Okay, my two cents.
Historically, position scarcity is a concept which arose in connection with play in deep "only" leagues. When you are playing in a 12-team AL-only league, there aren't going to be quite enough starters to go around at every position, but it will be generally close. There will be enough such that everyone can get one decent starter and either a scrub or a decent part-timer.
Sometimes, though, the player pool is such that for whatever reason there just aren't enough decent players to go around. We talk about that as being position scarcity, when there aren't enough decent players to fill out the rosters at the given positions. It's never really an issue in shallow or mixed leagues, where there are always plenty of players who will get playing time, even if they are not as desirable.
Looking forward to 2018, one place I think there will actually be true position scarcity is the outfield. Twelve fantasy teams take 60 outfielders, but fifteen AL teams only have 45 starters. There used to be plenty of bench players and OF-qualified DHs to make up the difference, but now that MLB teams carry at least one extra pitcher, that last hitting spot on many rosters tends to go to a utility infieilder.
This is a brief treatment, but you get the idea. I think position scarcity is a concept that is often misunderstood and misapplied, similar to the way "draft inflation" is misunderstood and misapplied. But it is a real issue in some leagues and can bite you if you aren't prepared for it. JMO.
Historically, position scarcity is a concept which arose in connection with play in deep "only" leagues. When you are playing in a 12-team AL-only league, there aren't going to be quite enough starters to go around at every position, but it will be generally close. There will be enough such that everyone can get one decent starter and either a scrub or a decent part-timer.
Sometimes, though, the player pool is such that for whatever reason there just aren't enough decent players to go around. We talk about that as being position scarcity, when there aren't enough decent players to fill out the rosters at the given positions. It's never really an issue in shallow or mixed leagues, where there are always plenty of players who will get playing time, even if they are not as desirable.
Looking forward to 2018, one place I think there will actually be true position scarcity is the outfield. Twelve fantasy teams take 60 outfielders, but fifteen AL teams only have 45 starters. There used to be plenty of bench players and OF-qualified DHs to make up the difference, but now that MLB teams carry at least one extra pitcher, that last hitting spot on many rosters tends to go to a utility infieilder.
This is a brief treatment, but you get the idea. I think position scarcity is a concept that is often misunderstood and misapplied, similar to the way "draft inflation" is misunderstood and misapplied. But it is a real issue in some leagues and can bite you if you aren't prepared for it. JMO.
Comment