Many years ago, before I ever dreamed of becoming a fantasy sports analyst, I dreamed of competing in industry leagues. I had no idea how people were chosen and no idea how exclusive they were, but I had a dream that one day I would win Tout Wars, LABR, or CBS. I never thought it would actually happen, but when I joined the industry in 2014, that dream returned. I then learned that there were tons of industry leagues. Many were not exclusive, but those big three were. I figured it would take me the better part of a decade to get in. So, I started my own, the Bay Area Roto Fantasy league (BARF), which drafts its second season in about ten days. However, I still dreamed of being in one of the big three. Read the rest of this entry »

Back to our originally scheduled schedule with a report on our (still ongoing) NFBC slow draft. The mise-en-scene: 15 teams, 50 rounds, up to 8 hours to make a pick, no in-season transactions. The dramatis personae: people who (a) in the month of January are reasonably conversant with and able to distinguish microscopically among the statistics, orthopedic well-being, and prospects of at least 700 professional baseball players, and (b) are willing to attend to–indeed, obsess over–this process, to the exclusion of sound hygiene and personal responsibilities. In short, our kind of guys.

Our draft selections were animated, or, if you prefer, enervated, by certain strategic considerations:

–We detected, or thought we detected, something of a dropoff between the first 20 or so likely draftees and the next group. Conversely, we thought that numbers 8 through 15 were approximately equal. And, having always drafted in the middle of the pack before, we hoped to avoid the frustration of being unable to plan effectively because we’ve always had to wait six or seven picks to make our next move. So, if we couldn’t draft in the first four, we were happy to draft in the last four. We wound up drafting 14th, which was fine with us. Read the rest of this entry »

2/14/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer
• @enosarris
• @jasoncollette
• @almelchiorBB
• @paulkastava

LABR Draft

Jason and I talk through our first handful of rounds for Monday night’s LABR Mixed Draft. The results of which you can find by clicking here.

We shifted to the chat after that and you can find the transcript here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

2/14/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer
• @enosarris
• @jasoncollette
• @almelchiorBB
• @paulkastava

LABR Planning

Jason and I discuss our gameplan for Monday night’s LABR Mixed Draft. The results of which you can find by clicking here.

• General Ideas
• First Round
• Outfield
• Catcher
• First Base
• Third Base
• Shortstop
• Second Base
• Pitching

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

I know that clown PUNKxsutawney Phil – that’s right, I’m swinging on a groundhog – saw his shadow which allegedly yields six more weeks of winter (the dumbest season), but we shan’t be deterred by that as baseball season is here. Well, fantasy baseball prep season is here which is just as good. We are less than a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting around the league which officially kicks things off in earnest and before you know it, you’ll be in your draft room making the big decisions that will shape your season.

Here are a few tips to remember as you prepare and then enter your draft:

YOU CAN’T WIN OR LOSE YOUR DRAFT IN THE FIRST ROUND

I fully understand the excitement of the draft order reveal and subsequent first round. I’m not here to say that the first round flat out doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t matter as much as we like to think. The top 15 players at the end of the season are never the top 15 drafted that March, not even close.

Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps you’ve seen this tweet at some point over the offseason. It surfaced most recently about 10 days ago via Dave Cameron in his piece about the Dodgers’ intentional inefficiency.

Andrew Friedman: “If you’re always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.”

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) December 6, 2016

What Friedman says absolutely applies to fantasy baseball. Especially auction drafts. Every year, I see people saying “I’m going to stick to my values.” I’ve been that guy too. Way back when I was the only person in the room with advanced analysis, sticking to my values was a winning strategy. Now it’s a good way to lose every key player.

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In the run-up to last season, I started a position-by-position series aimed at deep league owners and who, outside of the top 15 or 18 players at each position, they should target in drafts. I don’t know if it was helpful and I’m sure if I looked back at my picks, I’d find some duds in there. As I quickly found out covering my Deep League beat last season, finding studs amongst the bottom rung of players can often feel like an exercise in futility. But don’t tell that to deep league managers for whom there’s value in mediocrity. So, with that compelling introduction, let’s look at some mediocre catchers, eh?

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The Low Investment Mound Ace (LIMA) has been dead for years. It’s a classic roster building technique aimed at dominating the hitting categories and doing just enough with low cost pitchers. As recently as a few years ago, it was the linchpin of my drafting strategy. It’s still talked about as a common and successful approach. Judging by the title, I probably disagree.

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