Using wOBA to Identify 2011 Fantasy Sleepers

There are countless baseball statistics out there beyond the standard ones we’re all familiar with.  Weighted On Base Average (wOBA) is particularly useful for fantasy purposes when it comes to point-based leagues.  In points leagues, hitters are generally rewarded for extra base hits and the runs they create.  This differs from roto leagues which only truly are worried about one type of extra base hit (the home run).  wOBA puts a weight on 2B, 3B, HR, BB and singles based on their run value and computes a stat for each player that is read in a manner that closely resembles OBP (with .400 being very good and .340 being about average).  If we look at last year’s wOBA leaders, it comes as no surprise that the leaders are also the best fantasy baseball hitters.  However, if we look at players with limited plate appearances but a very high wOBA, we can start to identify potentially undervalued sleeper candidates.

While the exact role of some of these players is yet to be determined for 2011, if they are given a full year of AB’s, they could find themselves atop fantasy lists by year’s end.  Some of these players have already been touched upon in my own deep sleeper posts, such as Mike Morse, Matt Joyce and Mitch Moreland.  Others are older players such as Manny Ramirez and Magglio Ordonez but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be considered for your team in 2011.  This exercise is useful in finding those undervalued guys that may be overlooked in your leagues, especially in deeper leagues.  Don’t neglect the power of the wOBA statistic for your draft research.