Fantasy baseball is arguably the game with the most variations. New league formats appear constantly, and there is a never-ending supply of options.
Naturally, the differences in format produce differences in value — otherwise, why bother changing? Category leagues are weighted heavily toward players who contribute in all areas of the game, even if they aren’t particularly outstanding at one. Conversely, points leagues ask for the sum of all players’ points, regardless of how said points were achieved.
Before we dive into the players, there’s a simple enough approach that can be applied when transitioning between these two formats. Points leagues crave volume and category leagues need balance. Like all rules, there are exceptions. When in doubt, however, lean on that foundation and build accordingly.
Finally, it’s unfair to force pitchers and hitters to be viewed equally in points leagues. This article would almost exclusively penalize hitters and boost pitchers to obscene levels because of the nature of their positions. Innings pitched is a major contributing factor to points leagues, and starting pitchers are invaluable as a whole. For this reason, it is best to split pitchers and hitters separately and highlight those who see the wildest differences in value.
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The ranks referenced in this article were taken from FantasyPros’ projection page and refer to hitters and pitchers separately.
Fantasy baseball is arguably the game with the most variations. New league formats appear constantly, and there is a never-ending supply of options.
Naturally, the differences in format produce differences in value — otherwise, why bother changing? Category leagues are weighted heavily toward players who contribute in all areas of the game, even if they aren’t particularly outstanding at one. Conversely, points leagues ask for the sum of all players’ points, regardless of how said points were achieved.
Before we dive into the players, there’s a simple enough approach that can be applied when transitioning between these two formats. Points leagues crave volume and category leagues need balance. Like all rules, there are exceptions. When in doubt, however, lean on that foundation and build accordingly.
Finally, it’s unfair to force pitchers and hitters to be viewed equally in points leagues. This article would almost exclusively penalize hitters and boost pitchers to obscene levels because of the nature of their positions. Innings pitched is a major contributing factor to points leagues, and starting pitchers are invaluable as a whole. For this reason, it is best to split pitchers and hitters separately and highlight those who see the wildest differences in value.
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The ranks referenced in this article were taken from FantasyPros’ projection page and refer to hitters and pitchers separately.
Hitters Who Are More Valuable in Points Leagues
Pete Alonso (1B – NYM) – Points League Rank: 12, Categories League Rank: 41
Jose Abreu (1B – CWS) – Points League Rank: 22, Categories League Rank: 46
Joey Gallo (OF – NYY) – Points League Rank: 30, Categories League Rank: 84
Miguel Sano (1B – MIN) – Points League Rank: 63, Categories League Rank: 137
The first group of players immediately highlights the differences between the two formats by sticking with the aforementioned guideline. That is, “balance” is arguably the last word we would use to describe anyone on the list. Indeed, some players can hit for batting average, but the reality is that no one is contributing steals. They all carry enough power to slug their way to value.
One other element that wasn’t noted in the “golden rule” is that points leagues also value on-base percentage, where most standard category leagues do not — although this is changing due to popular demand. Both Gallo and Abreu ranked in the top-50 of qualified hitters for on-base percentage, while Gallo’s batting average was under .200. That would be devastating to a categories-based team, while the impact is minimal in points leagues.
Hitters Who Are More Valuable in Categories Leagues
Trea Turner (2B/SS – LAD) – Categories League Rank: 2 Points League Rank: 8
Starling Marte (OF – NYM) – Categories League Rank: 17, Points League Rank: 59
Whit Merrifield (2B/OF – KC) – Categories League Rank: 28, Points League Rank: 77
DJ LeMahieu (1B/2B/3B – NYY) – Categories League Rank: 68, Points League Rank: 108
There’s balance in all walks of life, and we see it in the contrast between hitters in this group compared to the last. Where the points leagues leaders carried tremendous power, the categories-centric squad is largely built on speed. There’s a simple explanation for this. There is no scarcity of category contribution in points leagues, where it may be hard to “compete in stolen bases” in a categories league.
This idea of scarcity is not only unique to stolen bases. DJ LeMahieu makes the list because of his batting average, arguably one of the biggest needs for many teams as they try to assemble a roster. His batting average gets lost in the fray of points leagues, though, and this is where we find the disparity.
Pitchers Who Are More Valuable in Points Leagues
Dylan Cease (SP – CWS) – Points League Rank: 14, Categories League Rank: 33
Tyler Mahle (SP – CIN) – Points League Rank: 24, Categories League Rank: 50
German Marquez (SP – COL) – Points League Rank: 27, Categories League Rank: 68
Adam Wainwright (SP – STL) – Points League Rank: 33, Categories League Rank: 74
Once again, we see the tremendous gap between volume and efficiency, where all four pitchers make the list because of their expected roles. Each member of this group is projected to throw at least 165 innings, but not a single one is listed with an ERA under 4.00. The additional length in games also helps boost the strikeout totals which, while helping in both types of leagues, simply gives another avenue for points.
What we also notice is that starting pitchers clearly outrank relievers, as there is no denying the value. Do not build a roster for a points league without depth at the starting pitching position.
Pitchers Who Are More Valuable in Categories Leagues
Shohei Ohtani (SP – LAA) – Categories League Rank: 6, Points League Rank: 48
Josh Hader (RP – MIL) – Categories League Rank: 17, Points League Rank: 62
Ryan Pressly (RP – HOU) – Categories League Rank: 41, Points League Rank: 95
Mike Clevinger (SP – SD) – Categories League Rank: 56, Points League Rank: 100
By now you, see the trend. If we aren’t going to buy into relievers in points leagues, then we will fall in love with them in categories leagues. Obviously, this also plays into the scarcity mentioned in the hitter’s section of this article, where only so many players can contribute to saves. We need those players if building a roster accordingly.
In addition to the massive boost that relief pitchers see in categories leagues, we also find players like Shohei Ohtani and Mike Clevinger much higher in their respective rankings. The rationale behind this is aligned with everything else we have learned so far. Ohtani — because of his dual nature that limits his starting pitching appearances — and Clevinger — as he returns from injury — will almost certainly fail to make 30 starts next year. They should, however, be excellent in their comparatively fewer opportunities, and a categories-based team will benefit from said efficiency.
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Mario Mergola is a featured writer at FantasyPros and BettingPros and the creator and content editor of Sporfolio. For more from Mario, check out his archive and follow him @MarioMergola.
