2020 MLB Draft Guide: Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues

Points leagues may not be the most popular format for fantasy baseball. But it is a preferred format for yours truly. Now objectively speaking, it probably isn’t the best way to determine the best overall fantasy baseball team. But I will contest that in points leagues, you’ll find the best fantasy baseball players. Points leagues are fun because halfway through the season in rotisserie formats or even head-to-head category leagues, some owners might check out. That’s not to say that won’t happen in a points league, but in a non-points league it just gets a little dull when the scoreboard is based on how many categories you’re in control of going into the weekend, or your overall standings in a roto league where the standings may not shift as much. In a points league, it’s head-to-head and similar to fantasy football where you are trying to run up the score on your opponent. It’s kind of like the DFS aspect of basketball or football. A lot of players like it because the score is constantly changing and growing throughout the night. A similar argument could be applied to fantasy baseball points leagues. It’s more fun in my opinion and requires plenty of attention. Like I mentioned earlier, you don’t need to draft the best team. But if you’re smart enough you can constantly pull out victories on a week-to-week basis and prove yourself to be the best manager in your league.

Know The Scoring

AKA Know your league rules. I hate to sound like a broken record because it’s so easy to dedicate a section to this in every Draft Guide article, but if you’re new to a points league, you’ll definitely want to familiarize yourself with your league’s scoring and rules. Here is a basic breakdown of most start-up fantasy baseball leagues:

Now to sum up the table above, a solo home run equals six points if you account for the RBI, the run scored, and the total bases. Ergo, a grand slam will equal nine points. Now, in a lot of mock drafts I’ve done I’m seeing steals going much earlier. That makes sense, it’s usually a standard metric in 5x5 or 7x7 head-to-head categories leagues. In points leagues, if they’re only worth two points, you don’t need to prioritize them as much. But if you’re grabbing a Mike Trout , Ronald Acuna Jr., or Christian Yelich then the steals are an added bonus to the power, runs, and RBI that power hitters are sure to attract. Whit Merrifield stole 45 bases in 2018, but that number dropped to 20 in 2019. Fortunately, if you drafted him in a points league, the uptick in home runs, runs, and RBI negated the points lost from steals. The juiced ball is a wondrous thing.

Pitching can be a premium if you know the scoring. The innings pitched can be a nice bonus. In most standard points leagues an out is worth 0.75 points. So, a full inning is worth 2.25 points. If they’re worth a full point (a 33.3% increase) then pitching is even more valuable. Again, pay attention to the values of wins, losses, saves, and holds. Typically, most start-up points leagues won’t incorporate holds and saves are only five points. And if your closer is only working one inning that’s just 7.75 points with the upside of 10.75 points if he strikes out the order. They could lose points based on walks or hits allowed and even more if a runner scores. Unless you’re getting one of the true stud closers, this is typically a position you can punt. If required to start two relief pitchers, I recommend finding a couple SP/RP eligible pitchers to slot into those spots for their value as starting pitchers.

Wins and losses play a big role as well. Wins typically range from three-to-seven points, but I have played in leagues where they’re as valuable as ten. A loss typically costs you five points. Most savvy points leagues will de-value wins since that’s a statistic more reflective of the team than it is the pitcher. Look at Jacob deGrom for example. In his last two seasons he’s 21-17, but he’s won the NL Cy Young each year because of the non-team-related stats such as strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, etc. Some points leagues may reward for quality starts with an additional bonus for wins. deGrom has 95 starts in the last three seasons, throwing 200-plus innings in each. Over the last three seasons he has 72 quality starts as well. While the wins may not be as abundant because he plays for the Mets, the quality starts can still return some value in points leagues as well. Gerrit Cole is a great points league target (as if I’m just stating the obvious). He pitches deep into games, garners strikeouts, limits walks, and he plays for the Yankees so the run support will be there for him.

Walks vs. Strikeouts

In today’s baseball, it’s hard to find a player with a walk rate higher than his strikeout rate, but they do exist. Alex Bregman is such a valuable points league commodity because he’s a patient, and disciplined hitter. In addition to the 41 home runs, 112 RBI, and 122 runs scored he was also third in baseball last year with a 17.2% walk rate. Even a walk means a player gets on base, which results in a point in this format. This is where we separate the Billy Beane’s from the rest of the pack in points leagues. What made Bregman even more special was his 12.0% strikeout rate. Similarly, this is what made Joey Votto so valuable as a points league threat. For years he always touted walk rates either better than, or on par with his strikeout rate. Unfortunately, 2019 wasn’t kind to him as he walked in 12.5% of his plate appearances and struck out 20.2% of the time.

We are witnessing a revitalization in offense across Major League Baseball. The juiced ball has elevated power and home runs to increase scoring. Last season’s top ten leaders in walk rate all had at least 28 home runs, with seven of them hitting at least 34. So, with more players in the league swinging for the fences, these players also tend to strikeout more. But don’t forget that walks can lead to other points as well. A strikeout may cost your hitter a point, but a walk equates to a point and can be more if they score or swipe a base. If you’re having trouble deciding between two hitters during your league’s draft or if you’re stuck on two waiver wire options, take a look at which one has the better walk rate. It’s a fairly decent metric to consider if they’re in a good lineup.

On the opposite site of the ball, you’ll want to consider pitchers with an elevated K/9 (strikeouts per nine innings), or just a high strikeout-to-walk ratio (K:BB). Strikeouts earn your pitchers a point, while some leagues may punish your pitcher if they allow a walk or a hit. So, the previous metrics as well as WHIP are useful tools when identifying pitchers you want to draft or claim off waivers. If you can get a couple starting pitchers that average a strikeout per inning you’re in good shape. Just be weary of a player like Robbie Ray . Last year Ray ranked third in K/9 with a 12.13 average. However, he also had a BB/9 of 4.34, which was the second-worst among qualified. He still averaged more strikeouts than walks, but coupled with the elevated home runs allowed and you have a wildly inconsistent pitcher in points leagues. The same can be said for Dakota Hudson . Sure, his 16 wins last season helped boost his points league profile. However, he touted a 7.01 K/9 and a 4.43 BB/9. You’ll want to lock up reliable pitchers with strikeout upside. And when you run out of pitching options averaging a strikeout per inning, try to find those innings eaters. Remember, innings equal points too.

Streaming Starting Pitchers

In a categories league it’s less popular to stream pitchers because you’re potentially sacrificing the ratio categories if a streamer has even a mediocre start. However, in a points league a player that goes out and pitches six innings, giving up three earned runs, with six hits, four strikeouts, and three walks is still getting you a few points in most leagues, but that kind of performance might hurt you in roto or categories leagues.

Typically, you should have four-to-five starting pitchers on your team you want to start each week and that’s not including any SP/RP eligible pitchers. It’s a points league, you should want to accumulate as many points as possible and you can do that by streaming pitchers each week. During your draft it’s okay to think “quality over quantity,” but when you’re looking at your matchup for the coming week, you may want to flip that philosophy and try to get as many starts in as possible among pitchers. There are two kinds of streamers to look for on waivers and luckily Fantasy Alarm provides weekly recommendations for both.

The first of which are two-start pitchers. Fantasy Alarm provides a great weekly breakdown of every pitcher toeing the rubber twice each week. Every single pitcher getting two starts is acknowledged as well as their match-up's.  Additionally, every two-start pitcher is ranked as well. Obviously, the elite pitchers won’t be available for you, but a two-start streaming option puts you in a position to collect more points just through streaming an innings eater. Even if a pitcher gets you just 10-to-20 points across those two starts, that’s better than nothing and you’ll take it for your team.

The other kind of streaming option is just a day-to-day streaming pitcher. If you’re playing in a league that has a limit on the number of transactions, you can make each week you’ll need to identify the pitchers in the best match-up. If playing in a league that allows you to make unlimited transactions, then try to identify a streamer or two each day. This will frustrate your league to no end, but it’s a tried and true method that can work and push you ahead of your opponent each week. Some guys will burn you and cost you some points, but that’s part of the game. Even your ace pitchers will occasionally get roughed up. When looking at a streamer, consider his recent workload. Is he capable of possibly getting a quality start? Does he give up a lot of hard contact? Does he allow a lot of walks? Who is he playing and is it a pitcher-friendly ballpark? You have to be more aggressive in points leagues and identify the best pitchers to stream. Keep an eye out on Saturday mornings for the Fantasy Alarm Starting Pitching Streamers article.

Best of luck if this is your first time playing in a points league! If you have any questions regarding your draft, or in-season questions about waiver moves or trades in this format, hit me up on Twitter (@RealDANlanta) and I’ll gladly help you out.