Howard at #5 in an OBP league?? WHIR

[Berg]

Since we use OBP rather than AVG I'm wondering whether Ryan Howard is 1st round material. His OBP is usually among the leaders (except for last year), and nobody but Pujols can really match his huge HR and RBI totals - not even Braun and Miggy, and neither of them posts a great OBP either. I have Sizemore pegged as my pick right now because he offers a higher OBP than Braun and Miggy and I like his 35/35 potential, but I'm still being tempted by Howard's power production. I was just wondering your opinion about this, and WHIR if you post a question. Thanks.

[the izzy]

If you really want Howard that bad, then go for it. Howard is off to a great start in ST (w/ 8 HR's already). He might not have a huge slow start like normal.

If it were me, I would probably go w/ Sizemore (based on the added SB), but since you use OBP, instead of AVG, you can totally justify taking Howard at 5th. Plus, you can always find "OBP" guys late in the draft

help me: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=374817&p=3005379#p3005379

[Los_Dodgers]

I'd say that you should probably still pick Sizemore. Howard is awesome, but using OBP instead of average, in my opinion, doesn't negate the potential increase in stolen bases and runs you get with Sizemore. You obviously only get one first round pick, and in a normal 5x5 (albeit with one difference), it's tough to pass on a guy like Sizemore, who be a solid contributor in all areas besides OBP.

Another thing to consider is that high OBP guys aren't hard to come by in fantasy in the later rounds. As an example, Bobby Abreu can be had well into the draft and posts an insanely high OBP year after year.

My link is in my signature.

[mdgoalie]

Directed at Los_dodgers

This isn't meant to antagonize, just a question from a relative noob in the world of fantasy baseball. My question is, in an OBP league, wouldn't Howard be almost as valuable as Pujols if not moreso? And if so, then why is Pujols pretty much always drafted above Sizemore but Howard would not be drafted above him.?

Thanks

[rupertoooo]

Without question Howard belongs in this conversation, but I would still go with Sizemore for the plain simple fact of his speed. IMO selecting Sizemore relives you of having to worry about overdrafting speed later.

[epp1e]

I agree with Sizemore. When it's OBP instead of AVG, I'd be much more tempted by the likes of Berkman or Fielder @ 1B.

[Pogotheostrich]

My question is, in an OBP league, wouldn't Howard be almost as valuable as Pujols if not moreso? And if so, then why is Pujols pretty much always drafted above Sizemore but Howard would not be drafted above him.?

It is hard to put a finger on Howard's OBP since it has flucuated so much the last 4 years but if you want to use career avg then Pujols is .425 and Howard is .380. That is a huge difference.

[Amazinz]

It depends on what you expect out of Howards. It obviously bumps his value but based on last year's numbers not that substantially. He wasn't more valuable than Sizemore last year in this setup.

[mdgoalie]

My question is, in an OBP league, wouldn't Howard be almost as valuable as Pujols if not moreso? And if so, then why is Pujols pretty much always drafted above Sizemore but Howard would not be drafted above him.?

It is hard to put a finger on Howard's OBP since it has flucuated so much the last 4 years but if you want to use career avg then Pujols is .425 and Howard is .380. That is a huge difference.

So what your saying is that difference in OBP is enough to make Pujols more valuable than Sizemore as well as Howard?
I'm mainly asking this because the league I am in isn't the most competitive expert league, just a friendly money league with people from St. Louis, and I can guarantee a lot of people want Pujols on their team just for the name. I figure if he is at the same fantasy level as those other two, I could trade Pujols for one of them and also pick up somebody else to help my team and get more value than just having Pujols.

Thanks

[Amazinz]

I'm not sure how you're projecting them but it's not far fetched for Pujols to post an OBA 70 points higher than Howard. And even if it's only 50 points higher this is a huge difference in value. Think about the difference in a .250 and .300 BA.

Barring an injury or something, Pujols will be the MVP of your league. Now if you can take advantage of your Pujols-loving league-mates and get them to grossly overpay then go for it. But I'd be happy with Pujols.