Fantasy Baseball? In terms of Drafting.?

Question

I am new at this Fantasy Baseball, I have 14 titles in Football but havent even signed up for Fantasy Baseball yet.

I have several questions and love details.

1) What place should I draft in since I get to choose [eg.1st pick]? But if I am correct, Fantasy Baseball is a serpentine when drafting.

2) In that position, who should I look to draft first?

3) How should I go about drafting? [eg.fantasy football. You pick RB first then RB then WR].

Thank You!

Answer 1

Fantasy Baseball is tricky to do because it's like going to a buffet, there's a wide range of selections to choose from and they can either make your team or break it. Football is all about the RB's while basketball is all-around players. Baseball is similar to Basketball with players posses different skills. Some could be good for power, good for speed or just good all-around. It highly depends on the position scarcity and the talent they posses from a year-to-year basis.

Here's a free lesson for you: Pay attention to the major players who sign the big deals this past offseason. They could potentially become the biggest bust as they adjust to either a new league or new team in their first year of the new deal. Some or most players don't live to the expectation on their new deal until at least their second year, although some has defied logic in the past. So it's buyers beware for the following players:

Alfonso Soriano: He might lower your expectation this season with a new club and the richest contract in ages. His 40 HR-40 SB-40 2B season is not going to happen nor will it happen at he heading towards his 30's. You can find better OF that can produce but if Soriano is your pick, beware. A 30-30 season is more respectable.

Carlos Lee: He's in his 30's, his weight is getting higher, and although he has the comfort of hitting in a hitters park, expect him to regress a little bit, but still get his 30 HR, 100 RBI season. I just don't see him playing his draft value this season with the deal.

Other top round picks might be big bust, so watch for injury history or big workload because it might strike this season. Nowhere players can become big stars this year without sacrificing a pick in the draft, so watch out for the FA.

History indicates that power rules the first round, with guys like Pujols, Howard and A-Rod chosen in the first round this year, but people have their own strategy when it comes to drafting time. You just have to decide your strategy on the draft, but if your a first timer, take some consideration looking at the cheat sheet this year to determine that.

Answer 2

I would prefer to draft either first or last in first round. Drafting first gives you the top player then in a twelve team leeague you pick again 24 & 25. Last may be even better then you get 12 & 13. Really it depends on how much you want say a Pujols vs two lesser names but maybe just as productive players.

If you are picking first in the first round, I'd go with Pujols. He's productive in every category except stolen bases.

#- As for how, I generally go hitters first three to four rounds. Again more than position scarcity I look for hitters available who can help me in the most categories. I then try and get a top closer and a top starter then grab a few more bats before going for more closers and starters. If you know what to look for in SP especially, you can get some very productive pitchers in the late rounds. Also don't draft too many bats for your bench. In head to head leagues especially, I may only draft one extra hitter using the rest of my bench slots for starting pitchers. Remember the way the schedule is set up, most teams play on the same day so those bats on your bench will probably stay there most of the time.

Answer 3

I've never been a fan of having an early pick, so I would like a middle pick, and with that I would take a strong middle infielder (Utley or Reyes) or the best other available player if there are no good middle infielders. I would do this simply because the position is so scarce. After this you can either draft for stats or for position, I personally draft for position, filling up my roster with spots that are scarce first, and then moving into the positions where there are lots of players, and a round or two won't make a difference (outfield, 1B). Also, watch out for the "closer run" you don't want to be stuck with two setup men as your main relievers simply because you weren't paying attention. I personally like to load up on relief pitchers and then cycle my starting pitchers (just find guys starting the next day and drop one of yours). By doing it like this you normally will end up winning at least wins, saves, and k's. I hope that this was helpful.

If you are to pick first though, I would say take Soriano simply because he is in a hitters park and he has more versatility than Pujols.

Answer 4

I will give you players under each categories: Sleepers- Evan Longoria Dustin McGowan Ryan Braun Manny Corpas Corey Hart Shaun Marcum Yovani Gallardo Ubaldo Jimenez Alex Rios Busts- Frank Thomas Ben Sheets Bronson Arroyo Curt Schilling AJ Burnett Pedro Martinez Adrian Beltre Jason Bay Tips- 1. If you have First overall pick you MUST pick Alex Rodriguez 2. Dont base your picks on last years performances 3. Look and players pasts and see if they are injury prone 4. Read up on players in Magazines and make a list of players you would like to choose 5. Balance out the players you choose (ex. Dont choose all Yankees) The most players from one team I would say should be 2-3 6. Always have a back up plan of players you want if the players you originally wanted are gone I will give you a list of players at each position that are the best there: Catcher- Victor Martinez 1st Base- Albert Pujols 2nd Base- Chase Utley 3rd Base- Alex Rodriguez Shortstop- Hanley Ramirez Left Field- Adam Dunn Center Field- Vernon Wells Right Field- Vlad Guerrero Pitcher (Top 3)- Johan Santana Jake Peavy Scott Kazmir Relief Pitcher- Jon Papelbon GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN WITH IT!!

Answer 5

1) I would pick somewhere in the middle if its a league w/ a lot of people, but closer to the end if its less than 8. Just because i usually like a more balanced team.

2)If you have a pick later than 5th, you should go for Santana if he's still there. If not, then this is my top 7 players overall:
1-Pujols(I expect some unexpected improvements in most categories), 2-Soriano(beware big drop off from last yr. though), 3-Santana(believe it or not, he got the pitching triple crown last yr--era,w,k--although he tied wang in wins), 4-Reyes(only if you have sb as a category...his value is still good for 2nd round pick if not), 5-Howard(best power in major leagues, and could improve #'s this yr.), 6-Beltran(Great all around hitter in a great line up...dont hesitate w/ him. If he's healthy, he's in the mvp race again), 7-Arod(should reboud this yr...could start a dontrelle willis trend-he does very well every other yr.)

3) it depends what type of league you're in...in rotisserie leagues, stats accumulate throughout the season. So I think hitters should be slightly favored over pitchers, since hitters are usually more consistent from season to season. But in a head to head league, I would favor pitching, because every week is a new week, and, depending on what is allowed in a league, you could assemble a new team each week, and it would be like starting over, since the stats are accumulated each week seperately. It's easier to comeback in head to head, therefore, you can take risks on pitchers, who have a higher reward potential, but could get hurt or have a bad week easier than a hitter. Other than that, I think you ccan afford to pass up a few power hitters this year since there are a lot of them. The weak positions are mainly: Catcher(first few are good & then a big drop off), second base(same thing...a couple all stars & thn everyone else is pretty mediocre, but potentially a bunch of sleepers), & starting pitcher(just because there is really one pitcher that is totally dominant...other than santana, everyone is a risk). Unless u get a top 3 pick, I would stay away from of & 1b in the 1st few rounds. You can probably get a big power hitter as a later pick that can sustain those categories.

Answer 6

With the first pick I would draft the top SS or 2B because those are like your running backs in baseball. It's hard to find a good one so draft Utley/Reyes. Don't Draft a 1B too early because there are alot of good ones same with OF. So draft positions that are hard to find talent first then go to pitchers and 1B and OF pending some exeptions.

Answer 7

this is what i do and it has worked for me. i always draft power hitters in the first 5 or so round unless a high caliber pitcher falls to you like a pedro martinez, roy halladay, chris carpenter type guy in the third or fourth round. there are plenty of pitchers to go around.
for example in my 8 team league which i was first and won gold i drafted: david ortiz, michael young, chase utley, roy halladay, hideki matsui, carlos lee, and adam dunn with my first 8 picks.
remember when drafting think about position scarcity. great SS and 2B are hard to come by like tejada and soriano. there are very few elite players at those positions. 1b are a plentiful and there are actually many good 3B. OF is pretty easy to fill and pitching isnt too hard to fill either. catcher is hard, there are only very few great ones like mauer and victor martinez. so if you dont get the elite catchers hold off until the later rounds. dont waste your pick on a marginal catcher because most of them dont provide many stats anyway.
here is a strategy that is not well know: draft many many many relief pitchers, they wont get you wins but they wil get saves and keep your era and whip very very low and if youre in a head 2 head league you wanna just win the majority of the cats not get the most wins or saves or ks. having the best RPs means that other teams have to trade with you to get saves. but if you go with this strategy then you shouldnt draft all power guys in the early rounds. you might need those picks to snag guys like k-rod, rivera, wagner, etc...

Answer 8

Pick #1 if you can and take Pujols. There is less logic except filling filling positions based on supply and demand.