This article is part of our Baseball Draft Kit series.
I have a tendency to frame everything in the lens of 5x5 rotisserie when flapping my gums about baseball.
In my mind, 5x5 roto with 14 active hitters (including two catchers) and nine active pitchers is the "standard," carried forth by the standard bearer in the industry, the NFBC. Everything is about evaluating players for 5x5 rotisserie first and foremost, but I play other formats of fantasy baseball as well.
We must distinguish between "rotisserie" and "fantasy." "Rotisserie," or "roto," is a scoring system developed in the 1980s which attributes standings points for your league rank in certain scoring categories. "Fantasy" is a broader, more all-encompassing word that refers to all leagues and styles from rotisserie to head-to-head (H2H) points to head-to-head categories to best-ball to DFS to overall prize pool contests and everything in between. There are countless variations of the scoring settings in these formats and it's important to acknowledge just how much things can change with even minor adjustments to roster requirements or scoring settings.
If there are 12 teams in your 5x5 rotisserie league and you finish first in home runs, you receive 12 standings points. Conversely, if you finish dead last in home runs, you get only one point in the standings. The same goes for batting average, runs, RBI, stolen bases, ERA, WHIP, wins, saves and strikeouts.
In rotisserie scoring leagues, I feel strongly that it's unwise to punt any single category, as you're digging yourself a massive hole emerging from a draft with
I have a tendency to frame everything in the lens of 5x5 rotisserie when flapping my gums about baseball.
In my mind, 5x5 roto with 14 active hitters (including two catchers) and nine active pitchers is the "standard," carried forth by the standard bearer in the industry, the NFBC. Everything is about evaluating players for 5x5 rotisserie first and foremost, but I play other formats of fantasy baseball as well.
We must distinguish between "rotisserie" and "fantasy." "Rotisserie," or "roto," is a scoring system developed in the 1980s which attributes standings points for your league rank in certain scoring categories. "Fantasy" is a broader, more all-encompassing word that refers to all leagues and styles from rotisserie to head-to-head (H2H) points to head-to-head categories to best-ball to DFS to overall prize pool contests and everything in between. There are countless variations of the scoring settings in these formats and it's important to acknowledge just how much things can change with even minor adjustments to roster requirements or scoring settings.
If there are 12 teams in your 5x5 rotisserie league and you finish first in home runs, you receive 12 standings points. Conversely, if you finish dead last in home runs, you get only one point in the standings. The same goes for batting average, runs, RBI, stolen bases, ERA, WHIP, wins, saves and strikeouts.
In rotisserie scoring leagues, I feel strongly that it's unwise to punt any single category, as you're digging yourself a massive hole emerging from a draft with a locked-in 1 or 2 standings points in a category. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on your team to be great in the other nine categories. Ideally, you'll emerge from your roto draft with at least a foothold in all 10 categories.
This is far less important in H2H and best-ball leagues. Balance is not nearly as important in these formats, as the goal is not to accumulate standings points but rather points at large and/or more categorical wins than your H2H opponent.
Since most people agree and do not punt categories in rotisserie leagues -- especially in those with an overall prize-pool component -- there is a need for speed. However, outside the first couple rounds, you're frequently sacrificing something else chasing stolen bases, whether it be batting average or counting stats. In most H2H and best-ball leagues, that sacrifice is not worth it because stolen bases account for just one category and most of the time steals are not proportionally weighted to make up for the loss of other stats. Focusing instead on middle-of-the-order mashers and guys who are pluses in at least three categories is far more preferable in leagues where you do not need standings points to compete.
As these games evolve, there is a growing disconnect between "rotisserie" and "fantasy." Knowing how to properly value players based on your specific league settings is a skill, one which can help separate you from the pack. I'm continually amazed how often -- even in leagues with experienced players -- people make miscalculations in player valuation and/or strategical errors related to the scoring settings or roster requirements. Don't be that person.
Following the rules is lame, but winning is not.
If your league requires, say, only 10 active hitters against nine active pitchers, your valuation of the entire macro player pool should change. A far greater percentage of the league's draft capital should be spent on pitchers, and the tax on elite pitchers should be greater. With teams needing fewer active hitters, the bar for what constitutes a viable starting hitter is raised, but there are also far more options to choose from at the end of the draft and in-season on the waiver wire. This is where ADP can lead some astray, as many sets of ADP are drawn from "standard" formats with 14 active hitters and nine active pitchers required. Those who lean heavily on ADP in any formats other than 5x5 roto leagues with 14 active hitters and nine active pitchers will put themselves in a losing position.
The same goes for one-catcher leagues. You could maybe make a case for drafting J.T. Realmuto at his ADP this year in a one-catcher league since he's head and shoulders above the rest, but for the most part catchers should be pushed way down the cheat sheet in one-catcher leagues. I'd even go so far as to say you should wait until your final pick to nab a catcher in a one-catcher league (bold, I know). Catchers just naturally play in fewer games and get hurt more often, and very few pack the offensive punch that other players in their ADP range do.
Knowing your league rules and settings is crucial, and gearing your strategy to those rules is one of the easiest ways to gain an edge in your leagues. With all this in mind, let's take a look at the rule changes the league is introducing in 2020 and see if there are any logical conclusions we can come to.
THE CHANGES EFFECTIVE FOR THE 2020 SEASON INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
ACTIVE ROSTER PROVISIONS
» The active roster limit from Opening Day through August 31st and in Postseason games will increase from 25 to 26, and the minimum number of active players will increase from 24 to 25. The current Major League Rules allowing for a 26th player for doubleheaders will be amended to allow for a 27th player.
» Elimination of 40-man active roster limit in September. From September 1st through the end of the championship season, all Clubs must carry 28 players on the active roster.
» The number of pitchers a club may carry on the active roster will be capped at a number determined by the joint committee. Clubs must designate each of its players as either a pitcher or a position player prior to each player's first day on the active roster for a given season. That designation will remain in effect for the player, and cannot change, for the remainder of the championship season and Postseason. No player on the active roster other than those designated as pitchers by the Club may appear in a championship season or Postseason game as a pitcher except in the following scenarios:
» Players designated as a "Two-Way Player." A player qualifies as a "Two-Way Player" only if he accrues at least 20 Major League innings pitched and at least 20 Major League games started as a position player or designated hitter (with at least three place appearances in each of those games) in either the current championship season or the prior championship season;
» Following the ninth inning of an extra-inning game; or » In any game in which his team is losing or winning by more than six runs when the player enters as a pitcher.
MINIMUM NUMBER OF BATTERS FOR PITCHERS
» The Office of the Commissioner will implement an amended Official Baseball Rule 5.10(g) requiring that starting pitchers and relief pitchers must pitch to either a minimum of three batters or the end of a half-inning (with exceptions for incapacitating injury or illness). The Players Association has agreed that it will not grieve or otherwise challenge the Office of the Commissioner's implementation of the amended Rule 5.10(g).
INJURED LIST AND OPTION PERIOD FOR PITCHERS
» Subject to input from the joint committee, the minimum placement period for pitchers on the Injured List shall increase from 10 days to 15 days, and the minimum assignment period for pitchers who are optionally assigned to the minors will in- crease from 10 days to 15 days.
The extra roster spot will help some fringe relievers stick around and make bat-first position players easier for major-league teams to carry on the bench. A byproduct of the decision to limit September rosters to 28 players will be a heightened level of overall play around Major League Baseball over the final month of the regular season. With so many teams out of the race and an excess of Triple-A arms hanging around on the big-league rosters in past Septembers, the quality of play suffered and certain players with favorable schedules would feast on the lower-caliber pitchers. I imagine we will also see fewer name-brand prospects get auditions in September, as with fewer spots available, there will be less public pressure on teams to promote players coming off hot seasons in the minors.
The move to limit position players taking the mound with the rule that teams must designate players as either position players or pitchers will also, in theory, improve the overall quality of play in 2020. Not greatly, though. Position players certainly gave up some long balls in blowouts last season, but those are mostly negligible and there's nothing actionable in the fantasy sphere as far as this rule is concerned.
The two-way rule will hurt Michael Lorenzen and very few others. The Angels would have had to sacrifice the DH to have Shohei Ohtani serve as the starting pitcher and hit in the same game anyway. The Rays played some games in recent years moving a pitcher to the field -- Sergio Romo to third base in 2018 -- for one batter before shifting that pitcher back to the mound. The three-batter minimum and the two-way rule will do away with those strategic elements, but again, this will have little effect on our game.
Major League Baseball's revival of the 15-day injured list -- for pitchers only -- and extension of the required option period for pitchers should be called "The Dodger Rule." While we will never know the extent to which they manipulated the rules or how many phantom IL visits there were, the Dodgers developed a reputation for working the injured list to their advantage after the move to the 10-day IL in 2017. No longer will a pitcher be able to come off the roster and miss only one start. This is probably a positive for fantasy owners as teams can't just decide they want to skip one start and give a guy a rest for one turn through the rotation. It seemed like those decisions were always made after Monday's lineup lock, forcing many to stare at a dead roster spot all week. There should be fewer IL visits for pitchers overall.
This article appears in the 2020 RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Guide. You can order a copy here.
