Who Should I Start in Fantasy Baseball?

It’s the age-old question for Fantasy Baseball players: who should I start? Get help making those tough decisions with our Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers Rankings.

Identify the Type of Fantasy Baseball League You are in

The type of fantasy baseball league you are in will ultimately determine who you should start. For example, if you are in a points-based league, you will want to start the players who will score the most points. However, if you are in a head-to-head league, you will want to start the players who have the best chance of winning their matchup. Let’s take a look at some other factors to consider.

Points league

In a points league, each statistical category is assigned a points value and the team that scores the most total points over the course of the season is the winner. A typical points scoring system might look something like this:

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Category Points
Batting Average 1 point for every .001 above .250
Home Runs 4 points
RBI 2 points
Stolen Bases 5 points
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For example, if in a given week, Player A goes 4 for 10 (.400 batting average), hits 2 home runs, drives in 5 runs, and steals 3 bases while Player B goes 3 for 10 (.300 batting average) with 1 home run, 2 RBI, and 0 stolen bases, then Player A would receive 8 points for their batting average (.400-.250 x 1), 8 points for their home runs (2 x 4), 10 points for their RBI (5 x 2), and 15 points for their stolen bases (3 x 5) for a total of 41 points while Player B would receive just 3 points for their batting average, 4 points for their home run, 4 point for their RBI, and 0 points for stolen basesfor a total of just 11 point. In this example, it’s pretty clear thatPlayer A was the better fantasy baseball player that week.

Categories league

Traditional Rotisserie baseball – In this format, managers play head-to-head each week and are ranked against each other in up to 14 statistical categories. The team that fares the best in the standings at the end of the season wins the league championship.

Head-to-head points baseball – In H2H points, each category is worth a certain number of points. For example, if your league uses 5×5 scoring, a win might be worth 10 points, while each RBI and stolen base could be worth one point apiece. The team that scores the most points in a given week wins that matchup, regardless of how they stack up against the competition in other statistical categories.

Head-to-head categories baseball – This is similar to traditional Rotisserie baseball, except that instead of playing all other teams in your league an equal number of times, you only play each opponent once or twice during the course of the season. The trade-off is that you must finish in first place in every statistical category to win your matchup that week.

Total points baseball – Many leagues don’t pit teams against each other on a weekly basis but rather rank them based on cumulative statistics over the course of the entire season. In this format, every stat is worth a certain number of points (e.g., 5×5 scoring), and managers try to accumulate as many points as possible to earn a spot in the playoffs. The team with the most total points at the end of the season wins the league title.

Identify the Scoring System of Your Fantasy Baseball League

In order to maximize your chances of winning your fantasy baseball league, it is essential that you first understand how your league scores points. Once you know how points are scored, you can begin to strategize which players will help you achieve the highest point total and, ultimately, a victory.

5×5

In a 5×5 fantasy baseball league, hitting and pitching categories are combined to form a single, overall score for each team in the league. The five hitting categories are: batting average (BA), home runs (HR), runs batted in (RBI), stolen bases (SB), and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). The five pitching categories are: earned run average (ERA), wins (W), strikeouts (K), walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP), and saves (SV).

6×6

The 6×6 scoring system is a format commonly used in head-to-head fantasy baseball leagues. In a 6×6 league, each team has six hitting categories and six pitching categories. The hitting categories are usually batting average (AVG), home runs (HR), runs batted in (RBI), stolen bases (SB), on-base percentage (OBP), and slugging percentage (SLG). The pitching categories are usually wins (W), strikeouts (K), earned run average (ERA), WHIP, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP), and saves (SV).

Fantasy baseball leagues can use different weightings for each category, but the 6×6 format is one of the most balanced. This scoring system rewards players who excel in all areas of the game, not just hitting or pitching. It also penalizes players who are weak in one or more areas.

One advantage of the 6×6 scoring system is that it encourages managers to draft a well-rounded team. In contrast, other scoring systems may favor teams that focus on either hitting or pitching categories. Another advantage of the 6×6 system is that it helps to level the playing field between managers of different skills levels. A less experienced manager who drafts a well-rounded team has a better chance of competing against a more experienced manager who focuses on hitting or pitching categories.

The 6×6 scoring system is a good choice for fantasy baseball leagues that want to encourage managers to draft well-rounded teams. This system also provides a more balanced approach to fantasy baseball than other scoring systems that may favor managers who focus on either hitting or pitching categories.

7×7

The 7×7 fantasy baseball scoring system is a points-based system that awards points for offensive categories and pitchers’ wins/losses/saves/ERA/WHIP. This system is unique in that it gives equal weight to hitters and pitchers, which many people believe is more fair and balanced than the 5×5 system.

Here are the offensive categories in the 7×7 system:

-Hits
-Doubles
-Triples
-Home runs
-Runs batted in (RBIs)
-Stolen bases
-Batting average (AVG)

And the pitching categories are:
Pitcher wins (W)
Pitcher losses (L)
Pitcher saves (SV) ERA WHIP

8×8

The 8×8 fantasy baseball scoring system is a points-based system that awards points for eight different offensive statistical categories, and eight different pitching statistical categories. The eight offensive categories are runs scored, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS (on-base plus slugging). The eight pitching categories are wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched), opponents’ batting average, quality starts, and holds.

In the 8×8 scoring system, each stat is worth a certain number of points. For example, in a 12-team league with standard 5×5 scoring, each run scored would be worth 2 points. In an 8×8 league with the same 12 teams and standard 5×5 scoring, each run scored would be worth 1.5 points. Therefore, in an 8×8 league with standard 5×5 scoring, a player who scores 100 runs would be worth 150 points (100 x 1.5), while in a 12-team league with the same scoring system that player would be worth 200 points (100 x 2).

The 8×8 fantasy baseball scoring system is used by many fantasy baseball leagues because it rewards players for excelling in a wide variety of offensive and pitching statistical categories. If you’re in an 8×8 league and you’re trying to decide who to start in your lineup each week, consult our Who Should I Start tool for help.

Identify the Type of Draft You Will Be Participating In

To have success in any fantasy baseball draft, it is critical that you understand the type of draft you will be participating in. Identifying the draft type will allow you to adjust your strategy and target the appropriate types of players. The three most common types of drafts are snake, auction, and points leagues.

Snake draft

A snake draft is the most common type of fantasy baseball draft. In a snake draft, the order of the draft is reversed every round. So, if you have the first pick in the first round, you will have the last pick in the second round. Then, you will have the first pick again in round three and then the last pick again in round four. This pattern continues until all roster spots are filled.

Auction draft

If you’ve never participated in an auction draft before, it can be a bit daunting. In an auction draft, each owner has a set amount of “money” (usually $200) with which to purchase all of the players for their team. Players are nominated one at a time, and owners bid on the player until only one owner remains. That owner gets the player and subtracts the amount of their bid from their total budget.

The process continues until each roster spot is filled. Because there is no set order for nominations, you’ll have to be prepared to bid on any player that comes up for auction. In addition, because you only have a certain amount of money to spend, you’ll need to be strategic in order to get the best players for your team.

If you’re participating in an auction draft for the first time, here are a few tips to help you succeed:

– Research player values before the draft so you have an idea of how much you should be willing to spend on each player. There are numerous resources available online that can help you with this;
– Pay attention to how much money other owners have left to spend; if they are running low, they may be more likely to make bargain deals;
– Don’t get caught up in bidding wars – if another owner is bidding heavily on a player you want, be willing to walk away and focus your attention (and money) elsewhere; and
– Have fun! Auction drafts can be lively and exciting, so enjoy the experience.

Decide on a Budget

Fantasy baseball is a game where you get to be the owner and general manager of your own team. You get to pick the players you want on your team and set your lineup each week. It is a lot of fun, but it can also be a lot of work. The first thing you need to do is decide on a budget.

$100

If you have $100 to spend on your team, you’ll need to find some players that will provide good value for their price. You may be able to find a few superstar players that are undervalued, but you’ll mostly need to focus on finding players with good potential that are cheap. It’s also important to remember that you’ll need to have some money left over for transactions throughout the season.

$200

In a standard auction draft, each team has $200 to bid on players. You can choose to use all of your money on one player, spread it out among multiple players, or even save some money for later in the draft.

There are a few different strategies you can use when deciding how to budget your money. One strategy is to spend a large chunk of your budget on a couple of star players, and then fill out the rest of your team with cheaper players. Another strategy is to evenly distribute your money among all of the positions so that you have a strong team overall.

Once you have decided on a budget, it is important to stick to it. It can be tempting to overspend on a player you really want, but this will leave you with less money to fill out the rest of your team and could make it difficult to compete in the season.

$300

When you have $300 to spend, you can either choose to draft all hitters or all pitchers. If you want to draft all hitters, you should look for players who are batting cleanup or higher in their respective lineup. You may also want to look for players who are eligible for multiple positions. If you want to draft all pitchers, you should look for starting pitchers who are pitching for teams with strong offenses. You may also want to look for closers on teams with strong defenses.

$400

After you have completed a draft, check out the free agents in your budget to fill in any holes in your lineup. You can also make trades with other managers to get the players you want.

When you are trying to fill your lineup with the best players possible, it is important to keep track of how much money you are spending. You don’t want to go over budget and jeopardize having enough money left to field a competitive team.

$400 is a good starting point for a budget. This will allow you to draft a well-rounded team while still having enough money left over for free agents and trades.

$500

You have $500 to spend on your team salary. Based on the fantasy baseball auction calculator, you can afford the following players:

CATCHERS:
Brian McCann- NY Yankees- $11
Wilson Ramos- Tampa Bay Rays- $7
Devin Mesoraco- Cincinnati Reds- $5

INFIELDERS:
Adrian Beltre- Texas Rangers- $16
Jose Altuve- Houston Astros- $14
Carlos Santana- Cleveland Indians- $13
Miguel Cabrera- Detroit Tigers- $12
Ryan Zimmerman- Washington Nationals- $9
Alcides Escobar- Kansas City Royals- $5
Asdrubal Cabrera- New York Mets- $5
Luis Valbuena- Chicago Cubs$5
David Freese Los Angeles Angels -$5
Eduardo Nunez Minnesota Twins -$4

Select Your Players

If you are new to fantasy baseball, the first thing you need to do is understand the game. You can do this by reading the rule book, finding a coach, or by playing the game. The second thing you need to do is to select your players. You can do this by looking at the player’s statistics, by reading about the player, or by listening to the advice of experts.

Mike Trout

You can’t go wrong starting Mike Trout. He’s the best player in baseball, and has been for a while now. If you have him on your team, you’re in good shape.

Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts, outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is one of the best players in baseball and a top fantasy choice. He is a five-tool player, meaning he excels at hitting for power and average, running the bases, and playing excellent defense. He has won multiple Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards, and he was the 2018 National League MVP. In 2019, he helped lead the Dodgers to their first World Series title in 32 years.

Christian Yelich

Yelich is one of the premier outfielders in baseball and should be in your lineup every week. He’s a consistent .300 hitter with great power and speed, making him a five-tool player. Yelich also provides good production in runs and RBIs, as he hits in the middle of a potent Brewers lineup.

Gerrit Cole

Gerrit Cole is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole attended Valencia High School and then UCLA, where he played college baseball for the Bruins. The Pirates selected him in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2013. He was an All-Star in 2015, finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting, and was eighth in NL Cy Young Award voting after going 19–8 with a 3.76 ERA in 32 starts. Cole was traded to Houston after the 2017 season, and helped lead them to victory in the 2017 World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his first year with Houston, he led MLB pitchers in strikeouts (276) while compiling a 15–5 win–loss record and 2.88 ERA across 34 starts, en route to being named an All-Star and finishing fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting.

Jacob deGrom

If you have Jacob deGrom on your fantasy baseball team, congratulations – you’ve got one of the game’s best pitchers. DeGrom has been an elite starter since he entered the league in 2014, and he shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s coming off of a 2019 season in which he won the National League Cy Young Award.

So, the big question is: should you start deGrom every week? The answer is a resounding yes. DeGrom is a fantasy ace, and he should be in your lineup every week regardless of the matchup. The only time you might consider sitting him is if you have another pitching stud like Gerrit Cole or Justin Verlander on your team. Other than that, feel free to fire up deGrom and enjoy the fantasy points.