dynasty fantasy baseball Archives

Announcing Draft Buddy 3.0 – More Projection Options + Fantrax Integration

February 19, 2019 By Draft Buddy Leave a Comment

This is the draft board for a draft I am currently participating in at Fantrax. Grabbing the leagueId from the URL unlocks an awesome new feature in fantasy baseball Draft Buddy version 3.0, now available for download.

Whirlwind of a weekend here! Daughter’s birthday, another family birthday to attend, Family Day holiday (yes that is a thing), ongoing development work for Dynasty League Football and somehow, some way, I was able to pull together a HUGE update for fantasy baseball Draft Buddy.

Draft Buddy is still free to download, use and update to Opening Day. The new features require a new download if you already have an earlier 2019 version. Read on for details.

More Projection Options

ATC and THE BAT projections are now available to import directly into Draft Buddy via the Update Projections feature on the action tab. If you missed it, check the ATC + THE BAT post for details about these projections. Detailed, high quality fantasy baseball projections from Ariel Cohen for ATC and Derek Carty for THE BAT.

You can scrap the ATC and THE BAT Projection Pal files I posted previously. Getting these projections in Draft Buddy is now way simpler. On the action tab, select the projections you want to import, and hit Update Projections. If you want to import both, select one, import and then use the buttons to move that first set from section Site A to Site B or C. Then select another set and import. Update Projections always pulls the data into Site A, the first large yellow section found on the hitters data and pitchers data tabs.

I will update ATC and THE BAT in line with our other scheduled updates. Note these are also available in Last Player Picked dollar value calculator. Again, huge thanks for Ariel and Derek for providing their projections for us!

Draft Buddy’s Baseball Projections

This is where using the name Draft Buddy for both the software and the website can get slightly confusing, but I ask you to please roll with it. Draft Buddy (website) has its own fantasy baseball projections. These are also available via Update Projections, and in fact are the new default projections in Draft Buddy (software).

They are based on Steamer projections (original default) but include our own playing time adjustments. Much of my fantasy baseball analysis this year is focused on playing time after noticing some issues with the Steamer projections pulled direct from Fangraphs.

A combination of reading The Fantasy Baseball Process by Jeff Zimmerman of Fangraphs and Tanner Bell of Smart Fantasy Baseball (highly recommended), noting Rudy Gamble at Razzball does similar with Steamer, and reviewing playing time from various sources, this seemed like a positive course of action to improve my own fantasy baseball knowledge and to improve Draft Buddy.

I plan to post my process for the Draft Buddy projections, which are also in Last Player Picked and the basis for our online cheatsheets. That now makes six projection options for Draft Buddy – Draft Buddy, ATC, Steamer, THE BAT, Zeile and ZiPS. ZiPS is not yet available. Unfortunately (?) there are still only three sections for projections in Draft Buddy but you can choose any combination of the six to fill the three spots.

Fantrax Integration

This one is huge and arguably deserves its own announcement. It is huge if you play fantasy baseball on Fantrax.com, which you really should. Fantrax is an excellent league manager product they’ve built and no wonder their site continues to experience excellent growth.

I am noticing more and more people mention Fantrax as their league manager, and not just for fantasy baseball. They manage leagues and contests for seven different sports. We ran the inaugural Draft Buddy RotoBowl roto fantasy football league on Fantrax last year.

Get the Fantrax leagueId from the URL of any page for your Fantrax fantasy baseball league.

Input the Fantrax leagueId in the Fantrax Integration box on the options tab in Draft Buddy.

Anyway, thanks to newly available integration with Fantrax, you can now import draft results, keepers and franchise names into Draft Buddy based on your Fantrax leagueId. For those who use the fantasy football Draft Buddy and the MyFantasyLeague.com integration features, you know this is an absolute game changer.

No more selecting each player via drop-down lists for the keepers tab. No more finding and selecting each player off the cheatsheets to add them to the draft report tab. For keepers, copy in the entire roster by team and click a button. For draft results, click a button and everything updates. Its a huge time saver and helps you keep focused on your draft.

I have old videos showcasing the fantasy football Draft Buddy integration with MyFantasyLeague.com for keepers and draft results. The Fantrax integration works very similarly, and I hope to create new fantasy baseball specific videos soon.

New Download Version 3.0

To get all of the newness (a.k.a. awesomeness), we have a new version 3.0 Draft Buddy available for download. You will find the projection changes on the action tab. The Fantrax integration options are on the options tab. All you really need is your Fantrax leagueId and you are set.

If you have any questions then let me know. Enjoy!

MLB Draft Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects – Mize, Singer, Madrigal, Bart

June 4, 2018 By Rick Leave a Comment

MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Prospects

MLB Draft 2018 starts tonight! It is exciting to see the next batch of top prospects, but Rick warns you need plenty of patience before expecting these guys to make an impact in MLB and for your dynasty fantasy baseball team.

The 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft begins on Monday June 4 and continues through Wednesday. The Detroit Tigers will be on the clock at 7:00 pm for the first pick in the now made-for-TV event. Here is a preview of the MLB draft and future prospects for your dynasty fantasy baseball team.

The odds on first pick in the draft is Auburn University pitcher Casey Mize. Though I have no doubt that Mize will be a good to very good (or maybe even great) MLB pitcher, he won’t do it immediately. Unlike the NFL or NBA, very few players play in the Majors in their first or even second year.

In what is obvious, but needs to be said, the older the player and the more experience he has, the more likely he is to play in The Show earlier. So college players will likely be called up to the Majors faster than high school draftees.

Also, hitters tend to get called up faster than pitchers. I outlined the reasons for a pitcher’s slow development in my dynasty prospects pitcher article. The short version of the story is that pitchers don’t learn how to call pitches until they get to professional baseball. Additionally, Major League Baseball isn’t always kind to pitchers taken number one overall. Of the sixteen pitchers taken first in the history of the MLB Draft, only seven have a winning record.

P Casey Mize [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]

Due to the learning curve for pitchers, Casey Mize will not pitch in the Majors for probably two or three years and won’t be an impact player for an estimated five years after being drafted. There are always exceptions to every rule, as we saw the Chicago White Sox put Chris Sale into their major league bullpen just weeks after being drafted in 2010, and he was even an impact arm in the pen down the stretch. This isn’t the norm and what recent history has shown us is that Mize is destined for the minors for a full course of “How to Pitch in Professional Baseball”.

So let’s look at a few of the key 2018 draftees who are expected to grade high on top prospects lists in the near future, and maybe even make a Major League impact sooner than later.

P Brady Singer [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]

Along with Mize, Florida’s Brady Singer is the other top college arm that could realistically go number one overall. Both Mize and Singer are big right-handed pitchers who were successful in college. They both had swing and miss dominance in college, but history tells us to be patient with pitchers. For this reason, I strongly discourage picking up draftees for your dynasty fantasy baseball team until they get to Double-A and start to show they belong.

P Matthew Liberatore [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]
P Carter Stewart [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]

High school pitchers take an even longer time to develop and are a lot riskier. Matt Liberatore and Carter Stewart will both likely go in the Top 10, but neither is likely to see The Bigs for 4-5 years. They both have measurables that the scouts covet. Liberatore is a lefty with feel and command. Stewart is a righty with overpowering power. They both should be very good in time.

2B Nick Madrigal [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]

Nick Madrigal is the guy I’d bet on to make the earliest significant impact from this draft class. He’s a small guy out of Oregon State and isn’t your prototypical draft pick since scouts like to see size and room to grow. Of course, Jose Altuve and Ozzie Albies won’t be growing much, but they sure can hit. Like these two, Madrigal also plays second base and also has an advanced hit tool. He won’t have the power of Altuve or Albies, but he will steal a lot of bases to go along with a high average.

3B Alec Bohm [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]
3B Jonathan India [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]

Alec Bohm and Jonathan India have a lot in common. Both are college juniors who are likely to be drafted in the Top 10. They both have a good hit tool and will be above average defensively at third base. But Bohm is a lot bigger and his power will play likewise. India is smaller and will provide speed. You will get good production from either one, likely within the next couple of years.

C Joey Bart [ MLB.com Scouting Report ]

Like pitchers, catchers also take a while to develop. Learning to call a game is not a weekend crash course. Most big bats are quickly moved to other positions where they can start crushing the ball sooner, which is why it is rare to see great hitters as catchers. Joey Bart has a chance to become just that. The Georgia Tech backstop will stick as a catcher and his power will put him in the elite hitters at his position.

Not all of the draft heroes are found in the top of the first round. Mike Trout went 27th overall, Corey Kluber at 134 and Mike Piazza, the all-time biggest draft bargain, went 1,390 in the 1988 MLB Draft.

Don’t get too hung up on the top draft picks, though they will be the talk of their team’s minor league system in the short-term. Players take a lot of time to develop and players can develop at vastly different rates. Don’t waste bench spots waiting three or four or five years for a high draft pick this year, if there are available players who are already advancing quickly through the minors. Put your trust in guys who are showing ability against professional competition.

Fantasy Baseball Prospects Second Base – Senzel, Schrock, Isan Diaz

May 14, 2018 By Rick Leave a Comment

Isan Diaz, currently playing Double-A for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (that’s awesome) is a Miami Marlins prospect acquired in the Christian Yelich trade. Rick estimates Diaz’s serious power will arrive in 2020.

Today it seems like tiny second basemen who play a lot bigger than their true size are becoming “the thing”. Jose Altuve and Ozzie Albies are tiny guys with big game. Second base was starting to look like a dumping ground for guys who can hit but don’t measure up at third base or short. Now there seems to be a shortage of young bats in the MLB prospects pipeline. So where can you find the next big… I mean… little, fantasy baseball prospects at second base?

Already Here

Scott Kingery, PHI

Scott Kingery is filling the role of the super utility player this season. He has logged at least three games at second, third, short and the outfield this season. He hasn’t become a force with the bat yet, but in his prime, he should have an all-around game similar to Dustin Pedroia’s prime but maybe a little less power.

Lourdes Gurriel, TOR

The younger brother of Houston’s Yulieski Gurriel, Lourdes is a slick fielding infielder who will probably be solid, but unspectacular, with the bat. I see him as a super utility player, but could be an average MLB player as a middle infielder. Unless you are in a deep league, I don’t see him being a guy you want to roster now or in the future.

Gleyber Torres, NYY

I discussed Torres in my shortstops prospects article. With Didi Gregorious manning short, Torres has taken over second base. He is hitting the cover off the ball, but his BABIP suggests he has been rather lucky so far. He will be an impact player, but expect for him to cool off a bit this season.

Other guys with notable names are Yoan Moncada (big power and speed), Willie Calhoun (good hit and power) and Ian Happ (solid across the board). They are all highly touted but are most likely already on teams in your fantasy league. These future studs are the leaders of the pack, but who else is worth considering?

On The Way

Nick Senzel, CIN

Nick Senzel has been working at second base at triple-A. His bat will play anywhere, and I believe that the Cincinnati infield will sort itself out in a way that pushes Senzel back to his natural position, third base. In the mean time, you should get second base eligibility from him for this season and next. He’s probably a Jose Ramirez type of bat. The Reds will likely call him up as soon as he gets over the bout of vertigo that he is dealing with.

Max Schrock, OAK

Max Schrock is a hitter, but he’s a lot more slapper and a little less gapper. He should challenge for the batting title in his prime, but there doesn’t look like much pop in his bat. There also isn’t much speed, so a high batting average at a middle infield position is what you will get. Schrock has a lot of bodies in his way to get to The Show, so I can’t see him coming up to stay before mid-2019 at earliest.

Isan Diaz, MIA

Isan Diaz has plus power and will be a serious power source. He also strikes out a lot, which seems to go hand-in-hand with power these days. Don’t look for a high batting average but Diaz will give you double digit steals. He is a poor defender and may find himself as a first baseman or a designated hitter, but the power will still play. Diaz will probably be a 2020 addition to the Marlins starting lineup.

Luis Urias, SD

Luis Urias is another high average, low power guy. Urias is a better bet than Schrock since he has better speed and fewer roadblocks between him and his MLB job. Urias should be manning second base in San Diego this summer.

Keston Hiura, MIL

Keston Hiura may be the best player on this list who will be a long term second baseman. His elbow has responded well and it doesn’t seem to be a speed bump to staying at the keystone. The power will evolve and he’ll become a fantasy force. I know I’m reaching back a bit on this comparison, but I see Hiura’s ceiling as Craig Biggio with a little less speed. Look for Hiura to debut in 2020.

Fantasy Baseball Tips of the Week

Ozzie Albies was compared to Jose Altuve by Bobby Cox in an interview recently. Cox isn’t the kind of guy who makes comparisons between young players and MLB studs, but he sure made this one. In his first seven seasons, Altuve has one MVP award, four Silver Slugger awards, and five All Star Game appearances. Albies has already put up better numbers in his first 400 at bats and before the age of 22 than Altuve. Albies won’t be cheap to acquire, but to say he is likely to achieve more to Altuve is very reasonable.

Jose Pirela isn’t going to be the guy who leads you to a fantasy title, but he’ll provide a good average with a little speed and power along the way. The Padres like his bat enough to keep moving him around on defense, gaining extra position eligibility along the way.