2024 Fantasy Baseball: Auction Values and Strategy for 12-Team Mixed Leagues (5X5)

On Sunday, March 3, I’ll take part in the annual LABR 12-team mixed league auction. It’s part of First Pitch Florida, an event I urge everyone to attend if you get the chance. Along with some of the best minds in the business, that draft also brings together a bunch of the biggest personalities as well. I’ve been called a fool for sharing my auction values ahead of such an important draft, but we all know that once that first player is auctioned, values change in a hurry.

With that thought in mind, I do want to remind you that the values you will find below are a baseline and created in a complete vacuum. Some analysts won’t pay one dollar over the value they have assigned. It’s my belief that winning a fantasy baseball auction requires more flexibility than that. Yes, I don’t want to overpay for a player but at various times in an auction, you have to adjust.

Below I’ll share the process I use for creating my auction values, share some of my strategy for 12-team leagues, and present the values in several different ways so you can use them in a way that works for you. I’ve also provided a couple cool tools I think will help you succeed in your fantasy baseball auctions.

My Valuation Process

Listen, I used to do all my own projections, then I had an Excel sheet that I used to come up with my auction values. It’s a lot of work and frankly, it was a bit of a waste of time when other projection systems do all the same things and they do it better.

Now, I’m working smarter, not harder. For this valuation process, I use the Fangraphs Auction Calculator as a tool. I set it up to fit the parameters of the LABR Draft and ran values separately for four different projection systems. I used Depth Charts, ZIPS, ATC, and BatX. I then averaged the value between those systems for every player.

I didn’t stop there though. This is where the art comes in. I tweaked the values based on my strategies and beliefs. For example, as I’ll talk about more below, I added and subtracted value to different tiers at each position. I also added value to players I think the projection systems are way too low on. These projection systems are pretty damn good but they project the most likely outcome. To win a league I’m going to have to hit on a few players that have more upside than the likely outcome. I’d rather roster a player with a value range from $0 to $25, than a reliable $8 player. I can find an $8 player at most any point in the season. That potential $25 player is a lot harder to find.

I also had to tweak the dollar values to add up to the right totals.

I used a 70/30 split. So I took the 12 teams and multiplied by $260 and got a total salary pool of $3120. I allocated 70% ($2184) for hitting and 30% ($936) for pitching. I allocated those funds for 168 hitters and 108 pitchers. It’s really that simple.

QUICK LINKS: Searchable Player Value Table | Printable Auction Cheat Sheet | Excel Auction Tracking Tool

Auction Strategy for 12-Team Mixed Leagues

I consider 12-team leagues to be rather shallow. At most every position there are interesting players with significant upside that won’t even get drafted. That means there will also be more players emerging throughout the season that I can acquire to fill out any weaknesses.

For that reason, I add a few extra dollars to the top tiers at each position in 12-team auctions. As you move down each tier there’s not as much differentiation and it becomes easier to replace those players from the waiver wire. The players at the top also bring a certain level of confidence. So while I’m a spread-the-value guy at heart, my auction builds in 12-team leagues will move more toward the stars and scrubs end of things.

Salary Allocation Chart

While I don’t follow it dollar for dollar I do like to create a chart with slots that help me allocate my auction funds in a way that hopefully maximizes the production I get for my money. During the auction, if I go over salary in one slot I take it from another. I find that a chart like this helps me maintain a balanced team and I don’t get into a big hole early that I can’t dig myself out of. Of course, you may want to change the values within this table to suit your auction tendencies. In a 12-team mixed league where there is plenty of usable value left undrafted, I may pull a few dollars from those three or four least expensive slots and put it towards an elite player or two. Just don’t veer too far off track and you’ll be fine.

Auction Tracking Tool

To succeed in a fantasy baseball auction you need to do more than just value the players accurately. You need to know how much money your fellow managers have remaining and which positions they need to fill. I’ve developed an Excel tool that does as good a job of this as any software I’ve ever used. Please feel free to download my 12-15 Team Auction Tracking Tool.

Go to that link and use the download icon in the top right of the page. Let me know if you have any problems with the download. If your league has a different setup reach out to me on Twitter (@rotodaddy) and for the cost of a cold beverage I can help you modify it to suit your needs. Also, let me know in the comments below how I can improve the tool.

To be honest I’m not sure this tool will help you with an online auction. It’s more suited for an in-person auction and will definitely give you a huge advantage over those trying to use a pen and paper.

Auction Values for 12-Team Mixed Leagues

Further down the page you will find a table with my auction values for 12-team mixed leagues. Probably the best way to use this table is to search for a player and get their eligibility data and a baseline value for the beginning of a fantasy baseball auction. Remember though, those values change from the moment the very first player is purchased until the end of the auction. By keeping a running total of the overages and underages of each player as they are auctioned you should have a good idea if prices will be going up or down as the auction progresses.

Projecting player values may be a science but putting those values into play in an auction is definitely an art form… and a psychological exercise as well. Just remember to have fun and don’t leave any money on the table.

Before you get to the searchable table I’ll provide a quick snapshot of the values at each position. And for those wise folks who like to have a paper copy in hand for note-taking, here is a printable PDF file of my 12-Team Auction Values Cheat Sheet.

I’ve placed players at the position I think they’re most likely to be drafted at. For some, this is not so easy. I bounced back and forth five times with Mookie Betts trying to decide if he is more valuable at second base or in the outfield. You can make the final decision.

Catcher Values

First Base Values

Second Base Values

Third Base Values

Shortstop Values

Outfield Values

Starting Pitcher Values

Relief Pitcher Values

Searchable 12-Team Mixed League Auction Values

For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.