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Feb6_BABS_BHQ chat
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Ron Shandler
6:49
Hi all. It’s good to be back here at BHQ and talking about the Broad Assessment Balance Sheet (BABS). BABS has been around since 2016 and has been living at BABSbaseball.com since 2019, but it was time for her to get back to her roots. Those roots began here, with the Mayberry Method. For those who were with us at BABS Baseball, it’s good to see you again. For BABS newbies, it’s time to dive into this great draft prep tool and get up to speed.
6:50
The queue is full, so let's get an early start.
DPa13
6:51
Who are the one or two players this season you will reach for in drafts to make sure they’ll be on your team. Thanks & Go Mets.
Ron Shandler
6:51
In BABS-speak, there is no reaching. (I think Yoda once said, “There is no reach. Draft or don’t draft.”) The ADPs are so bad at projecting true value that their only purpose is to help you identify profit/loss opportunities. Is Michael King in the 3rd round a reach? Well, he has a comparable BABS skills profile to 3rd-rounder Chris Sale, but with less risk. King is going in Rd 5, which means that drafting him Rd 4 is not a reach – it’s profit. And yes - LFGM!
Broken bat
6:54
Thanks for including BABS in the subscription plan. Getting to know her gradually. Got as far as 2nd base so far! I am interested in your take about the Tampa relocation situation for this year and the outdoor venue. Ave. Temps in July-Sept. are 91 degrees. Showers are plentiful. This leads me to think the pitching staff will have many rain delays to navigate thru and SP will not be able to return after such. Finally, thoughts on this and McClanahan.
Ron Shandler
6:54
Only 2nd base? She’s easier than that! Having lived in Florida for the past 10+ years, I can tell you that summer rains are usually hard and short, and mostly occur in late afternoon. I don’t worry much about rainouts in Tampa since they all will be night games; I worry about oppressive humidity. Unless the Rays adjust the settings on their humidor, I think balls are going to die in the OF, which will help pitchers a lot. McLanahan is in an asset group (e,KK) with arms like Burnes, Ober, Peralta so there is upside but it will all come down to his health.
DrDave
6:55
I have used BABS since its inception and find it to be very helpful.  I know it is intended to make one think, but I so enjoy when you point out players to target when I may have missed the signs.  Thanks for bringing to the best roto baseball site.  I go way back to the Founding Fathers and their spring get-togethers at the Bellview Biltmore.
Ron Shandler
6:55
Thanks, DrDave! It’s nice to reconnect with old friends.
Broken bat
6:56
Ron, high velo appears to be cause- effect on arm injuries. Can you bake in high velo issues in health projections bfore the cradle breaks?
Ron Shandler
6:56
Would love to, but I can’t project when it will break any easier than projecting how many innings Jacob deGrom will pitch this year.
Talisker
6:58
Hi Ron, Thanks to BHQ, you’ve helped me win many championships over the last 30+ years. Kind of a strange idea, any way to incorporate BABS into the Custom Draft Guide?
Thanks!
Ron Shandler
6:58
It’s an idea for the tech folks here, but you should be able to get what you’re looking for in RotoLab, which has a BABS module. Merv has bought into BABS since its inception. Glad to have him as a fan.
Pumpsie Green
7:01
Broad Assessment Balance Sheet....that doesn't Balance. Really? Needs a new name. grinning
Ron Shandler
7:01
Ha! BABS is not a true accounting balance sheet - it's a tool for you to find the right balance for your team. In the Positional chart, each player has a skills index (Sx) and Risk index (Rx). Some players weight heavily on skill, some more on risk. Your roster construction determines how much risk to take on in order to find the balance for *your* team. In other words, if your team is in rebuilding mode, you can afford to build a risk-heavy roster. If it’s “WIN NOW” then you have to be more careful. You set the balance.
Buzz Killington
7:05
I am in a semi-keeper league- 4 keepers and 2 minor leaguers that have been brought up in our "system". Question is I'm trying to target great pitching late in our draft- snake draft 1-12 12-1  who are some of your favorites- pitching is a big pendulum swing in our league for huge positives from K's and wins but big negatives from earned runs and giving up homeruns- with these minor parameters who are your ideal arms to go after later in the draft 15th round- 27th
Ron Shandler
7:05
A neat thing you can do with the BABS spreadsheets is to re-sort them by ADP. The positional list, in particular, contains the skills and risk indices (Sx/Rx) so the better picks are very easy to spot. Compare Ronel Blanco (99/58) to Jeffrey Springs (110/126) and you can decide who is a better fit. Every player is a balance of skill and risk.
will
7:09
Ron, thank you for all your help over the years. outstanding mind and innovative thought process!   Appreciate the help! and maybe a sleeper SP and RP for old times sake!
Ron Shandler
7:09
Thank you for your kind words. "Sleepers" - whatever that means these days - are easy to spot by just scanning the BABS master spreadsheet. Any player listed in a group with a seemingly incongruous ADP is a candidate. Look at the (ER,K+) asset group: Ohtani (1), Snell (52), Greene (91), Glasnow (105). All have a comparable skills profile. All also have significant injury risk. If you’re willing to build that variability into your risk budget, Glasnow could be a very profitable pick. For relievers, the Positional chart is very instructive – nearly all the top closers have injury risk. It’s very easy to cherry-pick the better arms.
Ron Shandler
7:10
Incidentally - tomorrow's article, and this Tuesday, I write all about using the risk costs to help plan out your roster construction.
Dan
7:12
Hi Ron!  Thanks so much for doing this.  These chats you guys do really get me excited for another year.  In my home league we're a 4x4 NL only that doesn't count K's.  My question is is it reasonable to lessen the impact of the K ratings and just focus on ER to find more similarities and thus more value between players? E.G. is Logan Webb a little closer to Zach Wheeler if we disregard the K rating?
Ron Shandler
7:12
A little. Webb (ER) and Wheeler (ER,KK) have comparable (ER) ratings but strikeout skill is still important in evaluating overall pitching effectiveness. From a strictly BABS perspective, you can slot both in the same group, but I would still rank arms with strikeout ability a little higher. Note, also, that the published ADPs won’t apply to your 4x4 league so you’ll have lesser visibility into the marketplace.
Broken bat
7:16
Cole showed signs last year that arm issues are now standard equipment for a hard throwing 95mph guy. Does your research support an accelerated decline once a pitcher reaches mid-30s and has been worked hard in recent years?
Ron Shandler
7:16
No more than any other system, really. Past injury history informs current injury likelihood, but every player has different body physiology. Some pitchers maintain their skills until they don’t (Scherzer, Verlander) but others break down earlier (deGrom again). Cole seemingly fell off a cliff last year, so I’m not writing off the possibility of some rebound – 34 isn’t ancient. But when it comes to the harder throwers, injury does drive the skills erosion, rather than just age.
Broken bat
7:20
getting personal.Auction league $260,  up to 13 keepers,  Need 1000 IP in 15 team, mixed 4x4. Have Brown, Kikuchi, McClanahan, Schellenbach, Hendricks, Duran and Stirider all for $50. I have 2 open pitcher spots… what kind of pitcher? Giuts like Weaver or Slaton, or buy the real closer or maybe a guy like Cole for $23?
Ron Shandler
7:20
Like I wrote, I haven't written off Cole. Weaver and Slaten are both hi-risk, potentially moderately high-ish reward guys. A lot depends on how much risk the rest of your roster is shouldering - the rest of your staff is a mixed bag. Not a fan of a "real closer" because those are mythical creatures.
Bud
7:22
Do you modify the Risk Budgets for 12-team only leagues?  If so, how?
Ron Shandler
7:22
No, I don’t. The budget recommendations are just guidelines. There are no hard and fast rules because risk tolerance is a personal decision.
Bud
7:24
For a keeper league, is the risk penalty for early round/expensive players dropped if the player is being kept at a much lower price?
Ron Shandler
7:24
Wow, that's a great thought. As long as you are keeping a player at a value less than a Top 60/$20+ player, you could realistically drop the penalty. So, if you’ve protected Paul Skenes at, say $15, then his risk cost would be $2.50, not $3.50. That actually makes a lot of sense. Very insightful - thanks.
Michael T.
7:28
Newbie here. What is the best way to get started with BABS? I started reading about it a bit on this site, and it felt a bit overwhelming at first to be honest. I was just about to download the recommended ebook. Sure wish I could observe directly how someone uses this during the course of actual draft, so I could see it in action. I learn better by doing and observing than reading. I do know many fantasy baseball pundits broadcast their drafts on Youtube. Any that you can recall who used or mentioned BABS during their broadcast?
Ron Shandler
7:28
The ebook is really critical to setting a foundation for understanding the thought process behind the system, even if the details get lost in the weeds. There is a section in Book 2 that takes you through an actual drafting process using BABS - that is helpful too. And while others have randomly talked about BABS on pods during the years, I am unaware of any videos. You might want to post something on the forums here - I know that there are many BABS users there.
Peter
7:31
15 team, mixed, $260 auction. 2B seems to be scarce. Trying to understand the "profit" to make in buying players using BABs. Where do you see undervalued players, using BABs, at 2B? Thanks
Ron Shandler
7:31
2B is a tough beast in 2025, but it can be tamed. Believe it or not, Jordan Westburg is in the same asset group as Teoscar Hernandez. Spencer Horwitz (same group as Vlad) and Thairo Estrada (same group as Xander) could be an injury away from making major impact. You may have to take some leaps of faith here, but BABS has a history of seeing relationships that others don't (my wife can corroborate that it's a gender thing). And only one owner can draft Ketel Marte, so you have to look for your openings.
Faber20
7:33
Is there an approximate dollar value that equates to each round of a draft?
Ron Shandler
7:33
There is! You can find it on p.58 in the current Baseball Forecaster.
DrDave
7:36
How does BABS view a veteran pitcher's skills?  Does it look at last year, 2 years, 3 years or more?
Ron Shandler
7:36
BABS looks at the past 5 years, just like here. For those pitchers whose age might presage a downturn, they are tagged with “Ag” on the liability side of their profile.
DPa13
7:40
Hey Ron, thanks for the time. How many leagues are you in this season and are they mostly Rotisserie or Points or H2H ?
Ron Shandler
7:40
I’m down to three leagues. The XFL, a 15-team mixed keeper/dynasty hybrid with 40-man rosters. That’s my industry home league (I’ve retired from LABR and Tout Wars). My local league is a unique 16-team H2H points league with two 8-team divisions. Each division plays 7 games each week, one vs every other team. 7 games each week becomes 161 games over 23 weeks, so it mirrors the MLB schedule, which is fun to follow, and then playoffs. Finally, the BABS site has been running 10-team 50-round draft and holds that will be coming here to BHQ this year. I always take a team in one of those. No weekly FAB leagues for me – my life is not structured for that anymore.
Dan
7:42
Where can I find a link to join a BABS league?  Been doing it the last 4 years and love it but I haven't been able to find a connection.
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