Hey malamoney! What? The points league community called. And? They want the damn spreadsheet. Ohhhhh… the spreadsheet. I could do a two hour rant on how much I dislike creating the spreadsheet. I’m not kidding. I absolutely love having it on draft day, and enjoy sharing it with you fine individuals (well most of you at least), but to say that putting it together was a chore would be an understatement. Perhaps it would be easier if I used a single source for projections, but that feels dirty to me. I like to gather multiple (reliable) sources and average them together along with my own homegrown blend. Then I take that result and average them all together again, but this time I include the results of the first averaging. I’m pretty sure it’s some flavor of the kind of math they teach in the elementary schools these days.
Once I have the projections, which I have generally referred to as “estimations” over the years, I have to manually plug them into the spreadsheet. If only it were that easy. I’m not going to get into the minutiae of it all, but I’ve been burning the midnight oil these last few nights to get this damn thing done. Unfortunately I ran into an Excel error that I just can’t seem to resolve so there isn’t going to a spreadsheet this year. I’m really sorry, but I’m sure you can just “use the force” or something. My suggestion would be to take some roto rankings and hope for the best. After all, that’s what everyone else in your league is doing. Just have a couple shots and beers leading up to and during your draft and you’ll do fine. The waiver wire is your friend. I’ll make it up to you next year. Providing Grey doesn’t choke me out before then.
Ok. Fine. I am just kidding. I really hope at least of few of you started to buy into the “no spreadsheet this year” story. Sorry, not sorry.
For those that have used my spreadsheet in years past, nothing has changed. I’ve had some planned enhancements bouncing around in my head for some time, but never any time to implement. For those new to the spreadsheet, I’m going to point you at the posts I’ve written in years past to keep myself from having to reinvent the wheel. And by “reinvent the wheel” I mean rewrite what I’ve already written several times. I don’t want to have to sue myself for plagiarizing myself. Can I even do that? Can I get a ruling.
I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus these last few weeks, but my plan is to start providing you with points league content starting today. If you have any suggestions or requests for topics, please let me know. After years of doing this I really feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record. In points leagues there are a handful of basic rules/strategies that I have repeatedly discussed over the years that I believe make up the core of a successful points league campaign. I’m not going to dive into them again today, but I will do so over the coming weeks.
As you know, points league rankings are entirely dependent on the scoring system of the league. As you’ll read (or re-read) in one of my older posts referenced below, points league are far from the “one size fits all” pattern. In order to compare/rank two players I need to know your scoring system. Anyone that says they do not is giving you a half ass answer. If you are looking for half ass advice you are at the wrong site. We like full ass in this dojo.
Here’s a simple example. Who’s the top ranked 2B in points leagues? I don’t know. Are stolen bases worth one or two points? If they’re one, then I’m going with DJ LeMaheiu, but if it’s two then Ozzie Albies and Whit Merrifield enter the conversation. I’ll touch on this more in future posts.
For the sake of discussion, I have used the following scoring system for my posts in previous years. However, moving forward I am considering making stolen bases +2 points. One point just feels too cheap. The stolen base needs a little more oomph.
RUN (+1), RBI (+1), 1B (+1), 2B (+2), 3B (+3), HR (+4), BB (+1), KO (-1), HBP (+1), SB (+2), CS (-1), SF (+1)
WIN (+5), LOSS (-5), IP (+3), K (+1), BB (-1), SAVE (+7), BLOWN SAVE (-3), ER (-1), HIT (-1), IP (+3)
Given the above scoring system, here is what the spreadsheet is telling me.
- Gerrit Cole is the top ranked player, with Jacob deGrom nipping at his heels. Top SP are extremely valuable in most points leagues. I say “most” because you could easily craft a scoring system that diminishes the SP or elevates hitters.
- Juan Soto is the top hitter, but World Champion Mookie Betts is closer than the rear view mirror appears. So is perennial powerhouse Mike Trout.
- J.T. Realmuto is in the top twenty-five when you factor in position. I’m not saying I’d draft him in the top twenty-five (use his ADP to guide that effort), but I’m just pointing out his overall value. I call this the Buster Posey Effect.
- Trea Turner > Francisco Lindor > Fernando Tatis – but it’s really close.
- Kenta Maeda and Carlos Carrasco are the top RP because they are also SP.
This spreadsheet is designed to tell you a story about your league. Plug in your scoring system and find out what lies ahead for you. It’s like a freaking choose your own adventure.
If you notice something off with the spreadsheet or projections, let me know and I will see what I can do. But I make no promises.
Here are the links to the previous posts I mentioned above detailing the spreadsheet.
Points Leagues: Start Spreading The Sheets, I’m Sharing Today
Points Leagues: Not The Spreadsheet. Just Kidding, It’s The Spreadsheet. One Size Does Not Fit All!
malamoney’s 2021 Points League Spreadsheet
Follow malamoney on Twitter at @malamoney
