Fantasy Baseball Draft Buddy Archives

Import Fantasy Baseball Projections to Draft Buddy

February 12, 2021 By Draft Buddy Leave a Comment

Projection Pal is now available to download and work with the 2021 version of Draft Buddy. The purpose of Projection Pal is to help import fantasy baseball projections into Draft Buddy.

While Draft Buddy includes access to a variety of sets of projections, sometimes members want to add projections from another source. That is where Projection Pal comes in.

It is not as simple as copying the projections off the web and dropping them into Draft Buddy. Pal formats the data and makes sure it lines up with the correct players in Buddy.

Demo Video

Here is a video posted to YouTube that demonstrates how to import fantasy baseball projections to Draft Buddy.

The projections I chose to demonstrate are from Razzball, which are Steamer projections but with playing time and other adjustments by Rudy Gamble. They are very good projections. They include quality starts, which Steamer does not, and Rudy does an excellent job projecting playing time.

You can download Projection Pal from the Draft Buddy download page. As a bonus, the Pal files I uploaded include the Razzball projections, so most of the work is done for you. However, that is as of the day I posted the files (February 10th). For updated projections, you will need to follow similar steps as the video.

Projection Pal Tips

Projection Pal is not the easiest tool to use for everyone. Projections data can take many different forms, making it potentially tricky to work with.

Keep in mind Pal is a completely optional add-on for Draft Buddy. You do not need to use it. Buddy already includes multiple sets of projections that we update for you on a regular basis. But, if you are keen to add a certain set of projections not already in Buddy, get using Pal. Here are some tips:

Make sure the Draft Buddy filename specified on the setup tab in Pal matches exactly to your copy of Draft Buddy, including the .xlsm extension.
If you try to use the web import functionality in Pal (which isn’t in the video), then don’t spend too long if it isn’t working. Instead, highlight the projections in your web browser, and try to copy and paste them into Excel.
All of the projections data you want to import into Draft Buddy needs to be on the right of the player names on the Raw tabs.
Don’t worry if the Clean tab is showing #N/A errors before you click the Copy to Buddy button. Pal may need to clean and set the data before those formulas pull the proper numbers for each player.

After your newly imported projections are in Draft Buddy, then you can save and close Projection Pal. Its job is done.

Now explore the options tab in Buddy, and re-run Compile Cheatsheets, to make sure the projections are reflected in your new custom cheat sheets.

2021 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Starting Point

February 10, 2021 By Draft Buddy Leave a Comment

For a custom fantasy baseball cheatsheet make sure to try Draft Buddy (Excel), which includes a draft tracker, or Last Player Picked.

Initial 2021 fantasy baseball rankings are up on the website for your viewing, critiquing, and sharing pleasure. Jump right to the rankings, or read on for an explanation of my methodology.

ADP Over Projections

I took a different approach to produce rankings this year. In the past, an initial set of rankings came from player projections run through dollar value calculators in Draft Buddy or Last Player Picked. Then, from spring training to Opening Day, make adjustments for changes in playing time expectations or risk-reward valuations.

This year, the initial rankings are based on Average Draft Position (ADP). Yep, straight ADP – where players are drafted on average. The ADP is from drafts taken place since early this year in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. NFBC hosts the sharpest fantasy baseball players so their ADP is the best available. Note most NFBC leagues are 15-team, 5X5 roto, and start-two catchers (if you are wondering why so many catchers are in the overall rankings).

Tiers I added manually to break up the position rankings for players drafted close together. Tiers help identify drop-offs at each position and guide draft decisions. Similarly ranked players in shallow tiers get a higher draft priority than players in deeper tiers.

Layer in Dollar Values

Still holding our available projections and dollar valuation models in high regard, I crunched those numbers and display them alongside the rankings. This creates some inconsistencies, because the projections may like a player more or less than his ADP.

For example, the first base rankings show Jose Abreu at $22, $1 more than DJ LeMahieu, even though LeMahieu is on average drafted a round earlier. There are examples of this all over the cheatsheets, and some are significant.

Realizing this, I found I like it. Now I can scan the rankings and see what players have the biggest discrepancy between their dollar value and draft cost. This could be an excellent way to identify overvalued and undervalued players.

Are You A Value Or Analytical Drafter?

I consider myself a value drafter. A value drafter is someone who has a good feel for how the draft is going or should proceed. They build their team trying to get the best deals possible. Traits include patiently waiting for value players to present themselves instead of reaching to make sure to acquire a particular player. The ability to adjust on the fly is important.

The opposite type of drafter is more analytical in nature. These drafters have rankings highlighting select players they are confident will outperform the consensus opinion on those players. Their plan is to draft those players, make the rest of the draft room go, “huh?”, and reap the benefits of being right.

I have a lot of respect for analytical drafters because many of them are very sharp. They cut through the Groupthink of fantasy analysis. That doesn’t necessarily make them the best drafters, however. Even if I think Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. is primed for an MVP season (I don’t, just an example), that does not mean I should pony up a second-round pick for him.

A little above his ADP is fine, but way above his ADP when it is unnecessary is an overpay and puts a lot more pressure on the analysis to be right. A value drafter has to fight the opposite problem sometimes, waiting too long to pull the trigger.

This is one of the many aspects that makes participating in fantasy baseball drafts a ton of fun – the decision making challenge.

Next Steps

An advantage of setting up my rankings this way is with respect to updates. Whether ADP or projections, I can push the new data on to my existing rankings and note the changes in player value.

The 2021 fantasy baseball rankings are already not perfectly aligned with ADP. That is because the ADP changed from the initial rankings. That’s good. It provides an ongoing opportunity to identify over and undervalued players leading up to each of my fantasy baseball drafts.

My first big draft is The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational, better known as TGFBI, scheduled for March 1st. It will be a tall task to finish as well as I did last year at 30th overall. This year there are 29, 15-team leagues, or 435 competitors.

I certainly could use some practice before then. So who is up for a draft?

Draft Buddy Fantasy Draft Tool Survey

January 28, 2021 By Draft Buddy 3 Comments

There are still questions yet to be answered about the 2021 MLB season. Regardless, we are off and running for the 2021 fantasy baseball season with our fantasy draft tool, Draft Buddy. Whether you are a rookie or veteran user, help us by completing our fantasy draft tool survey on Google Forms.

As of today, there are four sets of fantasy baseball projections included in Draft Buddy. They are ATC from Ariel Cohen, THE BAT from Derek Carty, Steamer from Jared, Dash, and Peter, and Zeile from FantasyPros.

Draft Buddy also includes Average Draft Position (ADP) data from two sources, NFBC and FantasyPros. Player news is curated from a few sources, most notably RotoBaller and MLB Trade Rumors. Please give a hearty thanks to all of our data contributors.

Fantasy Draft Tool Survey

Would you believe 2020 marked the 20th year of the fantasy football version of Draft Buddy? The fantasy baseball version is only slightly younger. It originated when some two-sport fantasy players asked if I could replicate the football version for baseball. I said, “sure”.

The oldest file I can find is from 2005. Albert Pujols is the top first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero (senior, not junior) the top outfielder, and Randy Johnson the top pitcher. Wow. That makes this year seventeen.

As our long-time members know (assuming my email avoids pesky spam traps), user feedback is always welcome. Hit me up by email or on Facebook or Twitter anytime if you have ideas or questions about Draft Buddy.

However, we are taking feedback a step further this year with a proper fantasy draft tool survey on Google Forms. Please fill it in! This is your chance to tell us what you like, and don’t like, about Draft Buddy. Help shape the future of our draft tool to better suit your needs.

All comments, criticism and kudos are welcome. It is great connecting with fellow Draft Buddy users. Thanks for your time.