"Expert" Leagues and Pitcher Prices

Last time out, I looked at pitchers in my "regular" A.L. and their prices. This examination stemmed from Eugene's observation that the expert leagues - in his estimation - don't spend enough on front line pitchers.

I've examined all of this in my A.L. write-ups for starting pitchers and relievers, but to address Eugene's point it's worth summarizing the data.

Pricing by Tiers, 2009 A.L. Expert Leagues

#	AP	Sal	+/-	$
1-10	$253	$255	-2	$243
11-20	$184	$198	-14	$146
21-30	$152	$166	-14	$154
31-40	$118	$120	-2	$115
41-50	$100	$79	+21	$49
51-60	$50	$49	+1	$25
61-70	$48	$33	+15	$64
71-80	$41	$23	+18	$57
81-90	$31	$18	+13	$45
91-100	$17	$11	+6	$74
101-110	$20	$7	+13	$39
111-120	$4	$5	-1	$42
121-136	$14	$5	+9	$55
Totals	$1032	$969	+63	$1108

If you're wondering how or why the "AP" column can be higher than the average salary column, it's because it doesn't matter how the bids are assigned - or the leagues spend their money - as long as it all adds up to $3120. The earnings add up to more than $1020 because 108 pitchers are used to calculate values and between the three expert leagues 136 pitchers were purchased. If I used only CBS or LABR or Tout Wars for the draft values, the earnings column would add up to exactly $1020.

The important numbers in the earnings column are what the pitchers actually earned. Just like in BABG, the top pitchers are not only the best pitchers, they take the biggest chunk out of the earnings pie by far.

Are they underpaid like Eugene believes they are?

In retrospect, no. They lose $12 as a group, and to win in this game you need profits. Push the envelope too far, and your loss isn't just negligible but a drag on your team.

In terms of buying stats, though, maybe they are, if only a little bit.

You're not getting profits from any of these groupings until you get down to the 61-70 group. Spend about $3 per pitcher, get back about $6 per pitcher. Every group above that takes a loss.

If you are going to take a loss, you want stats back in return. Getting $24 worth of stats back on your $26 investment is OK. Pull that trick twice and you can start playing around in the endgame. Maybe you get lucky and grab Kevin Millwood. Maybe you don't and you have to play the FAAB game. But you have a foundation.

I'd respond to Eugene that I'd probably pay a little more for some of the pitchers at the top. But not too much more. I don't want dig myself too much of a hole.