Topper
Rights Strategy
By John Coleman
1) What is a
Topper Right?
The "Topper Rights" version is an uncommon, but
established variant of Rotisserie. It is used in lieu of long-term contracts.
The "Topper Right" itself is an option to purchase without bidding.
It is granted upon the player's automatic release following the second season
of continuous service under a contract. It serves to decrease draft inflation
and increases owner parity by rapidly inflating the contracts of underpriced
stars to market price. Talent-rich drafts are frequent. That's its most
important function. On the negative side, it causes delays in the draft and can
spawn dozens of arcane strategies which might leave you scratching your head.
It's like a retroactive roster freeze, which can be activated mid-draft.
2) The value of
the option itself.
The topper holder virtually ensures himself of a slightly lower
price on the player by decreasing the bid pressure. This can mean $0-$3 of
savings on star players. Not significant value, but easily understood. A topper
on a star is of equivalent value to having a keeper under contract at or
slightly below his market value. The dynamics of a draft will usually preclude
any greater savings on star players, as there will be many owners with ready
dollars available to bid on stars. A topper on a star player will certainly
attract the scrutiny of fellow owners, who will ensure that market price will
be met. Lesser players can actually realize greater savings, although you are
less likely to exercise your option on them. There is always a value to owning
a topper, even if it is merely to panic other owners into overbidding.
3) Topper
Strategies.
It is not advisable to trade valuable underpriced keepers for
topper rights. I would be more likely to trade one topper for another topper,
unless the other owner was interested in a player I did not value as a keeper.
As the draft progresses, non-star players are auctioned, and this attracts
smaller bidding pools. In the mid-late rounds, the pool can be reduced to 2-3
bidders per player. This is where the topper can save an owner more money, say
$2-$5. To combat this advantage, you
should attempt to nominate your opponents' topper players as early as possible
in the draft. Always track toppers
throughout the draft. It's also important to track the option-owner's maximum
bid. You Rarely nominate your own topper players. If no one nominates your topper player, (and you get him for $1)
the option was worth nothing. If you spend your money too fast, the value of
your topper is lost. You must budget your funds for the market-value
acquisition of that player. Also: you must have a backup player in mind in cas
your topper goes too high for your budget! The later in the draft your topper
is nominated, the more likely it is that a low price will be established. The
Bidding Up of topper players can be a costly strategy. Do not aggressively bid
on player once he is near market price unless you wish to win him. Bring him up
and let the other owners bid him up.
When bidding on a topper player, consider the financial and
roster situation of the topper owner. He may have no opportunity to exercise
his Topper.
4) Why use
Topper Rights in your league?
It's not a common strategy for an obvious reason: It
muddies the waters of the draft. The low draft inflation and owner parity,
which Topper Rights provides, can easily be gained by simply eliminating
long-term contracts. The Topper Right exists as a "reward" for
superior talent assessment, albeit a small reward.
John
Coleman is the statistical expert at the Sandlot Shrink and also the
representative in all of the expert leagues including LABR and Tout Wars.
