We talk all about fantasy baseball dollar values during draft season. Everybody is arguing over a few slots in the rankings or which player should be priced higher in auctions. It’s a lot of fun, and maybe sometimes it gets to be overkill.
Then the regular season hits and we seem to forget all about fantasy baseball values. All we see are waiver wire recommendations or which players we should buy or sell. Sometimes we need to stop and smell the pizza… or for this article, stop and assess how the fantasy baseball season got to where it is today.
About Fantasy Baseball Dollar Values
With over half the season gone most of us think we know how valuable most players are. Do we really?
With the second half now underway, I thought it would be appropriate to look at the fantasy baseball dollar values that players put up over the first half of the season. I like dollar values because they allow for a relative comparison, whereas rankings just show order.
Preseason dollar values are projections and just like statistical projections, we have to recognize that they are not all that accurate. The dollar values we’re looking at today are based on stats already in the books. That means they are pretty much statistical facts. There are several methods of calculating fantasy baseball dollar values, so the exact amounts may be slightly different. On a relative basis from player to player though, these dollar values are extremely accurate.
These values are borrowed from the Fangraphs Auction Calculator. If you weren’t aware of it, FanGraphs is about as good as it gets. For the purpose of this article, I set the calculator up for a 15-team mixed league with a 70/30 hitting/pitching split. I thought the 15-team setup was a nice compromise between shallow mixed leagues and deeper monoleagues. Don’t get too caught up in the exact values though. The big idea is the spread of values and how players compare to each other. The tables also include ADP data. I’m not certain of the source FanGraphs uses for ADP, but it seems to be pretty accurate. I strongly suggest inputting your own league parameters and see how things stack up in your universe.
These values represent what has happened and I think you’ll be surprised at how they differ from our perceptions. I know I was shocked when I saw how high certain players were.
The tables with all the first half dollar values are below awaiting your perusals. I’ll also highlight some of the values that jumped out at me along the way. These values don’t tell the future, but they may change the way you think about certain players.
It’s time to multi-task! Keep up with all of our baseball coverage, but kick off your football prep and dig into our 2018 Fantasy Football Draft Kit. Then head on over to Fantrax and join a Fantasy Football league.
Midseason Fantasy Baseball Dollar Values for Hitters
Catcher Dollar Values
We knew the catcher position was shallow, but the lack of standout players is hurting anyone who bought into position scarcity this spring. J.T. Realmuto and Wilson Ramos are having great years and I see no reason they won’t remain near the top of the catcher values. Yasmani Grandal has also quietly put up a nice season. Is it me or have you hardly heard his name this season?
Once you get past those three there’s a small pool of mediocrity followed by a sea of sadness. Wilson Contreras and Gary Sanchez, in particular, have been huge disappointments. While I expect these two to pick things up over the rest of the season, this should serve as a reminder next spring not to reach just because of position scarcity. That second round pick on Sanchez is hurting right now.
The table below includes all catchers who have produced a positive value. As with all of these tables you can use the dropdown to display more players. Some names you won’t see are Russell Martin, Christian Vazquez, and Matt Wieters. They all produced negative value over the first half of the season. Ouch.
[table “193” not found /]First Base Dollar Values
First base is a very deep position in fantasy… or is it? You know things have fallen apart at first base when Ian Desmond is the fourth-ranked player at the position.
I know we all had Jesus Aguilar as the second-ranked first baseman this spring. I also remember when Paul Goldschmidt was done as an elite player.
Seriously though; what a pile of mediocrity. Once you get past Goldy, there’s not a whole lot of separation. If some of the players we considered studs don’t turn things around in the second half, we’re gonna have to reevaluate the position for 2019.
There were 36 first-base eligible players who produced positive value. Logan Morrison, Marwin Gonzalez, and Greg Bird are some of the bigger names you don’t see in the green.
[table “194” not found /]Second Base Dollar Values
Yes, Javier Baez has been this good. In NL-only leagues, he’s actually been the most valuable player. I’m not sure he can maintain the batting average, but the rest is here to stay.
Only two players in MLB History have at least 18 HRs, 18 2B, 18 SB & 5 3B by the All Star Break.. Willie Mays & El Mago.
Javier Baez’s First Half Statistics; .292 BA / 19 HR’s / 72 RBI’s / 18 SB / .899 OPS / .326 OBP / .566 SLG.
Baez is currently tied for the most RBI’s (NL). pic.twitter.com/EOhPuK6s9h— Drunk Rizzo™ (@DrunkRizz44) July 15, 2018
I guess we finally have to take a guy named Scooter seriously. Nobody talks about him but Scooter Gennett is neck and neck with Jose Altuve in terms of value so far.
Once you get past the top four there’s a pretty smooth progression down to the $0.30 Jonathan Schoop. My initial reaction was that Gleyber Torres would have been a lot higher on the list. I guess his counting stats are keeping him down.
There are no huge surprises in the negative range, though we probably expected more of Kolten Wong, Devon Travis, and Josh Harrison.
[table “195” not found /]Shortstop Dollar Values
There are only 24 shortstop eligible players that produced positive value over the first half of the season in this 15-team setup. Honestly, though, that’s probably about what we should have expected. Of course, Carlos Correa owners probably don’t want to hear that.
Francisco Lindor has taken his game to yet another level and has to be in consideration for a Top-5 selection in 2019 drafts.
Marwin Gonzalez and Orlando Arcia are the two biggest villains of second base. Arcia hurt fantasy teams to the tune of $-6.70. Sleeper huh?
[table “196” not found /]Third Base Dollar Values
Weren’t we talking about how Jose Ramirez was struggling a bit in April? Not so much in July as he’s already equaled last year’s home run output and topped his stolen base number. I guess we’ll have to settle for that .302 average.
Max Muncy is the biggest surprise on the list. Come to think of it Kris Bryant owners may not agree as his 14th ranked production is not what they had in mind.
The big names you don’t see in these values are Adrian Beltre, Justin Turner, Josh Donaldson, and Miguel Sano. If you’re desperate and want to try some last-ditch efforts to get back in contention, I still think Turner, and Donaldson make for nice gambles.
[table “197” not found /]Outfield Dollar Values
The names at the top are no surprise. Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, and Mike Trout have been exactly what they were supposed to be. You might be surprised to see Eddie Rosario so high up on the list, but last season should have given us a clue.
Michael Brantley and Nick Markakis are two names we didn’t expect to see here. Brantley has managed to stay healthy and Markakis took advantage of an early power spree and a nice slot in the lineup to get here. I’m not buying Markakis, but Brantley will keep producing as long as he stays on the field.
The big names in the negative values include Adam Eaton, Ronald Acuna, Bradley Zimmer, and Dexter Fowler. Outside of Acuna, I wouldn’t be chasing any of those guys for second-half value.
[table “198” not found /]