Right now, you are probably preparing to draft a team for a standard “5x5" fantasy baseball league. In such a league, the standard statistical categories for hitters are Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Runs Scored, and Batting Average. For pitchers, Wins, Saves, Earned Run Average, Strikeouts, and Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched. These categories were discovered etched in the walls of a cave in Peru, and have been passed down through the generations since the dawn of humanity. Or at least the dawn of fantasy baseball, but let’s be honest - that’s when humanity really came into its own. But these categories neglect some fairly vital stats that help lend a more true evaluation of a player based on statistics. Here are some ideas for stats that fantasy leagues should be including to gain a much clearer picture of the best, and most valuable players in baseball.

For Pitchers

Holds - The only real difference between a hold and a save is that it doesn’t take place in the ninth inning. But who cares? We count home runs in the first inning just the same as ones in the ninth, so the value of the hold should also be recognized. The pitcher who gets a hold takes a lead, and goes an inning or two without blowing it. That’s exactly what you ask the closer to do, except he does it at the end of the game. This would more fairly distribute the value for relief pitchers, because a good setup man would have value similar to that of a closer, just like they do in the real game. If holds are counted, all of a sudden, guys like Carlos Marmol become a lot more valuable (30 holds, but only two wins and seven saves in 2008). The current stats are fine for starters and closers, but neglect middle relievers and setup men.

Complete Games - When a pitcher lasts the full nine innings, that offers special value to his team that they do not get on a daily basis. This outing should have the same value to a fantasy team as well. The bullpen has had a day of rest, and the starter’s performance has proven to be dominant. This gives you one more decision to make when picking your team, and adds greater depth to the stats. For example, Ted Lilly won the same number of games as CC Sabathia last year, but Sabathia had ten complete games, while Lilly had none.

Innings Pitched - Much like complete games, Innings Pitched is a window to the value of a pitcher to his team. As an example of this, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Lincecum both won 18 games in 2008, and both had ERA’s under 3.00. But Lincecum pitched 227 innings, while Matsuzaka pitched only 167.2. Lincecum, therefore, had much higher value to his team, but that value would not be fully reflected in standard fantasy categories.

For Hitters

On-Base Percentage - Getting on base is getting on base, and a batter who gets walked is standing on the same base as one who hit a single. So why is the single better from a fantasy perspective? If you consider on base percentage, it counts every time a better gets on base, and gives his team a chance to score - not just when he gets a hit. Consider Dustin Pedroia versus Manny Ramirez last year - Almost identical batting averages (.326 for Pedroia, .332 for Manny) - but Ramirez’s .430 OBP was 54 points better than Pedroia’s.

Slugging Percentage - This should count because a home run and a single count the same for batting average and on base percentage, and there is no other statistic that takes extra base hits other than home runs into account. A player hitting 50 doubles for your fantasy team does no more for you than if they had all been singles. Prince Fielder hit 5 more home runs than Lance Berkman last year, but Berkman’s SLG was 60 points higher, because with slugging, his 46 doubles, and 4 triples actually counted for something.

Fielding Percentage - It’s high time that being a good defensive player actually counted for something in fantasy baseball. Every non-pitching category is an offensive one, but that isn’t a true indication of a player’s value. Hanley Ramirez may be the new apostle of fantasy baseball with his offense at shortstop, but on the other side of the ball, his 22 errors and .967 fielding percentage in 2008 would at least make you second guess his status, and perhaps consider Jimmy Rollins, whose FPCT was 21 points better than Ramirez in ‘08.

By Jordan Bragg