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We’ve now reached a point where we can make some early judgements on players and even evaluate the strength/weakness of positions as a whole. This week I’ve decided to take a look at the second base position in both the season long and daily formats. By doing so, not only can we see the drop off from tier to tier at the positon, but we can quantify using Relative Position Value (RPV) just how significant those drop offs are from group to group.
This is the RPV for the second base position heading into Tuesday night’s games using a standard scoring system to evaluate player production YTD:
Player | FPTS | RPV |
Jose Altuve 2B | HOU | 67 | 0.901 |
Ian Kinsler 2B | DET | 50.5 | 0.433 |
Daniel Murphy 2B | WAS | 49.5 | 0.405 |
Joe Panik 2B | SF | 48.5 | 0.376 |
Robinson Cano 2B | SEA | 44 | 0.249 |
DJ LeMahieu 2B | COL | 41 | 0.163 |
Starlin Castro SS | NYY | 39 | 0.107 |
Scooter Gennett 2B | MIL | 38 | 0.078 |
Dee Gordon 2B | MIA | 37 | 0.050 |
Josh Harrison 3B | PIT | 36.5 | 0.036 |
Rougned Odor 2B | TEX | 36 | 0.022 |
Brock Holt 2B | BOS | 35 | -0.007 |
Jonathan Schoop 2B | BAL | 34.5 | -0.021 |
Jason Kipnis 2B | CLE | 33 | -0.064 |
Brandon Phillips 2B | CIN | 32 | -0.092 |
Ben Zobrist 2B | CHC | 31 | -0.120 |
Neil Walker 2B | NYM | 31 | -0.120 |
Cory Spangenberg 2B | SD | 29.5 | -0.163 |
Chase Utley 2B | LAD | 27.5 | -0.220 |
Dustin Pedroia 2B | BOS | 27 | -0.234 |
Brian Dozier 2B | MIN | 25 | -0.291 |
Brett Lawrie 3B | CHW | 23 | -0.347 |
Anthony Rendon 2B | WAS | 22.5 | -0.362 |
Logan Forsythe 2B | TB | 22 | -0.376 |
Jed Lowrie 3B | OAK | 21 | -0.404 |
If you want to know just how valuable Jose Altuve is compared to his peers, well try this on for size! He’s running a whopping +90% RPV over the Fantasy League Average second baseman in this group of 25. That’s a staggering number. It’s partially due to his incredible skillset, but also the lackluster performance of his peers in April.
Ian Kinsler, Joe Panik, Daniel Murphy and Robinson Cano make up the top tier behind the “super elite” Altuve. Then you see the pool drop off again before hitting the even 0 percent RPV advantage point at Rougned Odor. What that basically means is that if you’re running Odor out there in a 12-team mixed league you’re getting league average value right now. That’s acceptable, as long as you are in the positive RPV at other positions.
What’s not acceptable is Brian Dozier running a -29% RPV. Anthony Rendon’s -36% mark is equally unsettling. Considering their ADP and auction values, owners are really operating at a loss in the early going thanks to these two slow starters. Neil Walker’s two home run performance last night will shoot him into the positive RPV for sure. His recent ditching of the toe tap hitting from the right side seems to be paying immediate dividends. That’s a player to worth keeping a close eye on. You can also glean from this chart just how dangerous the middle infield can get, bottoming out around -40% overall. You may think you’re holding the line with players like Brett Lawrie, when in fact you are grossly behind the rest of the teams in your league from a productivity standpoint.
Daily Fantasy
Let’s stay at second base but instead change formats to the daily game. Here are the top scoring FanDuel second basemen heading into Wednesday night’s slate of action. Now, it’s not just about the points these guys are putting up, but also the price in which those points are coming.
Here’s a look at the Relative Position Value per Dollar (RPVPD), at the same position for Wednesday night’s games on FanDuel.
Player | FPPG | Raw RPV | Salary | Pts per $ | RPV Per Dollar |
15.0 | 0.662 | $ 3,900 | $260 | 0.272 | |
11.2 | 0.241 | $ 3,000 | $268 | 0.250 | |
13.2 | 0.462 | $ 3,600 | $273 | 0.236 | |
10.5 | 0.163 | $ 2,900 | $276 | 0.226 | |
10.4 | 0.152 | $ 2,900 | $279 | 0.219 | |
10.9 | 0.207 | $ 3,200 | $294 | 0.178 | |
16.6 | 0.839 | $ 4,900 | $295 | 0.173 | |
9.5 | 0.052 | $ 2,900 | $305 | 0.145 | |
11.7 | 0.296 | $ 3,800 | $325 | 0.090 | |
8.2 | -0.092 | $ 2,700 | $329 | 0.078 | |
9.2 | 0.019 | $ 3,100 | $337 | 0.056 | |
8.3 | -0.081 | $ 2,800 | $337 | 0.055 | |
8.5 | -0.058 | $ 2,900 | $341 | 0.044 | |
5.8 | -0.358 | $ 2,000 | $345 | 0.034 | |
9.5 | 0.052 | $ 3,400 | $358 | -0.003 | |
7.2 | -0.202 | $ 2,600 | $361 | -0.012 | |
7.4 | -0.180 | $ 2,900 | $392 | -0.098 | |
7.9 | -0.125 | $ 3,100 | $392 | -0.099 | |
5.5 | -0.391 | $ 2,200 | $400 | -0.120 | |
4.0 | -0.557 | $ 2,100 | $525 | -0.471 | |
4.1 | -0.546 | $ 2,200 | $537 | -0.503 | |
4.0 | -0.557 | $ 2,500 | $625 | -0.751 |
Notice how the price of production changes a player’s value. Ian Kinsler, Starlin Castro and Daniel Murphy are the most cost effective second basemen so far this season. Murphy and Kinsler have carried over their value from season-long leagues for the most part. The unstoppable force that is Jose Altuve is still a positive player, but not nearly the runaway train he is in season-long leagues. We’ve lost a few names to early games on Wednesday, but you can clearly see where the value lies. You can save yourself $900 in salary alone just by shifting from Kinsler to Castro and theoretically lose almost zero when it comes to productivity. Now that negatives have been removed from FanDuel scoring, Jonathan Schoop has become a much more viable option. And as I mentioned earlier, Neil Walker’s current hot streak is trending upward and his cost has yet to catch up. Take advantage while you can.
The value of a player is not solely based upon their talent. It’s their talent, in a specific format. From there it depends on the league depth. Then ultimately in the daily game, RPVPD will prove to us just who the most valuable players truly are when it comes to cost efficiency. Value may be relative, but it can also be quantified!
Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the seven-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football. He hosts Fantasy Sports Tonight on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and the Dear Mr. Fantasy Podcast.