Speed is plentiful in the shortstop pool
The 50% Off discount to The Athletic is available through Monday, February 18. by Pat Cloghessy Speed is a precious commodity. In this year’s player pool, speed paired with another asset is in short supply. There are 33 full-timers who can claim another asset in addition to speed. Thirteen of these have shortstop eligibility. So,…
Read MoreSecondbasemen offer diverse skills, multiple positions
In our perpetual quest for speed, second base is the first place where we can take a serious look. Here, and at shortstop, you can really stock up. However, SS also has a bunch of power options, so if you are going to skim off the SBs, they may come a little cheaper here. There…
Read MoreI’m joining The Athletic… and an early BABS observation
The news is out… I am joining the staff of The Athletic. For those unfamiliar, TA is a subscription-based online sports magazine that boasts some of the best writers in the business. Today kicks off the launch of their new fantasy baseball section, and I’m honored to have been asked to be a contributor. Here…
Read MoreGrab your 3Bmen early in this shallow skills pool
by Doug Gruber The perception by many fantasy owners is that the 3B position is a deep player pool. BABS says otherwise; she tells us that the number of multi-asset players continues to fall… from 20 in 2017, to 17 last year, to only 12 for 2019. Some of the pool evaporation is due to…
Read MoreFirst Base is Thinner, but Leverage Options are Plentiful
It has been pointed out in numerous places that this is the first year (since 2004, anyway) that there are no first-basemen in the first round ADP rankings. Indeed, the position has thinned out, but there still remain plenty of BABSian opportunities to play off the marketplace. Among full- and mid-timers, there are only seven…
Read MoreCatcher pool hits bottom
Is there anyone here worth drafting? When it comes to catchers in 2019, it is a legitimate question. We’ve watched the value of the backstop population plummet in recent years. It was not too long ago that Buster Posey was a first-rounder. Gary Sanchez managed a second round ADP in 2018, only to bust. Even…
Read MoreA high level accounting of the BABS player pool
By Patrick Cloghessy In our quest to set roster targets and assess our ability to meet those targets, it is helpful to have a good sense of the composition of the player pool. From a BABsian perspective, that means taking an accounting of where she is allocating her assets and liabilities. Here is a high-level…
Read MoreBABS Baseball 2.0 (BABL)
Last year, we introduced a fantasy baseball game format that made best use of how BABS has taught us to build teams. It incorporated players’ skills as well as risk, and pushed us into a more methodical process for roster construction. The leagues we ran in Year #1 might have been considered live laboratories for…
Read MoreDrafting with BABS right out of the box
In past years, having a fantasy baseball draft in January would seem a bit premature. Still, by now there would have been enough trades and free agent signings that we’d have at least a general sense of how MLB rosters are shaking out. These days, it’s far more complicated. As Bryce Harper and Manny Machado…
Read MoreAn early view of 2019 BABS ratings
by Patrick Cloghessy Let’s cut to the chase. We are here for a reckoning. Will BABS confirm our love for Ronald Acuna? Will she throw cold water on Walker Buehler (pictured)? We know it’s instructive to overlay BABS’ rankings with ADP. As of this writing, there have been 76 completed NFBC drafts. BABS appears to…
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