If you are new to the fantasy baseball high-stakes world, the drafts can be overwhelming when you first sit down at the table. It is not just the larger amounts of money being played for or the amazing talent drafting against you that can be jarring, but the way rosters are constructed which is different from your average fantasy baseball league. In this article we will talk about my approach to hitters in these types of leagues.
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Fantasy Baseball High-Stakes Leagues Draft Strategy: Hitters
What are you looking for in terms of drafting hitters? I think it is counterintuitive but when you are thinking about who to draft you should look at the end of the draft before the beginning. After you have done your player analysis, you should have a list of players that you feel are undervalued at either specific positions or for certain categories. For example, let’s say you have a player going late in the draft that you love at shortstop, then you don’t need to worry as much about targeting a player like Bobby Witt Jr. or Gunnar Henderson. If you feel there is a lot of cheap speed at the end of the draft, then maybe you focus on power and batting average at the top of the draft. Having an end game strategy should inform your early draft strategy.
Remember, you need to stay balanced because of the overalls in the majority of these contests. Here are the 80 percentile targets for last season’s main event:
| Runs | HR | RBI | SB | AVG |
| 1059 | 308 | 1034 | 184 | 0.2564 |
Balance is important because there are so many teams involved in the overall that you cannot afford to be too low in any one category. If you are playing in a contest without an overall, you can ignore this part.
What King Of Players To Target/Avoid
I love volume players in these types of leagues. I know that the flashy high upside players are the ones that people push up the ADP, but the Pete Alonso types that get a ton of plate appearances are the ones that pay dividends. If you look at the makeup of teams that win these big overall contests, they usually look pretty boring, but they got very good production at every spot. Guys like Alonso and Randy Arozarena tend to drop in these drafts because they don’t have the “high upside” of other guys, but you can count on them to produce.
On the flip side of that, I avoid high risk players. Jazz Chisholm could be a first round talent if he stays on the field, but the chance they do isn’t worth the risk. Especially early in the draft, you should avoid the injury risk of players or ones with wide ranges of outcomes. If you want to take a gamble on a player like that, do it after the first half of the draft. You are typically going to drop a lot of players you draft in the second half anyways, so that is where you should take those gambles.
Another type of player I tend to avoid is the one trick pony. These are typically players who really only contribute in one category, but can be elite in that one category. The problem with these types of players is if they get injured or bust, you can’t replicate their production off the waiver wire. If you are expecting 50 stolen bases from Chandler Simpson and he gets injured or loses his job, it is almost impossible to compete in that category. Spread the risk around by drafting as many multi-category performers as you can.
I also avoid prospects who aren’t going to be up on Opening Day. Yes, sometimes stashing a guy like Konnor Griffin pays off huge, but they often don’t and the lack of flexibility on your bench can wreak havoc on your team if you get hit with injuries. If you are going to gamble on one of these prospects, make sure it is your only stash. Do not compound your risk by adding multiple players like this or ones that are already injured.
Finally, I really like multi-positional eligible players in these contests. You don’t have a large bench and in NFBC, you don’t have IL spots, so the more roster flexibility you have on your roster the easier the season is to navigate and the more gambles you can take on pitching.
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