The Z Files: NFBC - Postseason Hold 'Em Rankings

The Z Files: NFBC - Postseason Hold 'Em Rankings

This article is part of our The Z Files series.

It's time to stop checking your league standings for scoring changes and have some fun with the MLB Playoffs. The fine folks at the NFBC offer a Post-season Hold 'Em Contest with a unique set of rules including representation from every team still active in the postseason, multipliers for the number of series you roster the player and a simple points-based scoring system.

Unlike some contests, you can replace players at the end of each series. Those that are not replaced have a multiplier attached to their points for the next round. For example, players rostered for the Division Series making it to the League Championship Series get double points on the LCS. Those making it all the way to the World Series get triple points in the final round. Players added to your roster for the LCS receive double if the advance to the World Series.

Drafting strategy involves identifying teams you expect to advance and plotting the positions you want to get the multipliers on, and then supplementing with players easier to replace, with an eye on who you can add in that spot in the next round.

Your approach doesn't even have to focus on teams you expect to advance. If you're trying to win the overall (and let's face it, that's everyone's objective), backing a long shot reduces the number of competitors with players still racking up multipliers come the final round. That said, the multipliers themselves offer an opportunity for differentiation, so perhaps sticking to

It's time to stop checking your league standings for scoring changes and have some fun with the MLB Playoffs. The fine folks at the NFBC offer a Post-season Hold 'Em Contest with a unique set of rules including representation from every team still active in the postseason, multipliers for the number of series you roster the player and a simple points-based scoring system.

Unlike some contests, you can replace players at the end of each series. Those that are not replaced have a multiplier attached to their points for the next round. For example, players rostered for the Division Series making it to the League Championship Series get double points on the LCS. Those making it all the way to the World Series get triple points in the final round. Players added to your roster for the LCS receive double if the advance to the World Series.

Drafting strategy involves identifying teams you expect to advance and plotting the positions you want to get the multipliers on, and then supplementing with players easier to replace, with an eye on who you can add in that spot in the next round.

Your approach doesn't even have to focus on teams you expect to advance. If you're trying to win the overall (and let's face it, that's everyone's objective), backing a long shot reduces the number of competitors with players still racking up multipliers come the final round. That said, the multipliers themselves offer an opportunity for differentiation, so perhaps sticking to chalk and counting on subtle roster differences is the way to go.

Everyone has their own way to build the puzzle. I map out the brackets and decide the 10 players I want from the projected World Series Champion, plus six from their opponent. (You can have maximum 10 players from one team in the final round.)

In Round 2, you can have a max of six from each team (probably the two you expect to advance). However, every team alive at the beginning of the round needs at least one representative.

The fun part is deciding on the players you expect to be eliminated and have their position filled by someone from your World Series teams not yet on your roster.

As an example, say you are backing the Astros. Jose Abreu probably isn't in your Round 1 lineup, but he's one of the 10 you expect to have rostered for the final round. You can fill first base with a player you expect to be eliminated. Of course, things rarely go as planned, and the player you anticipated to lose might still be alive, so he gets the multiplier advantage -- making it a tough decision whether to take him out.

It really is a great format since it involves player evaluation, team expectations and game theory.

What follows are two sets of rankings. Neither is designed to be a "best player available" list, since it doesn't apply to this format. You need to integrate your plan, using the rankings more in a relative than absolute sense.

The first set assumes everyone plays in the same number of games. It would be very similar to rankings for a full season with the same scoring system. It accounts for position in the batting order and number of plate appearances each team generates with that spot. The plate appearances are assigned using the current projected batting orders, accounting for platoon players.

The second set incorporates the current World Series odds, so players on the teams with better odds move up from the first list while players with lower odds move down. Atlanta players populate the top of the rankings, as the NL East champs are the overall favorites.

Normalized Rankings (Everyone plays the same number of games)

RankPlayerTeamPOS
1Mookie BettsLADSS/2B/OF
2Ronald AcunaATLOF
3Spencer StriderATLP
4Yordan AlvarezHOUOF
5Matt OlsonATL1B
6Corey SeagerTEXSS
7Freddie FreemanLAD1B
8Framber ValdezHOUP
9Pablo LopezMINP
10Jose AltuveHOU2B
11Kyle SchwarberPHIOF
12Zack WheelerPHIP
13Zac GallenARIP
14Corbin CarrollARIOF
15Kyle TuckerHOUOF
16Bryce HarperPHI1B
17Ryan PresslyHOUP
18Merrill KellyARIP
19Max MuncyLAD2B/3B
20Sonny GrayMINP
21Jhoan DuranMINP
22Aaron NolaPHIP
23Joe RyanMINP
24Raisel IglesiasATLP
25Clayton KershawLADP
26Austin RileyATL3B
27Adolis GarciaTEXOF
28Marcus SemienTEX2B
29Max FriedATLP
30Lance LynnLADP
31Nathan EovaldiTEXP
32Kyle BradishBALP
33Ozzie AlbiesATL2B
34Justin VerlanderHOUP
35Will SmithLADC
36Paul SewaldARIP
37Alex BregmanHOU3B
38Gunnar HendersonBALSS/3B
39Ryan PepiotLADP
40Royce LewisMIN3B
41Jose AlvaradoPHIP
42Jordan MontgomeryTEXP
43Yennier CanoBALP
44Trea TurnerPHISS
45Bobby MillerLADP
46Ketel MarteARI2B
47J.D. MartinezLADUT
48Marcell OzunaATLOF
49Bailey OberMINP
50Josh JungTEX3B
51Jose LeclercTEXP
52Jorge PolancoMIN3B/2B
53Cristopher SanchezPHIP
54Anthony SantanderBAL1B/OF
55Christian WalkerARI1B
56Edouard JulienMIN2B
57Hunter BrownHOUP
58Chas McCormickHOUOF
59Mitch GarverTEXC
60Ranger SuarezPHIP
61Sean MurphyATLC
62James OutmanLADOF
63Adley RutschmanBALC
64Kenta MaedaMINP
65Nathaniel LoweTEX1B
66Charlie MortonATLP
67John MeansBALP
68Grayson RodriguezBALP
69Evan PhillipsLADP
70Cristian JavierHOUP
71J.P. FranceHOUP
72Kyle GibsonBALP
73Tommy PhamARIOF
74Dane DunningTEXP
75Bryce ElderATLP
76Jack FlahertyBALP
77Taijuan WalkerPHIP
78Ryan MountcastleBAL1B
79Alec BohmPHI1B/3B
80J.T. RealmutoPHIC
81Jordan WestburgBAL3B/2B/SS
82Dean KremerBALP
83Lourdes GurrielARIOF
84Michael HarrisATLOF
85Matt WallnerMINOF
86Austin HaysBALOF
87Emmet SheehanLADP
88Gabriel MorenoARIC
89Nick CastellanosPHIOF
90Jonah HeimTEXC
91Carlos CorreaMINSS
92Jose AbreuHOU1B
93Brandon PfaadtARIP
94Bryson StottPHI2B/SS
95Evan LongoriaARI3B
96Ryan YarbroughLADP
97Ryan JeffersMINC
98Orlando ArciaATLSS/2B
99Dylan DoddATLP
100Jeremy PenaHOUSS
101Leody TaverasTEXOF
102Aroldis ChapmanTEXP
103Johan RojasPHIOF
104Michael GroveLADP
105Michael TaylorMINOF
106Jose UrquidyHOUP
107Craig KimbrelPHIP
108Evan CarterTEXOF
109Max KeplerMINOF
110Geraldo PerdomoARI3B/2B/SS
111Cedric MullinsBALOF
112Brusdar GraterolLADP
113Eddie RosarioATLOF
114Kyle WrightATLP
115Ryan O'HearnBALOF/1B
116Alex KirilloffMIN1B/OF
117Kirby YatesATLP
118Kevin GinkelARIP
119Michael BrantleyHOUOF
120Miguel RojasLADSS
121Jason HeywardLADOF
122Brandon MarshPHIOF
123Seranthony DominguezPHIP
124David PeraltaLADOF
125Alek ThomasARIOF
126Martin MaldonadoHOUC
127Adam FrazierBAL2B/OF
128Will SmithTEXP
129Robbie GrossmanTEXOF
130Chris TaylorLAD3B/SS/2B/OF
131Kevin PillarATLOF
132Bryan AbreuHOUP
133Donovan SolanoMIN3B/2B/1B
134Willi CastroMIN2B/3B/OF
135Aaron HicksBALOF
136Amed RosarioLAD2B/SS
137Emmanuel RiveraARI1B/3B
138James McCannBALC
139Jake MeyersHOUOF
140Jorge MateoBALSS
141Cristian PachePHIOF
142Gregory SotoPHIP

Adjusted Rankings (Based on World Series Odds)

 PlayerTeamPOS
1Ronald AcunaATLOF
2Spencer StriderATLP
3Matt OlsonATL1B
4Raisel IglesiasATLP
5Austin RileyATL3B
6Max FriedATLP
7Ozzie AlbiesATL2B
8Marcell OzunaATLOF
9Sean MurphyATLC
10Mookie BettsLADSS/2B/OF
11Charlie MortonATLP
12Yordan AlvarezHOUOF
13Bryce ElderATLP
14Michael HarrisATLOF
15Freddie FreemanLAD1B
16Framber ValdezHOUP
17Jose AltuveHOU2B
18Kyle TuckerHOUOF
19Ryan PresslyHOUP
20Orlando ArciaATLSS/2B
21Dylan DoddATLP
22Justin VerlanderHOUP
23Max MuncyLAD2B/3B
24Alex BregmanHOU3B
25Clayton KershawLADP
26Lance LynnLADP
27Will SmithLADC
28Ryan PepiotLADP
29Hunter BrownHOUP
30Chas McCormickHOUOF
31Bobby MillerLADP
32J.D. MartinezLADUT
33Eddie RosarioATLOF
34Kyle WrightATLP
35Cristian JavierHOUP
36Kirby YatesATLP
37J.P. FranceHOUP
38James OutmanLADOF
39Evan PhillipsLADP
40Corey SeagerTEXSS
41Jose AbreuHOU1B
42Emmet SheehanLADP
43Ryan YarbroughLADP
44Kyle BradishBALP
45Jeremy PenaHOUSS
46Gunnar HendersonBALSS/3B
47Kyle SchwarberPHIOF
48Zack WheelerPHIP
49Yennier CanoBALP
50Adolis GarciaTEXOF
51Marcus SemienTEX2B
52Nathan EovaldiTEXP
53Bryce HarperPHI1B
54Jose UrquidyHOUP
55Anthony SantanderBAL1B/OF
56Michael GroveLADP
57Jordan MontgomeryTEXP
58Aaron NolaPHIP
59Adley RutschmanBALC
60Pablo LopezMINP
61Josh JungTEX3B
62John MeansBALP
63Jose LeclercTEXP
64Grayson RodriguezBALP
65Kyle GibsonBALP
66Mitch GarverTEXC
67Jose AlvaradoPHIP
68Jack FlahertyBALP
69Trea TurnerPHISS
70Ryan MountcastleBAL1B
71Nathaniel LoweTEX1B
72Jordan WestburgBAL3B/2B/SS
73Brusdar GraterolLADP
74Dean KremerBALP
75Michael BrantleyHOUOF
76Cristopher SanchezPHIP
77Sonny GrayMINP
78Jhoan DuranMINP
79Ranger SuarezPHIP
80Joe RyanMINP
81Dane DunningTEXP
82Austin HaysBALOF
83Royce LewisMIN3B
84Miguel RojasLADSS
85Jason HeywardLADOF
86Bailey OberMINP
87Martin MaldonadoHOUC
88Taijuan WalkerPHIP
89Jorge PolancoMIN3B/2B
90Alec BohmPHI1B/3B
91J.T. RealmutoPHIC
92Jonah HeimTEXC
93Edouard JulienMIN2B
94David PeraltaLADOF
95Kenta MaedaMINP
96Nick CastellanosPHIOF
97Bryson StottPHI2B/SS
98Leody TaverasTEXOF
99Aroldis ChapmanTEXP
100Matt WallnerMINOF
101Cedric MullinsBALOF
102Evan CarterTEXOF
103Ryan O'HearnBALOF/1B
104Carlos CorreaMINSS
105Johan RojasPHIOF
106Ryan JeffersMINC
107Craig KimbrelPHIP
108Michael TaylorMINOF
109Max KeplerMINOF
110Brandon MarshPHIOF
111Adam FrazierBAL2B/OF
112Seranthony DominguezPHIP
113Kevin PillarATLOF
114Zac GallenARIP
115Corbin CarrollARIOF
116Alex KirilloffMIN1B/OF
117Merrill KellyARIP
118Will SmithTEXP
119Paul SewaldARIP
120Ketel MarteARI2B
121Christian WalkerARI1B
122Tommy PhamARIOF
123Lourdes GurrielARIOF
124Gabriel MorenoARIC
125Chris TaylorLAD3B/SS/2B/OF
126Brandon PfaadtARIP
127Bryan AbreuHOUP
128Evan LongoriaARI3B
129Amed RosarioLAD2B/SS
130Geraldo PerdomoARI3B/2B/SS
131Jake MeyersHOUOF
132Kevin GinkelARIP
133Robbie GrossmanTEXOF
134Alek ThomasARIOF
135Aaron HicksBALOF
136James McCannBALC
137Jorge MateoBALSS
138Donovan SolanoMIN3B/2B/1B
139Willi CastroMIN2B/3B/OF
140Cristian PachePHIOF
141Gregory SotoPHIP
142Emmanuel RiveraARI1B/3B

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Todd Zola
Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.
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