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Crush Your Fantasy Draft With These 9 Baseball Apps

7 minute read

It might not look like baseball season yet depending on where you live, but Spring Training is about to wrap up, which means the boys of summer will soon be headed north.That means fans are hunkering down in their basements for their fantasy baseball draft.

But rather than lugging a laptop and piles of rotisserie guides to the big event, download some of these apps to your tablet or smartphone instead. Designed from the ground up to help you build a powerhouse fantasy franchise, they’re all you need to dominate your league this year.

DraftValet

Behind every great manager, there’s a great bench coach, whispering sage advice into their ear. But if you don’t have a real-world guru to turn to, this app offers a network of experts to tap for advice. DraftValet starts off by asking for details about your league and team, and then lets you ask anything you please, like which starter would be better in a head-to-head matchup, or what position players would DraftValet’s experts stick with in a keeper league. You can also browse other users’ questions and keep an eye out for trending topics — an important feature for sniffing out up-and-coming players and sleeper picks.

DraftValet is available for free on the App Store.

FantasyPros Mock Draft

Practice makes perfect, and with this simulator you’ll be plenty ready to pick a winner come draft day. Simply plug in your league’s variables, including the amount of teams, draft position, and roster settings (which includes the default modes for CBS, ESPN, and National Fantasy Baseball Championship leagues), and the app breaks down likely scenarios.

An easy-to-access cheat sheet pulls up players’ numbers from last year, their average stats from the previous three seasons, and a 2015 projection, giving you quality information to make your picks. And the app’s artificial intelligence works blazingly fast, which gives you more time to make your own selections, and ample opportunity to hone your draft strategies over and over.

FantasyPros Mock Draft is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

MLB.com At Bat

Get a steady stream of baseball news, stats, and scores straight from the tap with Major League Baseball’s official app. While it’s free to download, the league has several different ways of getting in your wallet, all depending on how connected to the game you want to be. But to get the most breaking news of on- and off-the-field action, no other app out-pitches this ace. With scores, news, and stats aplenty, it is a must-download for fantasy fans and baseball buffs alike. And with paid subscriptions you can also listen to or watch live game broadcasts — something the saltiest of scouts do everyday, so you should, too.

MLB.com At Bat is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

We Did It! See The Best World Series Celebrations

New York Yankees Wade Boggs rides a police horse around the field after the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in Game 6 of the World Series to win the Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, Saturday, Oct. 26, 1996.
New York Yankees Wade Boggs rides a police horse around the field after the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in Game 6 of the World Series to win the Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, Saturday, Oct. 26, 1996. Ron Frehm—AP
JOE CARTER
Toronto Blue Jays' Joe Carter celebrates his game winning three-run homerun in the ninth inning of game 6 of the World Series in Toronto, on Oct. 23, 1993.Mark Duncan—AP
2004 Sport Pictures of the Year
Jason Varitek and Keith Foulke of the Boston Red Sox celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in game four of the World Series on October 27, 2004 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.Jed Jacobsohn—Getty Images
New York Mets' reliever Jesse Orosco and thousands of Met fans lift arms in jubilation as Marty Barrett, last Boston Red Sox hitter, bites dust at Shea Stadium. The Mets defeated the Red Sox, 8-5, in Game Seven of the 1986 World Series for championship on Oct. 28, 1986.
New York Mets' reliever Jesse Orosco and thousands of Met fans lift arms in jubilation as Marty Barrett, last Boston Red Sox hitter, bites dust at Shea Stadium. The Mets defeated the Red Sox, 8-5, in Game Seven of the 1986 World Series for championship on Oct. 28, 1986.John Roca—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images
Bubba Helms, left, celebrates after the Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series in Detroit in 1984. Detroit erupted into chaos in 1984, following the Tigers' World Series victory over the San Diego Padres.
Bubba Helms, left, celebrates after the Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series in Detroit in 1984. Robert Kozloff—AP
Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Robin Yount, left, waves to the crowd as they celebrate near the dugout in County Stadium after a World Series game, Sunday, Oct. 17, 1982, Milwaukee, Wi.
Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Robin Yount, left, waves to the crowd as they celebrate near the dugout in County Stadium after a World Series game, Sunday, Oct. 17, 1982, Milwaukee, Wi. AP
Bill Mazeroski
Fans rush onto the field toward Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski as he comes home on his ninth-inning home run to win the World Series in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Oct. 13, 1960.Harry Harris—AP

MLB PrePlay

For the pros and fantasy players alike, Major League Baseball’s 162-game regular season is a big commitment, if not a full-on slog. If you don’t have time to dedicate to engaging in a full-on fantasy league, this prediction-based game is a great backup. Pitting you 1-on-1 with a real-life opponent, one inning at a time, Preplay is all about predicting the next play. So if you’re the kind of fan who likes to call the action before it happens, this app is a great second-screen companion. And with weekly challenges and power-ups, there’s plenty to keep the game interesting, even if it’s moving slow on the field.

MLB PrePlay is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

MiLB First Pitch

If you want to catch the next star before he’s even been given a locker with the pros, download this little brother to MLB.com At Bat. A free app that covers at least 160 minor league squads, MiLB First Pitch features a steady feed of scores, news, and stats that’s nearly identical to the big league app (in more ways than one — so be prepared to pay for access to the service’s higher-tier offerings, like video streams of live and on-demand games). Still, with intense coverage of the minors, this is the most in-depth way to follow prospects before you add them to your fantasy team.

MLB.com At Bat is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

OwnersBox

Designed specifically for fantasy sports fanatics, OwnersBox is a high-powered scout in your pocket, keeping tabs on all your players. With a highly customizable notifications system, the app can send you an alert when one of your player makes news, gets injured, or even every time he is about to dig into the batter’s box. OwnersBox also has a comprehensive list of reports that can help you find hot players and dump cold ones. These reports drill down into nearly every statistic going, ideal if you’re in a league that scores using a variety of categories. And when October comes, OwnersBox is still a keeper, because with NFL, NBA, and NHL stats, it’s a four-sport fantasy tool.

OwnersBox is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups by RotoBaller

With daily-updated analysis, RotoBaller’s app breaks down individual players not just from a historic, statistical perspective, but also by looking at the business realities and lineups around them, providing position-by-position insight on draft day sleepers. In addition, the app tells you which rounds you should consider drafting these players, because there’s nothing more amateurish than going all-in on a fringe player early in your draft. And then, once you get your team in shape, the app is great for browsing to fill out the holes in your lineup.

RotoBaller is available for free on the App Store.

RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit 2015

Forget your blank roster sheets, notebooks, or even those custom-made Excel spreadsheets you’ve been using for ages. This app, compatible with both smartphones and tablets, is designed to take the bulk out of your research — and better yet, it dynamically adjusts to your league settings and the players currently available. Featuring projections for 2015 statistics, but able to import the settings of your 2014 league (great for dynasty leagues), the Draft Kit provides projected dollar values for player auctions, as well as recent news and analysis. And with an improved interface over previous Rotowire Draft Kits, now you can just swipe players from your cheat sheet onto the teams that landed them — a huge draft day time saver.

RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit 2015 is available for $7.99 on the App Store and $4.99 on Google Play.

RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Assistant 2015

Compatible with both iPhones and iPads, this hub of rotisserie baseball activity will let you import your league from various services, including ESPN and Yahoo, to keep tabs on your players with stat leaderboards, daily lineups, player rankings, and more. The app’s personalized section is also a great place to follow your players’ news, or manage watch lists for players that you’re thinking of adding. And the app also comes with access to the solid RotoWire research, which is otherwise blocked off unless you have a subscription to the website.

RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Assistant 2015 is available for $9.99 on the App Store.

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