H2H Categories vs. Points Leagues Primer (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

We provide our analysis for fantasy. You see columns, ranks, chats, trade charts, and anything else you want. Except when it comes to fantasy baseball, it’s difficult to capture everything a manager may want since there are so many different ways to structure your league’s scoring.

Never mind the many different ways that roto, category, and points leagues can differ, but the ways that different leagues within those umbrellas can differ can vary in almost uncountable ways.

That’s why it’s important to adjust your league settings with the advice you’re reading, as there’s likely to be a little bit of difference if it’s not straight 5×5 scoring.

But by painting with a broad brush, we can identify the differences in the structure, scoring, and strategy between category leagues and points leagues. While yes, you have the same goal of taking down an opponent (maybe more if you do play all) on a week-to-week basis, the approach can be different.

H2H Categories vs. Points Leagues Strategy & Advice

Here are a few of the biggest differences if you’re looking to choose between the two or if you’re looking to build your team for a specific format.

Depth Matters

The rule of thumb is that points leagues are the shallowest format around. They don’t have corner infielders, middle infielders, and usually have three outfielders instead of five. What it does is create less of a demand for depth with fewer roster spots to fill. There is usually good value on the waiver wire for pitchers and hitters, especially the latter.

For category leagues, though, the rosters are more of a traditional roto format with five outfielders, middle infielders, and corner infielders. With these, you really need to keep in mind the depth that you have to fill those spots when – not if – injuries occur. I find that having multi-eligible players matters a lot more in category leagues to help bail you out since the waiver wire is typically more shallow.

Speed and Saves Kill

For category leagues, even with the bigger bases, you will want to make targeting speed more of an emphasis. It’s especially the case early on when you want to get players with across-the-board production compared to those who just steal bases and do little else to help you. The same can be said for closers, too. My approach in category leagues is always to get a middle-tier closer and two backend guys and allow everyone else to overpay for the elite guys. It works more times than not, as the position is so volatile from year to year. But you absolutely need them if you aren’t planning on punting and use traditional saves categories instead of saves+holds.

For points leagues, though, saves and steals don’t matter as much. Sure, you’ll still get points if a player steals a base or gets a save, but you’ll get as many points if they hit a double, two singles, or record an RBI single. It’s just tough to put as much weight on a specific category in points leagues since the end game is points and not the actual way they get them.

As far as saves go in points leagues, there’s merit to grabbing a closer and just having him in your relief spot each week as a nice floor play. But, in most points formats, the best possible outlook is about 15 points for a closer in a week where they record two saves. The better approach is to use RP-eligible starters (SPARPs, thanks to CBS Fantasy Baseball), who can be regular starters in your RP spot. It’s the classic points league cheat code, and more times than not, they outscore closers in weekly matchups.

Chase Skills in Points

In category leagues, you need to target specific results and play your matchups based on them. For points leagues, though, you need to look at skills more. In traditional scoring formats for category leagues, you won’t get extra credit if a player hits an extra-base hit or draws a walk. In points leagues, you get more points if the player hits a double than a single, a triple than a double, and a walk is just as good as a single.

These help players like Brandon Nimmo have more value in the format due to their above-average plate skills. Same with Juan Soto, who is a top-5 pick in the format compared to a backend first-round player in category leagues.

The format matters.

Opportunity Matters

Of course, the more someone plays, the more chances they have to contribute. It’s true across the board, but for category leagues, you don’t want to chase volume as much – especially at pitcher. A seven-run blow-up start can hurt your ratios for your matchup, making it tough to come back from. You want to pick your starts more, targeting good matchups and good pitchers in general. Offensively, splits matter a little bit more. Players like Joc Pederson, who plays more against righties, should be left out of your lineup if he has four lefties on the schedule for his upcoming week. He may play in one or two of them, but his career numbers suggest he’ll struggle in those matchups and hurt your weekly numbers.

For points leagues, though, we love volume and opportunity. One reason I tend to build an elite-level hitting roster in my points leagues is that I’d rather target pitchers who can throw six to seven innings per game and who come cheaper than those aces who have a 10.0 K/9.

Volume matters, as you get points for each out and/or each inning the pitcher completes. It can be transferred over to hitting, too, as targeting players who hit atop the lineup can be valuable. They generate more plate appearances per game and throughout the season, providing more points for you.

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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.