It's Time to Power-Up

Whether it's the Hulk getting angry or Super Mario eating a magic mushroom, everyone loves to power-up!

RotoDerby now has a game designed specifically around power. Here's what we're talking about.

Directly from the RotoDerby site:

Fantasy Longball (HR) Derby is based on a standard scoring system with a twist; where you are competing against others for the highest Fantasy Points throughout the season based on 3 stats, but weighted towards Home Runs (HRs). It consists of a 10 player starting roster (six infielders, four outfielders) with a Home Run stat cap used to build your team. Rosters are fixed all season and standings reset monthly. Winners are paid every month and at season-end. 

Scoring is based on 3 stats as follows:
Home Runs (HRs): 5pts
Runs Batted In (RBIs): 1pt
Strikeouts (Ks): -1pt

Pick your team.

Follow the rules.

It's as simple as that.

We at Fantasy Alarm are firm believers in the old adage, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." While we' will happily make our picks and suggestions for the best power hitters to choose, we also want to educate you to the point where you'll be able to identify the best potential power performers on your own. Two weeks ago, Ray Flowers offered three key identifiers. Last week, Steve Pimental told you three more things to look for in a player. If power is the goal and knowledge is power, then school is now in session.

1. Isolated Power (ISO) -- Do not fear the sabermetrics. Embrace them. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to use the numerous stats the saber-community has laid before you and we're not asking you to calculate numbers here with complex algorithms. We've got people in the back who do that for you and serve them up in a very easy-to-use form. ISO is a measure of a player's raw power and tells you how often he hits for extra bases. It appears in the same numerical form as batting average and it weighs doubles, triples and home runs accordingly. No singles. We don't have time for wimpy singles here. The league average ISO is between .140 and .150, so obviously you're looking for numbers which are higher. Last year Edwin Encarnacion led the league with a .279 ISO, followed by Mike Trout at .274 and Giancarlo Stanton at .267. You see where we're going with this? Good. You're all set then.

2. Doubles -- We hear all the time that a player has developing power and with that, the expectations grow in our search for the "next big thing." One of the best things to look for when searching for players who could have a substantial home run breakout is how many doubles they hit. The expectation is that, as the player matures both physically and mentally, both the batter's eye and the strength increase and many of their doubles turn into home runs. Freddie Freeman had just 18 home runs last year, but his 43 doubles would indicate that there is more power to be had. Anthony Rendon hit 21 home runs last year but also had 39 doubles. But if the proof is in the pudding, then look no further than Anthony Rizzo who in 2013 had 23 home runs and 40 doubles, only to plug a career-best 32 home runs last year.

 

3. OPS -- We all know what on-base percentage (OBP) is and we all know what slugging percentage (SLG) is. Both are fantastic stats, but for the sake of the RotoDerby game which penalizes for strikeouts, OPS becomes a much better measure as it combines the two stats. You can have a high SLG and a ton of strikeouts but you aren't usually going to see a high OBP with a ton of whiffs. So looking at OPS is a much better guage for this game. Just like ISO, it reads just like batting average, but in this case, the league average is roughly .730. So obviously you're looking for players whose OPS is higher than that mark. Last year, Victor Martinez and his power surge led the league with a .974 OPS, followed up by Cuban sensation Jose Abreu with a .964 mark. Try and stay in the .900 range for as many of your selections as you can and the rest is cream cheese.

Fantasy Alarm readers get 25% off as an early bird special by using promocode: Early25 before March 23rd at www.rotoderby.com