I understand how RC is formulated, I'm curious how much stock is put into this when a manager is drafting a team. Seems there would be too many "what ifs" (pardon the pun) to get a fair evaluation of this stat.

I never use RC when drafting - prefer to use OPS+ (in most progressives) or OPS# (in other situations.)

I do use RC to evaluate the player's production in the league I drafted him into.

I typically don't look at RC when drafting a team. However, during the season I look at that number and RC/27 on my team closely to help determine possible lineup changes and/or possible waiver wire maneuvers. My guess is that most people would find this stat (next to) meaningless. I find it quite meaningful during the sim season and not so much when drafting a team.

It's one of the stats I use as a "tie breaker" if I find a few players that fit into the numbers I'm looking for.

If they had RC/27+ and RC/27#, I would use it almost exclusively...it is the best single number to represent a player's offensive value. That said, they don't have the +/# numbers for it, so you have to adjust it yourself. I use OPS for now (because they have +/#), though ideally RC/27 is better.