Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball Fantasy Baseball Fixers, Listener League ADP & Catching Up w/Ron Shandler
Mar 13, 2026
Ron Shandler, fantasy baseball innovator and founder of Baseball HQ, talks game design and draft tools. He describes reimagining fantasy formats, why monthly salary-cap contests work, and how to get owners to try new formats. He also shares his preferred draft-day tools and names a few undervalued players he’s been targeting this draft season.
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Episode notes
Reconstruct Fantasy By Rethinking Core Game Pieces
- Ron Shandler recommends rethinking fantasy structure by breaking the game into modular pieces like season length, roster, scoring, and draft mechanics.
- He argues many problems stem from default rotisserie choices and offers hundreds of alternative tweaks crowdsourced from readers.
Rotisserie Defaults Create Structural Problems Worth Fixing
- Reconstructing fantasy can fix rotisserie-era artifacts like rigid hitter/pitcher splits and roster shapes that no longer suit modern play.
- Ron believes many better experiences exist if we re-evaluate season size, scoring, and roster flexibility.
Home League Uses Seven Weekly Opponents For Realistic Season
- Ron describes his favorite home format: a 16-team head-to-head points league where each team plays seven opponents weekly for seven results, producing a 161-game season reflection.
- The format preserves weekly management but yields season-long records that feel like a real MLB schedule.
