For starters...

This is probably the first, last, and only time I'll use the word "starters" without discussing pitching. I've decided to start writing now and then about fantasy baseball because a) I love fantasy baseball, b) I'm going to occasionally need a break from the process of finishing a PhD that will still keep my mind engaged, and c) I don't care at all that the information market for fantasy sports is cluttered with amateur analysts of varying quality, never mind the paid experts.

The plan is to use the stats that are commonly available to analyze specific ideas about fantasy baseball: how valuable is player x in an absolute/relative sense, how much can we expect player x to be help/hurt by a change in teams, etc. The main league I'm in is head-to-head points, so much of the analysis will be applicable to points leagues. I'll also try some roto analysis, which is more time consuming generally. Unless otherwise stated, I'll be using ESPN's projections for 2011 for preseason analysis because it's free and I have no money for a subscription to other sites with (possibly) more comprehensive data.

I'm going to enjoy writing this, and I hope you'll find it useful.