This is part of a two-part series designed to help Fantasy Baseball fans determine on what fantasy rankings and projections to rely. The first part will cover Rankings. The second part will cover Projections. The methodology for the test relies on comparing Razzball Commenter League team drafts (576 teams in 2012 across 48 12-Team MLB leagues using ESPN’s default 5×5 format) and their end of season point totals. Background on the methodology can be found here.
Please, blog, may I have some more?2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings
Point Shares are up for the following mixed-league formats: 5×5 for 10/12/14/15/16 team in both ESPN and Yahoo! roster formats.
For those of you unfamiliar with Point Shares, they represent the estimated difference in an average team’s points if they were to substitute a given player for the average player at his position.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
I’m a pretty harsh critic of Razzball, but occasionally we’ll post things that even I feel are extremely helpful. Usually these are done by other people for our site. Yesterday, we brought you the one and only 2012 Fantasy Baseball War Room. (Honestly, there may be more War Rooms than you can shake a stick at, but who’s intro’ing anything by saying we brought you the “one of a couple zillion War Rooms?”) Another thing we’re offering is the 2012 fantasy baseball tiers, brought to you by regular commenter and all-around solid F.O.R., VinWins. This fantasy baseball tier sheet is like the Cliff Notes version of the 2012 fantasy baseball rankings. The tiers give you where I ranked players and the tier names, which should give you a rough idea of what I’m thinking when you don’t have much time.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Finally, we come to the end of the 2012 fantasy baseball rankings. (Can we start games already?) A little birdie told me we’re opening up our commenter fantasy leagues on Monday. Giddy to the up. Okay, you know that I like Lucas Duda more than Melky Cabrera in the top 60 outfielders for 2012 fantasy baseball. You know I like Zack Cozart better than Jhonny Peralta as seen at the top 20 shortstops for 2012 fantasy baseball. But you don’t know how I feel about where these guys fall in the bigger picture. Is Zack Cozart above Lucas Duda? Yup. So to show you where I think players fall in relation to each other in 2012 fantasy baseball drafts, I’m putting together a top 300 for 2012 fantasy baseball. This still needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If you have a shortstop already and Zack Cozart is still on the board in the 17th round, you don’t draft him if you see Lucas Duda and you need an outfielder, even though Lucas Duda is below Zack Cozart on this list. So I might take someone at 200 over someone at 180? Yes, every draft is different. With the top 10, there’s almost no latitude. With the top 100, there’s a decent amount of latitude. With a top 300, there’s lots of latitude. You taking someone at 185 is more or less the same as someone else taking someone at 235. So if you see someone who’s ranked at 250th, but want them at 200, then do what you do. Because of the length of the top 300, there’s no pithy comments with each name, but you kinda do need to know what I’m thinking for each name, so I advise you go over each position in the 2012 fantasy baseball rankings. The top 100 and top 300 is what I would have at my drafts, along with the Point Shares and the top 20 rankings posts. I already went over a top 100 for 2012 fantasy baseball, so I’m not going to cover them again. Actually, that post went to 101, so I’m starting here with 102. This top 300 will go from 102 to 300. Finally, see our list of all players with multiple position eligibility. Anyway, here’s the top 300 for 2012 fantasy baseball:
102.
Please, blog, may I have some more?The 2012 fantasy baseball rankings have reached the next to next to next to last stop with the top 20 closers for 2012 fantasy baseball. These top 20 closers are different than all of the other rankings. The closers on the top of this list you should not draft and there are closers that aren’t on this list that you should be targeting. Shortly, there will be a list of every team’s closer and setup man. I’m thinking this afternoon. Monday funday! The projections are also a bit wonky since you can’t predict saves. It’s a fool’s errand. If fool’s errand means what I think it does. Some well-known projectionists (not the pimply kid unspooling Albert Nobbs) don’t even attempt to predict saves. Saves come down to opportunity. This is yet another reason why you shouldn’t draft the top guys. Nevertheless, my projections are listed along with where I see tiers starting and stopping. Anyway, here’s the top 20 closers for 2012 fantasy baseball:
1.
Please, blog, may I have some more?We continue our 2012 fantasy baseball rankings with the top 20 2nd basemen for 2012 fantasy baseball. There’s no 2nd baseman in the top 10 for 2012 fantasy baseball. At least by my calculation. Some ‘perts are putting Cano in the top 10, but I see him just outside of the top 10, but then again 2nd base is packed to the rafters with production. It looks deeper than the 1st basemen pool and I’m only being half-facetious. It’s like all 2nd basemen slept at a Holiday Inn last night. There’s 15 guys I would take and if I had a middle infield spot on my roster, I’d definitely look to put a 2nd baseman in there. As with the previous ranking lists, tiers and my projections are noted. Anyway, here’s the top 20 2nd basemen for 2012 fantasy baseball:
1.
Please, blog, may I have some more?What time is it?! 8:25 AM! No, random italicized voice, it’s time for the 2012 Fantasy Baseball Rankings. Second guess. All the 2012 fantasy baseball rankings will live in that link. The one that reads 2012 fantasy baseball rankings. It’s also at the top of the page. No, not “Home.” To the left of the Fantasy Baseball Forum link. Now we’re cooking with gas! If you’re a completist, follow us on Twitter or Facebook. I don’t go to either site longer than 2 minutes a month, but, as I’ve told ex-girlfriends, sometimes all you need is two minutes. Hmm… Maybe that’s why they’re ex. Nah, if I were a selfish lover, I wouldn’t have a mustache. Now my expositional half insists I breakdown some generalizations about these 2012 fantasy baseball rankings. The 2012 fantasy baseball rankings will be an ever-evolving mass like the blob. This fantasy baseball top 10 for 2012 list is as of right now and could potentially change with a big injury or Miguel Cabrera breaking a tooth on his maple bat as he tries to extract hops. So while it is the 2012 fantasy baseball gospel, take it with a tablet of salt. Tomorrow we will cover the rest of the top twenty for 2012 fantasy baseball then we will go around the horn with a top 20 list for every position. Then for pitchers and outfielders, I’ll turn the dial to 80. Listed next to each player are my 2012 projections. Did I consult with whoever else does projections? It would be ignorant not to, but in the end they are my projections. Players need 10 games at a position to get included in the positional rankings. Finally, as with each list in the 2012 fantasy baseball rankings, I will be mentioning where I see tiers start and stop. I look at tiers like this, if Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols are in the same tier, it doesn’t matter if one guy is ranked 2nd and one guy is ranked 3rd, they’re both very close.
Please, blog, may I have some more?On Dancer! On Prancer! On Comet! On–Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. Welcome, reader! Grab some egg nog and brandy it up to the fire. The 2012 fantasy baseball rankings are not far away. Right now, January Grey is throwing darts at a board to figure out where to place Matt Joyce. Exciting! In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2012 fantasy baseball season. This took me far longer than it probably should’ve. Can’t someone write me a program that sorts all the players by games played at a position?
Please, blog, may I have some more?