2014 Overall Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Updated April 2, 2014 *The average draft round (ADR) presumes your participation in a standard 12 team league.
Click here if you don't see the spreadsheet

Code	Website Name	Twitter	Weighted Value	Last Update
BP	Baseball Professor	@BaseballProf	1	February 22
CBS1	Scott White	@CBSScottWhite	1	March 27
CBS2	Al Melchior	@almelccbs	1	March 24
CBS3	Michael Hurcomb	@CBSHurc	1	March 30
CHGM	ClubhouseGM	@ClubhouseGM	1	February 18
ESPN1	ESPN Fantasy Staff	@ESPNFantasy	5	March 26
ESPN2	Tristan H. Cockcroft	@SultanofStat	3	April 2
FA	Fantasy Assembly	@TheJimFinch	1	March 17
FBC	Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks	@FBCrackerjacks	2	February 27
FC	Fantasy Cafe	@rjwhite1	2	March 23
FGD	Fantasy Gameday	@Fantasy_Gameday	3	March 11
FS	Fantasy Squads	@FantasySquads	1	March 28
FP911	Fantasy Pros 911	@MattDFP911	1	March 28
FOX	Fox Sports Staff	@FoxSports	5	March 25
MLB	Major League Baseball	@MLB	2	March 31
MrCS	Mr. Cheatsheet	@MrCheatSheet	1	March 26
MrFF	Mr. Fantasy Freak	@Awies28	1	December 22
RAZZ	Razzball	@Razzball	3	March 25
RC	RotoChamp	@RotoChamp	2	March 31
YHOO	Yahoo Sports Staff	@YahooSports	5	March 28

This guide provided me with success in 2012, so it's here to return in 2014. My apologies to the one and only user who submitted a request for it last year, but I was preoccupied with my own work. I hope this helps others prepare for this season. Please give me a shout out if it helps you as the motivation helps me along.

Players who will not play in 2014 were removed. I will try to make every attempt to update this page to make sure the information is up to date. Please contact me with any errors you may discover or if you find another reputable website with a similar top overall ranking. I've compiled the data from the following websites to create the average rank for nearly 500 players. If a player did not appear on a resource's list, then they were assigned a static value of 500.

What is the purpose of this spreadsheet?
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? This is a compilation of lists sorted using unweighted as well as weighted rankings. The weighted value was determined for each website depending upon how many individuals were polled for their overall list or general confidence in the resource. I welcome critiques.

Why should I care about standard deviation?
A low standard deviation indicates the data points tend to be very close to the mean, whereas high standard deviation indicates the data points are spread out over a large range of values. Simply put, it is a measure of confidence between every website I referenced.

For example, every website ranked either Mike Trout or Miguel Cabrera in their top two which is why they have the lowest standard deviation and why you should draft them with the highest confidence. Most of your top round candidates have a standard deviation of 20 or lower, so you can presume a score higher than 20 represents some sort of risk or the possibility of reaching.

• Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols, Matt Kemp - Oh how the mighty hath fallen. Previous first round locks in 2012, but where will they end up in 2014 after being plagued by injuries?
  
• Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta - PED distrust and suspicions?
  
• Masahiro Tanaka - Newly imported from Japan and shipped into hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium. No one's sure what to expect.
  
• David Ortiz, Carlos Beltran, Ben Zobrist, Curtis Granderson, Chase Utley - Regression candidates? The experts seem to have differing opinions on how to rank these guys.
  
• Max Scherzer, Carlos Gomez, Shin-Soo Choo, Jean Segura, Matt Carpenter - Some believe they played over their heads last season and have no place to go but down.
  
• Josh Hamilton, Starlin Castro, CC Sabathia, B.J. Upton - Some were bad in 2013, others were downright awful. We can only expect them to improve, right? Right?
  
• Manny Machado - Opted for reconstructive surgery on his knee on October 10, 2013 that will sideline him for 4-6 months. He is expected to return around Opening Day, but not everyone is optimistic.

Standard deviation may not actually indicate a possible performance issue as it may just represent indecision, so do your homework before you commit to anything questionable. This guide has helped me win several leagues and I hope it helps you win your league, too.

I can't promise any new content beyond this guide, so please don't hold your breath. I don't want to be held liable for any asphyxiations.

BBA Season Awards

It is a requirement as a Baseball Bloggers Alliance member to vote for their seasonal awards in the same fashion as the BBWAA. However, it is also a requirement to consistently post new content without any prolonged gaps longer than one month, which is why I am certainly surprised I received the reminder to submit my ballot this week.

Analysis around the Horn is a part of the General Chapter, as such I have the opportunity to vote for everyone without discrimination to one league or another. Although my eligibility is questionable, I submit my ballot regardless:

Connie Mack Award (Best Manager)

1. Davey Johnson (Washington Nationals)
2. Bob Melvin (Oakland Athletics)
3. Buck Showalter (Baltimore Orioles)

Willie Mays Award (Best Rookie)

1. Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
2. Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals)
3. Wade Miley (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Goose Gossage Award (Best Reliever)

1. Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta Braves)
2. Aroldis Chapman (Cincinnati Reds)
3. Fernando Rodney (Tampa Bay Rays)

Walter Johnson Award (Best Pitcher)

1. David Price (Tampa Bay Rays)
2. Gio Gonzalez (Washington Nationals)
3. R.A. Dickey (New York Mets)
4. Matt Cain (San Francisco Giants)
5. Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)

Stan Musial Award (Best Player)

1. Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
2. Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)
3. Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates)
4. Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers)
5. Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
6. Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers)
7. Robinson Cano (New York Yankees)
8. Yadier Molina (St. Louis Cardinals)
9. David Wright (New York Mets)
10. Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay Rays)

I still have plenty of ideas for new content and could talk about the postseason, which is what caused me to hit the ground running last year, but I have quite a few obstacles and other things on my mind while I continue my job search.

Perhaps this will be motivation for me to continue writing. It could help distract me from an otherwise depressing atmosphere and maybe someone will discover my talents through my blog. Who knows. Crazier things have happened and things will begin to look up eventually.

I Apologize, Google Drive

I want to apologize for my absence but thank anyone who is still subscribed and/or frequenting my blog. There is plenty to talk about, though I have had difficulty motivating myself to write when I have other things on my mind such as my job search.

Google recently introduced Google Drive and I started using a new application to automatically sync my Excel spreadsheets to my Google account. I am not sure which caused the problem, but all my spreadsheets were removed and I spent the past three days re-publishing all my tables and correcting all the bad links.

I apologize if you experienced any problems with dead links or missing data. I am sure I would have been frustrated if I were trying to hunt for data only to see this:

I hope you enjoyed the regular season, your fantasy baseball teams were successful, and continue to find joy through October baseball in the MLB postseason.

Roles Reversed

What's going on? Did the author of this blog die? No, I'm here.

Sorry about that, but a job search is a full-time job for an unemployed gentleman like myself.

Less than two months ago I was writing about the St. Louis Cardinals' offensive dominance and the Pittsburgh Pirates' inability to score runs. This is still generally true. The Cards have the highest run differential in the National League while the Pirates have the lowest runs scored among all teams in the Major Leagues. Be that as it may, you wouldn't realize it from the divisional standings.

The Buccos are currently one game over .500 (!) with a record of 28-27, three games behind the first place Cincinnati Reds. Pythagorean expectation shows the Pirates have been incredibly lucky and/or very efficient. James McDonald has been lights out, which is why you may be hearing his name in the same conversation with other guys like Cole Hamels, and not the typical conversation we Pirates fans are accustomed to hearing such as "J Mac was defeated by Hamels and the Phillies." A.J. Burnett has been pretty stellar as well.

Meanwhile the Cards have slid out of first place and are now tied with the Pirates thanks to to an injury induced slump. Chris Carpenter, Lance Berkman, Jon Jay, Skip Schumaker, Matt Carpenter, Kyle McClellan, and Scott Linebrink are all on the disabled list. They only need two more injuries to field a second lineup of crippled Cardinals.

I know this is not much analysis, but I still think it's rather shocking. I promise to have some more ideas coming soon for my reader(s)!

Play Two Out Rally

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite baseball games: Two Out Rally.

My preemptive apologies as most of these details were taken directly from their website. Keep in mind this isn't an interactive game like MLB 12 The Show or MLB 2K12. It's actually a simulator with an RPG twist. Hopefully the following wall of text does not deter anyone from trying it.

2 Out Rally is a multi-player online role-playing game MMORPG dealing with the on-field action, off-field drama, and general excitement of the game of baseball. Registration is simple, free, and required in order to play 2 Out Rally. By registering, you create a "scout" (your username) who will recruit players, run teams, and organize leagues.

Influence
Influence is the currency of your scout and gives him the ability to change events of the world in all sorts of ways, either through Gamechangers, finding new players, purchasing boosts for his players in either experience or cash, or starting new teams. Influence can be acquired in a number of ways:

1. Completing hidden in-game accomplishments either during a game, over the course of a season, or for the length of a career.
2. Winning special tournaments or participating in community events throughout the year.
3. Providing articles or content to build 2 Out Rally's story.
4. Serving as a Tester, Administrator, or Forum Moderator for 2 Out Rally.
5. Purchased from our store or other participating vendors.

Barry Brawn is a
PED monster!

Player Creation
When you start your scout's career, you will begin with enough influence to build your first player with a little left over. This will get you involved in the game and playing right away. In this section, we'll go over the basics for the decisions you will have to make and what those will mean for your character.

You'll want to pick from either a pitcher or a position player immediately, as their ability sets are completely different, and each choice you make will affect them differently. The three elements that will comprise your character design are Attributes, Skills, and Biographical elements. Here's what each of these means.

Attributes are the primary ability sets for your player and represent strength in a general area of the game. If you've played an RPG before, you're probably familiar with these, but if not, don't worry; it will make perfect sense. The point value of an attribute is the sum of all points in its Skill tree (see below). When a player has associated a majority of points into one attribute, that attribute is known as the Primary Attribute or Focus.

Skills are four abilities within each attribute. These skills represent pieces of the player's abilities and allow for more specific customization to the player. For example, the Speed skill is a part of the Athleticism attribute. Adding one point to the Speed skill will add a point to the overall Athleticism Attribute.

Biographical elements are those related to your player's physical size, background, and personality type.

As soon as you've selected either a pitcher or position player, there will be 3 attributes referenced with each selection you make, and every decision you make will alter them in some way. There are countless possibilities, so don't be afraid to experiment.

Burlington Blue Devils won
the wild card in the
red division of Tier C

Finding a Team & Playing the Game
After your player is created, they will need a team. Computer controlled teams will send you offers and are fine as a last resort, but you should prefer to play on a human controlled team with more skilled players and team upgrades for the possibility of free player training. Your player earns more experience when your team wins, so this is another advantage to human controlled teams. You can advertise your player using their forum or contact team owners directly using their private message system.

During your first few levels, this will be the only real development option probably available to you - earning valuable game experience. There are a few ways to earn experience in 2 Out Rally:

1. Playing in Games (a static reward for being on a team that plays games)
2. Winning, an increased experience bonus for every time your team achieves victory.
3. Moving up a League Tier, which will vastly increase the amount of experience you gain. Abusing lower levelled competition isn't going to get you to the big leagues.
4. Rushing Your Player, where your scout expends Influence to get extra training and immediately advance in level.

Every time you earn a set amount of experience, you will advance in level, which will give you 5 more skill points to spend on your development. As you advance in level, you will become eligible to compete in bigger and better leagues, before hopefully taking the stage of the WBL itself. The experience required will increase greatly with each advancing level, so advancing will become more and more difficult as you try to reach the apex of your career.

Training
Once you find a team and start earning your salary, the hard work really begins as you will want to make sure they train every day. If your team has upgrades, then some/all of your upgrades could be free. Training also provides the possibility of receiving a bonus, which varies. Some scouts choose to save their player's salary until they can afford the option with the best experience to cost ratio ($8,000), but you may risk missing out on bonuses.

There are three types of training: fitness, celebrity, and charity. Your player receives one skill point for every level of fitness training completed. Celebrity and charity training requires you to complete 10 levels, but provides you with 13 skill points or a 5% experience boost, respectively. The common consensus is celebrity training is your best option.

Gamecast
2 Out Rally is wrapping up their 13th season. They have shown they are constantly updating and evolving this game for their users. One of the latest updates added Gamecast, which is quite similar to MLB Gameday. It allows you to replay the game and see how it actually happened. Check out the preview here.

---

So why am I telling you all of this? It's fun!

If you're interested in joining 2 Out Rally, then I encourage you to click the link below and try it out. Using this link will credit me with the referral. Feel free to ask me any questions. Thanks!

Starting a new team in season 14!

http://www.twooutrally.com/referral.php?rid=5088 <-- Click here to start playing!