2022 Positional Overview – Batters

by Curt Brooks

The following summary provides a BABS overview of the batter pool, by position and playing time. We examine the various skill categories, including combinations of skills, and finally liabilities. (Note that DH-only players are ignored as there are only eight batters that meet this criterion; as a result, the universe totals may not sum correctly.)

Playing time considerations

Your goal should be to maximize playing time, so bear in mind your league’s specific roster requirements and budget accordingly. Assuming a standard of 14 hitters means you would need 168 batters in a 12-team league, and 180 batters in a 15-team league.

BABS projects the following playing time by position for 2022. In aggregate, there are more than enough players in the top two PT tiers (Full-time and Mid-time) to fill a 14-man offense in a 15-team league. In those leagues, most rosters can be constructed with about 11-12 full-time (F) players.

PT Cat.	Universe	C	1B	3B	2B	SS	OF
F	173	7	28	22	22	26	67
M	99	26	8	10	10	7	38
P	133	26	10	13	15	11	57
No-Timers	178	38	11	25	22	13	63
Total	583	97	57	70	69	57	225

# of Players by Position

Adding skills to the mix

Looking for power? As one might expect, power is found in the usual places – corner infield, outfield and catcher – although 3B power generally tails off with lesser PT. With a few individual player exceptions, middle infield offers far less power. These are the players with a power asset (p, PW or P+).

# of Players with Power

PT Cat.	Universe	C	1B	3B	2B	SS	OF
F	108	5	20	17	6	11	48
M	44	9	6	5	2	2	20
P	46	12	7	3	3	0	21
No-Timers	50	8	4	11	4	2	18
Total	248	34	37	36	15	15	107

If you have to dip into the No-timer population, note that there are pockets of power skill here. That will not be as prevalent with the other skill assets.

As expected, speed is found at the middle infield and outfield positions. About one-third of full-time players have a speed asset (s, SB, S+). With a few exceptions, corner infield and catchers are generally devoid of this skill.

# of Players with Speed

PT Cat.	Universe	C	1B	3B	2B	SS	OF
F	45	2	0	4	7	10	22
M	12	0	0	2	0	3	7
P	21	0	0	1	3	3	14
No-Timers	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Total	79	2	0	7	10	16	44

The good news is that almost 80 percent of all full-time players own some skill in batting effectiveness (a proxy for batting average). For the most part, this skill declines rapidly as PT decreases, to the point where less than 15 percent of no-timers hold this skill.

# of Players with Batting Effectiveness

PT Cat.	Universe	C	1B	3B	2B	SS	OF
F	136	5	24	18	19	24	45
M	50	8	5	5	9	3	20
P	38	4	2	6	5	4	17
No-Timers	19	1	3	3	3	0	8
Total	243	18	34	32	36	31	90

Multi-asset skill combinations are much more difficult to find. As one might expect, the triple combination of power/speed/average is the scarcest commodity, possessed by only a handful of elite players. And the power/speed combination is likewise scarce. A strategy that focuses on the power/average skillset and judiciously supplements with related speed/average players may prove to be effective.

Players possessing skill combinations

PT Cat.	Universe	P/S		P/A		S/A		P/S/A
	#	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
F	173	4	3%	66	39%	15	9%	20	12%
M	99	2	2%	16	16%	4	4%	2	2%
P	133	6	5%	8	6%	4	3%	0	0%
NT	178	0	0%	7	4%	0	0%	0	0%
Total	583	34	6%	119	20%	45	8%	22	4%

Summary of liabilities

Any BABS conversation is not complete without a discussion of liabilities. This last section summarizes major liabilities by playing time tiers. In almost every category, liabilities increase – often significantly – as playing time decreases.

Summary of Liabilities by Playing Time

PT Cat.	Universe	-P		-A		-PA		Inj		Ex
	#	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
F	173	18	10%	17	10%	0	0%	81	47%	48	28%
M	99	13	13%	24	24%	4	4%	63	63%	38	38%
P	133	20	15%	58	44%	11	8%	67	50%	93	70%
NT	178	13	7%	85	48%	54	30%	36	20%	149	84%
Total	583	64	11%	184	32%	69	12%	247	42%	328	56%

Note that nearly half of full-time players have an injury liability. That percentage spikes at the lesser PT tiers, but there is some redundancy in that since injuries do erode playing time. Still, that further begs the need for good risk budget planning.