Fantasy baseball starts up in a few days, and we all know that Albert will go first in most drafts...?

Question

But my question is, after Albert is gone, who do you take as your second and third picks?

Answer 1

I answered a question similar to this earlier today, and I will give you the same info. that I gave him:

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, Halladay, 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

If Albert is #1, then Santana at #2 and Soriano at #3.

Personally, I'd take Santana first, Albert second, and Howard third because, regardless of how good Soriano's stats are, taking him at ANY point in a draft would compromise my integrity.

Answer 3

- Alfonso Soriano should tear up the AL Central. A legitimate threat in any fantasy league with any scoring system.

- Johan Santana is consistently dominant, unlike any other pitcher out there. Definitely the number one pitcher in most leagues.

- A-Rod. Say what you will about his "clutch performances," but the guy puts up huge numbers every year.

- Ryan Howard had a monster year in 2006. Even if you don't think he'll repeat in '07, you could probably spend and early pick on him and trade him for a couple other superstars.

Answer 4

hitting is way more important than pitching when it comes to drafting. hitters tend to stay healthier than pitchers do. any little thing could sideline a pitcher for an entire season, so you dont want to draft a pitcher that high and have a wasted pick. i would look for a top teir pitcher around the 5th round. closers i would not draft untill very late in the draft. it seems that a majority of closers either get injured or replaced throughout the year. it is not worth taking high draft picking on closers. scower the ww durring the season and pick up the guys that are going to become closers throughout the year.

Answer 5

Alex Rodriguez, based on other 3rd basemen he outperforms his peers by a larger margin then say Guerrero and a 6th round OF. (Love him or hate him his numbers are still amazing for a 3b.)

Johan Santana - same thing based on his numbers he byfar exceeds other players numbers.

Though there are players with great stats you have to compare players stats to what you can get in later rounds for players at the same position to find a players true worth.

Catchers and 2nd basement are probably the hardest to find production (not to say there are any catchers worth taking early but 2nd base theres Chase Utley who is a first round pick due to his production compared to peers). You could go Soriano in the first but you could get Andruw Jones in the 4-5th and the numbers aren't much different.

Answer 6

Alfonso Soriano

Answer 7

There are 4 players acceptable to be the 2nd and 3rd picks of the draft. You can't go wrong with any of them in any format:

Alex Rodriguez
Ryan Howard
Johan Santana
Jose Reyes

Answer 8

You want the guy that can give you the most numbers across the board. That guy is Alfonso Soriano. He will come close to 40/40 again this year in his new home.

Power numbers will always be there.

Answer 9

Albert then you have Howard, Soriano and Johan Santana. Santana is going to be huge this year and u shud try to get him

Answer 10

I like Jeter because he plays every day and gives you power, average and stolen bases... however, I think ARod will be on a mission this year (by the way, I'm a Reds' fan)>

In reality, I have tried to load up with pitching. If I can win my pitching categories, then I'll try to win one or two offensive categories and that helps me to have a very successful season.

I usually play in head-to-head matchup leagues.