In this episode of OttoGraphs, Tom and Joe try out a new format, digging a little deeper on some players who are especially relevant in ottoneu, as compared to some of the other fantasy formats. Joe breaks down the case for Josh Bell and Nick Franklin, who are just a few games away from locking in valuable positional eligibility for next year, while Tom takes a look at Aaron Judge and David Dahl, two top outfield prospects who have achieved varying levels of success in the big leagues so far. Plus, we discuss some guys who are so deep on the fantasy radar that they may actually be free agents in your ottoneu league, including Dan Vogelbach (owned in 62% of leagues) Scott Schebler (16%), Dario Alvarez (only 6%, an incredible feat in ottoneu’s extra-deep format!).

[Editor’s note – I promise we didn’t know Vogelbach was about to be called up when we recorded this over the weekend!]

As a reminder, OttoGraphs is now available on iTunes! Subscribe using this link or the one below, and if you like what you hear, we’d happily accept ratings or reviews to help us reach new listeners, and potentially recruit some new Ottoneu players! Plus, don’t forget to check out the new Ottoneu Community, where discussions are really beginning to take off! Feel free as always to comment with any questions or suggestions you may have about this episode or future topics. We can be reached individually on Twitter:

@OttoneuTrades

@JustinVibber

@TomHasOpinions

@Fazeorange

Lastly, special thanks to Treemen who provided our intro and outro music. If you like what you hear, please check out their other work at http://treemen.bandcamp.com/

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We are nearing the homestretch in the baseball and ottoneu season, and this will be the last in-season power rankings. The next time power rankings are released, they will be final 2016 results, and I plan on releasing the full team/league standings files for each format at that time as well.

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The ottoneu community is quickly growing into a hub of ottoneu analysis and discussion that supplements our longer form analysis on Rotographs. Today, I’d like to give a little preview of some of the additional discussion going on over at the community, led mainly by Justin, Trey, and Joe, as well as by some more adventurous members of the community who have been interested in trying their hand at writing. While the community certainly isn’t intended to replace any of the rigorous analysis done here at Rotographs, the hope is that it can serve as a less formal complement to the traditional content produced here, with a variety of forum-like features that encourage discussion, debate, suggestions for new ottoneu features, and plenty of friendly banter.

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In this  episode of OttoGraphs, Tom and Joe discuss some strategies for the final month of the ottoneu season. For contending teams, strategies like being aggressive bidding on pitchers and previously cut players can help you gain an edge and catch a close rival, or keep other teams from catching you in the final weeks. For a rebuilding team, looking ahead to the offseason can help you target valuable fliers and players that can help you put yourself in the best position to win next year.

As a reminder, OttoGraphs is now available on iTunes! Subscribe using this link or the one below, and if you like what you hear, we’d happily accept ratings or reviews to help us reach new listeners, and potentially recruit some new Ottoneu players! Plus, don’t forget to check out the new Ottoneu Community, where discussions are really beginning to take off! Feel free as always to comment with any questions or suggestions you may have about this episode or future topics. We can be reached individually on Twitter:

@OttoneuTrades

@JustinVibber

@TomHasOpinions

@Fazeorange

Lastly, special thanks to Treemen who provided our intro and outro music. If you like what you hear, please check out their other work at http://treemen.bandcamp.com/

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Subscribe: RSS

I trade a lot. Like Justin, I am also a trade-aholic.  So once the Ottoneu trade deadline has ended my feelings are mixed. There is slight disappointment; I will readily admit that fantasy baseball is a little less fun (for me at least) if I don’t have the ability to make trades. I also feel relieved. After sending out offers constantly since our March draft, I would be lying if I said exhaustion didn’t catch up with me. Not feeling compelled to check trades is a nice change. Baseball is still here after all. I am happy. Leading up to the Ottoneu trade deadline (August 31) I tried to cover how you should prepare for next year (if selling) or how you could stock up for the stretch run if buying. Today, I want to take some time to talk about how you can use September to bolster your chances of clinching the championship, or of improving your odds for 2017. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ottoneu Trade Deadline is today! If you’ve followed along recently, we have covered the trade deadline (or trading in general) in some detail.

Ottoneu 101: Roster Organizer – Using the roster organizer as you start to plan for next season.

OttoGraphs Episode 16: VetoGate 2016 – Podcast on acceptable behavior of vetoing trades.

Ottoneu 101: Approaching the Trade Deadline – Primer on the Ottoneu Trade Deadline, and how to approach it as you consider buying/selling.

Ottoneu 101: Production, Salary, Surplus, Value – Definitions and applications of how trades can be viewed when trying to weight surplus and current production.

Today we want to try something a little bit different. We are encouraging everyone to leave their Ottoneu trade questions in the comments and we will help to answer them as best we can. Trey, Tom, and Justin will be stopping in throughout the day as well. As a reminder – each of us focuses on Ottoneu and it’s various formats. We are happy to help out to the best of our abilities with other league types, but recognize that is not our strong suit. The deadline ends at 11:59:59 ET. So get those trade offers out and work towards finishing those deals as soon as possible. Today is not the time to be nickle and dime your league mates in hopes of extracting every ounce of value you can. Time is short.

I’m going to do something a little different today and step away from fantasy analysis and try to leave you with something that is simple, very practical, and hopefully helpful.  With a shout out to my fellow commissioners out there, I’d like to give you a template for creating a fantasy league charter.

I’ve been playing fantasy baseball for 20 years now and I’ve had the honor of commissioning for most of that time too.  It can be a fun job but for those that have done it you know that it can also be a little rough sometimes.  No one enjoys stepping into the middle of heated league debates, trade meltdowns, or finding replacement owners, but if you’ve commissioned a league in the past odds are you’ve dealt with a few issues here and there.  While there’s no way to foresee or avoid every issue that can derail a fantasy league (and since there’s no substitute for having great owners as your foundation), a rock solid league charter can go a long way in setting both the tone and direction of your league long term.  In my opinion, it’s a must-have.

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“The trade deadline is fast approaching.” – Hard to believe that time is here.  This season has flown by, hasn’t it? With just one week before rosters solidify for the final stretch, now is as good a time as ever to ensure new Ottoneu owners are fully prepared for the future, which is now fast becoming the off-season.  Joe recently outlined the mindset that’s needed to approach the trade deadline strategically, depending on your place in the standings, but since it’s also my job to cover Ottoneu on these pages, I’ll take a more mechanical look at what happens at this critical point in the season.

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We are officially in the dog days of ottoneu summer, with contending teams scrambling to plug leaks to keep their championship hopes alive and rebuilding teams sifting through the free agent wreckage to find something of value for next season and beyond. Let’s take a look at the players that have been most added across all ottoneu leagues over the past week and month.

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I first started playing fantasy baseball more than 20 years ago, and I have fond memories of calculating the scoring for the league I ran in middle school by hand using old Baseball Weekly’s (now known as Sports Weekly). Back then rotisserie leagues were synonymous with fantasy baseball, there weren’t really any other formats, the only distinction was using a 5×5 setup that incorporated runs and strikeouts versus the original 4×4 format. Rotisserie baseball was directly responsible for the current fantasy sports boom, but as I got older and other options became popular I found reasons to move away from the format.

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