Not only can I not figure out the optimal strategy for the draft league, I can't even figure out whether I'd rather be picking near the beginning or near the end (although preference is irrelevant in this case).

i gotta say, that draft sounds like it's going to be a painful slog. organizing everything just to make sure i'm able to field a legal roster will be a lot of work, never mind actually having a competitive team. combine that with the logistical problems of rounding up 24 different people for that many rounds and it'll probably take well over a month to complete. i wouldn't blame anyone for not participating in Round 2 if they don't want to deal with that hassle.

i much prefer the smaller drafts of past years where there were only a few rounds or you were drafting with just the other owners in your division, those you could work through in a reasonable time frame. the owners at the beginning or end of the snake might go a week between picks.

Zero chance the draft takes over a month. Not sure what you mean when you say "round up 24 different people". The 24 different people will already be determined. If somebody (who qualified) doesn't want to participate in round 2, I'm sure the 25th ranked owner will jump at the chance to advance.

I've run many drafts. There will be a schedule where there will be one pick per day. The 25 franchises and 25 consecutive years isn't that complicated as I assume people will already know which season of a player they are rostering (once selected), so with each successive pick, it won't be that hard to look at their team center and see which years and which franchises they still need to draft.

Most folks will probably have a nearly completed roster by round 20, making the last five picks somewhat meaningless (mostly pinch hitters and/or some extra PAs needed to fill out a position, or maybe an 11th pitcher to help with innings). I'm sure those who are going to grab 1950's players, they will be fine taking a scrub from the expansion Seattle/Toronto teams.

I am looking forward to this draft.

how much advanced warning will there be for the times I and others need to be available every day for 24 days straight? i'm just **** out of luck if i want to go away for a long weekend in August or for Labor Day?

this kind of thing is why I hate these huge drafts. I can't just build a team when it's convenient, it feels like work where i have be to online at a time determined by someone else every day. i know many people like these drafts but I personally do not.

The draft time slots will be set once the draft order is determined. You will know your two time slots and they won't change (they only differ between odd and even numbered rounds, since it's a snake draft).

You can go away for a long weekend. I would assume most places you might go will have internet access. A proxy may need to be used if you are offline when your time slot is due. But that's very common in drafts.

The draft looks brutal for those picking later. Those with an early pick have a clear advantage

Any idea on draft start date? I am on vacation from July 28 - Aug 6th but will be able to check periodically. If I am reading correctly, it looks like we are using the draft utility and not the forum, yes?

Posted by d_rock97 on 7/18/2024 2:45:00 PM (view original):
The draft looks brutal for those picking later. Those with an early pick have a clear advantage

Isn't that typical of Round 2 drafts? Best picks to go those who earned it by being at the top.

Posted by d_rock97 on 7/18/2024 2:45:00 PM (view original):
The draft looks brutal for those picking later. Those with an early pick have a clear advantage

Do you mean a clear advantage because of the ultra-high salaried guys like '00 Pedro, '94 Maddux, '04 Bonds? Keep in mind that division alignment is based on cumulative team salary, so the top four team salaries will be in the same division.

Posted by toysboys on 7/18/2024 3:15:00 PM (view original):
Any idea on draft start date? I am on vacation from July 28 - Aug 6th but will be able to check periodically. If I am reading correctly, it looks like we are using the draft utility and not the forum, yes?

I would imagine that the draft will start almost immediately after the top 24 are determined. The regular season ends on July 25. Accounting for a potential one-game playoff, the playoffs probably won't be completely finished until around August 4-6. The draft will take roughly 26 days, so I anticipate the first deadline (to get 3 teams entered) to be roughly halfway through the draft (approx. Aug 19). And the final deadline (to get all 6 teams in) right after the draft ends (approx Sept 2). These dates are not official, just a very rough guess.

Posted by schwarze on 7/18/2024 4:33:00 PM (view original):

Posted by d_rock97 on 7/18/2024 2:45:00 PM (view original):
The draft looks brutal for those picking later. Those with an early pick have a clear advantage

Do you mean a clear advantage because of the ultra-high salaried guys like '00 Pedro, '94 Maddux, '04 Bonds? Keep in mind that division alignment is based on cumulative team salary, so the top four team salaries will be in the same division.

I will not be expanding on this because it will likely change how y’all draft

Maybe my thought process is faulty or maybe it’s just skewed because I expect to pick near the bottom (if I even make it to round 2) but I was actually thinking the lower picks might have the advantage.

Posted by schwarze on 7/18/2024 4:39:00 PM (view original):

Posted by toysboys on 7/18/2024 3:15:00 PM (view original):
Any idea on draft start date? I am on vacation from July 28 - Aug 6th but will be able to check periodically. If I am reading correctly, it looks like we are using the draft utility and not the forum, yes?

I would imagine that the draft will start almost immediately after the top 24 are determined. The regular season ends on July 25. Accounting for a potential one-game playoff, the playoffs probably won't be completely finished until around August 4-6. The draft will take roughly 26 days, so I anticipate the first deadline (to get 3 teams entered) to be roughly halfway through the draft (approx. Aug 19). And the final deadline (to get all 6 teams in) right after the draft ends (approx Sept 2). These dates are not official, just a very rough guess.

Seeing as how schwarze has run countless drafts efficiently here, I totally trust that he has this fully under control and am happy to let him set it all up and run it. We haven't set dates for Round 2 deadlines yet but we will be cognizant of holidays like Labor Day, etc.

Since I have to get all my teams done first and just started a new job this week, I'll be pushing to get things ready by whatever deadlines we set. Not that I even know if I'll make it, but I'm trying to be optimistic.

Posted by ronthegenius on 7/18/2024 6:34:00 PM (view original):
Maybe my thought process is faulty or maybe it’s just skewed because I expect to pick near the bottom (if I even make it to round 2) but I was actually thinking the lower picks might have the advantage.

I'm thinking similarly, but in my case I'm not sure if it's my typical defeatism, as in "I finally have a good Round 1, and now it's gonna hurt me in the Round 2 draft."

I think there's a bit of a luck factor in a draft like this, in that you don't know how many other owners will be looking at the same timeframe as you. But we also wanted it to be a wide enough range so as not to force us all into one very limiting player pool. It's a balance there.