# Any interest in a Fantasy Baseball roto league with auction draft? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 9, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719 "2011-02-09T01:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/21 "2011-02-10T18:56:44Z")
> [@Stringer](#): > > I’d be interested if the settings discouraged pitcher streaming. An auction itself can discourage pitching streaming, as can a FAAB. What settings would you recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/22 "2011-02-10T19:05:59Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > An auction itself can discourage pitching streaming, as can a FAAB. What settings would you recommend? Weekly roster changes is the easiest way to stop them. I might be able to do another auction league depending on when the draft is. And if I can, I probably want to. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/23 "2011-02-10T19:41:07Z")
**Munch** , I’ll read those links today and I’m indeed serious about wanting to learn how to play. Thanks so much for all your help. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/24 "2011-02-10T19:49:39Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Like **Munch** , i think we need at least 12 teams. More teams make the league more interesting. Also, too few means that everyone ends up with a team of superstars, and fantasy is more interesting, i think, when you have to deal with some of the league’s more marginal players. I agree and this is why I’ve always shied away from mixed leagues. I’d think you’d need about 20 teams for a mixed league to get to marginal players. We’ve always run our league with 10 teams for AL only (approx 70% of the talent pool. 70% of 30 teams is 21). ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/25 "2011-02-10T21:01:01Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > An auction itself can discourage pitching streaming, as can a FAAB. What settings would you recommend? A total innings limit is my preferred method, but weekly roster changes, roster moves limits or FAAB are also good options. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/26 "2011-02-10T21:14:19Z")
I’d play in this league. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/27 "2011-02-10T21:39:15Z")
> [@Stringer](#): > > A total innings limit is my preferred method, but weekly roster changes, roster moves limits or FAAB are also good options. Do you mean reducing the total innings limit? Because I’ve never been in a league without one. Typically only head-to-head leagues don’t have IP limits. faithfool - I started up a mock draft thread that I hope can serve as a general catch-all for fantasy questions for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/28 "2011-02-10T21:45:08Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Do you mean reducing the total innings limit? Because I’ve never been in a league without one. Typically only head-to-head leagues don’t have IP limits. I didn’t realize innings limits were the norm in roto leagues, I usually play H2H but my roto leagues have all been no max. Carry on then! ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/29 "2011-02-10T22:54:09Z")
Usually, Yahoo! leagues have 1250 IP max, which is a good setting to prevent streaming. Having a competitive league also reduces the number of passable starters on the waiver wire. FAAB does not work in Yahoo!. Last year, FAAB only applied to players on waivers, not free agents, which sort of defeats the purpose of having FAAB in the first place. Also, I used to be on the “let’s make fantasy like reality!” bandwagon, then realized that -You’re never going to get fantasy to seem even close to reality -The further away you get from non-standard settings, the harder it is to read fantasy sports columns, discuss with people outside your league, etc. -Fantasy is just a statistical game involving major league players. As a SABR-head, I don’t like BA any more than the next guy, but this is a game, not an approximation of reality. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/30 "2011-02-10T23:34:43Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > FAAB does not work in Yahoo!. Last year, FAAB only applied to players on waivers, not free agents, which sort of defeats the purpose of having FAAB in the first place. I disagree. It’s certainly not like the old-school rules where pickups were done once a week using your FAAB - but that’s really no longer ideal in the online world. You can set players to hit waivers up to 7 full days (which is torture) - even at 2 days there’s considerable scrambling to put in a claim for guys. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/31 "2011-02-11T00:09:56Z")
I’m interested, though I’m a fantasy noob. What is _roto_, _pitching streaming_ and _FAAB_? ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/32 "2011-02-11T00:16:40Z")
I’m interested. I played my first auction league last year. I also had a snake drafted team. Both were roto, as H2H only belongs in fantasy football. H2H in fantasy baseball is just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/33 "2011-02-11T00:32:08Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > I’m interested, though I’m a fantasy noob. What is _roto_, _pitching streaming_ and _FAAB_? Read the post I linked to earlier, and ask questions in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=596628). ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/34 "2011-02-11T00:39:06Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I disagree. It’s certainly not like the old-school rules where pickups were done once a week using your FAAB - but that’s really no longer ideal in the online world. You can set players to hit waivers up to 7 full days (which is torture) - even at 2 days there’s considerable scrambling to put in a claim for guys. FAAB is most important for players who are FAs and become starters through injury, trade, or other change of circumstances. In a competitive league, you might go the entire season with only a few players of any consequence dropped onto waivers. Then, the FAAB system is only used for guys entering one league from the other (moot point in a mixed league) or from the minors (not usually worth going bonkers over). FAAB does stand for “Free Agent Acquisition Budget,” after all. In my NL-only league last year, I did FAAB by email. Owners would send me their bids, and I would look on Monday morning and process all waivers. In order to prevent owners from picking up players, I set “maximum # of moves” to 0. The system worked great, although it made some extra work for me that I wouldn’t wish onto another commissioner. If the Yahoo system allowed all players to be bid via weekly FAAB, I would be in favor of it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/35 "2011-02-11T01:45:35Z")
All true. I’d be pro-FAAB-only, but understand that it’s a lot of work for a commish. (Though I’d be happy to run it if that’s a majority desire.) ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/36 "2011-02-11T02:25:51Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > In my NL-only league last year, I did FAAB by email. Owners would send me their bids, and I would look on Monday morning and process all waivers. In order to prevent owners from picking up players, I set “maximum # of moves” to 0. The system worked great, although it made some extra work for me that I wouldn’t wish onto another commissioner. If the Yahoo system allowed all players to be bid via weekly FAAB, I would be in favor of it. Could teams put in conditional bids in that system.? Like I need a 1st basemen and would like A, but if I’m outbid I’ll take B. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/37 "2011-02-11T02:39:24Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Could teams put in conditional bids in that system.? Like I need a 1st basemen and would like A, but if I’m outbid I’ll take B. Via Yahoo? No, there’d be nothing stopping the system from awarding you both players if you were the top bidder on each (unless the first bid reduced your budget to the point your second bid couldn’t work). Via a commish-controlled FAAB - absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/38 "2011-02-11T03:03:37Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Could teams put in conditional bids in that system.? Like I need a 1st basemen and would like A, but if I’m outbid I’ll take B. That’s how I did it. Add Ike David $6 OR Add Todd Helton $1 OR Add Garrett Jones $1 Drop Joey Votto ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/39 "2011-02-11T03:58:49Z")
If this league does come to be, my only request is that the draft is as late in the preseason as possible, because auction is going to add a whole extra level to my draft prep that I just am not sure how to plan for. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719/40 "2011-02-11T14:47:52Z")
I’d be into it. But sure don’t have time for any live auctions or such. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-interest-in-a-fantasy-baseball-roto-league-with-auction-draft/570719.md?page=3)