Saturday Night time Reside celebrated its fiftieth yr this previous weekend. Did you watch it? If not, go discover it…or not less than watch the clips. Nice stuff! SNL has been certainly one of my favorites ever since I found it two rating and a number of other fortnights in the past. Okay, possibly not THAT way back, nevertheless it’s been a minute! There have been years when the forged was improbable and naturally, there have been years to neglect. These 10-year anniversary reveals are improbable although and the fiftieth was no completely different. One in every of my all-time favorites is “Lazy Sunday” so that you see the inspiration for the title.
Quick ahead, it’s a brand new baseball season as effectively and I’ve a brand new task right here at Razzball. For the 2025 marketing campaign, I might be taking up the weekly column on Fantasy Baseball Factors Leagues. That’s proper, every week (or one thing near that), I’ll be offering perception and options on tips on how to grasp your factors leagues. Factors leagues are available in all sizes and shapes, so I’ll be relying on you to supply loads of suggestions in your particular league so we will work collectively to win that title. That’s what it’s all about, proper? It’s for me! Let’s do it collectively.
In the event you’ve adopted my content material right here at Razzball, you recognize I like information and analytics (keep in mind my “Analytics Nameless” collection?). There may be a lot info on the market at our fingertips. We simply want to make use of it as a lot as we will. The trick is to know what to do with it, and the way a lot to depend on it, as we navigate the season. As I stated, I’ll be offering perception alongside the best way. This might be a blast!
To get began, let me ask: What actually makes a Factors league completely different than a Roto league? This isn’t a trick query and I’m not attempting to insult your intelligence right here. In the event you’ve made it this far, I do know you perceive how they’re scored, respectively. What I’m getting at right here is…STRATEGY!
Don’t get me flawed, Roto leagues are a whole lot of enjoyable. However they’re additionally so much more durable for the common fantasy baller. Drafting a successful staff is absolutely arduous to do – particularly in case your league mates know their stuff. Additionally, you may have an A+ draft but when your roster suffers in a pair classes, whether or not by means of damage or another purpose, the probability of a high end (league or mixed) could also be just about unattainable. In lots of instances, you’ll additionally discover half the homeowners within the league aren’t all that engaged after the All-Star break as a result of they’re to this point behind in just a few classes. Fantasy baseball is a grind as it’s, however no person advantages if half the league loses curiosity and drops off midway by means of the season.
In contrast to Roto leagues, Factors leagues offer you far more flexibility find a pathway to a title (or extra doubtless, “the cash”). Whether or not you play in a straight Factors league or a Head-to-Head Factors league, the objective is identical…accumulate extra factors. Fairly easy, proper? The actual fact is, it doesn’t matter WHERE the factors come from, you simply want to search out them. Right here’s the place it will get just a little trickier. What’s the easiest way to build up probably the most factors? The reply to that query is the #1 factor each fantasy baseball proprietor must do, no matter format – KNOW THE RULES!
On this case, it’s the SCORING RULES that matter most. Take a look at the offensive scoring for these two leagues and inform me what you see:
Earlier than we go any additional, I simply need to say I didn’t make these up. These are the precise scoring codecs for 2 of my present Factors leagues. Fairly a distinction, huh?
The primary factor that stands out to me is the variety of classes. League 1 is fairly normal, however League 2 breaks down H (Hits) right into a tiered construction, so the astute drafter would possibly need to search for gamers who rack up doubles and triples. League 2 additionally contains BB (Walks) and HP (Hit by Pitch), which provides a slight enhance to gamers like Juan Soto (BBs) and Anthony Rizzo (HBP). One more distinction is the unfavorable factors of League 1, tamping down gamers with massive swing-and-miss, who should not punished for that in League 2. So, what does this imply in actuality? Let’s have a look at just a few participant projections (utilizing free Razzball projections):
You’ll word the 5-tool gamers, like Ohtani and Witt Jr., will nonetheless rise to the highest in each codecs. Nevertheless, as instruments diminish or flaws are uncovered within the scoring, like Schwarber and Olson in League 1, their relative draft rank drops. You’ll need to let another person spend the draft capital on gamers like that.
The great thing about Factors leagues is that you would be able to doubtless discover (or create) the league that matches your preferences. In the event you like to emphasise energy and/or pace, go for it. In the event you like balanced scoring or introduce a few of the distinctive batting stats (2B, 3B, and many others.), you are able to do that too. The world is your oyster!
Now, the identical train for the pitching classes:
W (Wins) and Ok (Strikeouts) are about the identical. However, SV (Saves) are pushed up greater in League 1, making CLs just a little extra beneficial. You’ll word IP (Innings Pitched) are just a little completely different right here and similar to what we noticed with the offensive classes above, League 1 penalizes pitchers for H, BB, and ER (Hits-, Walks-, and Earned Runs-allowed, respectively). Lastly, League 2 expands the pitching alternatives by including 2 factors for HD (Holds) and should you’re so fortunate to have a pitcher toss a CG (Full Sport), you get a 6-point bonus. Fairly distinctive, proper? Once more, let’s have a look at just a few participant projections (utilizing free Razzball projections, in fact):
On the high, there’s just a little shuffling of positions however typically, all of them slot in the place you’d count on. As standard, it comes down to private choice. As we transfer down the checklist, you see a shift in pitchers like Sale and Crochet who venture greater in League 1 than League 2. That is primarily because of the IP (Innings Pitched) scoring.
You’ll additionally word pitchers typically rating greater relative to hitters in League 2.
I dug deeper to see the scoring results with RPs. As you’ll word, RPs who’re projected to be late inning, however not essentially CLs, obtain a rating bump in League 2 scoring. In actual fact, I simply drafted Jason Adam in a Greatest Ball Factors league for this very purpose! The enhance just isn’t an incredible quantity however keep in mind one of many key points of Factors leagues
It doesn’t matter WHERE the factors come from, you simply want to search out them.”
In the event you take nothing else from this text, make this the lasting message…and let me kick the rostrum as soon as once more: “KNOW THE RULES”!
Abstract
Anyway…for these of you who haven’t tried Factors leagues earlier than, I hope this acquired you a bit. There are many positives and a few negatives to Factors leagues. For my part, there are two massive advantages to Factors leagues: (1) it offers a format for all these fantasy footballers to dip their toes in fantasy baseball with out overwhelming them (TRUTH: fantasy soccer is EASY, however fantasy baseball is MORE CHALLENGING), and (2) your league will stay extra engaged all through the season.
Within the coming weeks, I’ll share my high 100…or high 150…or high 250… pitchers and hitters for Factors leagues. In actual fact, since these leagues are available in all sizes and shapes, I’ll most likely offer you two lists: one for typical NFBC scoring (with unfavorable factors) and one which pushes up the worth of RPs.
Within the meantime, you will discover me on Twitter/X (@Derek_Favret) and on BlueSky (@dfavret.bsky.social).
Till subsequent time, my associates.
