Fantasy Team Photo

Fantasy baseball is a long and grueling fantasy season, not for the weak at heart or the ADHD. In fact, a properly managed fantasy baseball team requires so much upkeep, maintenance and discipline it probably warrants a spot on your resume (granted we don’t give career advice, just fantasy sports suggestions). For this reason, the draft can only get you so far, perhaps the waiver wire is what truly makes or breaks a fantasy baseball season. Still, there are some basic season entering strategies, both when selecting your keepers and preparing for your draft which can help to sway the odds in your favor.Prioritize Pitching Quantity In a standard 10 category head to head league, it honestly doesn’t matter as much the top end talent in your rotation. Yes if you are in a keeper league that automatically keeps one pitcher it is important to bring back as good a player as possible otherwise you start at a competitive disadvantage, but more mediocre players still trumps a smaller staff of great players. Consider the 5 categories in which Pitching is judged, Wins, Ks, ERA, WHIP and SVs. Three out of five favor quantity of quality, as having significantly more innings logged between starters and closers almost guarantees victories in Wins, Ks and SVs. Be sure to grab as many pitchers as possible, even if it only allows you 1, even 0 spots for bench hitters. Note the pitchers you do draft should be high strikeout guys on decent teams to ensure strong showings in these categories. Worst case scenario, the waiver wire will be full of pitchers with decent match-ups on a daily basis, pick up the maximum allowed under you league rules to boost your Win and K totals. It may be advantageous to pick top closers ahead of their market value following this strategy as the position is subject to high turnover and losing your closers would immediately knock your team down to a 2 out of 5 skew.Prioritize Hitting Quality and Scarcity Looking across the field of players, SS, 2B and 3B show the least talent, but with some of the best players in the league atop the position rankings. There should be no reason to reach for one of the top ranked outfielders or 1^st basemen, as you can still wind up with solid guys, even an Adam LaRoche type, late in the draft. And it may not sound glamorous, but there are far worse things than starting Adam LaRoche. This isn’t a recommendation to not draft outfielders or 1^st basemen high at all, in fact we still prioritize big bats over arms, simply wait until rounds 4ish and beyond (may vary in keeper leagues). It is important to make sure each and every hitter you draft is someone with enough upside to warrant starting from the get-go, as bench spots should be reserved for primarily pitchers. Draft the best hitters possible from the middle infield out, then fill in with pitchers accordingly. If one of your guys goes down to injury, bear in mind baseball, unlike fantasy football, allots for DL spots, making bench hitters superfluous save for a few extra at-bats. Pitchers on the other hand, get entire extra starts, much more significant. If you’re worried about losing out on at-bats, just draft leadoff guys, but in the grand scheme of things a line-up good hitters can do more with less total at-bats.