Title aside, this is no Jedi mind trick. Or is it? I’ve spent all week, well the last several to be honest, working on a more reliable (and reproducible) set of generic point leagues rankings. When I say “generic” that’s because they don’t allow you to define your league’s scoring system in order to generate rankings specific to your league. Like how I do with my preseason spreadsheet. I’d love to provide you with that, but I just don’t have the time. I’m envisioning a web app that makes this easy, but that would probably be a 2022 thing. In the meantime, these rankings should give you a solid overall comparison of the players (hitters).
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Points Leagues: The Numbers Don’t Lie Jr.
May 31, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 6 Commentsby: malamoney
I’ve decided to give the rankings a week off. This will allow me to work out some flaws in the matrix as I think I’ve got a good idea on how I’d like to proceed. The hardest part is calculating performance and expectations for players that have missed time as I use percentage of time played as a key variable. So I’m giving myself another week to dig in. I was actually going to take the week off completely, but then Grey cracked the whip and I was quickly reminded not to think such foolish thoughts. For those that actually read that and believe that Grey has a whip, well he probably does, but he doesn’t use it on his points league writers. At least not this one. As I contemplated skipping this post I realized that I would be disappointing my 14 readers. That’s right, you read that correctly. Based on my analytics, I am up to a career high fourteen readers. I could hardly believe the numbers myself, but as they say, the numbers don’t lie. Or was it the hips? In case you were wondering Mark Twain has often been credited with the phrase “numbers don’t lie” based on when he said “figures don’t lie, but liars figure“. Apparently the belief that this was Twain’s brainchild is not unanimous. Here’s what I say… “who cares“.
The following are the top players in point leagues at each position. In order to qualify for this list the player must have at least 150 plate appearances (100 for catcher) and not currently be on the IL. This list was ultimately decided by points per plate appearance (PPPA).
Please, blog, may I have some more?I really didn’t understand the whole Bo Bichette is greater than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. movement that took place this draft season. That’s not a knock on Bichette by any means, but instead an affirmation that Vlad is a very special player that came into this league as the highly touted number one prospect ahead of Fernando Tatis Jr, Eloy Jimenez, Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette. While it does seem like Bo had a smoother transition into the big leagues, anyone that thought Vlad wasn’t going to find his groove likely made a bad decision (or three) along the way. A few years ago there were many preaching that Guerrero Jr. was going to become the best player in the game. Well the hype train has just arrived at the station as he currently leads all hitters in fantasy points. I know Ronald Acuna Jr. has been lighting the roto world on fire, but he still has less points than Vlad. By the way, what’s the deal with there being so many top tier hitters with a Jr. at the end of their name? I wonder if I should change my name to malamoney Jr.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Last week I gave you my top 99 hitters for points leagues. This week I will shift to pitchers. After all, pitchers are generally the bread winners in points leagues as scoring systems tend to be skewed towards starting pitchers. Like my rankings for hitters, this list is based on a formula that combines year-to-date performance with preseason expectations. The primary metric I am using is points per start as I feel like that is the best stat to use to evaluate a how a pitcher is doing in points leagues.
Here are my top 99 pitchers in points leagues:
Please, blog, may I have some more?After writing points league posts for the best fantasy baseball sports advice website on the planet for the last six years I think it’s time to switch things up. And by “switch things up” I mean approach my posts from a different angle. I thought about completely fabricating my content, but I think most of you would eventually catch on. Besides, I think there was a writer that already tried that approach. Instead I think I’m going to turn my posts into something of a hybrid between rankings, buy/sell and whatever the heck else I feel like tossing in. I don’t quite have a name for it yet, but I’ll come up with something in due time. With just one post a week, I feel like I need a way to pack as much punch into my attack. More bang for your buck if you will.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Though it’s been since never that I read the The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood I know that Robin Hood was said to have been a skilled archer that stole from the rich to give to the poor. While it sounds well intended, isn’t it still stealing? Wouldn’t that make him a criminal? I just did a quick Google search as to whether he was a thief and, as it turns out, there is quite the public opinion with many taking both sides. Here’s what side I’m taking. Neither. Don’t care. If I remember correctly, I had a teacher in high school that said the real thief was the leader of the country. Apparently he levied absurd taxes upon the common folk and oppressed them when they could not pay. But like I said, that’s not why either of us are here.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Points Leagues: Fair Trade
April 27, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 13 Commentsby: malamoney
Is it possible for a trade to be fair in one league but not in another? I think the answer to that question is pretty obvious. If it wasn’t at first, the fact that I asked should be a dead giveaway. The answer is yes. The key here is tied to the simple fact that not all points leagues are created equal. It’s an extremely important principle that needs to be understood and one I have mentioned countless times over the years. Ronald Acuña Jr. is even more valuable in a league that does not penalize for strikeouts. Using 2019 stats as an example, with 188 strikeouts he finished as the 13th most productive (most points) hitter with 516 points. Cody Bellinger finished top of the list with 623 points. If hitters didn’t lose a point for a strikeout, Acuña would have had 704 points. That would have made him the number two hitter behind Bellinger. Just in case you didn’t think he could be more valuable. The key here is that the scoring system of the league directly affects a player’s value. That is why I put together my draft day spreadsheet that allows you to enter your league’s settings.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Points Leagues: DJ Jazzy Chisholm
April 19, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 9 Commentsby: malamoney
Is it just me or does anyone else think Jazz Chisholm needs to pair up with Prince Fielder. What could Fielder be up to these days anyway? I’d say about three hundred and fifty pounds. I think the two could make some great music together. You know what else, I think it would be a cool feature if a team drops Chisholm the website shows a video of Uncle Phil tossing him out the front door.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Tyler Naquin. Is that an official sentence? Anyone? Typically I wouldn’t be buying into him, but allow me to explain why I have picked him up in two of my primary leagues. In one league I have Ketel Marte on the IL, but since I have David Fletcher on bench I was able to plug him into my 2B spot. By the way, you should all own Fletcher considering I insisted upon it prior to drafts. And this was exactly why. His draft day price tag was well below his actual value and to have him on your bench just in case made him a great draft day buy. Fletcher isn’t off to a great start by any means, but with 42 plate appearances, only Mark Canha, Marcus Semien and Jose Altuve have stepped into the batters box more often this season. The more plate appearances, the more opportunity for points. The Angels are in the top five teams for runs scored and being at the top of that lineup provides a promising outlook. But this opening paragraph was supposed to be about Naquin and why I’ve added him to my rosters. The simple answer is because I had the bench spot to see where this hot streak ends with Ketel to the IL in one league and Quintana to scrap heap in another. Tyler Naquin leads all hitters in fantasy points. That’s certainly not going to last for long, but I wasn’t going to let someone else benefit from another week or two of potential points. And if I get the chance, I will we include him into a trade to sweeten the deal. Worst case scenario is that I drop him in two weeks.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Who doesn’t wish they had a true story to tell like the night an unlicensed Les Anderson had when he snuck out and took his grandfather’s 1972 Cadillac Sedan de Ville in order to impress his crush. After she passes out, the night takes a wild turn as a joyride results in the Cadillac taking quite the beating. Gotta love when the old, wasted dude gets behind the wheel and somehow manages not to die. And let’s be honest, for those of you that have seen the movie multiple times, who hasn’t thought about Les’s drive to get his pregnant mom to the hospital when you were driving in reverse for a longer than normal stretch? But I think my favorite part of the movie is when the grandfather opens the garage door to get his car, takes one look at the beat to sh!t Caddy, and says “what in the hell is that?”. Just another awesome Corey Haim/Corey Feldman 80’s flick for you. One of many. RIP Les Anderson. By the way, I tried looking up who played the old drunk and I think his name is Henry Alan Miller. Shockingly, his role was apparently uncredited. How can that be? Just look at this performance!
Please, blog, may I have some more? Points Leagues: Nostradumba** Version 2.0
March 29, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 15 Commentsby: malamoney
Nearly five years ago I went live with a post entitled Nostradumba** which was a piece of software I developed to help make fantasy baseball predictions. At first it was a disaster, recommending I draft Reggie Jackson and other inactive players. Realizing that wasn’t going to cut the mustard, I made a few tweaks that seemed to get the system running more smoothly, enabling me to make some less ridiculous dart throws. Earlier this year I cleared out one of my MacBook Pros so that my daughter could use it for remote 2nd grade. The school gave them all sh!tty Chromebooks that might have been less powerful than George Michael’s Sports Machine. While getting the MacBook setup, I found Nostraduma** and decided to bring it back to life. Here’s what it had to say.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Points Leagues: Are You A Top Or A Bottom?
March 28, 2021 | Points Leagues | 39 Commentsby: malamoney
During draft season I am frequently faced with a commenter asking me what I think of their freshly drafted team. I wanted to share with you one simple approach that can help you partially answer this question yourself and is also a strategy you can apply on draft day. I call it the “top half/bottom half” approach. I really don’t call it that, but I’ve got nothing better right now, so I’m going with it. Here’s how it works.
Please, blog, may I have some more?