NFBC Weekly Profile - Parnelli Baker

[Tom Kessenich]

One of the main reasons why so many NFBC players have dived into the Draft Champions event is because it’s a no-muss, no-fuss league that doesn’t require a significant amount of attention paid to it during the season. Once you’re done drafting that’s pretty much it other than setting your lineup each week.

Parnelli Baker took four teams in the event this year for that very reason. And as the calendar turns to July one of those teams is in position to make this an event Baker may always enjoy.

Entering action on Tuesday, Baker’s March 1 Draft Champions team continues to hold down first place in the overall standings. That team carries a 485-point lead over David Dorman’s second-place team.

For Baker, this is not only an exciting team to keep tabs on due to its fantastic performance to date, but it’s a relaxing one as well.

“I just watch the Live Scoring every day and I set my lineup on Monday and Friday,” he said. “Not a lot of work. Just a lot of fun.”

That’s certainly been the case so far.

The Draft Champions event may carry a different format but the keys to success are no different than any other league. You need to hit on a good values in your draft in order to produce the required results. For Baker, there were a few players he landed in his March 1 league who have outperformed their ADP by a significant margin.

Look no further than Chris Davis, who Baker landed in the ninth round.

“I had Davis projected for 35-40 home runs this season,” Baker said. “He has 31 home runs already and we are only halfway through the season.”

Davis hasn’t been the only standout value pick, however.

“Jean Segura (Round 17) and Starling Marte (Round 13) have also been keys to my team doing well because they’ve both gotten off to a great start,” he said. “Aroldis Chapman (Round 6) staying as a closer vs. a starter has also been a big key. I got him in Round 6 because people were worried about him becoming a starter then.”

Baker also had a clear plan in place that he wanted to implement for all of his Draft Champion leagues.

“I never want to overdraft a category or position,” he said. “I think people who, for example, draft four closers really hurt their chances to win the overall event. I tend to pull my players up or reach for them vs. waiting on them to fall to me. I took Matt Harvey a round early every chance I got. Manny Machado too.”

The 41-year-old Baker has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and is a Charter Member of the NFBC. With more than three months left in the season he’s well aware that the journey to claiming the $16,000 Draft Champions grand prize still has plenty of twists and turns remaining before it is ultimately decided.

“My team needs to stay healthy and get more help from my minor league wild cards,” he said. “I just got help when Mike Zunino, Josh Rutledge and Johnny Giavotella being called up. Now we need to see Christian Yelich, Oscar Tavarez, Javier Baez, Josh Vitters or Jemile Weeks be called up. That would help.”