Interesting 3B profit options, even at the top

Third base is another position with sufficient power and batting average sources. It runs about 20 deep in multi-asset players, which means most mixed leaguers should have no problem finding a solid contributor. What is most noteworthy is that there are several high-end asset groups with interesting profit opportunities. That makes 3B a position where…

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Stockpile power at 1B/DH in 2017

As always, this is a position loaded with power and potential batting average, top to bottom. There are 10 extreme power options, depending upon how much BA advantage or disadvantage you want to build into your roster. There are 13 full-timers with significant or better power, which is down from 21 last year. This is…

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How bad is the 2017 catcher pool?

Catchers are the most frustrating offensive position in fantasy baseball. Yes, they offer the shallowest depth of skills, but just how bad is it? Should we really be pushing Buster Posey into the early rounds? How much damage do the end-gamers really cause? Here is a chart of the Broad Assessment Balance Sheet (BABS) skills…

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BABS comes to Music City

The industry’s annual “first pitch” of the fantasy baseball season is the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s (FSTA) experts league draft. This year it was held at their winter conference in Nashville. This was the second time that I’ve taken BABS with me to this league’s draft. Last year, a yet-to-be-fully-realized BABS took me to a…

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BABS 2017: What’s new, early charts, more

While we all know the inherent beauty that BABS possesses, she readily recognizes that there is always room for improvement. The challenge, though, is to improve while maintaining simplicity. I didn’t want to add complexity to her natural beauty. In the end, the only changes I made were to provide a bit more consistency and…

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How BABS Optimizes the First Round

Sections of this article appear in The BABS Project. As we start inching our way into the 2017 draft season, one of the hottest topics will be the handling of the first round in snake drafts. Intuitively, you would think that first round players are the most projectable. We obsess over our draft slot positioning.…

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The BABS Project – Introduction

This is a free preview of the Introduction to The BABS Project. ME: Hey, welcome. YOU: Hi Ron. I see you’ve written another book. Oh, this thing? Yeah, a writer’s gotta write. What is it this time? BABS? Mayberry? LIMA? Some other arcane acronym? Sort of. Way back in 2016, I wrote “Ron Shandler’s Other…

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An early look at 2017

New Braves stadium

During these apparently quiet off-season periods, it’s easy to lose sight of how much work is being done behind the scenes at baseball information sites. I’ve been busy working on The BABS Project ebook and laying the foundation for 2017 content here on this site. So, to keep you engaged, here is a preliminary look…

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First Pitch Arizona Preview: Why BABS?

On Saturday, November 5, I will be making a presentation about BABS at First Pitch Arizona. It will be a 45-minute look at what BABS is, why we need it, some 2016 successes and an early look at 2017. Here is an excerpt from the “why we need it” section.  We can’t integrate risk elements…

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Trout, Freeman pace the field as we enter the homestretch

I should have a little more faith in BABS. She’s been good to me; I should support her even when her ratings seem a little off. To wit: A few weeks ago, I was a guest of Patrick Davitt’s on Baseball HQ Radio. He was looking over the late July BABS update and noticed some…

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