MLB Playoff Scheduler

Table of Contents

• Example
• Workflow
• Signal Outputs
• Guardrails
• Quick Reference

Example

Scenario: It is 2026-07-14. The trade deadline (Aug 6) is three weeks away. User asks "should I hold Junior Caminero (TB, 3B) or trade him for a pitcher?" The trade-analyzer needs playoff_games, playoff_matchup_quality, and holding_value for Caminero before it can weigh the offer.

Research pass (web search every fact, cite every URL):

• MLB.com schedule -> TB plays 20 games across playoff weeks 21-23 (7 / 7 / 6).
• Week 21 (Aug 17-23): TB @ BAL (3), TB vs TOR (4). Opp wOBA avg (weighted by games): 0.322
• Week 22 (Aug 24-30): TB @ NYY (3), TB vs BOS (4). Opp wOBA avg: 0.338
• Week 23 (Aug 31-Sep 6): TB vs CLE (3), TB @ DET (3). Opp wOBA avg: 0.308
• Volume-weighted average opposing-SP wOBA against RHB: 0.323

Normalization pass:

• playoff_games = 7 + 7 + 6 = 20 (strong volume; max observed in the league this year is 21)
• playoff_matchup_quality (hitter view) = 100 - ((0.323 - 0.300) x 1000) = 100 - 23 = 77 (opposing pitching is worse than league average -> good for Caminero)
• holding_value = 0.6 x normalize(20 / 21) + 0.4 x 77 = 0.6 x 95 + 0.4 x 77 = 88

Downstream composition:

• mlb-trade-analyzer reads these. Caminero's holding_value = 88 is very high. If the offered pitcher's holding_value is 65, the trade favors the status quo -> REJECT or COUNTER with a lesser hitter.
• mlb-playoff-planner reads the same signals to identify roster holes for playoff weeks (e.g., any starter with playoff_games < 14 is a bench candidate).

Pre-July 1 behavior: If the skill is invoked before 2026-07-01, it emits a minimal signal file with all three fields set to null, confidence: 0.0, and body text: "Insufficient signal -- too early. Schedule volatility (trades, rotation flux, injuries) before July makes playoff projections unreliable. Re-run after July 1."

Workflow

Copy this checklist and track progress:

MLB Playoff Scheduler Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Check date gate (today >= 2026-07-01)
- [ ] Step 2: Define the three playoff week windows (Mon-Sun)
- [ ] Step 3: For each MLB team, pull the schedule for weeks 21-23
- [ ] Step 4: Count games per team per week
- [ ] Step 5: Score each opponent (wOBA for hitters, ERA for pitchers)
- [ ] Step 6: Compute playoff_matchup_quality per team (volume-weighted)
- [ ] Step 7: Compute holding_value per team (blend volume + quality)
- [ ] Step 8: Map per-team scores to every rostered player
- [ ] Step 9: Emit signal file and validate

Step 1: Check the date gate

Today's date is inside the prompt. If today < 2026-07-01, skip Steps 2-8 and emit the "insufficient signal" stub (see resources/methodology.md). Do not guess or pre-compute; schedule churn (July trades, rotation flux, call-ups) breaks pre-July projections.

Step 2: Define playoff week windows

Per context/league-config.md, playoffs are weeks 21, 22, 23 and end Sunday Sep 6, 2026. Working backward (weeks are Mon-Sun):

Fantasy Week	Start (Mon)	End (Sun)
Week 21	2026-08-17	2026-08-23
Week 22	2026-08-24	2026-08-30
Week 23	2026-08-31	2026-09-06

Total: 21 calendar days. Max games per team = ~21 (only if no off-days, rare).

Step 3: Pull each MLB team's schedule

Web-search mlb.com/schedule and FanGraphs team schedule pages. See resources/methodology.md for queries and fallbacks. Cite every URL.

• MLB.com /schedule: filter by team, date range 2026-08-17 to 2026-09-06
• Cross-check against FanGraphs team page (catches recent reschedules / doubleheaders)
• Note confirmed doubleheaders (count as 2 games on the same calendar day)
• Flag any postponement risk (team in a rain-heavy city with makeup games pending)

Step 4: Count games per team per week

For each of the 30 MLB teams, tally games in each of the three playoff weeks. Output a 30-row grid. See resources/template.md for the output format.

• Games in Week 21 (integer)
• Games in Week 22 (integer)
• Games in Week 23 (integer)
• Total = sum of the three (this is the per-team playoff_games figure)

Step 5: Score each opponent

For each opponent, pull two metrics:

• For hitter-side scoring: opposing team's staff wOBA allowed (season-to-date through the scheduling window). Lower = tougher matchup.
• For pitcher-side scoring: opposing team's lineup wOBA vs RHP and vs LHP (handedness-aware). Lower = easier matchup for a pitcher.

See resources/methodology.md for sources and lookup procedure. Use season-to-date as of the run date; do not forecast.

Step 6: Compute playoff_matchup_quality

Volume-weighted across all games in weeks 21-23:

For hitters on team T:
  avg_opp_wOBA_allowed = sum over games g of (opp_staff_wOBA_allowed_g) / playoff_games_T
  playoff_matchup_quality = 100 - (avg_opp_wOBA_allowed - 0.300) x 1000
  (clamped [0, 100]; league-average staff wOBA allowed ~ 0.320 -> score ~ 80)

For pitchers on team T:
  avg_opp_lineup_wOBA = sum over games g of (opp_lineup_wOBA_vs_P_handedness_g) / playoff_games_T
  playoff_matchup_quality = 100 - (avg_opp_lineup_wOBA - 0.300) x 1000
  (same clamp; easier-hitting opposing lineups -> higher quality for this pitcher)

Anchor: 50 = neutral opponent strength. See resources/methodology.md for the derivation.

Step 7: Compute holding_value

Blend volume and quality:

volume_score = (playoff_games / 21) x 100
holding_value = 0.6 x volume_score + 0.4 x playoff_matchup_quality
               (clamped [0, 100])

Rationale: more games carry more weight than softer opponents (volume is certain; opponent wOBA will wobble). See resources/methodology.md for the weight justification and alternative blends (e.g., punting specific categories changes the weights).

Step 8: Map team scores to players

Every rostered player on team T inherits team T's three signals. Pitchers further modify playoff_matchup_quality by handedness (the lineup they face varies L/R). See resources/methodology.md.

Step 9: Emit and validate

Write to signals/YYYY-MM-DD-playoff.md using resources/template.md. Call mlb-signal-emitter for schema validation. Score the output against resources/evaluators/rubric_mlb_playoff_scheduler.json. Minimum standard: average 3.5+.

Signal Outputs

Signal	Range	Meaning
playoff_games	int 0-21	Games scheduled across fantasy weeks 21+22+23 (Aug 17 - Sep 6). Max ~21 assuming no off-days.
playoff_matchup_quality	0-100	Volume-weighted opponent strength. 50 = neutral. >50 = softer opponents (good to hold). Hitter view uses opposing staff wOBA allowed; pitcher view uses opposing lineup wOBA vs this pitcher's hand.
holding_value	0-100	0.6 x volume + 0.4 x quality. Primary signal for hold-vs-trade decisions. >70 = strong hold; <40 = trade candidate if you can get a higher-value bat/arm back.

Downstream: mlb-trade-analyzer uses holding_value to value both sides of any proposed deal. mlb-playoff-planner uses playoff_games to flag bench vs start decisions for playoff weeks.

Guardrails

1. Pre-July 1, return the stub. Do not pre-compute. Before July, 30-40% of teams will see rotation, bullpen, or lineup churn that invalidates opponent-quality scoring. The stub is honest; a precomputed signal is false precision.

2. 50 is neutral, always. Every 0-100 score anchors to 50 at league average. If your distribution doesn't hit 50 at the median MLB team, re-anchor.

3. Cite every URL. Game counts, doubleheaders, and opponent wOBA must each be traceable to a specific mlb.com/schedule or FanGraphs URL in source_urls:. Signals without sources get confidence <= 0.3 and are red-teamed.

4. Doubleheaders count as 2. If MLB.com schedule lists two games on the same calendar day, that is 2 games for that team. Some scraped sources collapse them -- cross-check.

5. Use handedness-specific opponent wOBA for pitchers. A LHP facing the Yankees (heavy LHB lineup) is not the same as a RHP facing the Yankees. Use opposing lineup wOBA vs LHP for LHP pitchers, vs RHP for RHP.

6. Season-to-date wOBA, not projection. The opponent quality score uses actual season stats as of the run date. Do not project forward -- projections add noise without adding signal for this short 3-week window.

7. Max games = ~21, not 21 exactly. A team playing every day would log 21 games but off-days are built into the MLB schedule. Typical range is 17-20. A team with 21 games has a doubleheader somewhere; flag it (DH games are often bullpen games, which changes matchup quality).

8. Holding value is not trade value. holding_value answers "is this player more valuable for MY playoff run than the replacement-level player available?" It is not a generic trade-market price. The trade-analyzer combines holding_value with market value to reach the final verdict.

9. Re-run weekly after July 1. Schedules change (rainouts, makeup games, early-September call-ups alter opponent lineups). The playoff-planner fires every Sunday; refresh these signals each time.

Quick Reference

Playoff week windows (2026):

Week 21: Mon 2026-08-17 -> Sun 2026-08-23
Week 22: Mon 2026-08-24 -> Sun 2026-08-30
Week 23: Mon 2026-08-31 -> Sun 2026-09-06
Total: 21 calendar days; max ~21 games per team

Key formulas:

playoff_games = games_wk21 + games_wk22 + games_wk23

For hitters:
  playoff_matchup_quality = 100 - (avg_opp_staff_wOBA_allowed - 0.300) x 1000
  (clamped [0, 100]; league avg ~ 0.320 -> 80)

For pitchers:
  playoff_matchup_quality = 100 - (avg_opp_lineup_wOBA_vs_hand - 0.300) x 1000
  (same clamp)

volume_score = (playoff_games / 21) x 100

holding_value = 0.6 x volume_score + 0.4 x playoff_matchup_quality
               (clamped [0, 100])

Pre-July 1: playoff_games = null, playoff_matchup_quality = null,
            holding_value = null, confidence = 0.0,
            body = "insufficient signal -- too early"

Key sources (see context/frameworks/data-sources.md):

• MLB schedule: https://www.mlb.com/schedule
• FanGraphs team schedule: https://www.fangraphs.com/teams/{team}/schedule
• Team staff wOBA allowed: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx (pitching leaders, team totals)
• Team lineup wOBA vs RHP/LHP: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx (batting, splits -> team totals)
• Park factors (for cross-check): https://www.fangraphs.com/guts.aspx?type=pf&season=2026

Inputs required: run date (always passed in); optionally, a roster list to scope output (else, emit all 30 teams).

Outputs produced: one signal file at signals/YYYY-MM-DD-playoff.md with YAML frontmatter, a 30-row per-team games grid, per-team opponent-quality table, and per-player mapping for rostered players. Fails-open pre-July 1 with the stub.

Key resources:

• resources/template.md: Signal file template, per-team games grid, per-player mapping table
• resources/methodology.md: Schedule lookup procedure, opponent quality scoring, normalization formulas, pre-July stub behavior, handedness adjustments
• resources/evaluators/rubric_mlb_playoff_scheduler.json: 8-criterion quality rubric