Showing posts with label fantasy baseball software. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy baseball software. Show all posts

Friday, February 13, 2009

Diamond Draft - Advanced Fantasy Baseball Software



I first received the Diamond Draft software a few months ago. RotoExperts.com had just purchased the rights to Diamond Draft and logically wanted their writers to become familiar with the new product. I have to say that my first impression was that it was lacking graphically. There are not many fancy visual effects. But over the course of the last three months I have used it for three different leagues -- a 20-team mixed 5x5 draft, an AL-only 5x5 auction, and an NL-only 5x5 auction. Diamond Draft has been a cinch to use and made the work of the draft and auctions a lot simpler.

Diamond Draft has proven to be an immensely valuable pre-draft tool. By entering the parameters of your league and any keepers there may be you eliminate the need to calculate inflation and cross names off of your draft list. Diamond Draft also provides you with three years of stats for every player and an extensive list of minor leaguers for those leagues that have farm systems. Every player has a projection (updated weekly) that covers includes every statistic from singles, doubles, and triples to Total Bases, OPS, and sacrifice flies. If you don't like a projection just change it. You can also highlight players in various colors to assist with your draft strategy. So, if you were using the LIMA Plan you could highlight LIMA pitchers in magenta (or whichever color you like), sleepers in blue, injury risks in red and so forth. Check out this video on using the edit screen. There is a video for almost every function available.




I have primarily used pen and paper for the 20-something years I have been involved in fantasy sports. I think it is vital to track every team's roster and budget as well as the in-draft inflation. Doing this by hand has gotten much easier over the years but it is a bitch to do. Diamond Draft handles all of this which gives you more time to look your rivals in the eye (an underrated necessity of Advanced Fantasy Baseball).

I have used a few different brands in the past and while I have nothing bad to say about them I have always gone back to my pen and paper method. One of the main reasons is I hate spending $60, $75, and even $100 dollars on software only to need to spend close to the same amount again the following season. Diamond Draft offers most of the functionality of those packages for just $34.95.

Partial List of Diamond Draft Features
  1. Drag and Drop Functionality
  2. League Overview Screen
  3. Position Overview Screen
  4. Team View Screen
  5. Points Total Screen
  6. Depth Chart Screens
  7. Position Eligibility Screen
  8. View/Edit Screens
  9. Assign Players to a team from anywhere in the program
  10. Warning Signs (overbid, position eligibility, all players drafted)
  11. Multiple Leagues
  12. Select from multiple databases
  13. Printable Reports
  14. Laptop Battery Monitor
  15. Screen Captures
  16. In-program Calculator
  17. An Amazing Help Screen
  18. Add Players to the Database
  19. An amazing array of sound effects (including the ever popular crickets)
  20. Add your own sound clips
  21. Search Function
  22. Select from various player pools (by league, undrafted, minor leaguers, MLB plus Free Agents
  23. Choose which stats to display
  24. Add Players to the depth charts
  25. Move players in the depth charts
  26. Complete Set of Projections
  27. Edit or Enter your own projections
  28. Wide array of instruction videos
  29. Forum Support at the RotoExperts.com Forums
  30. Half the price of similar products!!!
That is just a sampling of the functions of Diamond Draft. There are functions within the functions, a complete list would be a mile long. Believe me when I tell you this is an addictive toy that will not only help you prepare and dominate your draft but provide you with a hundred ways to waste time at work and at home! If I didn't think it was worth it I would not be posting this. I will personally assist you with any problems you may have. I am always just an e-mail or post comment away.

Follow me on Twitter: @BigJonWilliams