Punting a category is a strategy that numerous mangers utilize. It helps narrow down the draft pool to allow you to target players at all points of the drafts without having to worry if you’re missing out on a particular player-type or category.

Sometimes the punt strategy comes into play for a manager after the season starts after their team is hit with injuries or under performance and the waiver options don’t allow them to make up for the deficit left by losing production.

Sometimes the strategy is planned from draft day.

I think it is important to begin this with a simple, yet very important tip:

DO NOT PUNT IN 12-TEAM OR SHALLOWER ROTO FORMATS. 

It just does not make any sense. You may not put a premium price on a particular position and realize you won’t necessarily win a category, but there just is never a reason to punt, especially on draft day.

There is always going to guys available, whether it be in the mid-to-late rounds or off the waiver wire that will allow you to remain competitive in any category you may lack.

If you needed steals, guys like David Hamilton, Jose Siri, Jacob Young and Jose Caballero were all waiver wire fodder at some point last season and each had fantasy relevant production in steals.

If you needed batting average, guys like Harrison Bader, the aforementioned Young, Jake McCarthy, Connor Wong and Ryan Mountcastle are just a handufl of names available off the wire in 2024 that could have helped you in that category.

Saves? Those are always popping up on the wire. Kirby Yates was not heavily drafted, neither was Trevor Megill, Hector Neris, Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman were all waiver fodder and could have given managers value. Then you can see when a top closer pitches multiple days in a row and pick up their setup man as they would be most likely to get a save in that game.

Wins, ERA and WHIP can always be found as streaming options are a plentiful for starters all season, or ROS adds can constantly be found (think Ronel Blanco, Reynaldo Lopez, Garrett Crochet, Bowden Francis, etc.). Then guys outside the top-60 pitchers that face a bad offense or in a cold weather game that favors the pitchers could be used as streams all throughout the season.

Homers and RBI are also plentiful. Platoon bat extraordinaire Joc Pederson was a waiver wire option for much of 2024. Paul DeJong, Colton Cowser, Jo Adell, Jose Siri, Ryan Jeffers, Alec Burleson and so many other hitters that have power potential were all available off the wire at some point last season.

Also, Corey Pieper of FantasyPros explains the math behind punting in a 12-team setup. To win these roto leagues, around 96 points will be needed. That means you have to win around 80% of the available points. So intentionally taking a ‘1’ in a category means you will need to win around 88% of the remaining points, making your margin for error “razor-thin”.

The overall point here is this, you should never give up on a category if you are in a 12-team or shallower league. Period. End of story. Taking a 1 in a roto category is too much of a risk to take, especially since it is an unnecessary risk (we will discuss head-to-head leagues later).

Why do managers punt?

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