How much time does it take to play this game well? For example, this article states that the draft is long.
https://www.draysbay.com/2017/1/18/14317296/why-i-left-the-tier-1-ottoneu-league.
In addition to the draft, how much time should I expect to put in per day?
For the draft it will depend on the status of the league. If it is a brand new one it could be almost 6 hours, if it is well established it could take 2 to 3. There are to many variables like roster spots/cap available, depth of FA available, and if you’re the kind of owner that hangs out to the end of the draft with a couple of bucks to see what “bargains” you can pick up. All these play into draft time.
As for activity, that depends on 1) if the league line-up is weekly or daily and 2) how much you want to win versus the rest of the owners in the league. If it’s a league with very active owners that are sending trade offers everyday, starting auctions everyday, and has lineup changes daily, you’ll probably need to check daily and spent an hour maybe two each day. This is just to make sure your roster is set up with active players as well checking on who might be the hot FA available in your league, prospect that might get a call up, or player that might be heading to the DL. If it’s not a very active league, you could probably get away with a couple minute check on the roster for the day and spend an hour or 2 during the week just seeing if there are some FA that might improve your team.
The nice thing about these leagues is the 48hr auction window. There are no instant pick-ups. You don’t have to worry about the owners that spend all their time (even at their job) keeping up with roster movements or breaking announcements during the middle of the day that says X player has now been named a starter or taking over the closer role getting in there first. As long as you check the league daily or have your e-mail notifications set to sending you auction started announcements, you can have a chance at that player.
This is just based on my experience from being in a number of leagues that have been either really active or almost draft and let it play out with hardly any movement. You just have to see what is available and decide what “feels” like the best place to start out with.
Good luck.