(*) How to own Masahiro Tanaka with minimal risk

Admit it—you'd love to own Masahiro Tanaka. He started out last year with Cy Young-caliber numbers before breaking down. So you know what his upside could look like.

Ah, but that risk. You would have preferred that the Yankees just bite the bullet, send him off for Tommy John surgery, and at least know that he's not going to be productive until 2016.

But, no. He took the "rest and rehab" route, which all of us know is just delaying the inevitable.

But when?? When is the inevitable going to happen? It could happen tomorrow, or not for a few months, or not for two years. We just don't know.

Now we have to place a value on him and figure out whether the risk-reward ratio fits into our fantasy teams. His Average Draft Position is currently #125—a 9th rounder in a 15-team mixed league. He has been drafted in the mid-teens in the experts leagues.

I drafted him for $14 in Tout Wars. That's a full hedge between the odds of him returning $20-something in a full season of play and the odds of him going belly up tomorrow.

But that's all we can do in our full-season leagues. It's tough to commit to Tanaka for a full season, but would you risk $12 that he'd make it through April?

Risk mitigation is one of the beauties of the monthly leagues at Shandler Park. You don't have to predict all the variables that could occur over six months. You can take it just one month at a time. And for April, Masahiro Tanaka will cost you $12.

Here are the reasons why you should consider a one-month league as a great addition to your fantasy experience.

 

The official rules appear here.

 

You can head over to the Game Preview page, read through the instructions and start signing up for teams now. The deadline is Sunday at 11:00 pm ET.

The game is a basic Rotisserie-style salary cap contest. You get $300 to spend on 32 players. Only 10 teams per league.

We are running the leagues differently this year. Instead of being limited to the individual six months, we are running rolling 4-week leagues that start every Monday. So, if you miss a deadline, you only have to wait a week to hop in again.

And your individual 4-week performances all build to a full-season championship. The category points you amass in every league are added up during the 2015 season and determine what prizes you qualify for. The top scorers are invited to a $5,000 September championship league. Each league's entry fee is only $10.

More than 2,000 teams participated in the inaugural 2014 season and even Tout Wars is using the format for its experimental league this year. This is your chance to own Masahiro Tanaka while minimizing the risk that he won't make it through a full season. You know you want to.

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