SubscribeI commented earlier on players that will be eligible at multiple positions in 2010. I think everyone would agree that there is fantasy value in being able to shift a player to a new position. The question is determining how much that ability is worth.
While I don’t have a precise formula for putting a dollar amount on extra eligibility, I think there are several important factors:
Some extra positions are more valuable than others.
Victor Martinez may qualify at both C and 1B, but his value at C is so much greater that it isn’t that useful to be able to put him at 1B.
As far as specific positions, I’d guess that the most valuable are players who qualify at both SS and 2B, like Asdrubal Cabrera. The next most valuable are middle infielders that also qualify at 3B, like Ian Stewart or Jhonny Peralta.
Less valuable are the players who just add 1B eligibility. Not only are there plenty of regular 1B available, but 1B is also the most common extra position in fantasy.
Multiple eligibility is less valuable in leagues with CI/MI positions.
Traditional fantasy leagues start both a “corner infielder” (either 1B or 3B) and a “middle infielder” (either 2B or SS) in addition to the actual baseball positions. These “flex” positions give you some natural wiggle-room: If your 1B gets hurt, you can maybe slide your CI to 1B, and replace your CI with either a 1B or a 3B.
Since you can use either a 1B or a 3B, in this situation a 1B/3B player is less important. But this makes a huge difference in a standard Yahoo or ESPN league that only starts one infielder at each position.
A multi-positional player is more important in a league that starts fewer players and less important in a traditional league with CI and MI.
Multiple eligibility is less valuable in leagues with transaction limits.
If your fantasy league lets you make daily roster changes and doesn’t cap games played, a multi-positional player is great. The simple ability to fit players in the lineup more often means you have an advantage in counting stat categories like HR, SB, R, and RBI.
However, if your league only allows weekly transactions, this strategy doesn’t work as well. Really, a multi-positional player just gives you a little extra coverage when you have a player go down with injuries.
All told, I’d probably be willing to spend an extra $3-4 for a multi-position player, or maybe draft them a round early. But that evaluation is very dependent on the context.
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Just found your site, very, VERY cool – so I’ve spent some time reading several of your articles. This one in particular caught my eye because I think there was exactly one player in my NL-only league last year that warranted spending an extra couple of bucks based on position eligibility alone – Pablo Sandoval. The ability to cut one of my one-dollar square-fillers and plug him in at catcher was HUGE.