NFBC Profile - Michael Edelman

[Tom Kessenich]

A good draft can go a long way toward ensuring success during the fantasy baseball season. But if you have the ultimate goal of a league or national championship, you can't just rely on the Draft Day work you put in. You also need to be shrewd, sharp and aggressive on the Waiver Wire.

As a charter member of the NFBC, Michael Edelman knows all the tricks to the trade. With only a few weeks left in the season, all the lessons he's learned and experience he's gained has been put to the test and allowed Edelman to be in the hunt for fantasy baseball's promised land.

Entering action on Tuesday, Edelman was leading his New York Main Event league and was in sixth place in the overall standings, a mere 10 points behind the fifth-place team.

"I am pretty entrenched a top my league right now with a 28-point lead, however my total attention is on the overall while I am 200 points behind Chad (Schroeder)," Edelman said. "At one point last week I was only 125 points behind so while it is a long shot I am going to give it everything I have."

There's no question it's been a season-long effort that has put Edelman in position to make a strong run at the Main Event's $100,000 grand prize.

"The three biggest keys to my team's success are the healthy of my first nine picks, Josh Hamilton's success and the work I've done on the Waiver Wire," he said. "Without the success I've had on the Waiver Wire this year I would not be anywhere close to the top of the standings.

"I have been doing the NFBC since its inception and while I have been successful in the past this year I have hit it out of the park on the Waiver Wire. The last few years I got involved in an AL- and NL-only keeper league that goes really deep into the minor league system and I feel like that has given me the extra knowledge I need to know on certain players who have potential and who to take chances on.

"The other factor that really made me successful was seeing good owners in the past always hit on speculation. Early in the season when I drafted Matt Thornton and blew $333 on Hector Santiago to replace him that left me in a heap of trouble when it came to the closers so speculation was the only thing I could rely on."

Shrewd work on the Waiver Wire helped Edelman pick up closers Ernesto Frieri and Brian Fuentes during the season. He is now a respectable fifth in his league in Saves and could realistically move into the Top 3 in that category by season's end.

"Since I was a Fuentes owner I backed him up with Ryan Cook which helped tremendously for a while," he said. "I kept scouring the waiver wire for potential saves and I picked up Greg Holland in late July prior to Jonathan Broxton being traded hoping he would close and that sealed the deal for me, from there I started moving up the standings having three solid closers.

"All in all about 35 percent of my starting lineup right now has been acquired through the waiver wire, I think that is probably a higher number then normal for a successful team, I’m sure I have a little luck on my side this year I just hope it continues over the next two weeks in the race to the finish line."

The biggest surprise, according to Edelman, has been the play of Josh Hamilton. The oft-injured Hamilton has stayed healthy this season and is putting up prodigious numbers, batting .287-42123 heading into play tonight.

"I had targeted (Hamilton) going in the third round," Edelman said. "However, I didn't see the home run totals coming that he is producing."

The power provided by Hamilton and Albert Pujols combined with two aces on his pitching staff (Justin Verlander and Yovani Gallardo) have allowed Edleman to put together a potent and, most importantly, productive lineup. Edelman's team is easily holding down the top spot in pitching in his New York league and is second in hitting.

"I went into the draft knowing I wanted to draft two high strikeout pitchers in the first five rounds along with focusing on power in the early rounds," he said. "I was able to execute the pitching with Verlander in the second and Gallardo in the fifth while getting power with Pujols and Hamilton.

"I usually will script out my first five picks as best I can and maybe target a few players in the middle-tiered rounds that I like for upside. But after that I am looking for the best value I can find as that is what works for when building a team.

"I am not one who will jump players multiple rounds in order to get them. In baseball there is too much out there and the season is too long to take too big of a risk in the first 10 rounds in my opinion."

The 32-year-old Edelman is a senior financial analyst for a medical supply and diagnostic company. He lives in Elmwood Park, N.J. with his wife and two-year-old son. They have another baby boy on the way on Oct. 10.

"Hopefully I can have a big check coming then to help pay the bills," he said.

To do that, Edelman knows everything must come together precisely in the season's final weeks.

"My weak spots in the overall are Saves, Runs, and Steals so I will be pushing hard to make up ground," he said. "Luckily I have big leads in Wins and K’s so I will be playing 4-5 closers down the stretch trying to make up the ground, we will see what happens but all in all this has been the most enjoyable season yet for me with the NFBC."

[BK METS]

Michael is what makes this game and the NFBC and NFFC fun. I got to speak with him for the first time at the football drafts this year, after competing against him and mostly losing for many years. It just seems that, in most of my leagues, he is the guy that is Incredibly Hulking all of US.

He is worthy of the praise and a good guy... congrats Michael on all of your leagues and on the new baby in October!

[Quahogs]

&$%@#! Edelman ALways in the mix. As tough a baseball AND football player as you will come by. Good to see one of the best players out there get some recognition.

[76erfan]

real good guy..deserves the spotlight immensely. got to know him more and more in prepping for football this year.

Hope you make a real run over next few weeks.

[edelman24]

Alan, Steve, Andy..Thanks for the comments it's been a pleasure to get to know you guys during the past few months. I often have the same thing to say about you Jupinka