Monday, March 26, 2007

Draft Day

Today is my Rotohog draft day. I'm still considering whether I want to spend all my money or not. I've got a list of players that I'd like to get if they're available, but would basically be spending all my money to get them. That could be a risky strategy if there is the kind of deflation I think is likely, although I think these are all players who should go up in price, or at least retain their value well, even if there's deflation. I also may not be faced with the decision, since some of these guys will probably be drafted before I can get them anyway. I'm also a little nervous about everything going smoothly. I'm using Internet Explorer 6, which Rotohog has suggested may have some problems. It worked fine during the mock draft I did, but it's still something to worry about.

Some helpful tips if you're preparing for your draft:
1. Think about what players you want to pick because of their potential for quick price appreciation.

2. Think about what players you will want in your lineup for opening day, and whether you can get them cheaper in the draft or via trades once the market opens.

3. Pre-rank your players to allow you to make your picks faster.

4. In case #3 didn't persuade you, pre-rank your players in case technical problems or an emergency prevent you from being online during the draft.

NOTE: I just posted something on The Waiver Wire about closer usage patterns that should be directly applicable to Rotohog.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Alex,

I am looking for a spreadsheet with all the Rotohog player draft values. Can you point me in the right direction.

Thanks

CB

Alex said...

Christopher - Do you mean draft values (what the player is worth), or draft prices (what you have to pay for them in the draft)?

Fan said...

Alex,

A couple of questions.

1. How did your draft go?

2. You may have explained this before, but why do you think that the player prices will decline as soon as the market opens? I think that all players (well ok, most) might go up in value becuase each owner will have about 10% more money to work with. Sure, 3 additional players may be added to each roster, but those who want to have a strong starting lineup will have more money to spend such players.

3. Finally, I like your idea of rotating players, but how feasible do you think this will be? Do you think there will be "transaction costs" (much higher buy prices than sell prices) that will prohibit one from turning his/her lineup over every day/week/etc.? Also, do you think a player will be cheaper (and therefore, also have a low sell price) on his off day than on a day when he will play 5 or 6 straight days?

Unknown said...

Alex - looking for the draft prices so I can compare with my projected values and find the largest spread.

Thanks and gook luck in your draft

Adam said...

I just went through the Rotohog trading floor and typed in the salaries. If you post your email address, I'll send you a spreadsheet with what I have.

One caveat, I don't have every player included. I only entered salaries for the best 180 batters and 120 pitchers or so, so if your model is a lot different than mine, you'll have to add some salaries.

Unknown said...

Alex thanks!

chris@chrisbrand.com

CB