I initially started writing a piece about how fantasy owners should wait to get their starting pitching because pitching is the deepest position in fantasy. However, as I started writing I realized I was being extremely vague; I was using more hyperbole instead of real analysis. So I decided to embark on an experiment. I wanted to see how much of an impact drafting a starting pitcher over a hitter in the first round would do in a 10-team 5×5 Rotisserie League (one catcher, five outfielders, one MI, one CI, one U and nine pitchers).

The experiment is based on the 2012 the season where a fantasy owner is debating whether to take Robinson Cano or Justin Verlander in the first round. I choose both those players because they were healthy and played the entire year. In order to show the impact of this decision the rest of the team will remain the same except for the last pick in the draft. If the owner took Verlander instead of Cano, the owner used the last pick of the draft to fill the vacant spot in the lineup left by Cano. In order to measure the difference in scoring I aggregated the season totals and compared them to the totals on the “Avg Roto Points Per Stat by Finish” from ESPN, which provides the average totals necessary to achieve a certain total by category. I agree this methodology is very flawed, but I wanted to see impact of this one decision on a team’s chances to win.

Before I move on to the analysis I wanted to show how much of an impact a pitcher and a hitter have on a fantasy team. On average a pitching staff will throw roughly 1,458 innings at the end of the year. If a pitcher throws 200 innings, those innings will comprise 13.7% of the total output. Someone like Verlander, who pitched 238 innings, will comprise 16.3% of the total innings, thereby making him more valuable. On average a team’s lineup will have 8,770 plate appearances; a hitter with 630 plate appearances will only comprise of 7.2% of the total plate appearances.

Below is the lineup with and without Cano. I choose Marco Scutaro because he was the only middle infielder taken in the last round of a 10-team league.

Below are the cumulative statistical 5×5 categories:

Below shows the fantasy points each category would provide. The total difference in scoring is five points.

Below is the rotation with and without Verlander. I choose Trevor Cahill at random among the starting pitchers that were taken in the last round of a 10-team league.

Below are the cumulative statistical 5×5 categories:

Time for the money shot; how much of an improvement was Verlander over a replacement level player.

The difference for both Cano and Verlander provided exactly the same value over a replacement level player. This doesn’t mean a fantasy owner should or should not take a pitcher early in drafts, but what I did learn is if you do take a pitcher early you won’t be at a severe disadvantage as you navigate through the rest of the draft. It does, however, mean the fantasy owner will have to compose a lineup with hitters who will exceed their draft day value.