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Rick Lucks discusses four 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 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 owners 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 at the glory. Better yet, you can take a bow when your pet player finishes the season firmly on the fantasy radar. Believe me: it's a great feeling.
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. Personally, I find the best way to combat this is to participate in both an AL and NL Only concurrently. 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 San Francisco.
Other owners claim that Only leagues are too much work, and I concede that a lot more research goes into them. Ironically, that makes right now the best possible time to give it a shot. A lot of people don't have much to do in the age of social distancing, so why not dive into the rabbit hole of learning a new fantasy format? This article is intended to jump-start a novice owner's Only draft prep with four tips I personally learned after a few Only leagues. Let's get started!
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1. Playing Time Is Key
If you take nothing else from this article, you must understand that the team that records the most PA and IP is very likely to finish in the money. Owners in standard leagues usually look for upside when one of their core players land on the IL, but your waiver wire will be a barren wasteland in an Only format. You'll be ecstatic to find a .240 hitter with little power or speed who qualifies at your position of need.
Thankfully, you can prepare for this eventuality on draft day. I typically burn late-round picks in mixed leagues on speculative saves, hoping to find a closer without paying for one. When I tried the same strategy in an Only league, I fell so far behind in PA and IP that the team was a total dumpster fire (even though I did end up with a "free" closer). Don't repeat that mistake in your first deep league. Invest in bench bats that cover every position, and prioritize multipositional guys to give you some versatility when you're scouring the waiver wire.
2. Outfield Is A Scarce Position
Outfield is one of the deepest positions in fantasy, ranging from perennial All-Stars like Mike Trout to exciting prospects like Luis Robert. Owners in standard leagues never need to consider a player's outfield eligibility as a positive when assessing his value, 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 that don't really have an everyday option at the position. Considering that outfielders are the glue that hold fantasy rosters together, 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 (six would be better). Otherwise, you'll spend the entire season trying to correct your OF deficiency. I speak from experience.
3. You Can Wait On Pitching
Again 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 owned in an Only league, and some owners may roster an additional reliever to improve their ERA and WHIP. If we say that an average of 20 relievers will be rostered at any one point, we need 70 starters to meet our league's demand.
Each MLB club has a five-man rotation, meaning that 75 starters have jobs in the league at a time. That's actually more than we need to fill out all of the starting rosters: the only position with 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 of the offensive positions, so you don't need to invest in as much SP depth. Remember: even terrible pitchers can be worthwhile fantasy plays with the right matchup, especially in an Only.
Closers are a challenging commodity to manage in Only leagues. Your fifth-ranked and tenth-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. You should also do everything in your power to make sure that any unexpected closers land on your roster as opposed to a rival's. Be diligent!
4. Adopt One of Two Waiver Strategies
You will have two golden chances to add free talent to your team once the season starts: early-season breakouts and any stars that shift leagues at the trade deadline. You can do both if your league uses FAAB, just make sure to hold enough in reserve in case a dominant pitcher or cleanup hitter suddenly becomes available. However, you'll probably only have one shot if your format uses waiver priority instead.
The best use of waiver wire priority is to grab a surprise breakout that delivers value for the entire season. For instance, Bryan Reynolds went from no-name to elite performer in 2019. However, a hot first month doesn't necessarily mean that the player is for real. You have to do your research to figure out if your breakout is a future star or lucky waiver wire fodder. Most leagues that use waiver priority have a free agency period where you can add to your roster without burning it, so you can and should churn while waiting for the right match.
If you don't use waiver priority, save it for the trading deadline. Big names are moved at the deadline almost every year, giving you a great chance to add a free impact piece with minimal research. I'm proud to say that I added J.D. Martinez to my NL-Only roster when he was traded to Arizona in 2017.
Conclusion
Playing in an Only league is a different experience than many owners are used to, but it can actually be more engaging if you're looking to add more strategy to the hobby. Rotoballer offers a variety of resources to help novice and experienced owners alike with all of the research that goes into it, so why not try an Only league this season?
