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  • Fantasy Prep Tools

    This is a two-part question.

    As I start my fantasy baseball prep in January, I've decided I need to enhance my prep work because either a) it's not working like it used to; or b) the rest of my league(s) have caught up. I've won my 16-tm redraft league 6x since 1998, but the last came in 2010 and I've endured 3 consecutive second-division finishes. Enough is enough.


    Question 1 -- I've used Rotolab for at least the last 10 years, but I feel the program has simply not progressed at all. It's still the exact same tool it was in 2005. I find it great to keep track of your draft and to list build by tweaking projections, but it still doesn't do mock drafts on its own, which in 2017 is unacceptable. I approached Merv about this a couple of years ago and he seemed surprised other sites/programs could do this (both Fantasy Pros and FBG's Draft Dominator can do this). And I'm surprised that now that he's doing this full-time, he hasn't made any additions or changes at all.

    So, I'm shopping around for a new tool where you can download projections, make edits if you'd like, and do automatic mock drafts. Does such a tool exist? I've tried the Rotowire tool and found it to be worse. Are there any web-based or PC-based tools you use that do this?


    Question 2 -- with the proliferation of free fantasy info/stat sites, everyone has access to the same info that used to be only for the fantasy nerds. I'm looking for a subscription site that provides current and ongoing top fantasy info during the season. I've used BBHQ before and liked them, but that was in the Shandler era. Any other recommendations?

  • #2
    As far as the 2nd part of your question goes, I really liked Fantistics...seems to be run by a bunch of really smart people, and IIRC, they were pretty responsive.
    "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
    - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

    "Your shitty future continues to offend me."
    -Warren Ellis

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Hornsby View Post
      As far as the 2nd part of your question goes, I really liked Fantistics...seems to be run by a bunch of really smart people, and IIRC, they were pretty responsive.
      Awesome Horns. I'm going to download the trial and see how it is. Thanks.

      Comment


      • #4
        BBHQ is still very useful for fantasy on a daily basis. BP also has some fantasy updates that are handy.

        As for a replacement for Rotolab... I think the best replacement is paper. I am in three very competitive NL-only leagues, and in each about half of the people are using Rotolab. That half never performs as well as the paper half. They've had a few wins here and there, but almost all of the money spots are usually taken by the guys still on paper. It forces me to KNOW and to SEE and to REACT. It's harder, sure, and there is actually MORE prep in creating my draft sheets, but until I see a program I trust more than my own perceptions, I'm staying with paper. That said, I keep trying Rotolab expecting it to suddenly be of great help, but again, last year I used it in one of the three leagues mentioned above. In that league, I took 4th. Not bad, except that I won the other two.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Hornsby View Post
          As far as the 2nd part of your question goes, I really liked Fantistics...seems to be run by a bunch of really smart people, and IIRC, they were pretty responsive.
          And you've used their draft software and you like it?

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          • #6
            Originally posted by The Dane View Post
            And you've used their draft software and you like it?
            Are you implying that you don't like it?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by revo View Post
              Are you implying that you don't like it?
              Nope. Never tried it. Just thinking that if I was to buy their service, I may want to try the program as well. It'll work on my Mac, which is a plus.

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              • #8
                I like the rotowire draft tool. Been using it for the past few years

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Moonlight J View Post
                  I like the rotowire draft tool. Been using it for the past few years
                  I downloaded it last year and found it to be cheap and clunky.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    RotoLab guy here for many years. Used to build my own Excel model for managing the draft but just ran out of time and was worth the $40 I pay for RotoLab as a BaseballHQ subscriber. Agree with Dane that I'm not sure there is a competitive advantage anymore with using RotoLab but its comfortable for me and makes the draft easier for me. As many have said though, the draft is only one piece of the puzzle to winning along with trades, FAAB and general roster management.

                    In terms of other prep, I have an hour commute each way to work so I consume a lot of baseball podcasts but as a plug to Jason the Fangraphs one with Paul and Jason/Eno is my favorite. Also listen to BaseballHQ from time to time, Baseball Prospectus has a few, occasionally ESPN but too basic imo. Rich Wilson also has a weekly podcast that I listen to leading up to the draft. Just try to consumer a lot of viewpoints on rankings and players basically.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by The Dane View Post
                      And you've used their draft software and you like it?
                      I didn't use the draft software, I'm old fashioned that way. But the site has a tremendous amount of information, and I think that the guys who run it are pretty sharp. I'll probably subscribe to it again this year...
                      "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
                      - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

                      "Your shitty future continues to offend me."
                      -Warren Ellis

                      Comment

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