Fantasy Draft Strategies

[ParkertheSchmitt]

Hey guys, I'm a big fan of having the fantasy draft feature in franchise mode on and I was just wondering how other people decide to draft players in their franchises. Personally, I like to grab 3 really solid pitchers in the first 5 or 6 rounds, and then like to have a really solid fielder in his prime along with an up 'n' comer. Like most, I like to grab the super-prospects like Machado, Ackley, Trout and so on. Do you guys prefer to take more consistent players or high-risk-reward players?

[Pete_Dogg_18]

Ha, its funny you ask, i am just about to do one...

For the most part, I only draft young high potential players say 20-25 yo, or young established players 25-29yo if they are high ovr Longoria, Votto, Gonzalez, Linecum, Mauer for example... Until the later rounds, where i look to fill in the holes from earlier rounds with can't miss prospects, Iglesias and Domonic Brown, Jose Tabata etc...

Carlos Santana is must for me as I don't like spending an early pick to get Mauer or Posey, and i don't really like having a prospect at Catcher, so Santana is one that i can draft in the 6th or 7th round that suits me great...

I value Big Hitters First up and some young solid Starters a bit later on... Once i have my 25-man roster i just race to snap up as many great prospects as possible, usually 1 A and 1 B CP, a few A SP's and a few B SP's and at least 1 A or B prospect at each position...

If you can't already tell, I am a huge fan of the fantasy draft franchise and the one I am about to start will be about my 30-40 attempt at one this year, as I it can take a while to get a feel for where your favorite players tend to land... Plus I try multiple strategies to see different outcomes, for example pitching heavy, in which my first 8 rounds are pitchers or prospects heavy, in which noone can be over 27 or have less than A pot, or win now, in which i get a group of the best veteren players i can, back up by good prospects and win now, then rebuild after a season or two...

[tbbucsfan001]

First 7 Rounds: 3 SP, 1 CP, 3 Position Players.
Next 6 Rounds: 2 SP, 4 Position Players.
Next 5 Rounds: 2 RP, 3 Position Players (1 Utility Bench Player like Bonifacio).
Last 7 Rounds: Fill Roster (I usually go 12 P, 13 Position Players).

I always draft Bench Players that can play >2 Positions, but make sure that you draft players that hit Rightys and some players that hit Leftys better for pinch hit situations. Also, if you draft somebody like Mike Morse, draft a good defensive backup for late, close games.

[BleacherBum2310]

I Tend to build around young/good potential guys & Pitching.

[kjataa00]

I just kind of roll with what's available but I stick to guys in their prime or great prospects early on. Later on I'll pick up some vets who can either fill in a spot where I have a prospect or can play at multiple positions(3+) and hit decent. I also always try to get someone who can play C as a secondary position, as I don't like having 2 Cs on my roster and it's easier then bringing someone up every week to give my starter a rest.

I don't have my sheet next to me but there are certain rounds the CPU always goes on runs and picks all SP/RP/CP for 2-3 rounds. I usually try to snag a couple Ps the 2 rounds before that and then pick up some nice players at other positions while the CPU gets Ps. My last draft I ended up getting Migeul Carbera, Carlos Gonzalez and Evan Longoria in the first 3 rounds and still ended up finding enough pitching later and traded a couple prospects for a couple starting pitchers. I also snagged Aroldis Chapman and David Robertson just before the first RP run and ended up with a beast Bullpen. Added Jeffress and Springer later in the draft and picked up Bard in a trade.

It's always good to run through a draft real fast and then mark down where certain players you really like go and where the CPU goes all pitching.

[ParkertheSchmitt]

Wow, I can't believe how you got Miguel, Longoria, and CarGo. In my drafts, they usually all go around the top 20 picks so its amazing that you got all three. What roster did you use KJ?
And I'm about to do a fantasy draft so I'll post my results and strategy when it's over.

[kjataa00]

My roster is a bit of several rosters.Knights's base and I did some pitch edits and such that were in another roster(forget which) and then did some of my own changes. I actually didn't notice Cargo and Cabrera were lowered a little but Longoria is sucking irl atm so he was lowered due to that. I have since raised Cargo and Cabrera back up a little but yea, got Cargo/Cabrera 29th and 32nd and then Longoria/Pineda 59/62.

Obviously not a typical draft but just posted it to show that sometimes just going with the players available is better then a set strat on which positions to pick first.

[mlblover15]

my first five go to starting pitching. as they say pitching and defense win championships. then i go for a closer, then start going through each position in order. once i get 11 back again... yes i will be coming back to it..