The Z Files: NFBC - Postseason Hold 'Em Rankings

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Updated on October 6, 2023 10:56AM EST

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

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)

Rank	Player	Team	POS
1	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS/2B/OF
2	Ronald Acuna	ATL	OF
3	Spencer Strider	ATL	P
4	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF
5	Matt Olson	ATL	1B
6	Corey Seager	TEX	SS
7	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B
8	Framber Valdez	HOU	P
9	Pablo Lopez	MIN	P
10	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
11	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	OF
12	Zack Wheeler	PHI	P
13	Zac Gallen	ARI	P
14	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF
15	Kyle Tucker	HOU	OF
16	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B
17	Ryan Pressly	HOU	P
18	Merrill Kelly	ARI	P
19	Max Muncy	LAD	2B/3B
20	Sonny Gray	MIN	P
21	Jhoan Duran	MIN	P
22	Aaron Nola	PHI	P
23	Joe Ryan	MIN	P
24	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	P
25	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	P
26	Austin Riley	ATL	3B
27	Adolis Garcia	TEX	OF
28	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B
29	Max Fried	ATL	P
30	Lance Lynn	LAD	P
31	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	P
32	Kyle Bradish	BAL	P
33	Ozzie Albies	ATL	2B
34	Justin Verlander	HOU	P
35	Will Smith	LAD	C
36	Paul Sewald	ARI	P
37	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
38	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS/3B
39	Ryan Pepiot	LAD	P
40	Royce Lewis	MIN	3B
41	Jose Alvarado	PHI	P
42	Jordan Montgomery	TEX	P
43	Yennier Cano	BAL	P
44	Trea Turner	PHI	SS
45	Bobby Miller	LAD	P
46	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B
47	J.D. Martinez	LAD	UT
48	Marcell Ozuna	ATL	OF
49	Bailey Ober	MIN	P
50	Josh Jung	TEX	3B
51	Jose Leclerc	TEX	P
52	Jorge Polanco	MIN	3B/2B
53	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	P
54	Anthony Santander	BAL	1B/OF
55	Christian Walker	ARI	1B
56	Edouard Julien	MIN	2B
57	Hunter Brown	HOU	P
58	Chas McCormick	HOU	OF
59	Mitch Garver	TEX	C
60	Ranger Suarez	PHI	P
61	Sean Murphy	ATL	C
62	James Outman	LAD	OF
63	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C
64	Kenta Maeda	MIN	P
65	Nathaniel Lowe	TEX	1B
66	Charlie Morton	ATL	P
67	John Means	BAL	P
68	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	P
69	Evan Phillips	LAD	P
70	Cristian Javier	HOU	P
71	J.P. France	HOU	P
72	Kyle Gibson	BAL	P
73	Tommy Pham	ARI	OF
74	Dane Dunning	TEX	P
75	Bryce Elder	ATL	P
76	Jack Flaherty	BAL	P
77	Taijuan Walker	PHI	P
78	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B
79	Alec Bohm	PHI	1B/3B
80	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C
81	Jordan Westburg	BAL	3B/2B/SS
82	Dean Kremer	BAL	P
83	Lourdes Gurriel	ARI	OF
84	Michael Harris	ATL	OF
85	Matt Wallner	MIN	OF
86	Austin Hays	BAL	OF
87	Emmet Sheehan	LAD	P
88	Gabriel Moreno	ARI	C
89	Nick Castellanos	PHI	OF
90	Jonah Heim	TEX	C
91	Carlos Correa	MIN	SS
92	Jose Abreu	HOU	1B
93	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	P
94	Bryson Stott	PHI	2B/SS
95	Evan Longoria	ARI	3B
96	Ryan Yarbrough	LAD	P
97	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C
98	Orlando Arcia	ATL	SS/2B
99	Dylan Dodd	ATL	P
100	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS
101	Leody Taveras	TEX	OF
102	Aroldis Chapman	TEX	P
103	Johan Rojas	PHI	OF
104	Michael Grove	LAD	P
105	Michael Taylor	MIN	OF
106	Jose Urquidy	HOU	P
107	Craig Kimbrel	PHI	P
108	Evan Carter	TEX	OF
109	Max Kepler	MIN	OF
110	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	3B/2B/SS
111	Cedric Mullins	BAL	OF
112	Brusdar Graterol	LAD	P
113	Eddie Rosario	ATL	OF
114	Kyle Wright	ATL	P
115	Ryan O'Hearn	BAL	OF/1B
116	Alex Kirilloff	MIN	1B/OF
117	Kirby Yates	ATL	P
118	Kevin Ginkel	ARI	P
119	Michael Brantley	HOU	OF
120	Miguel Rojas	LAD	SS
121	Jason Heyward	LAD	OF
122	Brandon Marsh	PHI	OF
123	Seranthony Dominguez	PHI	P
124	David Peralta	LAD	OF
125	Alek Thomas	ARI	OF
126	Martin Maldonado	HOU	C
127	Adam Frazier	BAL	2B/OF
128	Will Smith	TEX	P
129	Robbie Grossman	TEX	OF
130	Chris Taylor	LAD	3B/SS/2B/OF
131	Kevin Pillar	ATL	OF
132	Bryan Abreu	HOU	P
133	Donovan Solano	MIN	3B/2B/1B
134	Willi Castro	MIN	2B/3B/OF
135	Aaron Hicks	BAL	OF
136	Amed Rosario	LAD	2B/SS
137	Emmanuel Rivera	ARI	1B/3B
138	James McCann	BAL	C
139	Jake Meyers	HOU	OF
140	Jorge Mateo	BAL	SS
141	Cristian Pache	PHI	OF
142	Gregory Soto	PHI	P

Adjusted Rankings (Based on World Series Odds)

	Player	Team	POS
1	Ronald Acuna	ATL	OF
2	Spencer Strider	ATL	P
3	Matt Olson	ATL	1B
4	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	P
5	Austin Riley	ATL	3B
6	Max Fried	ATL	P
7	Ozzie Albies	ATL	2B
8	Marcell Ozuna	ATL	OF
9	Sean Murphy	ATL	C
10	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS/2B/OF
11	Charlie Morton	ATL	P
12	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF
13	Bryce Elder	ATL	P
14	Michael Harris	ATL	OF
15	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B
16	Framber Valdez	HOU	P
17	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
18	Kyle Tucker	HOU	OF
19	Ryan Pressly	HOU	P
20	Orlando Arcia	ATL	SS/2B
21	Dylan Dodd	ATL	P
22	Justin Verlander	HOU	P
23	Max Muncy	LAD	2B/3B
24	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
25	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	P
26	Lance Lynn	LAD	P
27	Will Smith	LAD	C
28	Ryan Pepiot	LAD	P
29	Hunter Brown	HOU	P
30	Chas McCormick	HOU	OF
31	Bobby Miller	LAD	P
32	J.D. Martinez	LAD	UT
33	Eddie Rosario	ATL	OF
34	Kyle Wright	ATL	P
35	Cristian Javier	HOU	P
36	Kirby Yates	ATL	P
37	J.P. France	HOU	P
38	James Outman	LAD	OF
39	Evan Phillips	LAD	P
40	Corey Seager	TEX	SS
41	Jose Abreu	HOU	1B
42	Emmet Sheehan	LAD	P
43	Ryan Yarbrough	LAD	P
44	Kyle Bradish	BAL	P
45	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS
46	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS/3B
47	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	OF
48	Zack Wheeler	PHI	P
49	Yennier Cano	BAL	P
50	Adolis Garcia	TEX	OF
51	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B
52	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	P
53	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B
54	Jose Urquidy	HOU	P
55	Anthony Santander	BAL	1B/OF
56	Michael Grove	LAD	P
57	Jordan Montgomery	TEX	P
58	Aaron Nola	PHI	P
59	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C
60	Pablo Lopez	MIN	P
61	Josh Jung	TEX	3B
62	John Means	BAL	P
63	Jose Leclerc	TEX	P
64	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	P
65	Kyle Gibson	BAL	P
66	Mitch Garver	TEX	C
67	Jose Alvarado	PHI	P
68	Jack Flaherty	BAL	P
69	Trea Turner	PHI	SS
70	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B
71	Nathaniel Lowe	TEX	1B
72	Jordan Westburg	BAL	3B/2B/SS
73	Brusdar Graterol	LAD	P
74	Dean Kremer	BAL	P
75	Michael Brantley	HOU	OF
76	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	P
77	Sonny Gray	MIN	P
78	Jhoan Duran	MIN	P
79	Ranger Suarez	PHI	P
80	Joe Ryan	MIN	P
81	Dane Dunning	TEX	P
82	Austin Hays	BAL	OF
83	Royce Lewis	MIN	3B
84	Miguel Rojas	LAD	SS
85	Jason Heyward	LAD	OF
86	Bailey Ober	MIN	P
87	Martin Maldonado	HOU	C
88	Taijuan Walker	PHI	P
89	Jorge Polanco	MIN	3B/2B
90	Alec Bohm	PHI	1B/3B
91	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C
92	Jonah Heim	TEX	C
93	Edouard Julien	MIN	2B
94	David Peralta	LAD	OF
95	Kenta Maeda	MIN	P
96	Nick Castellanos	PHI	OF
97	Bryson Stott	PHI	2B/SS
98	Leody Taveras	TEX	OF
99	Aroldis Chapman	TEX	P
100	Matt Wallner	MIN	OF
101	Cedric Mullins	BAL	OF
102	Evan Carter	TEX	OF
103	Ryan O'Hearn	BAL	OF/1B
104	Carlos Correa	MIN	SS
105	Johan Rojas	PHI	OF
106	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C
107	Craig Kimbrel	PHI	P
108	Michael Taylor	MIN	OF
109	Max Kepler	MIN	OF
110	Brandon Marsh	PHI	OF
111	Adam Frazier	BAL	2B/OF
112	Seranthony Dominguez	PHI	P
113	Kevin Pillar	ATL	OF
114	Zac Gallen	ARI	P
115	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF
116	Alex Kirilloff	MIN	1B/OF
117	Merrill Kelly	ARI	P
118	Will Smith	TEX	P
119	Paul Sewald	ARI	P
120	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B
121	Christian Walker	ARI	1B
122	Tommy Pham	ARI	OF
123	Lourdes Gurriel	ARI	OF
124	Gabriel Moreno	ARI	C
125	Chris Taylor	LAD	3B/SS/2B/OF
126	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	P
127	Bryan Abreu	HOU	P
128	Evan Longoria	ARI	3B
129	Amed Rosario	LAD	2B/SS
130	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	3B/2B/SS
131	Jake Meyers	HOU	OF
132	Kevin Ginkel	ARI	P
133	Robbie Grossman	TEX	OF
134	Alek Thomas	ARI	OF
135	Aaron Hicks	BAL	OF
136	James McCann	BAL	C
137	Jorge Mateo	BAL	SS
138	Donovan Solano	MIN	3B/2B/1B
139	Willi Castro	MIN	2B/3B/OF
140	Cristian Pache	PHI	OF
141	Gregory Soto	PHI	P
142	Emmanuel Rivera	ARI	1B/3B