There is nothing like the excitement of heading into a fantasy draft feeling prepared and ready to own it. There’s also that horrible feeling of not knowing anything going into a draft and feeling like your team is going to stink. Whether you’re a rookie going into your first fantasy baseball draft or a seasoned fantasy veteran, we’re here to help you prepare for your draft. The articles below cover various topics that likely every single one of you will think about at some point when preparing for your draft. Ready or not, draft day is coming, so get prepared and start thinking about your strategy now.
1. RotoWire: How to Prepare: Player Research, League Parameters and Planning
Chris Liss (RotoWire) has provided us with two key steps that you should take in all your fantasy drafts. One is do your research and the other is know your league parameters. Both steps seem straight forward enough, but you may ask, what research should I be looking at or what about my league parameters should I care about? On the research front, you should know your relevant player pool cold and go beyond just picking a good cheat sheet. In detail, he talks about not having enough time to go through your cheat sheet, missing out on volatile players with high ceilings and low floors, thinking you know a player when you don’t and not being able to learn from your mistakes due to using someone else’s cheat sheet. There are a lot of good tips here, so take a read, it’ll help both the beginner and seasoned fantasy player.
2. SportingNews: Can a traditional fantasy football strategy help fantasy baseball owners…
For the fantasy football players out there, we know the importance of handcuffing our studs. Fantasy baseball players though are starting to utilize this concept as well when drafting. Matt Lutovsky (SportinNews) brings up an interesting thought when going into a draft that counts “saves” as a scoring category. Closers are changed more often than you may think and “The beauty of RP handcuffs is that they don’t cost much” says Lutovsky. It’s also true that the best middle relievers contribute to stat categories such as ERA, WHIP and Ks. Lutovsky provides us with his handcuff keys with a list of do’s/don’ts including do access value at all points during your draft and don’t try to guess who’s next in line when there are no clear indicators. Give it a read, your last few rounds don’t have to be wild picks.
3. XN Sports: Fantasy Baseball Draft Advice: The Economics of Drafting Pitching
Thinking about changing up your strategy this year when drafting? Michael Clifford (XN Sports) gives us some perspective on why drafting pitching shouldn’t necessarily take a back seat to drafting hitting. As a baseball lover, you can’t help but pay attention to history and statistics and that’s exactly what Clifford has done. Offensive numbers have gone down every year since 2006 except for in 2012 where it was just slightly above the previous year. The number of elite pitches per season settles at around 12 and hasn’t changed in recent years, while offense continues to drop. So the basic story is, pitching may be a category to lock down earlier than later, but don’t just look at my simple breakdown, give Clifford’s article a read and see for yourself.
4. CBS Sports: 2014 Draft Prep: Dynasty Strategy
If you’re in a dynasty league or are new to one, there are seven guidelines that Nando Di Fino (CBS Sports) feels you should follow. I won’t list them all, in fact, the only one I will list is #7, “OMG! Have fun!!” Really though, there are some good tips there that you may not have thought of such as looking at old prospect lists for post-hype sleepers. Not everyone is going to blow up the year they’re listed as a sleeper, and people tend to write them off when they don’t produce. This is your time to possibly find a diamond in the rough. Okay, so I gave you two of his seven guidelines (the last one was #5, in case you’re wondering), you’re welcome.
5. RotoBaller: Top 5 Rules For Auction Leagues: 2014 Draft Strategy
The funny thing about auction leagues is there are basic rules that you should almost always follow, but most people never do it. So allow Kyle Braver (RotoBaller) to remind you again what some of these rules are when heading into an auction draft. One of my favorite rules is “Use Your Money”. Nothing is more irritating than ending the draft with leftover money and realizing your team isn’t as good because you decided to try and get bargains on every player. That leads to Braver’s other rule, “If You Have to (Over) Spend, Spend On Stars”. There are only so many elite players and eventually, if you don’t spend that extra $5, you’re not going to wind up with a player in that elite category worth the difference.
6. Fake Teams: Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy
This isn’t one article, but a slew of articles covering various topics on Baseball Draft Strategy. You’ll find articles on “Power vs. Speed”, “Draft aces early in 2014?” and “The Disappearing 30 Home run hitter”. So save yourself the Google search, you may find the article you’re looking for in this one spot.
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