SubscribeThere is a feature of the Price Guide that you may not have noticed, but that is one of the unique and valuable things about it: It customizes the values based on the positional eligibility requirements of your specific league.
In the past I’ve gotten burned by trusting the eligibility listed on websites and magazines, drafting a player to be my SS and later realizing he only qualifies at 2B in my league. Worst is if I have already drafted a better 2B, and my newly acquired “starting SS” actually becomes my new backup 2B.
The Price Guide keeps that from happening, and it even adjusts a player’s value based on his most valuable position. That can make a big difference in what a player is worth, especially if he qualifies at catcher or middle infield in your league.
Most of this year’s multi-position players are not surprising: Victor Martinez (C, 1B), Kevin Youkilis (3B, 1B), Adam Dunn (OF, 1B), and Jorge Cantu (3B, 1B) should maintain the same positional eligibility as last year.
There are also some notable changes:
Lost eligibility
Pablo Sandoval was eligible at catcher last year but will not this year in all but the most lax leagues (3 games). He is still a valuable player, and is still eligible at multiple positions (3B and 1B).
Miguel Cabrera is now an exclusive 1B; he did not start a single game at 3B.
Alexei Ramirez only started at SS in 2009, losing 2B and OF qualifications.
Marco Scutaro put up a surprise season in 2009, made even better in fantasy leagues that let you play him at SS, 2B, or 3B. This year he will be a SS in most leagues (although he played 2 games at 2B).
New eligibility
Mark Reynolds continued to play primarily 3B for the D-backs, but he also managed 28 games at 1B.
There are a couple other players who haven’t picked up new positions but have gained fantasy value: Ben Zobrist (91 G at 2B, 70 at OF, 13 at SS) surged to relevance in 2009 as a $21 player in standard leagues. (He also played a couple of games at 1B and 3B.) Ian Stewart was a BA-killer but was still above replacement overall — he should qualify at 3B (121 G), 2B (21 G), and maybe OF (9 G).
Who knew?
There are some leagues that will allow a player to be put at any position he played any time at in the past year, which can produce some wacky results. (In 2008, Pujols’s game at 2B surely gave his value a little bump.)
As mentioned above, Pablo Sandoval only played 3 games behind the plate, but that could be enough to count him as a catcher. National League Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan is probably worth a few extra bucks if you can count his 1 game at 2B.
Chone Figgins had 2 games at 2B and 1 in LF, in addition to his primary position of 3B. Alfonso Soriano made his triumphant return to 2B in 2 games and had another game at 3B. Yes, Soriano could be eligible at OF, 3B, and 2B.
Remember that every league is different, and these general statements may not be true of your league. Make sure you verify your own league’s eligibility by entering the specifics into the Price Guide.
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It seems like position eligibility will be even more important this year, as at least one position (3B) is extremely weak.
I mentioned this in another comment, but I would be curious to see what happens to values if you project positional eligibility.
That is, what happens to Tejada’s value if you believe he will get the requisite (in my league) 5 games at 3B soon enough in the year to have an impact?
Or, and I realize this is not a well-kept secret, what happens to Beckham’s value now that Ozzie G. has apparently announced that he (Beckham, not Ozzie) will start the year at 2B?
@LittlePanda: You can see the positional adjustments the Price Guide makes on the “League Info” tab of the results.
In just about every league, the replacement level for SS will be lower than the 3B replacement level, so Tejada doesn’t get any extra value at 3B. He does get a small, unquantifiable bump for giving you some flexibility at two positions: I’d probably be willing to spend a dollar or two extra for that.
Beckham is at $4 in a standard league but would be worth about $7 at 2B. (Just look for a 2B with the same unadjusted value as him, or subtract the 3B replacement level and add the 2B replacement level.) There’s also a small effect of raising the 2B replacement level and making 3B more scarce, but it’s negligible.