Choosing a best player in any situation is always a subjective exercise. Measuring a player's true worth is open for debate and generally difficult to determine unless a predefined set of parameters is used. Though only 25-40 players are in any given draft round, there are inevitably at least two players who can be considered the best player of a round.
There are many different approaches that can be taken but since many draft rounds will have no major leaguers, using complex algorithms on minor league data is risky. This is why TBC has decided to use a simple algorithm that takes into account only the highest level reached for a player and the number of games played at that level.
The rationale being that a player is "better" if he reached AAA as opposed to AA. And the number of games played suggests staying power. And there is likely no better way to measure a player's value at that particular level than how long he was able to stay there?
Of course, there are pitfalls to this approach:
- Pitchers would be penalized since they don't pitch as often. That is why we have developed a multiplier for starters and relievers to bring their totals inline with batters.
- A player who jumps from A-ball to MLB for 1 game will be considered a better pick than a player who played 400 games at AAA.
- A weak-hitting defensive catcher can be considered a better pick than a power-hitting all-star ss.
The best pick will be updated yearly so the potential for change exists from year to year. |
