The obsession with rookies in fantasy baseball officially is out of control.
Since the surprise emergence of Albert Pujols back in 2001, fantasy owners have been infatuated with discovering the next big thing and, as a result, continuously forfeit their chances of winning each season by succumbing to this compulsion. It is one thing to take a chance on one or two high-upside rookies, but when your quest has you sitting in last place with a roster loaded strictly with potential and no proven talent, you’re doing it wrong.
Meet Mason K. He is a great guy who has been playing fantasy baseball for the past five years. Despite his rigorous draft prep and extensive knowledge of the MLB player pool, he never has won a fantasy baseball championship. As anyone would expect, Mason was frustrated. He knew he needed to change something up, so he reached out to those in the industry seeking advice.
When I received Mason’s email, I asked to see his roster, league settings and overall standings. There he was, mired in last place in his head-to-head points league, and once I saw his roster, it was easy to understand why. Mason was a prospect junkie, and his continuous need for a rookie fix was ruining his fantasy career.
During his draft, Mason picked up some strong youth in Ronald Acuna and Rhys Hoskins. Both players had high ceilings, and though Acuna wasn’t expected to be recalled until May, it was still a great move. Unfortunately, Mason didn’t stop there and also added Scott Kingery and Nick Senzel, neither of whom was projected to start the season with the big club. That would have been enough for most, but the obsession continued to grow.
When the season opened and waiver claims were made, Mason found himself grabbing every young hopeful he read about. He added Juan Soto and Austin Riley to his offense while revamping his pitching with the likes of Mike Soroka, Caleb Smith and Ross Stripling. By the time he reached out to me, there was not a single player on his roster with more than three years of MLB experience.
With a few suggestions, Mason has since begun to right the ship. He is exorcising his demons. It wasn’t a matter of completely ridding him of his rookie compulsions, but more about getting the problem under control.
He has traded away some of his youth for more proven talent and is learning to be more selective with his waiver claims. A relapse or two is probably in his future, but understanding the balance needed is half the battle. There is nothing wrong with taking a chance on youth, but you simply won’t win if it is your only weapon.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice, MLB lineups and DFS weather updates.
