OttoValues: an online tool for creating player values in season long ottoneu baseball leagues

I have created an app for calculating player values for full season ottoneu leagues. There are four versions (Fangraphs Points, SABR Points, 4x4 and 5x5) available at the following links:

https://ottovalues.shinyapps.io/FGPts/
https://ottovalues.shinyapps.io/SABR_Points/
https://ottovalues.shinyapps.io/4x4_roto/
https://ottovalues.shinyapps.io/5x5_roto/

The values are based on projections freely available at https://www.fangraphs.com/ and several variables that the user can modify. I have tried to provide reasonable default values for all of these variables. The calculations are based upon ideas from many sources over the past few years, notably Tanner Bell (https://www.smartfantasybaseball.com/) for the process, Justin Vibber’s Surplus Calculator (Vibbot is creating Ottoneu Fantasy Baseball Tools | Patreon) and discussions on the ottoneu Slack notably with Joe Catanzariti.

On the bottom left of the page there is a ‘Download Data’ button where you can download some of the data that is used in the calculations. With a small amount of manipulation in a spreadsheet (deleting columns) you can paste the values you have created into the Surplus Calculator.

As with any attempt at creating values for fantasy baseball there will be numerous shortcomings, limiting assumptions, blind spots, etc. so my hope is that these values may serve as a baseline or starting point for others.

To help offset the costs of hosting these apps (and maybe even subsidizing my ever expanding collection of ottoneu teams) I have set up a Patreon page: Leif Nelson is creating values for ottoneu fantasy baseball leagues | Patreon. For 2022 I am not putting anything I create and distribute behind a paywall but depending on levels of interest and the amount of traffic I may make more advanced versions available only to patrons.

I am happy to discuss these tools, and any potential expansions or refinements, here or on the ottoneu Slack. Please let me know if you have any issues, or anything doesn’t make sense. I am hoping that this will be useful for some people in their 2022 drafts so there may be some bugs that I haven’t caught.

Notes:

Values for the roto formats (4x4 and 5x5) are based on the z-scores method.

All projections were downloaded from FanGraphs this morning (March 24).

It is assumed that catchers have the lowest replacement level and first basemen/UT-only have the highest, with the overall order being C<MI<OF<3B<1B/UT. This seems to be true for most formats and projection systems but may not always be the case, especially if the number of players at various positions are changed from the defaults.

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