Nicklaus Gaut has been writing about fantasy baseball since 2019, covering a variety of roto and point league topics at RotoBaller and RotoGraphs, with over a decade of playing experience. He plays multiple formats but has recently leaned more heavily into NFBC high-stakes contests, entering his first Main Event and Online Championships in 2023. You can follow him here on Twitter.
Our regular fantasy chat host, Brad Johnson, is on vacation for a few weeks, so Nicklaus will be stepping in to field your questions while Brad’s away! Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat!
Good stuff Nicklaus, thanks!
I agree. He did an excellent job. Please rank these fantasy 2B – Ketel, Polanco and McMahon. Thanks!!
My gut says Polanco-Ketel-McMahon for ROS… but I could see where that order could be flipped! Very close bunch imo
It probably also depends on the type of league and what stats are counted. Our league removed walks and on base percentage as stats. That makes Soto less valuable for us.
Exactly! Best of luck for ROS amigos!
Cole > Soto lol
It’s amazing how much a few weeks can change one’s value! Soto was on fire during spring training. I guess that means even Reynolds may have more trade value than him in reality.
Eh, it all varies by league and/or type. My leagues place a premium value on SPs, so if I did have Soto I would almost definitely trade him for a top-flight starter in Cole. Then again, it depends what team I’d be making that trade on; maybe I’m stacked in SPs and need OFers so I’d probably keep Soto. As mentioned earlier, it all depends on your own unique situation(s).
On the other hand, I have a rebuilding team right now so I’m in no rush to win “this year” as opposed to building for next year and beyond. I’ve stashed Eury, Harrison, Taj Bradley (starting to pay-off!), Bobby Miller, etc. in the hopes of being much better next year, but I will struggle this year. I’m losing points by not rostering and starting SPs like Dean Kremer, Brad Keller, Alex Wood, etc. It’s all about the championships and rebuilding became my only valid strategy. On that team I’m looking to trade Verlander and Scherzer for future pieces that may not “equate” in some people’s eyes, but my league mates are smart and know I’m not winning this year (and rebuilding) so I’m getting lowball offers for those 2 SPs. I may just have to ride out their careers, but I did win 2 Championships with them so this rebuild doesn’t necessarily feel like a sour note. Good fun!