The Ottoneu Surplus Calculator or the Fangraphs Auction Calculator?
In my short bit of research, the Surplus Calc seems to be a bit more conservative, spreading the money around nicely while accounting for leaving some money on the table to use on adds in season while the Fangraphs Calc is a fair bit more aggressive, closer to a stars-and-scrubs approach without leaving money on the table.
I take both into account, but I tend to lean more towards the Surplus Calc.
Which one do you prefer? Are you using something else?
I do my own projections and calculate valuations using SGP myself.
I’ve used both, but they don’t give you flexibility to adjust for usage, so I prefer to calculate values in Excel, where I can make adjustments to the projections before calculating values. For example, I adjust points and games for significant platoon guys, because I won’t ever start them when they are on the bench.
Once I have my adjusted projections, it is fairly easy to calculate replacement level because position eligibility levels out most positions (last year you only needed SP, RP, C, H in Ottoneu). Then I copy values into the Surplus Calc to see how the league looks.
I tend to use the Surplus Calculator during the offseason once it is updated. I then lean on Fangraphs more during the year as it is more up-to-date as the seasons develops. But neither are end alls. I use them to base some decisions and as a starting point for valuation. But often, as has been mentioned, edit values to suit specific comparison needs.