Fantasy Baseball: CBS Leagues will have one Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani will be the first dual-eligible pitcher/hitter in CBS fantasy baseball leagues.

In contrast to Yahoo leagues, fantasy leagues using the CBS platform will have just one Shohei Ohtani. Yahoo chose to create two Ohtanis, one hitter, and one pitcher. In Yahoo leagues, the commissioner will have to decide whether two different teams can own an Ohtani, one as a hitter and one as a pitcher, or if one team gets both Ohtanis. When Ohtani is in the lineup as a pitcher, his hitting stats will not count.

CBS is taking a different route. There will be only one Shohei Ohtani, and it will be up to the owner to put Ohtani in the lineup as a hitter or pitcher. Just like in Yahoo leagues, when Ohtani is in the lineup as a pitcher in CBS leagues, his hitting stats will not count.

This makes Ohtani’s value very much dependent on the type of league you’re in. Based on his projections, Ohtani will likely be used only as a pitcher in weekly leagues because he won’t get enough bats in a week to be worth having in your lineup. You need playing time to get those counting stats and Ohtani is projected for about a half-season’s worth of plate appearances.

The FanGraphs depth charts have him hitting .257/.335/.45, with 36 runs, 11 homers, and 36 RBI in 280 plate appearances. That’s slightly better than the projection for outfielder Chris Young. A full season of Ohtani the hitter would be draftable in a weekly league, but a half-season of Ohtani is not.

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He’ll still provide value as a pitcher in a weekly league, though. His projection from the hill is for 11 wins and 183 strikeouts in 148 innings, with a 3.48 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. That strikeout rate of 11.1 batters per nine innings is similar to Max Scherzer, although in about 60 fewer innings. Ohtani will be a coveted player in weekly leagues, even if an owner can’t take advantage of his hitting.

Ohtani’s value increases in CBS daily leagues because owners can use him as a pitcher and hitter. They can slot him in as a pitcher on the day he starts, then put him in the lineup at the utility spot on the two or three days per week when he’s in the Angels’ lineup.

It will be like having an extra bench spot two or three games per week. Scott White at CBS has Ohtani ranked around 70^th for daily leagues. In a 12-team league, that makes him a sixth-round pick.

The question of how Fantasy Baseball leagues would handle Ohtani has been brewing ever since he signed with the Angels. We haven’t seen a player like this since fantasy baseball was created by Dan Okrent, who started a league with a few friends in 1980 (Mike Schmidt was the first player taken at the auction).

If Ohtani gets more than 200 plate appearances and pitches more than 45 innings this year, he’ll be the first player to accomplish both in a season since Rene Monteagudo in 1945. Monteagudo hit .301 in 225 plate appearances, primarily playing left field. He didn’t hit a single home run. On the mound, he pitched 14 games in relief and had an ugly 7.49 ERA. Baseball fans are hoping for more from Ohtani.

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As the Fantasy Baseball pre-season heats up in the next couple months, it will be interesting to see where Shohei Ohtani is drafted. Because of the hype and the uniqueness he brings to the game, he’s likely to be overvalued. Still, it would be tempting to take a chance on a guy who could be a fantasy game-changer.