X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Intro To NL/AL-Only Leagues: Draft Strategies for Fantasy Baseball

Rick Lucks discusses three things about NL-Only and AL-Only fantasy baseball leagues he learned the hard way. The player pool is smaller, which means draft strategy is even more important.

If you're looking to liven up your fantasy baseball experience, trying your hand at an Only league could be a great way to bring a fresh perspective to one of your favorite pastimes. While standard mixed leagues are largely a race to accumulate as many elite performers as possible, Only leagues allow gamers to demonstrate their knowledge of the entire player pool. You can take pet players that wouldn't be viable in standard formats and still have a shot. Better yet, you can take a bow when they finish firmly on the fantasy radar.

Some people balk at the idea of an Only league because they like players in both the AL and NL. "Why would I want to limit the choices available to me?" they might ask. Participating in both an AL- and NL-Only league concurrently solves this issue. You're still working with the entire player pool between the two leagues while having a reason to care about that nondescript prospect who started getting reps in Oakland.

Other managers claim that Only leagues are too much work, and a lot more research indeed goes into them. This article is intended to jump-start a novice manager's Only draft prep with three proven tips. Let's get started!

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

1. Playing Time is Key in Only Leagues

If you take nothing else from this article, you must understand the team that records the most plate appearances and innings is likely to finish well in an Only league. Managers in standard leagues usually look for upside when one of their core players lands on the IL, but your waiver wire will be a barren wasteland in an Only format. You'll be ecstatic to find a .220 hitter with little power or speed.

Thankfully, you can prepare for this eventuality on draft day. Invest in bench bats covering every position, and prioritize multi-positional guys to give you versatility when you're scouring the waiver wire. This way, you'll be as prepared as possible when injury inevitably strikes.

Likewise, Only leagues are not the right place to invest in playing time gambles. Jacob deGrom will probably be great when healthy, but we know he won't be ready for Opening Day. Byron Buxton isn't injured yet, but do you think he'll log 600 PAs? Paul Skenes has all the talent to make an immediate fantasy impact upon his debut, but when will that be?

Guys like that are worthwhile plays in standard leagues because quality is more important than quantity, but quantity is more important in Only formats. Boring regulars like Carlos Santana will be the glue holding your roster together, so don't hesitate to take them over flashier playing time risks.

 

2. Outfield is a Scarce Position in Only Leagues

Outfield is seen as one of the deepest positions in fantasy, ranging from perennial All-Stars like Ronald Acuna Jr. to exciting prospects like Jackson Chourio. Managers in standard leagues never need to inflate an outfielder's value for position scarcity, but some basic arithmetic shows that it's different in an Only league.

Assuming a 10-team league with standard deep rosters (2 C, 5 OF, CI, MI, U), your league wants to roster 50 outfielders (10 teams times five per team). However, each of the 15 real MLB clubs only has three outfielders. That works out to 45 starters (15 teams times three per team) before we even consider platoons and teams lacking everyday options. Considering that outfielders traditionally generate a lot of value, coming up short at the position is a great way to finish in the bottom half of your league.

The math isn't as bad for infielders. Your 10-team league wants to roster 15 third basemen (10 teams with a 3B slot plus half of the CI slots), which is the exact number the 15-team AL and NL provide. Catchers are also scarce, but they play less often and put up poor numbers anyway. Therefore, you must treat outfielders as a scarce commodity and take pains to ensure that you leave your draft with at least five everyday players at the position. Otherwise, you'll spend the entire season trying to correct the deficiency.

 

3. You Can Wait on Starting Pitching in Only Leagues

Assuming the roster construction above, your league wants to roster 90 pitchers (10 teams times nine pitcher slots). All 15 of the guys currently earning saves should be rostered in an Only league, and some managers will roster an additional reliever to improve their ratios. If we say an average of 20 relievers will be rostered at any one point, we need 70 starters to meet our league's demand.

Most MLB clubs have a five-man rotation, meaning that 75 starters have jobs at a time. That's more than we need to fill out all of the starting rosters: the only position with a surplus in the entire format. The starters you find on waivers won't be good, but they will start. That's more than you can say for all the offensive positions, so you don't need to invest in as much SP depth.

Closers are a challenging commodity to manage in Only leagues. Your fifth-ranked and 10th-ranked closers don't differ by enough to offset the loss of an everyday position player, but you also need to compete in the saves category. The ideal strategy is to take the last two closers on the board, setting you up to finish in the top half of your league in saves for as little draft-day capital as possible.

 

Conclusion

Playing in an Only league is a different experience than many managers are used to, but it can be more engaging if you're looking to add strategy. RotoBaller offers a variety of resources to help novice and experienced managers alike with all of the research, so why not try an Only league this season?



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jameson Williams

Lions Didn't Entertain Trade Offers For Jameson Williams
Dalton Rushing

Homers In Four-Hit Game
Qadir Ismail

Raiders Sign Qadir Ismail
New York Giants

Giants Plan To Exercise Kayvon Thibodeaux's Fifth-Year Option
Russell Wilson

Will Be Giants Starting Quarterback
Max Muncy

With A Pair Of Doubles Back At Triple-A
Michael Lorenzen

Tosses Quality Start
Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs Close Out The First Round With Josh Simmons
Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Trade Up One Spot In First Round To Select Jihaad Campbell
A.J. Puk

Likely To Miss Multiple Months
Marquis Grissom Jr.

Notches Fifth Save At Double-A
Buffalo Bills

Bills Address Secondary And Take Maxwell Hairston With 30th Overall Pick
Félix Bautista

Felix Bautista Records Third Save
NFL

Eagles, Chiefs Swap First-Round Picks
Washington Commanders

Josh Conerly Jr. Goes At No. 29 Overall To Commanders

Giants Trade Up For Jaxson Dart At No. 25
Detroit Lions

Tyleik Williams Taken By Lions At No. 28 Overall
Shane Smith

Tosses Five Shutout Frames
Roman Anthony

With Home Run No. 5 On Thursday
Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Go With Malaki Starks At No. 27 Overall In NFL Draft
Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Takes Donovan Jackson No. 24 Overall
NFL

Rams Trade The 26th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Falcons
Andrés Muñoz

Andres Munoz Secures Ninth Save
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Trade Back Into First Round To Draft James Pearce Jr. At No. 26 Overall

Matthew Golden Selected No. 23 Overall By Green Bay
NFL

Texans Trade The 25th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Giants
Jakob Marsee

Up To 18 Steals At Triple-A

Omarion Hampton Taken No. 22 Overall By Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Selects Derrick Harmon At No. 21 Overall
Denver Broncos

Broncos Build Secondary By Selecting Jahdae Barron At No. 20

Buccaneers Add Emeka Egbuka At No. 19
Jeff McNeil

Activated From Injured List
Brett Baty

Optioned To Minors
Zack Gelof

To Begin Rehab Assignment Next Week
Ryan Walker

Remains Giants Closer
Kumar Rocker

Heads To Injured List
Brent Rooker

Resting For First Time This Season
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Isaiah Stewart

Remains Out For Game 3
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Bryan Woo

Picks Up Third Win, Strikes Out Eight On Thursday
Cade Cavalli

Moving Rehab Assignment To Double-A
Paul DeJong

Having Surgery On His Nose
Royce Lewis

Starting His Rehab Assignment On Friday
Tyler O'Neill

Out On Thursday With Sore Neck
Linus Ullmark

Attempts To Overcome Playoff Struggles Thursday
Anthony Cirelli

A Game-Time Call Thursday
Logan Thompson

Comes Up Big In Game 2
Connor McMichael

Strikes Twice In Wednesday's Win
Anze Kopitar

Tallies Four Points In Game 2 Victory
Adrian Kempe

Notches Two Goals, Two Assists In Wednesday's Win
Tyler Seguin

Gives Stars Series Lead With Overtime Winner
Gabriel Landeskog

Delivers Six Hits In First Game Since 2022
Tyler Herro

Scores Game-High 33 Points In Wednesday's Loss
Donovan Mitchell

Fires In 30 Points In Game 2 Win
Paolo Banchero

Notches 32 Points In Game 2 Loss
Jaylen Brown

Posts 36-Point Double-Double Wednesday
Jalen Green

Erupts For 38 Points In Game 2 Victory
Brandin Podziemski

Limited To 14 Minutes Wednesday
Jimmy Butler III

Set For MRI Thursday
Brandin Podziemski

Upgraded To Available
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Davion Mitchell

Moves Into Starting Lineup Wednesday
Brandin Podziemski

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Al Horford

Starts Game 2
Michael Porter Jr.

Practices On Wednesday
Jayson Tatum

Out On Wednesday
Isaiah Stewart

May Miss Another Game Thursday
NYI

Cal Clutterbuck Announces Retirement
Pavel Zacha

Recovering From Small Procedure
Nikolaj Ehlers

To Miss At Least Two More Games
Miro Heiskanen

Still Out On Wednesday
John Klingberg

Enters Oilers Lineup For Game 2
Evander Kane

To Make Season Debut Wednesday Night
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Posts Team-High 26 Points In Tuesday's Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Notches 27 Points Despite Poor Shooting
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Pascal Siakam

Scores Team-High 24 Points In Game 2 Win
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF