My Draft Strategy (For 1 draft at least)

[BK METS]

Everyone has a draft strategy, heavy pitching, heavy hitting, best player available, speed/pitching, young upside, and I am sure there are many more.

I was in a 15 team satellite last night, after drafting 10 teams already this year, not including the MLBC, which was its own animal. Now... I am no expert. Sure I have been doing these types of leagues for longer than there has been internet, but by no means do I have the credentials of some of the pros in the NFBC. But, one thing I do know is, I take risks and I take advice from others to improve myself every year. This year is no exception. I have seen some of the strategies and have taken a little bit from every league I have been in.

This is by no means my live draft strategy (or maybe it is ) But, last night, I did things a little differently and would love to hear some feedback. My thought was, first - fill out my hitting lineup to the best of my ability, as long as I could, until the closers started moving quickly, hop on the closer bandwagon for 3 picks, maybe not top notch closers, but 3 serviceable ones, then, concentrate the rest of the draft on starting pitching. So, from what you will see, there will be no top tier starters on my team, but concentrating on getting 10 decent starters, hoping for 7 to break out or rebound, then picking up the rest in FAAB. I didn't wait as long as some have on starters, but 13th round was my first starting pitcher. I took a variety of starters, from big upside, bounceback potential, and solid middle of the road starters. As you can see from my hitting, for a 15 team league, I think I did pretty well and drafted a lot of flexible players.

So, thats it. Nothing earth shattering, but just something to chew on, and spit out if you want...

15 Team Satellite - 14th pick

C- Napoli (3), Iannetta (18), Barajas (26)
1B - (Napoli), Morse (5), Berkman (7), G. Jones(28)
2B - Pedroia (2)
3B - Longoria (1), Alvarez (23)
SS - Gordon (8), Cozart (19)
OF - BJ Upton (4), (Morse), (Berkman), Victorino (6), Werth (9), Bay (21), (G. Jones), R Davis (29)
SP - Feliz (13), Cueto (14), Chacin (15), Buckholz (16), Billingsley (17), Stauffer (20), Nolasco (22), Burnett (24), Harang(25), Zambrano (27)
RR - B Wilson (10), Farnsworth (11), C Perez (12), D Carpenter (30)

[rockitsauce]

Hey Alan, now this is how ya do it (punt SP) or most of the times when I see guys go heavy hitting their SP is just woeful, like Tomlin is SP3 but I like what you've put together considering ur obviously strong hitting. Closer situation is ok, not really a strength like I think it should be if you take this approach.

fwiw - I like ur chances.

[Quahogs]

If you just wanted to win your league in a standalone 15 team contest you should have grabbed starting pitchers where you took the closers. Then you go back to fill our your offense starting up with the SP's at rd 16 thru 21. Grab your last offensive player rd 22. NOW you'll have a top notch offense, 2 semi anchor SP's, with 7 more down the road to max out W's and K's.

If you think you can garner a 14 in every offensive category then you're sitting with a 111 with possible upside (15 W 15 k 5 era 5 whip 1sv)

The way you're team is constructed - stopping the offense at 9 and getting 5 more players from rd 19 on (that's 35% of your offense) just won't get it done. It most likely won't dominate and you won't dominate K's and W's either.

[rockitsauce]

If you just wanted to win your league in a standalone 15 team contest you should have grabbed starting pitchers where you took the closers. Then you go back to fill our your offense starting up with the SP's at rd 16 thru 21. Grab your last offensive player rd 22. NOW you'll have a top notch offense, 2 semi anchor SP's, with 7 more down the road to max out W's and K's.

If you think you can garner a 14 in every offensive category then you're sitting with a 111 with possible upside (15 W 15 k 5 era 5 whip 1sv)

The way you're team is constructed - stopping the offense at 9 and getting 5 more players from rd 19 on (that's 35% of your offense) just won't get it done. It most likely won't dominate and you won't dominate K's and W's either.

actually, in retrospect - thats what I meant to say

Steve, u couldn't have chimed in 5 min's earlier to save me from myself but at least I feel like I learned something.

[Quahogs]

nah David you can make anything work sometimes. Just my opinion. Sadly I have plenty of experience on which certain roster compositions seem to create the most angst

[BK METS]

If you just wanted to win your league in a standalone 15 team contest you should have grabbed starting pitchers where you took the closers. Then you go back to fill our your offense starting up with the SP's at rd 16 thru 21. Grab your last offensive player rd 22. NOW you'll have a top notch offense, 2 semi anchor SP's, with 7 more down the road to max out W's and K's.

If you think you can garner a 14 in every offensive category then you're sitting with a 111 with possible upside (15 W 15 k 5 era 5 whip 1sv)

The way you're team is constructed - stopping the offense at 9 and getting 5 more players from rd 19 on (that's 35% of your offense) just won't get it done. It most likely won't dominate and you won't dominate K's and W's either.

Here was my thought. In round 10, the starters available were the likes of Derek Holland, Wandy Rodriguez, Ervin Santana. If I chose to take those starters in place of my closers, I would then be completely punting saves since there were none to speak of left in round 13. What I saw in recent drafts was, the difference in SP quality in round 10 vs round 13 was not that much. I get what you are saying about the offense, but I felt the 9 hitters i started the draft with had enough flexibility so that when I picked up again with hitters in the later rounds I could have flexibility and not have to go after one position. Turns out I think I did well in my late hitting getting Iannetta and Bay very late and getting a 3 rd starting catcher to allow me to flex Napoli if I needed. I agree I am not going to dominate wins and Ks but I think I will be middle of the road and my hitting stats other than batting average will be top of the league. Also I feel getting 10 decent quality starting pitchers will allow me to not have to fill holes in FAAB but simply find the best player available. This team would never win overall championships but in a stand alone league, I think I have a shot. Thanks for the feedback. Coming from one of the best, I am honored that you even took the time. Good luck in your leagues this year (other than the MLBC, of course)

[Outlaw]

Alan, this sounds famailar, i think i got hammered for waiting even longer... but I do like your chances with this team as temrs of league contention. Gotta manage the pitching all year....

[BK METS]

Alan, this sounds famailar, i think i got hammered for waiting even longer... but I do like your chances with this team as temrs of league contention. Gotta manage the pitching all year....

Actually saw your strategy and thought waiting until round 18 or 19 was way too long. Thought that if I could draft SP earlier and not go after stud closers, I would improve on SP enough to compete. In a 15 team league, I think 3 serviceable closers is more than enough. I didn't think I needed 3 studs. But yes, your draft was in my mind. We will see.

[Schwks]

My estimation is that the offense has serious risk to not only not dominate, but not fair very well. I think that you took on severe average risk with Napoli, Upton, Werth, Gordon, Morse, Ianetta, Alvarez...and even Longoria. I see a bottom 2-3 team in avg, middle of the pack in the 4 sp categories. If Gordon tanks, as I believe he has a 50-50% chance of doing, the team might be short on speed as well. The power looks real and fairly dominant.

No doubt you did well on SP from where you started, but I see middle of the road in those 4 categories.

[BK METS]

My estimation is that the offense has serious risk to not only not dominate, but not fair very well. I think that you took on severe average risk with Napoli, Upton, Werth, Gordon, Morse, Ianetta, Alvarez...and even Longoria. I see a bottom 2-3 team in avg, middle of the pack in the 4 sp categories. If Gordon tanks, as I believe he has a 50-50% chance of doing, the team might be short on speed as well. The power looks real and fairly dominant.

No doubt you did well on SP from where you started, but I see middle of the road in those 4 categories.

Even If Gordon tanks, which I don't believe will happen, it will be after he steals at least 20, the rest of the starters, not including Gordon, project out to 120 SBs. With FAAB, I don't believe I will be suffering too much in steals. And 3 of the players you mention above hit over .300 last year (Napoli, Gordon, Morse,) Will they do it again, maybe not. I am not going to be starting Alvarez unless I have to, and I dont see Longoria batting .244 again. I did mention that average was my one concern with my hitting, but I dont think I will be in the bottom 2-3

I don't see a problem with my hitting. In a 15 team league, I think my hitting is strong. Not 70 points, but maybe 60-65.

I appreciate the comments. I gave it a shot. Maybe the one and only time I do it, but we will see how it plays out.

[TOXIC ASSETS]

C- Napoli (3), Iannetta (18), Barajas (26)
1B - (Napoli), Morse (5), Berkman (7), G. Jones(28)
2B - Pedroia (2)
3B - Longoria (1), Alvarez (23)
SS - Gordon (8), Cozart (19)
OF - BJ Upton (4), (Morse), (Berkman), Victorino (6), Werth (9), Bay (21), (G. Jones), R Davis (29)
SP - Feliz (13), Cueto (14), Chacin (15), Buckholz (16), Billingsley (17), Stauffer (20), Nolasco (22), Burnett (24), Harang(25), Zambrano (27)
RR - B Wilson (10), Farnsworth (11), C Perez (12), D Carpenter (30)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey BK, fellow slow draft 47 participant....
It will be interesting to see where you stand at the end of the season. You should certainly have plenty of power and speed although average could be a challenge. Here's the picks I especially like and the ones I don't:

Like: Werth, Bay, Cueto, Buckholz
Don't Like: B Wilson, Alvarez, Burnett (didn't like him even before he got hurt), Nolasco

Love the out of the box thinking! Good luck with this team and don't forget to give an update of how you did.

[BK METS]

C- Napoli (3), Iannetta (18), Barajas (26)
1B - (Napoli), Morse (5), Berkman (7), G. Jones(28)
2B - Pedroia (2)
3B - Longoria (1), Alvarez (23)
SS - Gordon (8), Cozart (19)
OF - BJ Upton (4), (Morse), (Berkman), Victorino (6), Werth (9), Bay (21), (G. Jones), R Davis (29)
SP - Feliz (13), Cueto (14), Chacin (15), Buckholz (16), Billingsley (17), Stauffer (20), Nolasco (22), Burnett (24), Harang(25), Zambrano (27)
RR - B Wilson (10), Farnsworth (11), C Perez (12), D Carpenter (30)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey BK, fellow slow draft 47 participant....
It will be interesting to see where you stand at the end of the season. You should certainly have plenty of power and speed although average could be a challenge. Here's the picks I especially like and the ones I don't:

Like: Werth, Bay, Cueto, Buckholz
Don't Like: B Wilson, Alvarez, Burnett (didn't like him even before he got hurt), Nolasco

Love the out of the box thinking! Good luck with this team and don't forget to give an update of how you did.

Thanks, I agree with you on Alvarez, Burnett, and Nolasco... although I think AJ puts up some decent numbers in Pitt once he gets back, most of all Ks, which is why I drafted him. Alvarez was just a backup pick along with Garrett Jones, where hopefully one emerges. Drafted Nolasco with the hope of improved numbers at the new pitchers park in Miami, but even with my weak pitching, he is my 7th starter, so he is replaceable.

[Ryan C]

I was in this draft - and your team caught my eye after 10 rd when you took 3 Closers in a row. However - you gave back most of your offensive gains in the next 7 rounds. Your staff has major downside in Whip and ERA - and your offense could be near the bottom in BA. I also think chasing so much speed early hurt you in RBI's as well. This was a weird draft and everyone has risks - I like the SP's you grabbed - but I think you might have been better served by getting a real anchor at the top. Add in the all three of your closers have issues (health for Wilson, Perez could lose the job at any point). With all the ratios issues of your main starters you grab Burnett and Zambrano (and even Harang) late which did nothing to help you there and actually may be throwing more gas at the problem. But - as they say that's why we play the games. For the record - I liked your Slow/Fast draft (I was in that one as well) better than this team. Looks like we'll find out though won't we - Good Luck in both.

[Ryan C]

I guess it's only fair to post my team for this league as well:

C - Wieters, M Montero
1B- Miggy Cabrera (3B) 3B - A Beltre CI - Carp (of)
2B- Zobrist (of) SS- Pastornicky MI - Kipnis
OF- Jennings, D Young, L Morrison, Fowler, De Aza
UT- M Aviles (2b/3b/ss eventually)
RES - Sands, Dirks, Betemit, Arenado

P - King Felix, Pineda, Luebke, McCarthy, Baker, H Alvarez, Oswalt, J Parker, S Miller
RP - A Bailey, K Jansen, Ad Reed

[BK METS]

I was in this draft - and your team caught my eye after 10 rd when you took 3 Closers in a row. However - you gave back most of your offensive gains in the next 7 rounds. Your staff has major downside in Whip and ERA - and your offense could be near the bottom in BA. I also think chasing so much speed early hurt you in RBI's as well. This was a weird draft and everyone has risks - I like the SP's you grabbed - but I think you might have been better served by getting a real anchor at the top. Add in the all three of your closers have issues (health for Wilson, Perez could lose the job at any point). With all the ratios issues of your main starters you grab Burnett and Zambrano (and even Harang) late which did nothing to help you there and actually may be throwing more gas at the problem. But - as they say that's why we play the games. For the record - I liked your Slow/Fast draft (I was in that one as well) better than this team. Looks like we'll find out though won't we - Good Luck in both.

Hey Ryan. Thanks for your comments. Actually my favorite team is the one in the MLBC 50, which we are in together. I had to pay a good amount to get the guys I wanted, but it was well worth it. That draft was crazy good, with the auction in the middle. I was actually going to go for bargain players in that draft until Scott drafted 8 straight first round picks and I decided to throw myself in front of a train, to save the rest of the league from a sweep .

In this draft, I agree that I gave back a lot of my offensive gains by going pitching in the 2nd half of the draft and my average will not be great. But, with regards to pitching, I think I balanced it pretty well. Good ratios hopefully from Cueto, Buckholz, Feliz, Stauffer and good K potential in Chacin, Billingsley, Burnett, Nolasco, maybe Zambrano. As far as the closers, getting 3 allows me for some injury risk in a 15 team league and there is always FAAB for saves as well. Also, with regards to the hitting, I projected Longoria(30-110)/Pedroia(25-100)/Napoli(25-90)/Morse(25-90)
Berkman(25-90)/Upton(20-80)/Werth(25-80) with 175 HRs and 640 RBI's which isn't bad from 7 players. Obviously Gordon wont give me much (other than 50 steals ). I think it will depend on how much power I get from Bay/Iannetta/Victorino/Alvarez or Jones and Barajas, which is where, if I do lose, I will kick myself for waiting too long on the remainder of my hitters. Hey, it was the first time I used this draft strategy. Maybe my last or maybe I will tweak it a little. It was a $125 satellite and I experimented prior to the live drafts, which was worth the risk.

[BK METS]

I guess it's only fair to post my team for this league as well:

C - Wieters, M Montero
1B- Miggy Cabrera (3B) 3B - A Beltre CI - Carp (of)
2B- Zobrist (of) SS- Pastornicky MI - Kipnis
OF- Jennings, D Young, L Morrison, Fowler, De Aza
UT- M Aviles (2b/3b/ss eventually)
RES - Sands, Dirks, Betemit, Arenado

P - King Felix, Pineda, Luebke, McCarthy, Baker, H Alvarez, Oswalt, J Parker, S Miller
RP - A Bailey, K Jansen, Ad Reed

I like your team, though you may be short on saves with 2 of your guys not closing at the beginning of the year. Like your top 3 pitchers, though you might be short on wins. Hitting is very solid. Good luck.

[Ryan C]

Honestly - with the way guys were drafting closers in this draft - i had no problem waiting.

It's a gamble waiting for Jansen and Reed -and I hope I won't be waiting that long on either

Also - so many guys were chasing saves in this draft late - I felt no need to go after MR types that they will all be tossing back in April and May.

I decided to end this draft with a tip of the cap to three "mentors" by picking "their" guys late to round out the bench.

Sands - a nod to Shawn Childs'
Dirks - a Todd Zola call here
Arenado - I am a believer he's a difference maker come June 1 and this one comes from Capt Hook

[rockitsauce]

[ I was actually going to go for bargain players in that draft until Scott drafted 8 straight first round picks and I decided to throw myself in front of a train, to save the rest of the league from a sweep .

and we love you Alan...love you a lot

[Gekko]

BK - Not a fan of this team. While you have some SP I like, u don't have an anchor. Also drafting 3 closers in the first 12 rounds seems overkill, esp when u are pushing SP. starting 3 closers will get u lapped in wins and k's

[BK METS]

BK - Not a fan of this team. While you have some SP I like, u don't have an anchor. Also drafting 3 closers in the first 12 rounds seems overkill, esp when u are pushing SP. starting 3 closers will get u lapped in wins and k's

Yup, obviously waiting until round 13 for a starter will not allow for an anchor. Part of the strategy. We will see.

[BK METS]

[ I was actually going to go for bargain players in that draft until Scott drafted 8 straight first round picks and I decided to throw myself in front of a train, to save the rest of the league from a sweep .

and we love you Alan...love you a lot

Hey, I don't think anyone really understands unless they were in that draft. Scott's first 7 picks:

Kemp
Pujols
Cano
Bautista
Granderson
Reyes
Miggy

I figured, with those top 7, hitting was off limits to pretty much the rest of the league. So, I figured I would block with pitching, so in the 8th-11th round, I spend nearly $1,000 for:

Halladay
Cliff Lee
Sabathia
Romero

Seemed like there were 13 teams going for the MOY until Nelson and Jupinka started to spend. But, who knows.. If Scott continued on his path, he might have taken it all. We will see. Hopefully I blocked enough to pick up some 15s in K's and Wins/Ratios. What a great league, though. Best I have ever been in.