I have been competing in fantasy baseball for as long as I can remember. I’ve won my fair share of titles and been in the top three of many others. My worst result in any season has been fifth out of twelve teams. I lost several key starters to injuries that season and was unable to recover above fifth. Competing in fantasy baseball can be tough. The season is long, players get hurt, other owners sometimes let their team sit idle, and in the worst case, some owners clash with each other to win by not-so-fair means.
Despite all the disadvantages, we compete for the thrill of the hunt. There is nothing like being in first place after a long season. Contrary to my better judgment, I am going to share with you some of my strategies for being first in the coming years. Who knows, we may compete against each other in the future, or one of my toughest rivals in the league may find this out. But I’m not worried about that right now. My goal here is to make fantasy baseball more competitive across the board. Let’s start with what it takes to be successful.
The draft is the most important part of your fantasy season. Although it can be recovered from a poor draft, it’s not ideal. It can take some luck and many other factors to win your championship. You need to prepare for your draft. This does not mean reading every chart known to man. Find a cheat sheet you can trust, like one from Sports Illustrated or ESPN. Take note of your league’s scoring system and aim for players who fit into the system. For example, if your league awards four points for a home run and only one point for a stolen base, you should focus on home run hitters.
The shortage of positions is another important factor that you need to consider. Whether your league starts with a receiver or two will be a big factor in your draft plans. There’s usually a big gap between top-tier receivers and middle-of-the-road receivers. You might want to get there a little earlier in a league like that. You’ll want to examine each position and mark where you think the drops are. What I like to do is take each cheat list by position and draw a line at each level. If I think the top level guys are the top four in a position, I’ll draw a line under the fourth player. Then during the draft, if I see the top four players at that position come off the board, I know I can wait until later to take that position and focus on another position. There’s no reason to get to a position with lesser players when higher level players are available at another position.
One of my hard and fast drafting rules is to never take a pitcher in the first round. I know there are a lot of people out there who will say this is silly. But I can tell you this. If we look back over the last few years of the draft, more often than not, first-round pitchers don’t perform as well as position players. There are always plenty of quality launchers available. This is a position where you can afford to wait.
When writing, don’t get caught up in the excitement of a “career.” For those of you who don’t know, a race consists of three or more players in the same position being selected one after the other. This can be due to several reasons. This is usually because the top tier I wrote about above is considered to be running low. Whatever you do, don’t be the fourth or fifth owner to get involved in this. At the time, it seems like a good idea for you to claim “your guy”. But usually what ends up happening is the smart owner letting everyone else panic and filling other holes in the draft with higher quality talent instead of getting a mediocre prospect at the scarce position. Just be aware.
Don’t overestimate closers. There are usually plenty of savings to be gleaned from the waiver cable. Everyone always says this, but it’s true. Although it’s common knowledge, there’s always someone who will spend a fourth- or fifth-round pick on someone like Mariano Rivera. Closers are usually sporadic. If you see a good value and an opportune time to pick one up, go for it. Just don’t waste a pick on a closer when you can draft a better player instead. There are plenty of saves that can be drafted in the mid and late rounds.
Once your draft is complete, you’re not done. Be sure to stay up to date on injuries, trades, minor league call-ups, etc. Don’t be the owner who starts someone who was injured last week and won’t be back for months. Stay active and stay informed. Make sure all starting pitchers are going to pitch that week and that the hitters you start are regulars on their own team. Backup outfielders who get five at-bats a week don’t do you much good.
Stay on top of free agents in your league. Don’t be the owner who has to get over the exemption cable position and never uses it. But don’t just pick free agents for the sake of it. There has to be a balance. Some free agents flop, others perform like champions. There is no real way to predict, but do your homework and make an informed decision.
The most important thing is to have fun. If you drop a player your opponent picks up and that player breaks all kinds of records, shake it off. It could easily happen to you. There is no way to know for sure. In the end, it’s still a game. But if you follow this guide, you might have a lot more fun, especially if you’re winning. Good luck, see you in the diamond.