Fantasy Baseball: The Planner’s Approach: Roto League Fantasy Baseball

By: Jared Leonard

We’re back with another Planner’s Approach. Early in the month we covered strategies to help you succeed in “head to head” formats. Today we’re going to break down how you should attack a “rotisserie” leagues, also known as a roto league.

Roto leagues are fun to play in but require a much different strategy than head to head leagues. Roto leagues are structured by categories which are represented by hitting stats and pitching stats. For instance, hitting categories that could be used are, Avg./HR’s/RBI/Runs and so on. You win in roto leagues by being awarded points according to the order in each category, then an overall score or league ranking is determined by totaling up the points.

Most roto leagues are standard 5×5 leagues, meaning 5 hitting categories and 5 pitching categories. Some leagues will do 6×6 or 7×7 to make it more competitive and in depth. So here are the 5×5 categories you need to get familiar with.

Hitting:

1. Average (Hits Only) or On Base Percentage (Walks+Hits+Hit By Pitch)

2. Home Runs

3. Runs Batted In

4. Runs Scored

5. Steals

Pitching:

1. Earned Run Average

2. WHIP (Walks+Hits+Hit Batsmen/Innings Pitched)

3. Strikeouts

4. Saves

5. Wins

Now that we are familiar with some of the basics, lets get into some strategies.

• Be very patient, I can’t stress this enough. You can’t give up on players that struggle early or even for the whole first half, especially if they have a proven track record.

• Power bats are a must. The more you have, the more successful you will be. They typically cover 4 out of the 5 main hitting categories: HR/RBI/Runs/OBP or Avg.

• Strikeouts don’t matter for hitters in roto leagues. As long as the hitter puts up power numbers, why should you care how they make outs. It won’t cost you points in roto leagues.

• Don’t be afraid to draft middle relief or set up men. Especially big strikeout arms out of the pen. They may not get you saves but they can contribute to Wins, ERA, WHIP and K’s. Also, they typically pitch more innings than closers.

• On that note, if you have multiple relief pitching spots to fill, get at least one reliable closer. But be careful, closers are volatile no matter who it is.

• This one is more of a personal preference but, somewhat punt steals. Don’t target them heavily, they are down in MLB overall. Plus, most of those players that steal a ton of bags typically only help you in 2 hitting categories (Steals & Runs), sometimes 3 (Steals/Runs/Avg or OBP) if they are a good hitter.

• When it comes to starting pitching in roto leagues, you can be more selective. Unlike H2H leagues, having multiple big arms on your roster isn’t as important. As long as you can balance out the categories between starters and relievers, one big time arm should be enough to anchor your staff.

• This isn’t always easy, but try and target as many players on good teams as possible. Better teams = more opportunities for counting stats.

• Target catchers that will help you in Average or OBP. A power bat at catcher looks pretty, but if he’s hitting under .220, it kills you every where but Home runs. Some catchers that fit this description and you can wait on in drafts are: Yadier Molina, Jonathan Lucroy (just needs to find a hime), Alex Avila, James McCann, and Wilson Ramos.

• As always, check your waiver wire, be familiar with all MLB teams, player movement, and injuries.

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