I am starting a fantasy baseball league, which player should be my first pick?

Question

I have done this berfore but I am always at a lose with all the supposed good advice via yahoo sports the sporting news etc...

Answer 1

The most important thing to look at in fantasy is well rounded players. Hitters that have a few less home runs but give you good speed and average can be more valuable than the guys who lead the league in home runs and rbi every year. If you have the first pick, and you are going for a hitter, Pujols, Soriano, or A-Rod should be your main focus. They do it all at the plate and between the bases, though A-Rod and Pujols are not as quick and don't get as many opportunities to run as Soriano. If you are in a league where errors count against you, go with Pujols. Soriano and A-Rod aren't as consistant in the field. Others to consider are D. Jeter, C. Crawford, or possibly C. Beltran if you have a later pick in the first round.

If you are a pitching guru in fantasy, as I am when I play, then Santana is the obvious choice. He gets wins, has a high strike out to low walk ratio, and he keeps his ERA in the twos usually. There are a lot of good pitchers, but the elite go quick. If you load up on the best, you leave everyone else picking up the crumbs that are left over in pitching. I have been very successful with this approach. It is easier to lead in all pitching categories than it is in all the hitting categories. And make sure you are balanced. If you are too dominant in one category, you are probably lacking in the others, which won't add up in the end. Carpenter is a good choice, and I have always liked Clemens on my team in the past, but I would stay away from him this year since he looks to be a middle of the year starter this year, and if he goes back to the Yankees he will be in a much harder pitching division than he was with the Astros. Other pitchers to eye are Zambrano, Schmidt, Holliday, Oswalt, and Schilling. You may be able to get Peavy in later rounds this year since he had an off year, but if he is available in round 4, you got him for a steal. He may have the best stuff in the league.

Of course, everyone has their favorite players, but if you are playing to win, you will avoid the ones you like to follow and take the best player available at any given position when it is your turn to pick.

Answer 2

meaning the top 5 players? Or you want my selections on who I think will go in the top 5 rounds? I haven't really checked it out yet to see what all the player ranking will be. I would have to go with this for now. Top 5 Position players; 1. A-Rod 2. H. Ramirez 3. M. Tiexiera 4. A. Pujols 5. D. Wright or M. Cabrera -- Keep an eye on Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin and Ryan Braun. They are young guys who had outstanding years last year. Will they keep it up this year, or take a step back? They probably aren't first round picks this year, but produced like ones last season. A-Rod, you know what you're gonna get. Hanley, well, where else are you gonna get production like his from a shortstop? Teixeira, now on the Yanks, will get about 3000 RBI's this year... lol. Top 5 Pitchers (starting) 1. C.C. Sabathia 2. Santana 3. Lincecum 4. Cliff Lee 5. Peavy/ Webb -- Lincecum would be first if the Giants got him some guys who could hit. He still had 18 wins last year. Peavy and Webb, I'm not sure how many wins they will get due to the same reasons as the Giants. No run support. Sabathia on the other hand, 11-2 record when he was traded to a team that could provide run support. Top 5 closers: 1. K-Rod 2. Soria 3. Papelbon 4. Rivera 5. Nathan or Lidge

Answer 3

Soriano - 40/40 potential, and at a hitters park this year. The only area he will not that strong is RBI's. 300BA/30SB/50HR/120R/100RBI not out of it

1 - Soriano - 5 tools, in a better park, on a better team
2 - Pujols - best player last 5 yrs
3 - Ortiz - does it all
4 - Santana - Best SP, and only one worth 1st rd pick
5 - Howard - Has to prove he can do it again
6 - A-Rod - a bad year is still a good year - new contract?
7 - Beltran - good comeback year - helps all stats
8 - Wright - emerging super star
9 - Manny Ramirez - still a monster
10 - Suzuki - lots of H/SB/BA
11 - Reyes - Mets SP bad, they will need offense/he will run
12 - Guerrero - still 325BA/15S/100R/125RB

I am sure there is an ommision or two. Look for star players on good teams, and gamble on players that were hurt or had off years in the later rounds. Get 1 good closer and then pick up the scraps (a few RP's will be hurt and/or benched, so get the replacement at that time). Get a good pitching staff, it is harder to find a breakout pitcher vs a breakout hitter. If I do not get one the best 1B, I will usually pick one up very late. In a 12 player league, there are still enough good SS/2B late (only few players have stats worth a damn).
I also say let someone else pick up Mauer in the 1st round. Not to knock him, but he hits for average and that is about it. He will be picked ahead of better fantasy players for reasons that will not help your standings. A 350BA might raise your team average by 5-10pts (I bet he does not top 500AB's), where as all the other stats are cumulative. It is also not a bad idea to get a decent player that can play most of the infield positions. Someone still Elig for like C/3B or SS/2B/3B.

Answer 4

If you have the first pick in the draft, you should without a doubt pick Albert Pujols. If your looking for someone to give you stats everyday, which a pitcher does not cause he only throws every four or five days, then you want to get the best offensive weapon you can get, which is ALBERT PUJOLS. Any fantasy expert will tell you that. I just did.

Answer 5

Only two players make any sense at first overall, and it depends on if you want the only sure thing as a starting pitcher or a leg up on the hitting categories (except for stolen bases, of course).

Pitcher - Johan Santana
Hitter - Albert Pujols

Answer 6

Joe Mauer of the Twins. He is surrounded by solid hitters, and will again be among the league leaders (He did win the batting crown last year). If you are a late pick in the league, he will be available as everyone will rush toward Albert and Soriano.

Answer 7

Pujols would be a good pick but he'll likely be gone by the time you pick. Take a look at A.Soriano. He gives you the rare power/speed combo. Remember to have fun with it to. Pick player whom you like, it will be more enjoyable to follow your team if you already have some investment in a player.

Answer 8

Johan Santana

Answer 9

Ichiro Suzuki

Answer 10

Depends, is it a head to head league...If so, then reyes is a great pick. look forward to winning stolen bases each week and triples if thats one of your categories. Plus, look at the players batting around him. Good help on runs and he hits some homeruns