Roto Baseball Guru

As the baseball season and subsequently the fantasy baseball season is coming to an end, this also marks the time for the start of the other sports leagues.  Football season has already started and hockey and basketball are just weeks away.  In fact, the draft date for the head-to-head hockey league that I am a part of is less than a week away.  This brings up a very good debate regarding drafting.  In most fantasy game providers there is an auto-draft option that are available to you.  For neophytes that are new to this arena, the auto-draft is a tool that will use tuned algorithms to pick the players for your team based on statistics and your positional needs.

Now many fantasy generals will frown and even mock the use of the auto-draft tool, as it takes away the whole skills and research of building your team, not to mention putting your own personal touch.  The draft is arguably the single most important managerial task that you need to perform as the general manager of your fantasy team, any screw-up here can severely hamper your team’s performance for the rest of the season.  All of these are great points, and are points that I also subscribe to.  However, it is also for these reasons that sometimes the auto-draft option just makes sense.  It all comes down to two main factors: time and emotion.

Time - For the hard-core fantasy sports fanatic, this is not an issue - they will spend the hours required to dig through stats, read up on prospects and sleepers, and have a list of possible hidden gems come draft day.  However, for the rest of us, this isn’t an option.  As much as we do love fantasy sports, the time and effort to get a substantial return for our research is just not plausible.  Given that, instead of making informed selections based on knowledge and stats, we use our gut and the “celebrity factor” such as how well we know or heard of the player.

Emotion - In any type of investment when emotion is put into the mix, it can really screw up your decision-making and ultimately your returns.  This is no different when drafting players for your fantasy team.  Your players or picks are your investments and when made soundly with the proper research and evaluation, you can generally expect decent returns.  However, if all of your picks were based on emotion - how well known the player is, does he play for your favorite team, etc, you will most likely dread the returns you’ll see at the end of the season.

The beauty of the auto-draft is that it takes these two elements out of the equation.  Most auto-drafts are quite sophisticated and along with applying the algorithms of the best player based on stats and need, you can also add your own rankings and player preferences to the mix.  In my opinion, this combination gives you the ultimate tool to succeed when draft day comes.  On a personal level, I have used the auto-draft option for my past couple of leagues and have been satisfied with the results.  Where was the extra time that I saved from all the hours doing research used?  Watching the game, of course.  Time well spent, indeed.

For a weekly fantasy stats compilation, visit: www.rotobaseballguru.com

Over the past week, two of the hottest hitting teams in baseball are the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago White Sox.  The Blue Jays, who have been starving for consistent productive offense all year, have been facing the AL East rivals Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and have been laying an offensive smack down on their opponents.  With the blow out victories of 15-4 (BOS), 14-3 (NYY), 11-0 (BOS) the Jays’ bats were devastating their opponent’s pitching without mercy.  The White Sox have not been slouches either.  Their collective wins of 13-1 (OAK), 13-5 (SEA), 15-3 (SEA) over the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners respectively reminds us why the White Sox has one of the most feared lineups in the American League.

So what does this wealth of hitting translate to in fantasy terms?  Taking a look at the weekly top hitters of the past week, we see that Blue Jays and White Sox hitters take up five of the Top 10 spots.  In fact, if we expanded the rankings a couple of spots, we would have been able to add in Marco Scutaro (Tor - 2B,3B,SS,OF) to the number 12 spot.  Producing a hitting line of - 6 runs, 2 doubles,  2 HRs, 7 RBIs, .400 BA, .448 OBP, Scutaro just barely missed breaking the Top 10 for the week.

With both the Blue Jays and White Sox hitting so well, it is not surprising that their hitters dominated the weekly top hitter rankings for the past week.  Hitting is contagious and when a team gets on a roll the likes of what these two clubs have gone on, fantasy owners of players on these clubs cannot help but smile and enjoy the ride.  Let the good times roll!

Make use of our fantasy baseball resource at: www.rotobaseballguru.com

After making the unbelievable run last year to make it into the playoffs after the last game of the season, there were big expectations for the Colorado Rockies to make some noise this year.  Most of the team was returning such as stars Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe as well as rookie sensation Troy Tulowitzki.  However, the Rockies season can be summed up in one word: disappointing.

That being said, from a fantasy perspective, there has been nothing disappointing about Matt Holliday and his consistent reliable production for his adoring fantasy managers.  Holliday has already been highlighted in a previous article regarding his ability to make a repeat appearance in the weekly top hitters list, a feat that was only matched by Milwaukee Brewers young slugger Ryan Braun.

As if that accomplishment wasn’t enough, Holliday continued to make the Weekly Top 10 Rankings in the following week, placing 3rd on the July 27th - August 2nd list.  So what does all of that production equate to from a fantasy production?  Here the line for Holliday’s numbers for the past 30 days:

Matt Holliday (Col - OF) - 35 runs, 10 doubles, 9 HRs, 21 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, .375 BA and .476 OBP

That’s good enough to rank him as the top fantasy player according to Yahoo stats for the past month.  Not too shabby for a guy that doesn’t have too much to play for on a team that has given up on the season and started thinking about next year.

Speaking of somebody who has been at the top of his game, Ty Wigginton of the Houston Astros have been on quite a tear this past week, earning him the top spot in the latest weekly rankings.  He’s somebody that you would want to pick up off the waiver wires if he’s still available.  Given that Carlos Lee is basically done for the season, there should be plenty of playing time available for Wigginton, especially if he can keep up any semblance of the torrid pace that he’s been on the past week.  That and the fact that he can qualify for up to four positions (OF, 1B, 2B, 3B) makes him an attractive pick up for the stretch run of your fantasy season.

For weekly new and archived top hitter stats, check out: www.rotobaseballguru.com/weekly-top-hitters-rankings.php