Don’t Be A Draft Room Tryhard
In video games, a “tryhard” is somebody who attempts to use advanced playing techniques despite lacking the talent to pull them off. They’re trying hard to succeed. This is usually done by imitating professional players. The results are predictably poor.
We have tryhards in fantasy baseball even if their appearance is slightly different than in popular video games. Talent has less to do with it. Few touts stream their drafts or share their inner monologue when making picks (I’m beginning to do so). As such, mimicry is mostly limited to perusing the draft results of expert leagues like LABR and Tout Wars. There is also some scope to misplay advanced strategies, but again, relatively few writers are even talking about these. Most fantasy baseball content can be categorized as rankings, player analysis, or this-is-happening-now.
In case it’s not clear, it’s considered a bad thing to be a tryhard. To paraphrase words you’ve heard before, you have to learn to walk before you can run. By trying to execute strategies beyond their means, tryhards increase their chances of failure. Of course, it’s not all bad. Failure is the best way to learn. Today’s tryhard can become tomorrow’s expert.
Here are three common ways fantasy players try too hard.
Trend Setters
We often refer to “helium” during draft season. Some players just climb, climb, climb up the ADP rankings with no sign of ever reaching equilibrium. For example, the excitement surrounding Adalberto Mondesi back in November was palpable. He’s continued to ascend through late-February. Mondesi was a stretch at his early winter ADP in the mid-50s. Now he’s going in the early-40s. If you want something sexy, shiny, new, then Victor Robles is available 50 picks later. If you simply want Mondesi’s statistical profile, Tim Anderson is available at pick 124.
Reaching for one guy you believe in, like Mondesi, doesn’t automatically mean an owner is a tryhard. Obviously. What you’re looking for is a pattern. Something like Mondesi in the third, Robles in the fifth, Forrest Whitley and Jesus Luzardo back to back in the 8th and 9th. Nick Senzel and German Marquez and Kyle Freeland oh my.
You get the picture. Every time you select a trendy, inexperienced player, you forgo a more reliable veteran. Do this enough and your roster will fall apart quicker than a game of Jenga during an earthquake.
Hoarders
I promise this post was not inspired by Sheryl Ring’s approach to the FanGraphs Staff Two ottoneu auction. I’ve had the concept on my list for a few weeks. However, her draft serves as a timely example.
Sheryl decided to roster not one, not two, but FIVE catchers. As a reminder, ottoneu is a two catcher league with a 162 game cap for the position. So you need about 1.5 catchers. A total of $34 was spent on these backstops. She openly shopped her depth during the draft. While it sounds like fun to corner a market, have you ever seen it work? I haven’t.
The problem is that there’s always another alternative. Supply is deceptively large. I was one of the many owners in need of a cheap catcher. Ideally, Sheryl’s strategy would have forced me to trade with her for my catcher. We talked about it during the draft, and I even tried to make a few picks to facilitate a deal. Then a funny thing happened. I got Mike Zunino for $1. He projects to perform similarly to most of the players Sheryl can offer (a $20 Buster Posey the lone exception).
This is an extreme example, and I hope my colleague doesn’t mind me calling her out a bit. To her credit, she’s already traded $3 Yan Gomes in what I consider to be a hugely profitable trade for $3 Domingo Santana. So maybe she’ll make this work after all.
In a more traditional roto format, hoarders usually try to dominate the supply of aces or closers. The problem with this is that it’s now easier to finish in second place. If one team rosters six of the top 10 closers, then another team with two top 10 closers and a scrubby patch or two will have a shot at second place. Controlling the supply of good closers will rarely yield any trade advantage. Ditto aces. If one team has six aces, then the others can accomplish more using Anibal Sanchez and Luke Weaver. (This paragraph doesn’t apply to head-to-head leagues where hoarders want to reliably dominate those categories rather than make trades).
Stream Queens
Streaming is the practice of turning your last few roster spots into a revolving door of waiver wire players. This technique can be used to pick up playable starts from otherwise unrosterable pitchers, chase saves from setup men, or take advantage of fringy hitters with favorable matchups at friendly ballparks. If used cautiously, it’s a great way to actively search for a breakout talent rather than waiting until August or September for Fernando Tatis Jr. to show up.
It’s also a wonderful way to create regret. Personally, I get used to certain players being available. A couple years back, I was cycling Tommy Pham on and off my roster nearly every other day. Then suddenly he was gone and somebody else cashed in on his best days. I was fortunate to not repeat this mistake with my many Max Muncy shares last year.
Where this can become a problem in drafts is when an owner doesn’t complete their roster with the expectation that they’ll solve the issue later. Unfortunately, “later” often comes too late. Especially in non-shallow leagues. Think you’re going to get saves on the waiver wire this year? Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. Want to resurrect that Low Investment Mound Ace? Ehh, good luck to ya. Still believe steals can be freely acquired on the waiver wire? Good luck to you too.
Of these three tryhard mistakes, this is the one of which I’m most guilty. After all, a lot of my seasonal content is about streaming successfully. I know I’m going to use the strategy so I prepare my roster. There are correct ways to go about this. My Screw Cancer draft provides some examples. I’ve positioned myself with the necessary prospect currency and roster spots to jump on opportunities. And I have just enough depth to cover in the interim.
Parting Thoughts
So yea, don’t be a draft room tryhard. Then again, the results of a fantasy baseball league don’t really matter. So try as hard as you want. Have fun.
You can follow me on twitter @BaseballATeam
Are there specific league settings where being a (modified) “hoarder” is more acceptable? Say a QS league with a 180 start limit for SP?
Certainly. I tried to indicate there is a difference between hoarding for trading purposes and hoarding for self-use.
Ok, that makes sense. I’ve noticed that it’s very difficult to make up a starts deficiency if you fall behind in the league I referenced – not that many QS available on the wire in August and September, and your ratios will start to suffer as you stream. Other owners seem to believe that the start limit means they should prioritize closers in the draft (and they fly off the board early). I think this leaves me with great opportunity at 4-5 aces at a depressed cost, while focusing on my offense in between. Accordingly, I’ve drafted 1 closer per year over the last 2 years, and still finished 2nd in saves both years… And I’ve finished first or second in QS, ERA, and WHIP each year. But as you say, there’s a difference between hoarding for self-use and hoarding to trade.
I tend to hunt prospects and breakouts early in the season, and then just churn for volume later.
That Sheryl Ring callout seems so harsh. I want a follow-up from Sheryl on how to dominate by making great trades with those Cs.
I warned her ahead of time, and she said it might be forthcoming. I hope so too.
Five C in a 162-game league cannot be defended.
Well, you’re going to get a chance to read that defense.
pass
I avoid this by autodrafting
Sometimes the autodrafter can hoard… Here are 8 OFs for your team!
What about the owners that sell ML pieces for prospects, some of those prospects turn into very solid players, then they sell those players for more prospects. It’s rinse and repeat. Then they trash talk the league about their loaded farm system and how they’re gonna own the league in a few years.
Yes, that qualifies as tryhard, but it’s not specifically a draft room problem.
I’ve often drafted players with the sole idea of trying to trade them later because I didn’t need them, but they were “best available” type talent on the board. Trading is also one of my favorite parts of fantasy leagues.
Genuine question – does that strategy actually work for you?
I love trading as well but, over the years, drafting someone with the specific intention of trading them away backfires on me about 90% of the time. Either they wind up wasting away on my bench because I’m not willing to sell them for $0.70 on the dollar or I sell them for $0.70 on the dollar anyway because, you know, I didn’t like them much to begin with.
Seconded.
Leave it to millennials to create the term, “tryhard”.
I find it a bit odd for somebody who writes about and studies fantasy sports to write a piece about not being a TryHard at the draft. I mean, I’d agree in general that it’s best not to try to think you’re outsmarting everyone in the room. I don’t think that’s the case for most though, people are just trying to add entertainment value many times. If I didn’t draft with guys who reached for all the rookies/trendy young players, hoarded saves, hoarded speed or overspent on catching I’m not sure I’d completely enjoy playing with everyone just value drafting.
“In video games, a “tryhard” is somebody who attempts to use advanced playing techniques despite lacking the talent to pull them off.”
Strong disagree. Plenty of pros when playing not-for-money play casually, and most of the time, they play “less seriously”, which results in riskier but more entertaining play. And plenty of “normal” players do the same.
But sometimes even when playing a meaningless/casual game, pros might decide to “tryhard” all the same — i.e. play less riskily than they otherwise might, more akin towards the strategy which maximizes outcome rather than entertainment. But normal players do this too, all the time. It’s essentially changing the goal between “entertaining” and “winning” — i.e. sometimes saying winning *is* entertaining. It’s the attitude and style of play, it has absolutely nothing to do with underlying skill component or attempts to annoy pros or anything like that. The meaning of “tryhard” makes no reference to, nor does it require to understand, the concepts of “professional” or “skilled”. It means nothing more than shifting the aim of the player. It has nothing whatsoever to do with “mimicry” or the employment of specific techniques (in principle).