keepers.
9 pitchers, 2 catchers, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, DH and 5 OF. No bench.
$2 Tai Walker
$5 Shawn Tolleson
$7 Kyle Gibson
$8 Henry Owens
$6 Brian Johnson
$4 Blake Swihart
$7 Brian Dozier
$1 Marcus Semien
$2 Preston Tucker
Those are my probable keepers. I’m thinking of extending Semien for two more years, which would make him $6 (for this and next year). I’m also considering:
$6 Brendan Guyer
$18 Russel Martin
I also get 9 taxi keepers (we have a 4 round minor league draft after auction). After activating Swihart and Owens, Trading three guys and a few more getting traded to the NL in real life my only taxi guy is Buxton ($8 when activated). I Have two extra 1st round picks and an extra 2nd round pick making atotal of 7 taxi picks.
Thoughts? Is russel Martin Worht keeping at $18? I kinda like him and Swihart and not having to bid on a catcher, but he’s pricy…. Is Guyer worth considering at all?
No to Guyer. He’s just too part time without a boatload of injuries. I think $18 looks like a fair price for Martin. Hard to say if it’s smarter to keep him over Tucker or a pitcher. Especially since he shouldn’t be TOO much more than $18 in draft.
10 player Dynasty. 25 man roster. avg, k’s, hr, sb, rbi, R; whip, k/9, QS, era, L, SV.
No cost applies. CI/Mi/5 OF
Keeping: betts, Ad Russell, Bryant, stanton, J- Upt, Jose Fernandez, Rendon, Moncada
Bubble (2 spots): Tulo, carrasco, Pederson, Betances
Carrasco for sure. The last spot is by preference but it’s probably smartest to target Tulo or Joc.
16 tm mixed, H2H pts using QS’s as well. $260 budget. Keep up to 5. Bidding gets crazy for elite players (Trout went for $81 last year).
Miguel- $50
Xander- $9
Mookie- $17
Edwin- $49
Dickerson- $5
Moncada- $5
Archer- $13
Eduardo R- $5
Salazar- $9
Carrasco- $7
Strasburg- $33
Thank you.
Carrasco
Mookie
Xander
Archer
Now that leaves you with some options. Dickerson, Salazar, Strasburg, or Cabrera. Given what you said about elite players, I might hang onto Cabrera for his offensive consistency. Even in a down year, he still carried my H2H offenses. Dickerson is a possible $40 player if everything breaks right. And you’d have enough money to try to redraft Cabrera for $65 or so.
12 team 7×7 roto (standard 5×5 with obp, slg) I get to keep two of the following players at the round specified.
Stanton-1st Round
Altuve-2nd Round
Arrieta-9th Round
Degrom-9th Round
J.D. Martinez-12th Round
Stanton, Arrieta
Arrieta and deGrom I think. Stanton is tantalizing too, but I wonder if you might not have a chance to re-draft him or a similar player.
My thought is I can get Stanton back or get similar value to him in the first round. I was leaning towards J.D. Martinez instead of Degrom. I’m I crazy or just over valuing Degrom?
I want to keep one closer in a keeper league with std. 5×5 roto scoring and a snake draft. If you keep a guy, you lose a pick in the associated round.
Who would you keep:
Chapman ( lose a 3rd round pick )
Jansen ( 7th round )
Rondon ( 14th round )
Betances ( 15th round )
Familia ( 25th round )
Rondon.
Familia.
5×5 obp league, IF slot and 4 OFs, 10 P slots. Auction, $260 budget. I can keep up to 7 players for two years at their current value. Who would you keep:
Goldschmidt – $50
Arenado – $2
Betts – $1
Kalhoun – $2
Joc Pederson – $2
Braun – $31
Votto – $22
Wade Davis – $2
Hamels – $22
Odorizzi – $2
Boxberger – $2
Hector Rondon – $6
Arenado, Betts, Davis are the no-brainers.
Think I’d do Calhoun, Votto, and try to re-draft Goldy for a few extra dollars. You’ll know better than me if that’s possible.
H2H 12 team points league. Can keep 3 keepers for max of 2 two years and lose draft pick.
Options are
Rizzo 3rd round (one more year)
Mookie Betts 14th round(One more year)
Sano 15th round (two more years)
Maikel Franco 15th round (two more years)
Rougned Odor 26th round (two more years)
Scherzer first round (two years)
Danny Salazar 13th round (two more years)
Eduardo Rodriguez 15th round (two more years)
Heaney 21rst round (two years)
Thinking Rizzo, Betts, and leaning hitter (Sano) but a lot of pitching gets kept in my league.
Thanks!
I agree with Rizzo, Betts, and Sano.
Two sets of questions, 12 teams AL/NL, H2H points, point per TB (including walks), RBI 1 point, R 1/2 point, Pitching: K, W, IP, S, -ER, -BB, -H (relatively standard)
One SP for the next 4 years: Corey Kluber, Noah Syndergaard (downsides: Kluber’s awful defense behind him, Syndergaard’s injury risk)
Two of the following hitters for the next 2 years:
Corey Seager, Miguel Sano, Kyle Schwarber, Justin Upton
Thanks!
Thor.
Seager, Schwarber.
Actually, I’m not so sure about Seager over the next 2 years. Think you could justify any combination.
14 team H2H points, snake draft, 25 rounds – pitching points are wins (15 pts) and saves (5 pts), with losses -5. The hitter scoring is fairly normal (hits, XBH, RBI, runs, SB). Can keep 2 in the same draft round as selected last year (but no keepers from players selected in first 2 rounds) — keepers only for one year. Which 2 of the following should I keep:
Max Scherzer- round 4
Starling Marte – round 5
Mookie Betts – round 8
Jacob deGrom – round 13
Jose Fernandez – round 20
Thanks.
Betts and you can’t go wrong with any of the pitchers. Probably lean Fernandez.
Betts, Fernandez sounds right.
What are your thoughts on Severino?
Big fan. I think he can breakout and eventually reach top 25 SP status.
Keep 14 keep forever
R HR RBI AVG OBP NSB
L ERA WHIP K9 QS SV+H
Abreu, Bautista, Betts, Brantley, Cano, Chris Davis, Fielder, Frazier, Marte, Rendon, Schwarber, Bumgarner, Kluber, Scherzer
also got a few guys i cant keep Dozier, Jose Reyes, Wade Davis and Cmart
thoughts? maybe i could package a few guys for a shortstop?
Thanks
Yea, Davis, Dozier, and CMart should be keepers for SOMEBODY. So a couple 2-for-1’s should be possible.
9 team 5×5 roto – keep 0-5 and they become your first 5 rounds of draft pick.
Bryant, Votto, Harvey, Heyward, Pollock, Betts, or Marte
Bryant, Pollock, Betts, Harvey, and Votto. You may get a shot to re-draft one of Marte or Heyward (or a similar OF talent).
You don’t have an obvious top 9 player, so you could try to get cute by keeping none. Sounds risky to me though.
Standard 5×5 10 team, NL only. $260 budget. maybe ~15% inflation. each team can keep 10 for up to 3 years each (+$5 each year), lots of talent unlocking this year though. 2C, CI, MI, UT, 5OF, 9P in starting lineup
Definite (with 2016 cost):
DeGrom (yr2) 15
Familia 10
Harper 33
Grichuk 6
Poss (can keep 6) (gut w*):
Walker 22
*S Marte 34
B Pena STL 6 [don’t love the guy but I think he gets decent PA on good team this yr]
*Y Solarte 7
Leake 13
*Hendricks 10
Desclafani 8
*R Ray 6
Ramos 6 (can only keep one of Grichuk / Ramos – suplemental draft, can trade)
obviously the std positions are there too, 1/2/3B, SS in starting lineup.
The only guy I think I would keep in the second bunch is Marte, but you could get him for that price, or cheaper, in the draft.
NL Only 12 tm 4×4 auction $280 budget. 25 man rosters 5 OF, MI, CI, 2UT 10 P’s
We keep 15 major leaguers:
Definite Keepers
Goldschmidt $20, Rendon $20, M Duffy $5
Dickerson $21, B Hamilton $20, D Peralta $11
So $97 already spent on O
Arrieta $25, J Fernandez $15, Lackey $10, Melancon $12, K Jansen $15
$77 spent on P, 174 total ($106 left) so $’s an issue at this point.
Can only keep 4 more of the following:
Arodys Vizcaino $12, Granderson $16, Mark Reynolds $5, Aaron Altherr $5, Pence $21, Brandon Maurer $5, Wilson Ramos $11, Kyle Hendricks $8
Feel free to suggest changing someone in my definite list. Thank you!
I would keep Altherr and Pence or Granderson and try to deal Vizcaino for a position of need. Viz is cheap in an NL keeper.
15 Team Mixed 5×5 Standard Categories. Keep 7, values as of 2016. Who gets the boot? 1 C, 5 OFs, MI/CI/UTIL, 8 P.
Donaldson $12
Pollock $12
Carrasco $16
Odor $10
Fowler $1
Wade Davis $5
Cody Allen $5
Schwarber $4
Corbin $5
Rizzo $42
Thanks!
$260 Budget. Sorry
Donaldson $12
Pollock $12
Carrasco $16
Schwarber $4
Odor $10
Wade Davis $5
Corbin $5
I’d consider Rizzo over Corbin if you think he’ll go for more than $42 in the actual draft. That seems pretty high though.
Locked in on keeping Donaldson, Bautista, Correa, and Chris Davis in a 5×5 with OPS league but who would you keep between Kuechel, DeGrom, and Harvey as my SP1? Redraft league.
did you expect 300 responses in one day?
Hi Brad, I have Sano and Burns each at $5 in an AL only keeper. I traded them both for Donaldson, did I over value Donaldson coming off his career year?
I think you did, yes. What is Donaldson’s salary?
Donaldsonis is only $10
In a 20 team 18+ keeper league with standard 5×5 scoring with TB and OPS added to offense and L and HLD’s for pitching, each player kept beyond the first 18 costs a draft pick starting with your first. I’m down to my 18th keeper and I’m torn between my only RL starting 3B in Pablo Sandoval (I have Gallo as well, but I have no idea where he starts the year) and keeping Justin Verlander.
Hi Brad,
I am in a ten team keeper league where we keep 8 guys. A little torn on the last spot or two – please let me know your thoughts.
Trout
Abreu
Scherzer
Price
Rendon
Betts
Keuchel
Carrasco
Soler
Andrew Miller
Heyward
Of these guys I’m leaning on moving on from Miller, Keuchel and Heyward. I tend to keep offense over pitching if all things are equal. I appreciate your help!
you have to keep Keuchel.
Scherzer is a better pitcher though, and he has to keep Trout if there’s no penalty for doing so or crazy salary attached.
hi raygu –
do you like keuchel that much more than carrasco? I really like the high k/9 of carrasco and am not totally sold on keuchel maintaining his ace status (I know his peripherals and everything just personal opinion). there is no penalty for keeping trout and there aren’t escalating clauses or anything. thanks for your help guys!
Carrasco is interesting, but honestly, I prefer reliability to upside when it comes to pitching. Maybe Scherzer regresses a bit from last year, but in the last four years, he’s posted truly elite K/9’s, he’s averaged over 212 IP, posted sub 3 ERA’s twice, and should be playing in front of a better defense than last year (Espinoza is a much better defensive SS than Desmond), and his team is projected for the playoffs. Carrasco is a guy that we don’t even know if he will pitch over 200 IP because he’s never done it over the course of a full season (though he did manage 194 IP between AAA and MLB in 2010). My vote goes strongly towards the elite workhorse rather than the upside guy, and Trout it is a no brainer still.
stuck in a slump – i am hearing you on keuchel’s durability and his ability to throw a lot of innings. i also value that in my pitching as well and feel i have (as much as you can have with starting pitching) predictability with price and scherzer already being horses. i also really value k/9 with my starters. is keuchel’s durability worth more than carrasco’s strike out upside, that’s my basic conundrum. also soler over heyward am i insane? i really like soler moving forward.
also keeping trout, yeah, he’s pretty good i think i guess i’ll keep him around haha
So much of Heyward’s value is tied into his defense. Perhaps he’ll run more, maybe he’ll pop a few more HR’s, but he’ll also be playing an not-completely-familiar position in a new park with a new contract, those things don’t always equal offensive problems, but they seem to induce problems in some.
I just feel that his value for fantasy is much lower than his MLB contract. Sure, he could show us all that power stroke that we all thought he’d have, but maybe not. Soler has his warts too, but the power upside at this point is undeniable. It depends on what you need/want and how stable your offense looks. If you need stability and value multi-cat production, even if it’s not a ton in each, then Heyward is the obvious choice. If you feel that your baseline is high enough, then perhaps gambling on huge power upside is worth it, but you may have to ride out bad slumps, and low AVG that may cost some of the RBI’s that you’d hope would come with Soler’s power.
Personally, I lean towards Heyward, but can see a serious case made for going Soler over him depending on your needs and projected numbers from the other categories.
As for Keuchel vs Carrasco, it’s a similar conundrum. You’re looking at upside vs steady, if not overwhelming production. I don’t know if Keuchel will keep the strike outs that he gained last year, but I lean towards Steamer on him in that we just don’t have enough information to rule out some regression. Carrasco has produced truly elite K/9’s the last two years and is suddenly living up to the hype that he carried when he was traded to the Indians. The Indians will also be fielding a much better defense for a full season (thanks to Urshela, Lindor, and Napoli) which should help him with his over 50% GB rate. I can’t imagine that he’ll keep giving up HR/FB at a 13% clip, so there is some additional upside there. If you’re comfortable with Price and Scherzer’s steadiness, then I’d suggest Carrasco as the projected 188 IP from him should be more valuable than Keuchel’s projected 212. I don’t mind using pitcher fWAR for fantasy purposes as it factors in heavily on K’s and IP, and Steamer has Keuchel and Carrasco tied with 4.8 fWAR. So again, it’s about what you’re comfortable with and what you need, but it sounds like Carrasco is a better fit.
Slump – thanks so much for your full analysis I really appreciate your effort that went into this!
Hey Brad, thanks for doing this.
Already have Correa as a 10th rounder, and Keuchel as a 9th rounder.
Do I keep Hosmer in the 8th or Greinke in the 3rd for my final keeper?
Trea Turner, Marcus Stroman or Conforto?
Already keeping McCutcheon, Baustista, Betts and Pollock in the OF. Keeping Jose Fernandez, Kluber, Syndergaard and Rodon in the rotation. No shortstop at the moment. Leaning Turner, but not sure how long it’s going to take him to get the call.
Forgot to mention this is an OBP league.
Do not take Conforto. The Mets have nothing in the lineup around him.
Hello,
12 team, custom points, top 40 pitchers are generally valued about 2-3 rounds better than standard leagues. Three spots locked in with Sano, Springer and Salazar for cheap.
Will be able to keep each twice, subtracting 2 rounds for 2017. Need three more of:
Bogaerts 7th
Conforto 14th
Matz 14th
Severino 14th
Eduardo Rod 14th
Mccullers 14th
Taijuan 12th
Xander, Walker, McCullers.
12-team mixed 5×5 H2H, keep 4 forever at no cost.
I own:
Betts, Bogaerts, Abreu, Sano, Puig, Strasburg, C. Seager
I’m planning to keep the first four. Does that seem right? Thanks!
7×7 – R/HR/RBI/SB/OBP/SLG/K & W/L/ERA/WHIP/K/HLD/NSV
12 team league – Keep 7 forever with no restrictions – 2 Utility Spots
Right now I am planning to keep:
1B – Goldschmidt
2B – Altuve
OF – Stanton
OF – Pollock
SS – Tulowitzki
SP – deGrom
The challenge comes with selecting one of the following pitchers:
Dallas Keuchel
King Felix
Carlos Carrasco
Do I consider not keeping Tulowitzki to keep 2 of these pitchers?
Right now I am leaning Keuchel, putting Felix and Carrasco back into the draft, but I am very uncertain.
Personally, I think Tulo beats his Steamer projection slightly in R and RBI, and his past would indicate that he clobbers the projection for his AVG. This would keep him as an elite SS and a plus fantasy asset regardless as to position. Keuchel’s K/9 is not quite elite, and last year was his first time posting above average K/9. If you want reliability, go with Hernandez, if you want upside, go with Carrasco, but you’re not likely to get Tulo’s production out of SS unless you can swing a Correa trade, and pitcher injuries claim more of a season of them than position player injuries. I’d lean towards keeping Tulowitzki and maybe taking a pitcher with your first pick.
5×5 auction keeper NL only 15 keepers, 6 minor leaguers
I have Peraza($3) and Seager($8) waiting in the wings. Would you activate players like this immediately or draft $1 players to save some cap money? My SS is Trea Turner for $10 and 2B is Wong for $16.
10 team NL Only 5×5 Auction $260
I know I’m keeping Posey ($20), Jhonny Peralta ($10), Dickerson ($8), Yelich ($15), Granderson ($5)
I have control of Odubel Herrera and Josh Harrison at $5 each, am I crazy for wanting to keep them both? I mean we are looking at 2 leadoff hitters who qualify at multiple positions. At their prices only 1 of them has to work out for me to hit value. But I think the chances of them being worth $10-15 is the same as their chances of being worth $0.
Convince me to keep 1- both -or none.
I have to keep 12 guys, no more, or less. Its a 6×6, head to head weekly league that favors batters that exhibit extra base hits and pitchers with high strikeouts.
My options are:
Buxton, Carlos Correa, Corey Dickerson, Edwin Ecarnacion, Maikel Franco, Carlos Gomez, Matt Kemp, Lucroy, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Seager, Jorge Soler, Chris Archer, Yu Darvish, Wade Davis, Greinke, Felix Hernandez, Lance McCullers, Julio Urias, Marcus Stroman.
10 team league, no penalties for keepers. Trying to balance being competitive this year while not mortgaging the kids of the future off with much regret.
6×6 – OPS an QS league. Keep 6 Forever. Already decided to keep: Correa, Betts, Votto, and Greinke. Help me fill in my last two spots: Heyward, Cain, Keuchel, Buxton.
Def Keuchel. The other three are a tossup.
12 team H2H league. Auction league. $240 budget. Can keep up to 8 keepers. This is the 2nd year.
Potential Keepers
Carlos Carrasco – $15
Charlie Blackmon – $22
Yoenis Cespedes – $24
Gregory Polanco – $6
Addison Russell – $5
Maikel Franco – $5
Marcus Stroman – $5
Shelby Miller – $6
Fringe List
Alex Rodriguez – $5
Kolten Wong – $18
Billy Hamilton – $24
Joey Gallo – $5
Alex Geurrero – $5
Michael Conforto – $5
Randel Grichuk – $5
Garrett Richards – $10
Francisco Liriano – $5
I would want to keep Conforto and Grichuk (assuming he is healthy, [particularly the elbow) and so I’d bump Miller and Cespedes (or Blackmon if he’s traded or you don’t need the steals).
Considering that premium guys go for a pretty penny. I thought holding Blackmon for $22 would be a steal if he truly is a top 25 talent. I can see both Blackmon and Cespedes going for $30+ in my league considering past draft patterns.
No faith in Miller? or do you think there is more upside in conforto and grichuk?
There is some playing time risk with Grichuk even if healthy, given the potential OF rotation in STL.
I have faith in Grichuk & Conforto but in a 12 team mixed league, maybe the perceived value at auction of ~20 HR guys is not high — but I like their bats enough to value them over Miller (figuring I can find a pitcher who will perform similarly for the same low price).
Blackmon has been incredible the last 2 years, keeping a higher hard contact percentage. He’s a keeper so long as he doesn’t get traded out of Colorado.
Cespedes should have higher run production than Conforto and Grichuk but the price difference is too great to keep him over the other two IMHO.
12 teams h2h 5×5 with obp instead of avg and quality starts instead of wins, keep 9 forever.
For sure keepers:
Goldschmidt
Correa
Machado
Springer
J. Fernandez
Players I’d like to keep if I can’t trade them for draft picks (can keep 5 of these, ordered by preference):
Sale
Upton
Pederson
Hosmer
Odor
Dozier
Salazar
Lorenzo Cain
Dickerson
My league is pretty trade averse, I’ve only gotten bites on sale and Dozier but may have better luck closer to the draft.
My question:
I’m drafting 2nd to last and have a feeling that whomever I drop will be taken before I get a chance to redraft them. Is it better to trade someone like sale to keep a hosmer and better my draft position, out just keep the better player?
I’m in a 10 team keeper league where each team can keep up to 4 players. In the next season’s draft, a kept player is technically drafted one round earlier than they were before, so if I keep a guy who in 2015 was drafted in the 6th round, I’ll use a 5th round pick on him this year.
I can keep Addison Russell in the 2nd to last round and Stephen Piscotty in the last round. Am I crazy to do that over keeping Carlos Gomez in the 11 round and/or Donaldson in the 2nd?
12 team league. OPS instead of Avg.
i can keep 6 and i’m keeping:
Pujols
Altuve
Cruz
Bautista
Scherzer
Question is Brantley. is he keeperable? in another words, worth of a 6th round draft choice? or go leave him off?
12 team H2H Standard Yahoo scoring:
Keep 5 + 1 Rookie (less than 200 games for position player or less than 30 games for pitcher) of:
Altuve
Betts
Dickerson
Heyward
Posey
Puig
Stanton
Arrieta
Kluber
Syndegaard
I’m thinking Posey, Stanton, Altuve, Puig, Arrieta, Betts (R)…but I have no idea what to do really.
I asked earlier about trading Sale and Carrasco for more years of Sonny and Archer. What specifically makes you so leery of Sonny?
Ottoneu Fan Graphs Points format: Keep Jake Odorizzi at $5? I already am planning to keep Jose Fernandez ($28), Jake Arrieta ($25), David Price ($21), Chris Archer ($21), and Danny Salazar ($6).
This is great.
12 tm Roto League. Keepers can only be kept for a max of 2 times and no one from the first five rounds of the draft. No money or draft picks are attached.
Categories are 8 x 8 (standard 5×5 plus OPS, BB, offensive Ks, QS, Hlds, and K/BB).
Positions are standard plus MiF, CiF, 4 OF, 1 UTil. 3 SP, 3 RP, and 3 other Pitchers.
Need to keep four (with the number of years I can keep them for in parens.
K. Schwarber (2)
N. Walker (2)
B. Crawford (2)
Jhonny Peralta (2)
Hosmer (2)
Polanco (1)
Fowler (2)
Yelich (2)
Conforto (2)
Rendon (1)
Soler (1)
Happ (2)
Harvey (1)
Shelby Miller (2)
Wacha (2)
Tyson Ross (1)
I definitely prefer keeping position players over pitchers (stream relatively well), but think Harvey is probably a must keep. I’m leaning towards: Schwarber, Rendon, Harvey and probably Polanco (some personal bias in that one).
And perhaps a permanent Roto Keeper Help feature in RotoGraphs.
Brad, much thanks for taking the time to read through all of these and give thoughtful answers.
Do I keep Kipnis for $10 in a 6×6 H2H keeper league with a $260 budget?
Thanks, Brad – I have a 10 team, mix, 8 player keeper league (can keep forever). Here’s my list:
Bryce Harper
Chris Davis
Yasiel Puig
Felix Hernandez
Carlos Carrasco
Byron Buxton
Choose two of:
Michael Brantley (injury scares me), Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, Marcus Stroman, Hanley Ramirez, Jason Kipnis
You already have four OF eligibles with Davis likely having it. Beltre is old and suffered injuries last year, might not be the safest keep. Ortiz should be retiring at the end of next year, so anyone that you would want to keep for the upside might be better. I’d take Stroman and Kipnis since Ramirez was such a mess last year and you might be able to redraft Brantley given the price of his injury on his ADP.
I am going to need some help with this after my disastrous decision last year to keep Rendon over Donaldson. I have been runner up 3 years in a row now and it has to change!
2 keepers total:
-Altuve
-Freeman
-Votto
-Braun
-Arrieta
-Kluber
-Fernandez
I have an idea of who it should be but please weigh in!
Gotta go with Altuve and Arrieta
12 team 5×5 – Keep 4 with the corresponding draft rounds in parentheses:
Donaldson (2)
Kershaw (1)
Trout (3)
Betts (10)
Sano (12)
Chris Davis (4)
Jose Fernandez (8)
Darvish (12)
10 team, 8×8 league, H2H, 1 win.
Additional categories are Hitting: H, K, BB. Pitching: L, H, BB.
Need to decide one more keeper from the following (round in parenthesis)
Votto(3)
Puig(7)
W Davis(10) Typically wouldn’t consider a closer (or SP), but additional cats favor relievers soo much. Thanks!
I can keep 6. I’m pretty confident of 5.
I’m down to Dozier or Kang. Kang’s salary is $4. Dozier is $26.
Kang seems like the right pick. Upside. I’ll have him for years at a rock bottom price if he pans out. But Dozier is a pretty unique blend of power and speed at that position…..
Otteneu Points league, my team isn’t likely to compete this year: 4$ Brandon Finnegan or 3$ Rubby De La Rosa
Hey Brad,
Not sure youll make it down this far, but I have a keeper Philosophy question for you. At what point do you keep talent over value? Using my circumstances. 12 team $280. Scherzer for $26 Degrom $8. Thank you for answering all our questions!
I’m in an ESPN 12 team 6 keeper H2H points league (mostly basic settings other than walks being +3 and strikeouts being -3 for hitters, W/L/QS major factors for SP). My keepers currently are Sale (28.5 AVG), Carrasco (23.3 AVG), Kluber (22.8 AVG), Keuchel (29.3 AVG), Tanaka (24 AVG) and Encarnacion (6.7 AVG) but have Braun (5.2), Freeman (4.4), Beltre (5.3) and Zobrist (5.4) sitting on my bench able to be kept as well. I’ve got an offer for my Keuchel for his Corey Seager, who is MiLB eligible and therefore able to be kept on my minors roster OR My Keuchel and Swansby for his Sonny Gray (23.6) and Corey Seager. Do either of these deals make sense with who’s able to be kept on my bench, or Gray substituting Keuchels keeper spot?
12 Team H2H league, 6×6 (standard cats + OPS and QS), five keepers with four year max contracts.
Keeper valuation goes up 3 draft rounds for Round 10-FA, 1 draft round for Rounds 1-9. I’ll have pick #10 in the first round this year. I finished third last year, but my pitching was rotten and leaves me little value worth keeping at price.
Need five of the following (2016 draft value; years of keeper eligibility remaining):
Goldschmidt (Round 1; 1)
Altuve (Round 3; 2)
Donaldson (Round 4; 2)
Puig (Round 8; 1)
Dickerson (Round 18; 2)
Bryant (Round 19; 2)
Darvish (Round 19; 3)
Wade Davis (Round 20; 3)
Corey Seager (Round 21; 3)
Giles (Round 21; 3)
I’ve never kept an RP, and probably won’t this year either. I’m not sure what to make of Darvish, Seager seems like a long-term investment, and Puig and Dickerson project to be the same player at different price points. Therefore I’m considering keeping all hitters with Goldschmidt, Altuve, Donaldson, Dickerson, and Bryant and praying for better luck in the draft with pitching this year. Am I crazy?
H2H Points league with 12 teams. We can keep 6 veterns and any rookie (15 minor league roster per team). I have 5 veterns already on contract but need to choose a 6th since I have an opening. I am struggling because I should probably keep a pitcher but Pullock is almost too good to pass up on. Let me know what you think. Thank you!
Keeper Options
AJ Pollock
D Keuchel
M Wacha
C Carrasco
C Hamels
Current Keepers
M Trout
B Posey
E Encarnacion
T Tulowitzki
A Chapman
Rookie Keepers
C Seager
F Lindor
D Santana
R Castillo
K Giles
T Walker
Wont be able to trade anyone before the draft or else Tulo could be a good chip. I am leaning towards Pollock but would have no SP keepers besides T Walker. Whoever I choose can be kept for 4 years and potentially 8.
Wow there are a lot of comments to this. I’m in a 18-team, H2H league with 6 MLB keepers with no cost attached and no limits on how many years we can keep one player. I’m typically in the top 3 in final standings every year, so I’m aiming to win now but also keep my team competitive in future years.
I’m trying to choose 6 of the following players:
Giancarlo Stanton
Freddie Freeman
Manny Machado
JD Martinez
Miguel Sano
Carlos Gomez
Kyle Schwarber
Max Scherzer
Sonny Gray
Dallas Keuchel
Danny Salazar
Dellin Betances
I’m for sure keeping Stanton, Scherzer and Machado but the final 3 I’m struggling with.
My league is pretty “dumb” when it comes to player value and I think I could grab guys like Salazar and Gomez fairly easily in the draft. Maybe Betances too. Schwarber’s value is pretty tied to his Catcher eligibility so that’s the driving factor for me on whether I keep him, which leaves the following:
Freeman
JD Martinez
Gray
Keuchel
Sano
H2H 10 Team League, Keep 5 which are taken in rounds 1-5 of the draft.
I won last year off the strength of my offense and am forced to put Strasburg back into the pool as I’ve maxed out on contract years with him.
I’m planning on keeping 5 bats, so I need to decide who; but am also curious your thoughts if “all Bats” is the right strategy considering my options. Here are my options.
Bats:
B Harper
A Rizzo
J Altuve
C Correa
M Machado
J Abreu
C Blackmon
Arms:
C Carrasco
G Richards
N Sydergaard
D Salazar
M Wacha
M Stroman
10 – team NL Only 5×5 Roto. 23 man roster with 17 man reserve. Keep 5 – 10. 260 auction budget. $5 yoy inflation.
Thinking about keeping the following. Prices would be for this year.
Harper – $38
Rizzo – $30
Schwarber – $20
Polanco – $19
Kang – $10
Turner – $10
Cole – $22
Melancon – $14
on the fence about Cueto at $28. Also have Jumbo Diaz at $6. Waiting to see how that situation develops, though I imagine Hoover gets the first shot.
Am I committing too much salary?
I would not keep Cueto. Even without him you are committing to a lot of salary.
As good as Turner is, I would not keep him. Kang is debatable too as he will miss some time. His return could be delayed.
What would Polanco go for at auction?
It’s a great core but you’ll have to get some bargains since most of your keepers are not too far under inflated value, right?
H2H points league can keep 2:
Arrieta – round 6
Votto – round 7
JFernandez – round 11
Syndergaard – round 25
I’m leaning Arrieta and Syndergaard due to Fernandez injury concern (last year’s biceps/potential shoulder issue)
Thanks Brad and everyone
Definitely Syndergaard and I’d consider Votto. I had him in a pts last year and he was the 10th highest scorer. 1st base is quietly looking thin this year and if your league has a CI it will be even more so. The profit margin is higher if you keep Fern, and some of the risk of injury is mitigated by the 11th round price. I tend to be more conservative though. Pitching is deep and you’re getting a borderline Ace for peantus in Thor.
NL 12 team 6×6 league with OBP instead of AVG, plus SLG & IP
Can keep 3:
Arrieta 24 (2016 & 2017)
Harvey 8 (last year)
Jose Fernandez 11 (2016 & 2017)
Grichuk 4 (2016 & 2017)
Who would you leave out?
Thanks to everyone for participating!
Lost Grichuk for Sure. The K wont play with a normal babip. If not him then Harvey has the least surplus value.
I can only keep 1:
Your mom
Your Sister
Kris Bryant
Mixed League – standard 5×5 (except we use TB and OBP instead of HR and AVG): Need 5 of 7:
Votto – lock – given OBP
Gordon – lock – given position and steals
Edwin – near lock – extremely consistent
Chris Davis – ? – only 1st and OF eligible
Lorenzo Cain – ? = more valuable in a TB league – 25ish steals with his other stats very valuable.
Cruz – ? -career years in slugging and OBP – not sure that continues next year (despite consistent 2 years at DH without major injury – NO JINX)
Grienke – ? – move to Arz slight concern – plus K ratio is not elite – thinking I can build a staff without him.
Thoughts?
Read more: http://razzball.com/lance-mccullers-2016-fantasy-sleeper/#ixzz3wPL9zdBs
Corey Dickerson or Michael Conforto as a 10th keeper in a 5×5 roto. Or Joey Gallo?
Ottoneu 5×5
Keep/Cut; planning to contend this year but with 40 man rosters my teams positional needs means little to me. Thanks so much for doing this!
Francisco Cervelli C $4
Joe Panik 2B $5
Jhonny Peralta SS $7
Josh Harrison 2B/3B/OF $6
Jorge Soler OF $14
Ben Revere OF $11
Eddie Rosario OF $6
Lucas Duda 1B $8
Jose Peraza 2B $4
Neil Walker 2B $10
Carlos Gomez OF $32
Dalton Pompey OF $6
Aroldis Chapman RP $23
Glen Perkins RP $17
Santiago Casilla RP $9
Julio Urias SP $6
Alex Cobb RP $9
Brett Anderson SP $4
12 team H2H league. 6 X 6 (OPS and Holds are the extra categories), currently 3 OF, but may be expanding to 4 or 5 OFs. I can keep four forever. Thanks.
Goldschmidt
S. Marte
L. Cain
Puig
Dickerson
Bogaerts
G. Cole
Kluber
We use an interesting contract system in 10 team AL only league where once a contract expires other teams can offer contract to other players on your team and then you can match if you want or let them go to other team. Each team gets two franchise tags to prevent players from getting competing offers and a each team has a max of 35 years. Defending champ won’t be able to protect Danny Salazar and he will be $6 next year (260 cap). Was thinking of offering 5 years. which would mean I would get him for $6 then +$5 each year on out till end of contract. Only downside to me is TJ risk but getting a K per inning guy on a good team seems like a good risk. Since owner can match you have to at least offer enough years to make owner think twice about matching and 5 should do it. Is Danny Salazar worth the risk (If I had to waive him each year of contract would be $5 penalty)?
Thanks in advance, Brad — I feel a little bad asking for advice here since there are SO MANY people also doing so, but here goes…
Can keep 7 players at the round they were drafted in (or for those picked up off waivers, b/w a 5th and 10th depending on price). I’m definitely keeping the following 5:
Sale – 7th
Goldschmidt – 8th
Bryant – 10th
Carrasco – 11th
Harvey – 14th
But struggling over the last two. Options are:
Bumgarner – 2nd
Chris Davis – 7th
Carlos Gonzalez – 8th
Rendon – 9th
Thanks again!
I should probably add: 5×5 roto, 10 teams. I have no 7th rounder but two 8ths and trades are allowed. If you don’t have the appropriate round pick you use your next highest.
Thanks for creating this. Great resource.
League is 12 team, H2H points, unlimited number of keepers. $260 budget. Players can be kept up to 4 years with $5 added to the salary for each additional year they are kept.
Pitchers get a premium based on the scoring system. For starters, Innings and Ks score points as do QS. BBIs, ERs, HAs, HBs and Ls all cost points.
At these prices for next year, do any of these starting pitchers make sense to keep to cycle through the bottom of my rotation:
Bauer ($6)
Eovaldi ($2)
Gausman ($4)
Hammel ($5)
Tillman ($1)
I’m leaning towards keeping Eovaldi and Gausman.
Thanks.
Brad,
I’m in a 10-team 6×6 (OBP and Holds) H2H league. I can keep up to 5 players. Any less and I get comp picks at the beginning of the draft. I have a lot of young talent, need help figuring it out.
3 no-doubters:
Goldy
Machado
Betts
Pick 2:
Schwarber
Xander
Dickerson
Gomez
Puig
Jose Fernandez
Thanks for your help!
I’d keep Jose Fernandez and Carlos Gomez. Good team.
12 team, 5×5 ottoneu league.
Abreu $43
Puig $30
Pence $29
Ortiz $28
Trumbo $23
Liriano $20
Ottavino $3
Yes or no on each, Thanks.
Keep any 3 in perpetuity: Stanton, McCutchen, Arenado, Bryant (who is OF eligible).
Crazy to cut McCutchen loose?
Cut Cutch and Giancarlo, keep Bryant and Buxton.
Standard mixed 5×5 roto – 10 team, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, 5OF, U, 9P
Keep 3:
Posey – $20
Betts – $16
Blackmon – $4
Yelich $2
Eaton $3
K. Giles $1
Thanks!
I can keep one more hitter…
Beltre
Longoria
Ozuna or
Shaw
I don’t have a 3B on roster yet, but I’m not worried about that, just want the best hitter long term. Any info appreciated, thanks in advance.
In a 12 team auction league with AVG, HR, R, RBI, SB and OPS, how much would you value Prince Fielder? I am debating him as my last keeper at $24 and I wonder if it is an overpay or just right – looking to fill my Util slot – thanks!
Any thoughts on Grilli, Uehara, Hunter Strickland, and Wilhemsen in a 18 team Solds league?
Can keep 4, all available for very low-round draft picks. Draft pick cost moves “up” two rounds each year. Points league. Thanks for any advice:
Dee Gordon
Xander Bogaerts
Miguel Sano
Maikel Franco
Joc Pederson
Corey Seager
Trea Turner
Taijuan Walker
Andrew Heaney
Aaron Nola
Carlos Rodon
Julio Urias
Corey Seager LT Value?!
11 team, keep as many as you want, standard 5×5, mixed, standard size league. Has a lot of FA inflation given keeper max rules. I have Corey Seager, and his rookie $1 contract is expiring. I can sign him long-term, but contract AAV escalates by $3/yr based on tenor. So 3yrs would be $10/yr. Max deal is 6yrs at $19/yr. Contracts can be dumped at penalty of $/10(rounded down)*yrs left. So not fun, but not brutal unless contract is long or expensive. Total budget: $264.
The question: how many years do you give Corey? Ie. 3/$10, 4/$13, etc…
6×6 10 man keeper league, able to keep up to 7 players.
Set on correa, abreu, g. cole, betts, springer.
between sano, bautista, strasburg for last two spots.
cheers
12-team 6×6 roto keeper league (OBP rather than AVE, extra categories are SLG, INN). Assume a two-round draft pick penalty per year kept. Can keep up to 5, and I need advice on my 5th keeper option:
Keepers (keeper round this year):
Syndergaard (8th)
Rizzo (9th)
Bogaerts (13th)
Cain (17th)
Options:
Kluber (4th)
K. Jansen (10th)
Hosmer (12th)
Thanks!
I am in an 11 Team 5×5 Fantasy League. Not to be cocky, but I’ve had a really good team the last few years, finishing in the money 4 years in a row, including winning it all 3 seasons ago and just missing it in 2014. I finished 3rd in 2015. Unfortunately, my players’ salaries are starting to increase and I am wondering if I am starting to hamstring myself with filling out the rest of my roster during auction. We can keep 10 with either a $4 increase (with at least a 2 year contract) or $5 increase (for a year to year decision).
My 8 definite keepers (with 2016 $$):
1B Encarnacion $20 (2016 is last year of contract)
3B Frazier $13 (2016 is last year of contract)
OF McCutchen $30 (2016 is last year of contract)
OF Stanton $26 (to be contracted starting in 2016)
OF Trout $17 (2016 is last year of contract)
SP Kershaw $34
SP Sale $18 (to be contracted starting in 2016)
SP Carrasco $11 (to be contracted starting in 2016)
Possibilities for #9 and #10:
C Well. Castillo $6
3B Carpenter $14
OF Puig $14 (potential for so much more than he has performed so far)
OF Gardner $11 (I have no speed so that is why I consider him)
OF Fowler $6 (see Gardener comment)
OF K. Davis $7
SP Stroman $6
Do I keep McCutchen at $30? Who do I keep at #9 and #10?
Thanks for your advice!
Out of these 8 I can keep 6:
Carlos Correa – Lock
Manny Machado – Lock
Kyle Schwarber – Lock
Zack Greinke
Xander Bogaerts
Steven Matz
Christian Yelich
Marcus Stroman
Which six do I keep?
Given those options, not Matz or Yelich, especially if only for 2016.
14 team, H2H, standard points. Up to 5 keepers, you lose 1 round per keeper, in order in the draft.
Potential keepers ranked in the order I am thinking. Let me know if you agree or think I am missing something here.
1. Josh Donaldson
2. Jake Arrieta
3. A.J. Pollock
4. Adrian Gonzalez
5. Jason Kipnis
———————–
6. Miguel Sano
7. Joc Pederson
8. Hanley Ramirez
I know most would have Sano over Kipnis, but I think the position eligibility is going to kill me unless Sano becomes an OFer. Right now he is UTIL only, but even if you gains 3B, I have Donaldson. Thoughts?
10 team, 6×6 (OPS,K/BB). I can keep 8 of the following. Stanton, Rizzo, DeGrom, Bogaerts + 4 more… Thank you!
Giancarlo Stanton Mia – OF
Anthony Rizzo ChC – 1B
Jacob deGrom NYM – SP
Xander Bogaerts Bos – 3B,SS
Carlos Rodon CWS – SP,RP
Danny Salazar Cle – SP
Garrett Richards LAA – SP
Marcus Stroman Tor – SP,RP
Kyle Schwarber ChC – C,OF
Kyle Seager Sea – 3B
Rougned Odor Tex – 2B
Andrew Miller NYY – RP
Dellin Betances NYY – RP
Wil Myers SD – 1B,OF
Stephen Piscotty StL – 1B,OF
Yoan Moncada Bos – 2B
Kole Calhoun LAA – OF
10 team OBP league. 5×5
Can keep 5 guys total (doesnt matter if pitchers or position players)
Who to keep? These are the only players I am considering.
Paul Goldschmidt
Joey Votto
Giancarlo Stanton
Carlos Correa
AJ Pollack
Michael Brantley
Dallas Keuchel
Jacob deGrom.
Obviously I’m going to go ahead and keep Goldschmidt, Votto, and Stanton. Who are my other 2? I’m leaning with Correa as my 4th, but not sure if I should go all Offense and keep Pollack, or go with one of my two stud pitchers. Any help is appreciated.
H2H points league – Bryant (round 9), Betts (round 14), or Schwarber (round 14)?
I’m in a 10-team keeper league where each team can keep 13 out of 25 players based on auction price. Additionally, after two years of being kept, players are either extended (salary is original salary + 5 * years extended) or kept for one more year at the same price.
I am keeping the following players:
Rizzo (29- extended through 2018)
Billy Hamilton (19- extended through 2018)
Scherzer (19)
Bumgarner (18)
JD Martinez (16- extended through 2018)
Davis (12)
Hosmer (10)
Dozier (6)
Sano (4)
Carlos Rodon (4)
Addison Russell (4)
Carlos Martinez (1)
I have two more spots. Here are my options:
Kershaw (39)
Tulowitzki (27)
Carrasco (20)
Dozier (6)
Eduardo Rodriguez (4)
Bird (1)
I’m not sure if I should stack my pitching with Kershaw/Carrasco, Bum, and Scherzer, keep a premier, yet expensive, middle infielder, or go a cheaper route with Dozier, E-Rod, or Bird. Tell me what you think.
16-team dynasty – simply keep 15
OBP, R, RBI, SB, TB
W, QS, SV, K, WHIP
José Bautista
Mookie Betts
Paul Goldschmidt
Matt Holliday
Matt Kemp
Manny Machado
David Ortiz
Hanley Ramírez
Josh Reddick
Carlos Santana
Jayson Werth
Brad Boxberger
Andrew Cashner
Aroldis Chapman
Jaime García
Garrett Richards
Joakim Soria
Drew Storen
Jacob deGrom
12 team 6×6 H2H league. Keep 4 players. Get to keep player the round they were drafted and have unlimited control in that round for future years.
Strasburg 22
Schwarber 24
Votto 25
Sano 23
Thor 26
Betts 12
Goldschmidt 21
I inherited an abandoned Keeper league team last year and ended up with the following roster. 12 teams C,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF,OF,OF,UTIL,UTIL SP, SP, RP, RP, Px4, Bench x8. The stat categories are a little… odd. R, HR, RBI, SB, OBP, Fielding% W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, HR. We can keep up to 9. I was thinking the first 9 on the list.
K-Joey Votto
K-Jon Lester
K-Jason Heyward
K-Chris Davis
K-J.D. Martinez
K-Andrew Miller
K-Dustin Pedroia
K-Raisel Iglesias
K-Rougned Odor
Brad Boxberger
Evan Gattis
Elvis Andrus
Randal Grichuk
Michael Wacha
Roberto Osuna
Carter Capps
Ian Desmond
Michael Brantley
Logan Forsythe
Luis Severino
Shawn Tolleson
J.A. Happ
Stephen Piscotty
Kevin Siegrist
Carson Smith
Javier Baez
Thanks for this by the way.
Hey Brad – in a 16-team, traditional 5×5 H2H dynasty league. Keep forever. No contracts or salaries. Finished 4th last year and have a good mix of young guys (Schwarber, Salazar, Odor, etc) and veterans (Fielder, JD Martinez, Lester, etc). I’m thin on Top 100 prospects with Devers, K.Zimmer, and Verdugo as my top 3 guys. I have the 12th pick in the draft. I need to cut 3 guys from the following list:
Arodys Vizcaino
Derek Dietrich
Chris Heston
Colin Rea
Zach Davies
Travis Shaw
Enrique Hernandez
Michael Chavis
Courtney Hawkins
Thank you!
Hey,
I have an auction budget of $278. Is David Ortiz too expensive at $10?
I need to keep 4,(AL-NL,16team, H-2-H) K.Bryant, Joc Pederson, Schwarber, Addison Russell, Freddie Freeman, Billy Hamilton, Michael Conforto.
No idea if anyone is still answering these, but I’m in a 12-team keeper league with six keepers. Trout, Rizzo, Springer and Kluber are locked in. I’m looking to pick 2 from the following players:
Felix Hernandez (First Round)
Starlin Castro (Round 11)
Jake Odorizzi (Round 14)
Travis D’Arnaud (second-to-last round)
Randal Grichuk (last round)
David Peralta (last round)
Maikel Franco (last round)
Taijuan Walker (last round)
I’m leaning towards D’Arnaud and maybe Odorizzi, but I have no idea about anyone else. I feel like I need to keep another pitcher but I’m not psyched about giving up my second round pick for Felix after the season he had last year. Anyway, categories are standard 7×7 and lineups are set daily.
In a keeper league with Quality Starts and Complete Games as categories, should I keep DeGrom or Keuchel?
Brad-
Happy New Fantasy Year! Trying to capture the elusive flag. 16 team 5×5 roto, 16 teamer with 3 keepers and round for 2016.
I draft next to last 15,[and 18] etc in snake. Have 2 set- Harper [10], Bryant [16], need a last one from:
Cole [6]
Hosmer [10]
Odor [17]
C.Martinez [20]
Mesoraco [21]
Inciarte [22]
My impression: Cole is best choice, but either Odor- at weak 2B or Martinez- pitchre friendly park and division offer best value but least consistency. Your thoughts?
Tough situation with my keeper selections. 10 team H2H with 6 keepers taking up 1st 6 rounds with no limit on years kept. Here are my options after winning it all last year:
Kris Bryant
Anthony Rizzo
Nolan Arenado
Mookie Betts
Corey Seager
Max Scherzer
Miguel Sano
Jake Arrieta
Noah Syndergaard
All opinions welcomed!
Bryant, Rizzo, Arenado, Betts, Scherzer, Arrieta.
Thanks! I was leaning that way as well but considered Syndergaard for the long-term instead of Max or Arrieta
Guys, I’m in a 16 team 5×5 h2h league, we can keep 3 players. I’ve got Tulo, marte, Harvey, as my keepers currently. My other options are Chris Davis, Jason heyward, or Ryan Braun,
Can only keep 5.
Schwarber $6
Correa $6
Arenado $18
Sano $6
Decision: Dee Gordon $9 or Syndergaard $6?? Leaning Syndergaard because I can keep him for 4 years vs 1 year for Gordon, and $6 for a SP3 is a good value—-but $9 for a top second baseman is also a good value…tough decision.
Thank you