Okay, so I’ve been messing around with fantasy baseball lately, specifically the roto format. It’s a whole different beast compared to head-to-head leagues, and figuring out player rankings is crucial. I wanted to share how I’ve been doing it, ’cause it’s been a real learning experience.
Getting Started
First off, I grabbed all the player stats I could find. You know, the usual stuff like batting average, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts – all that jazz. I dumped all this data into a big spreadsheet. Yeah, it was a bit of a pain, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Calculating Categories
Next, I started working on the individual categories. For roto, each category is scored separately, so you need to see how players stack up against each other in each area. I calculated the totals for each category and then ranked the players from top to bottom. Like, for home runs, I listed everyone from the guy with the most dingers to the dude with the least.
Assigning Points
Here’s where it gets a little tricky. In my league, we have 12 teams. So, the top player in a category gets 12 points, the second-best gets 11, and so on down to the last-place guy who gets just 1 point. I did this for every single category, assigning points based on the rankings I had just figured out. It was a bit tedious, but seeing those points add up was kinda satisfying.
Summing It Up
Once I had the points for each category, it was time to add them all up. I summed up the points for each player across all categories. This gave me a total score for each player, which essentially became my overall roto ranking. The higher the score, the more valuable the player is in this format.
Tweaking and Refining
Now, this initial ranking was just a starting point. I knew I had to make some adjustments. For example, some categories are harder to find players for, like saves for relief pitchers or stolen bases. So, I kinda boosted the value of those categories a bit. I didn’t want to go too crazy, but I figured it was fair to give those scarce stats a little extra weight.
Iterating and Improving
I’ve been using these rankings for a few mock drafts and I’ve been tweaking them after each one. It’s a constant process of seeing what works and what doesn’t. I realized I was maybe undervaluing starting pitchers, so I bumped them up a bit. And I think I was overvaluing some of the middle-of-the-road hitters, so I adjusted them down.
Here is my Roto Rankings after a few days of practice
- Mike Trout
- Ronald Acuna Jr.
- Mookie Betts
- Gerrit Cole
- Jacob deGrom
- Trea Turner
- Juan Soto
- Fernando Tatis Jr.
- Christian Yelich
- Shane Bieber
It’s a work in progress, for sure. But I feel like I’m getting a much better handle on how to value players in roto leagues. It’s all about finding that balance across all the categories and making sure you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket. It’s been a fun challenge, and I’m excited to see how these rankings hold up when the real season starts. I will keep you posted for sure. If you guys have any tips or tricks, feel free to share it with me!