Who Should Draft Consistently in 2012

I shared a compilation of player rankings from five websites last week in order to prepare for the 2012 fantasy baseball season. The spreadsheets I created included the unweighted and weighted averages from the player rankings. In case you missed these previous posts, both lists can be accessed below as well as the standard deviation, which will help determine the consistency of one's drafting position.

The first sheet listed below is entitled "Measuring Draft Consistency" and will be the topic I will focus upon. A low standard deviation score should help us determine which players are locks in particular rounds of the draft depending upon how the experts ranked them, while a higher score should raise concern. I calculated a player's Average Draft Round (ADR) based upon their average rank with and without weight while also assuming a standard Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball 12 team league with 23 picks per team.

Disclaimer: Just because someone ranks somewhere on my lists still means he could be drafted earlier or later. Please use these spreadsheets as a guide, not fact.


Your first round draft picks consistently occupy the top 17 slots aside from Evan Longoria who is ranked 28th. Most of your early rounders scored a low standard deviation score, though there was some consistency in a few late round picks as well. For example, Miguel Montero is ranked 19th and falls in the 9th round and Joel Hanrahan is ranked 41st and had an ADR of 132 on both lists.

A few players to be wary of on draft day were generally drafted early, but had a very high standard deviation. The most obvious candidates are Ryan Braun and Ryan Howard, who both may miss a significant amount of playing time next season. Adam Wainwright and Josh Johnson both fell in the 9th round overall, but were all over the board due to our hesitance as they mutually recover from injuries.

I quickly did an eyeball comparison between this list and our slow mock draft from last month. Some players aligned with these predictions, while others were drafted earlier or later. This can be expected because our draft was setup in a different format when compared to Yahoo. It also shows you can sometimes afford to wait and reach for some players. Derek Jeter was the 224th pick in our draft, while most would claim him much earlier. This could have been the best pick of the entire draft, though everyone questioned it.

These spreadsheets will be updated and re-released once Fantasy Gameday publishes their list. I will attempt to update this data if any of my referenced analysts updates their lists.

(BleacherGM, CBS Sports, Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks, Mock Draft Central via KFFL, Roto Summit)

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Before you leave today, please cast your vote for my 2012 fantasy baseball team names based upon the formerly popular Super Nintendo game, Super Baseball 2020. Select as many names as you want. Thanks for voting!

Fantasy Baseball Team Names: Which team names should be chosen from Super Baseball 2020?
	American Dreams
	Tokyo Samurais
	Naples Seagulls
	Taiwan Megapowers
	Korea Dragoon
	Battle Angels
	Battle Heroes
	Ninja Blacksox
	Aussie Battlers
	Mechanical Brains
	Metal Slashers
	Tropical Girls
pollcode.com free polls

2012 Fantasy Baseball Weighted Average Rankings

I introduced five websites to you earlier this week that spent a lot of time to create their fantasy baseball rankings for the upcoming 2012 season. All of the ranked players were compiled into a spreadsheet where I found their unweighted average ranking. The following spreadsheet is the same list, except sorted using their weighted average rankings:

• BleacherGM -- (BGM)
• CBS Sports -- (CBS)
• Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks -- (FBCJ)
• Mock Draft Central via KFFL -- (MDC)
• Roto Summit -- (RS)

The weighted values I chose were dependent upon how many individuals were included when the website released their results. When I last compiled the data on January 1, 2012, KFFL had accumulated the results from 143 drafts from Mock Draft Central. Rather than provide them with an unrealistic weight of 143, I gave them a modest weighted value of four. BleacherGM received a weighted value of two; CBS Fantasy, one; Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks, two; and Roto Summit, one. FBCJ actually has three writers, but only two submitted their lists thus far, which is why they will eventually receive a weighted value of three.

While working on this article, I realized the values I used for BGM and MDC were in a different format than everyone else, which caused their ranks to become skewed. For example, Albert Pujols had a value of 3.31 on MDC but was actually ranked 2nd on their list. I have since conformed the values on both spreadsheets. Don't worry if you miss the updated unweighted list because everything will be analyzed later this week. These lists will be updated and republished next month as well once Fantasy Gameday's ranking list is released.

Be sure to leave a comment if you don't agree with my weighted values or if you have any other suggestions.

Help me choose the names for my fantasy baseball teams next season: Poll & Original Post.

Choose My Fantasy Baseball Team Names

"Super Baseball 2020 is a futuristic baseball video game... The game follows the basic rules of baseball, but there are several upgrades since the game takes place in the year 2020. The most obvious difference from real baseball is that some of the characters in this game are robots. All the human characters are equipped with powerful armor, computer sensors, and jet-packs for improved offense and defensive skills." -- Wikipedia

I decided to choose a theme for my fantasy baseball teams in 2012: Super Baseball 2020. This decision caused me to dust off my Super Nintendo and ProPad controller, connect them to our television, blow out the old cartridge, and play a couple games last night. No emulators for me!

Oh, sweet childhood nostalgia. I sincerely hope mentioning this game causes a stroll down one's memory lane. Here's a little background info courtesy of Steve from RVGFANATIC:

When Super Baseball 2020 came out nearly 20 years ago in 1991, 2020 seemed like it would never come. It's a bit of a trip to think we're only a short decade from seeing our favorite Major League ball players all replaced with robots who can leap in the air 50 feet to rob potential game winning home runs. 10 more years...


In the year 2020, baseball rules and regulations have drastically changed. Now the emphasis is on a large fair playing field, making action quicker and more exciting. The foul zone has now been reduced to strictly behind the catcher. One can score hits all over the field!


Also new in 2020 is the usage of money to upgrade your robot players into super soldier robots of destruction. Earn or lose money on positive and negative plays alike. Adds a bit of depth and strategy to the ol' baseball formula.


One of the coolest things about Super Baseball 2020 for me as a kid was NO DOUBT about it those futuristic looking blue glass plates that cover the audience. Not just used to cosmetic purposes, in the year 2020 balls that are hit on the glass plates are in play! This leads to what I like to call "Wall Ball" and balls potentially rolling down several planes of glass for miles and miles, allowing you to stretch singles into doubles or even triples! No other baseball game offers this, so it made SB 2020 very unique and fun to play.


Instead of a lame 7th inning stretch, in 2020 the 7th inning means the WILD CARD INNING where both teams receive a major dosage of added power. You can call "time out" and replace your pitcher, fielders, base runners or hitter with a robot off the bench, or upgrade if you have the cash. Throughout the course of a game, robots will lose energy and give warning signs before completely breaking down. Be sure to replace them as once they start to leak, so to speak, they become close to ineffective (hit/power/speed all drastically dip).

Perhaps there are some teams you remember whenever you played this game yourself. I recall always choosing the Mechanical Brains or Korea Dragoon while growing up, though last night I played as the Battle Heroes and Tokyo Samurais.

I intend to draft at least four teams this season and as many as six, so more votes will help me. As an additional challenge for myself, I will attempt to draft my teams toward an equivalent statistical goal as the teams chosen. (i.e. American Dreams. Hitting:10/10, Pitching:5/10)

Without further ado, here is the poll:

Fantasy Baseball Team Names: Which team names should be chosen from Super Baseball 2020?   American Dreams Tokyo Samurais Naples Seagulls Taiwan Megapowers Korea Dragoon Battle Angels Battle Heroes Ninja Blacksox Aussie Battlers Mechanical Brains Metal Slashers Tropical Girls    pollcode.com free polls

I've thought about this before, but how cool would it be to see a modern day version of Super Baseball 2020 using today's players from Major League Baseball? How awesome would it be to see the guys wearing cybernetic suits and jet packs? Justin Verlander could hurl the ball upwards to 300 miles per hour, Jose Bautista would launch the ball into the stratosphere, and Yadier Molina would be a fielding abomination behind the plate. Would Albert Pujols still be "The Machine" or would the robot? I'll keep dreaming.

Thanks for your participation and walking down memory lane with me.

2012 Fantasy Baseball Average Rankings

Note: If you are looking for my updated list, then please click the tab above entitled "2012 Overall Ranks."


Welcome to 2012. It's time to really get focused on fantasy baseball since it's officially the new year and there are less than two months until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Everyone has their own opinions regarding where a baseball player should be ranked during a fantasy baseball draft. These opinions are ever evolving, especially during the offseason while some men are still seeking a new home. How can you trust one resource?

I don't know about you but I can't, so here is an average of several websites.


I've compiled the data from the following five websites to create the average rank for nearly 400 players.

• BleacherGM -- (BGM)
• CBS Sports -- (CBS)
• Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks -- (FBCJ)
• Mock Draft Central via KFFL -- (MDC)
• Roto Summit -- (RS)

A portion of these lists are actually dated, which is why you can't rely on only one website and makes the analysis fun. For example, BleacherGM's lists were compiled by Jeffrey and Jeremy before and after the alleged Ryan Braun PED accusation, respectively. Jeffrey ranked Braun second on December 1st, while Jeremy chose to not rank him at all on December 15th.

Scott White from CBS Sports released his article on December 13th, Jesse Sakstrup from RotoSummit released his list on November 4th, and the list from Mock Draft Central is continuously compiled. As I write this article, 143 drafts were recorded and extracted today on January 1st. The guys from Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks were gracious enough to forward me an early copy of their rankings. In addition to these, Fantasy GameDay will also be included next month after their list is released.

You may have noticed the table is labeled as the "Unweighted Average." If a player was skipped in one website's draft, then I provided that individual a standard value of one higher than their maximum. For example, CBS Sports ranked 300 players, so an unranked player received a value of 301 (300+1). These unweighted values are fine, though I think it's a tad unfair given the amount of input provided by some of these websites. That said, I will release the weighted average rankings later this week.

No analysis tonight. Enjoy the pretty list for now. Happy New Year, everyone.

(Updated @ 10:36pm CST)
Oops. I referenced the incorrect data from RotoSummit and must have crossed my wires when I was sorting the spreadsheet on top of that. Everything should check out now. Sorry about that, Jesse.

Offseason Christmas Wishlist

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house.
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Neal Huntington may be asleep as well. Just take a look at some of Pittsburgh's questionable situations and their answers for them thus far.

Pittsburgh's last major league transaction sent Jose Veras to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for McGehee on December 12th. Pirates Prospects now estimates their 40-man payroll at approximately $46 million, which is at least $4 million less than their originally announced budget. I am satisfied with the way they answered most of their questions, but first base still leaves me wanting more. I would not be against them targeting an additional starting pitcher as well.

   Catcher
x Ryan Doumit contract option declined.
x Chris Snyder contract option declined.
o Rod Barajas signed for $4MM over 1 year.

   First Base
x Derrek Lee becomes a free agent and declines arbitration.
o Garrett Jones offered arbitration.
o Lee, Carlos Pena.

   Third Base
x Pedro Alvarez may have another dismal season.
o Casey McGehee acquired from Milwaukee.

   Shortstop
x Ronny Cedeno contract option declined.
o Clint Barmes signed for $10.5MM over 2 years.

   Starting Pitcher
x Paul Maholm contract option declined.
x Ross Ohlendorf non-tendered and released.
o Erik Bedard signed for $4.5MM over 1 year.
o Wei-Yin Chen, Jeff Francis, Rich Harden, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Joe Saunders.

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John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals have my permission to have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

The Cards may have lost Albert Pujols, but signing Carlos Beltran and Adam Wainwright's return should recover any wins they may have lost without him while maintaining their $110 million payroll. Fantastic.

   First Base
x Pujols becomes a free agent and signs with Los Angeles Angels.
o Lance Berkman shifts from right field to play first base.

   Second Base
x Nick Punto becomes a free agent and signs with Boston Red Sox.
x Ryan Theriot non-tendered and released.
o Skip Schumaker resigned for $3MM over 2 years.
o Daniel Descalso, Tyler Greene, and Allen Craig are under team control through 2013.

   Shortstop
x Rafael Furcal becomes a free agent.
o Furcal is resigned for $14MM over 2 years.

   Center Field
x Jon Jay is under team control through 2013, but should not play every day.
o Beltran could cover center field on rare occasions to allow Craig playing time in right field.

   Right Field
x Berkman shifts to first base.
x Craig will begin the season on the disabled list.
o Beltran signed for $26MM over 2 years.

   Starting Pitcher
x Edwin Jackson becomes a free agent.
o Wainwright returns from Tommy John surgery.

   Relief Pitcher
x Octavio Dotel becomes a free agent and signs with Detroit Tigers.
o J.C. Romero signed for $750K over 1 year.

Key
Team Losses: x
Questionable: o
Acceptable: o

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What more could I ask for Christmas?

Contract extensions for Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina, and Wainwright.

Thanks for listening, Santa.