To the fantasy baseball newbie, this game can sometimes seem daunting.
From WAR to xwOBA to xFIP to SwStr% to DRS to wRC+, fantasy baseball can occasionally feel bogged down in numbers. Those familiar with all of these acronyms might be perceived as decidedly possessing an advantage over those who aren't.
But it's not necessarily so, and believe us, we understand if you feel this way.
So let's fill you in on a filthy little secret: You don't have to have an advanced degree in mathematics to be a savvy fantasy baseball player. That's especially true nowadays, what with all the tools available to you right there in ESPN's game.
What follows is a run-through of some of the best and most helpful features at your fingertips in order to swiftly transform you into a fantasy baseball savant.
Draft-day direction
It's the most important -- and most fun -- day of the entire year, when you select your initial roster of players. Soak it all in, but also be sure to exploit the many tools available to you to help you make the best selections.
It's not all about the rankings ...
... nor is it all about the ADP (average draft position), nor is it about the projections. In fact, draft success relies on a blend of all three, which is why you should familiarize yourself with switching between these three feeds. (Try a mock or practice draft first, to get the best feel for how it works.)
The ESPN draft room initially orders players by their ranking for the given scoring system (points or roto), but you can also return to this ranking order by selecting the top of the ranking column ("RK"). If you've submitted your custom draft rankings in advance -- which you can do whether it's an autopick or live draft -- that will take precedence over ESPN's rankings.
To sort by ADP, select the "ADP" column. This can be most helpful when trying to gauge how long you can wait on certain players, as it gives a broad perspective on how fantasy baseball managers are viewing that player's worth. For example, if you're a strong believer in Jackson Holliday's breakthrough potential but see that we've ranked him 130th overall for points-league play, while his ADP is in the 90s, you might need to take him 2-4 rounds sooner in order to guarantee securing him.
Use your drop-down menus
In the app, you can use the second drop-down menu above your player list to toggle between 2025 Points, ADP, Projected Stats and 2025 Stats. On the desktop, you can access similar reports through the drop-down menu listed beneath "Players" and above the "RK" column.
I typically switch only between 2025 Points and 2026 Projected, leaning more on the latter (and I leave the latter active as my default). It's a handy, quick way to determine whether the top-rated remaining player at a certain position is head and shoulders ahead of his brethren. For example, I'd be apt to spring for Salvador Perez (303 projected fantasy points) as my catcher, if the next-closest projected catchers available in the 12th round are Alejandro Kirk (256) and Gabriel Moreno (230).
Use the queue!
It's an essential tool in your draft -- and not simply so you can hear the often-frustrating "submarine sound" every time one of your league members steals a player from it. The queue saves you critical seconds searching for players when your turn arrives, storing your top -- or later-round -- candidates for your upcoming pick(s). Sometimes, it can be a handy reminder about a player who might not be generously ranked.
My advice is to always keep 5-8 players in your queue, with the player you're most comfortable rostering next at the top of the list, as a safety measure in case the clock expires or (gasp!) your internet drops unexpectedly on your turn. Typically I'd keep my three most-desired picks atop my queue as my next pick approaches -- say, Jackson Merrill, George Springer and Matt Olson as we enter the sixth round -- then up to three later-round targets and sleepers I want to remember, like Cam Schlittler, a target of mine for the late rounds whom I'll want to re-examine as Rounds 11-13 approach in order to determine when is the right time to strike.
But keep Schlittler, or your own example, at the bottom of your queue in that case. No one wants to be the one to exceedingly reach for a player if the timer expires and he gets autopicked for you.
Master your player pickup game
The draft is great and all, but what separates true champions from the rest of the pack is how well they fine-tune their rosters during the season. This might feel taxing over the course of a 180-plus-day season, especially during the summer's waning days, but the tools below can make this process a piece of cake.
We get it. Sometimes you'll be in a rush, with only five minutes to submit changes to your roster for the day. Rather than resign yourself to not having enough time, consider the following to help speed up your add/drop process.
List of most added/dropped players
This list lives in the game! Well, sort of. In the app, under the "Players" tab, familiarize yourself with the drop-down menu atop the player list. Specifically, the "Research" tab -- or the "Trending" tab within the "Players > Add Players" portal on the desktop -- is your friend.
Sort players by the +/-, and you'll get a report organized in order of those who have been the most added across ESPN leagues over the past seven days, among those still available in your league. Sort it twice and they'll switch to the order of most dropped.
This is a swift way to narrow the scope of the available player pool, by limiting it to only the most popular players to have seen their roster rates recently change. This way, you'll never be taken by surprise if the Pittsburgh Pirates recall Konnor Griffin in mid-June, because his popularity on the pickup front will put him near the top using this method.
Never miss a prominent player drop again
Similarly, the Percent Rostered (%ROST) column sorts players by those most rostered to least rostered in ESPN leagues, a kind of accounting of the most currently popular players across our game. This can be most useful for catching foolish drops by your competition. Should Brent Rooker get off to a miserable April and be cut by his manager in your league, you'll quickly notice his availability this way and be prepared to scoop him up. Let this also serve as a reminder that, with the exception of something injury-related, Rooker is above the line of players who warrant extreme patience through any opening-week slumps.
Use the ratings columns to find the hottest players
Similarly to the above two, the "PR7," "PR15," "PR30" and "PR" columns rate players for your scoring format, either Player Rater returns for roto or fantasy points scored, over the past seven, 15 or 30 days, with "PR" reflecting the entire season. Particularly when you're in a hurry, these toggles can identify ideal prospective pickups, since hot hands aren't always those who have been lucky or destined for short-term streaks.
Sometimes, these are the players who have made an adjustment or seen an expansion to their role -- and they're typically the best pickups. Addison Barger would have been a prime example of a player you could have added early last season by checking his recent ratings.
Remember to set your lineup...
... and do it early, if possible. Again, to the point of our busy lives, baseball's marathon schedule makes it nearly impossible to be present for every second of the fantasy season. Work, vacations, and life in general can get in the way.
Don't let any of that hinder you in setting an optimized lineup. Within the ESPN app, as well as on desktop, you've got the option of setting a lineup for as many days in advance as you wish. Yes, this means that if you want to set the entirety of your April lineups on March 26's traditional Opening Day, you can! Note that you shouldn't want to do this, since the baseball landscape can change quickly, especially early in the season, but if you're going on a long-term vacation, the option is available. Still, it's best to also check back any time you get a few free moments.
The date toggle resides above your lineup on the "Roster" page. Choose the date you wish, set your lineup for that day, and it will automatically save. If you travel often, this is a handy tool to use as a safety net, in the event you might not be able to get back to your team before the following day's games begin.
For an even swifter way of setting your lineup -- again handy for those in a rush -- the "Quick Lineup" feature, atop your Roster page, will set your lineup for you. This option will fill any open lineup spot, remove injured ("O"/Out status or "IL"/Injured List players) and maximize your choices going by projected points. Be aware that this sets your lineup only at that moment, however, and for any subsequent changes that happen -- a late scratch for a Royce Lewis injury, for example -- you'll need to return to your team to make the additional change.
Be mindful of positional limits in your league, whether for the full season or the weekly matchup. Probable pitchers will be designated with a "PP" next to their names, so you can plan out your starts for the week if capped on the number in each matchup.
Another useful tool for planning our your pitching starts is our 10-day fantasy baseball Forecaster, which provides a list of the expected starters -- we use our best estimates based on past rotation patterns -- for each team over the next 10 days, as well as a projection for every game, based upon that matchup.
Make sure you have the app!
There has been nothing more important to my fantasy baseball toolbox than the ESPN Fantasy app, for swift access to all of my teams, anytime and anyplace (with cellular or WiFi service, of course, so plan ahead for those camping trips in the mountains).
Within it, set all your alerts with the gear icon in the upper left, then "Alert Preferences" at the top. Be sure to select each one of your fantasy teams (closer to the bottom of that page), to make sure you get as many of the add/drop, draft, injury or lineup alerts you wish. Lineup alerts are the most critical for me, as they'll promptly alert you to any players who have been unexpectedly omitted from a team's lineup on the given day. Then you can return to the app to quickly make a lineup change.
Most importantly, have fun! The app certainly heightens that, with the ability to "take my teams with me" on the go everywhere. Get it, and get started on a championship 2026!