How to Draft? Traditional SOM guy

[BRIANSIELSKI]

Played SOM for years, and now I'm wallowing in this Web-based SOM

After 2 seasons, I have learned to hate HAL.

I have also read some items on "drafting" teams to "fit your ballpark."

Well, I drafted my team, and I didn't get one SP and only 4 of the starting position players.

How do you do it?

What are the drafting therories out there?

Thanks in advance!

Doc

[Mean Dean]

Good starting pitchers, particularly those who can start on three days' rest, tend to go early in autodrafts. So if you want a four-man rotation, you'll probably need to have your ace or aces very high on the card, and the other two or three SPs pretty high as well. (But maybe you don't want that... part of drafting well is zigging when other people zag.)

One of the advantages of an unusual ballpark, at least theoretically, is that some players will fit better into your stadium than any other. Thus, you should (again theoretically) be getting those players since other owners are listing them lower than you are or not at all. Obviously, this is going to be more of a factor when talking about role players; superstars can play well anywhere, so the fact that your stadium would be particularly good for Alex Rodriguez isn't gonna be much help in getting him.

Other than that, the only other thing I can tell you is to list "unique" players higher, and players whose skills are more common lower. If you desperately want a 1 CF who is also an outstanding hitter, you should list him high because there are only two of them. It probably doesn't make sense to list a DH very high, though, because if you don't get Ortiz, there's still Hafner, and if you don't get him either, there's still Giambi or Manny, and if you don't get them either, there are still a bunch of cheapos who are fine and you can move the extra money somewhere else... unless you just happen to be a huge fan of one of these players, there isn't much gained by prioritizing them. I know it's annoying not to get the exact players you want, but there are a lot of situations where it really doesn't much matter in terms of wins and losses. So figure out what you really need as opposed to what you just want, and also try to have some flexibility in terms of your plan.

[worrierking]

Each season there are a few positions with plenty of options and a few positions with very scarce options. I typically draft two CF and six *SPs and let positions like 3b, 1b and C take care of themselves later in waivers or in preseason.

I haven't drafted a real closer in a long time. There is always somebody left over. I draft cheap RPs who fit my park and then worry about the good relief later.

The temptation is to fill out your draft card with the individual player you like best at each position, put in four *SPs, a closer and a setup guy like your team will eventually consist of. But that doesn't work well in drafting. You have to get the scarce guys.

My most successful teams this year have been with five starters. Most of the time you can get five non* guys who fit your park in waivers and preseason. As was stated earlier, sometimes it's best to go against the grain. Everybody is after the * SPs.

[durantjerry]

I draft conservatively, drafting guys I want higher than usual to make sure I get them. I don't want to waste a top pick. I usually always draft my team as I want it to take the field, concentrating on getting specific players good for my park. After pick five, and maybe even pick three, It is a crapshoot anyway. I probably have used D Lee more than anyone else in 2006, because very often no one drafts him, so I list him somewhere like 20th. My ace, if I want one, the bargain players I list high, plus a few that fell through the cracks and D Lee gives you a decent team. Drafting is more important in nontraditional autodrafts and live drafts. I try to come up with a strategy that no one else will use to insure I get my guys. It usually involves drafting good, less popular players higher and taking advantage of other guys like D Lee. I just got Helton and Ellis at 20 & 21 after drafting Zambrano, Carpenter, Smoltz, Peavy & M Young 1-5 for a $100 LOTO Tourney Fenway team, figuring if I can get 4 of the 12 or so top SP's I should be able to contend. I got all seven of those players. I am in a pitching theme league where I was the only one who spent $80 in the draft, because most others chose the obvious route and listed all top *-SP's higher, while I drafted Halladay, Baker, Day and Sheets. Good players, but less popular and easier to get. I currently have the best record in the pitching league, by the way. I have seen many very good teams that use players that I wouldn't even consider. You have to be creative and open minded about who you'll use, widening your draft possibilities and increasing replacability. Factors such as the experience level of your opponents and the ballparks they choose can ruin your well laid draft strategy. I find experienced players more predictable(in autodrafts), as inexperienced guys can pick anyone high, often stealing a guy I'd thought no one else would ever draft so high.
To summarize, I favor conservatism. You MUST get guys who you can't replace. For example, if you want Carpenter in MM, list him #1. If you list him lower and miss, you are most likely screwed as far as having an #1 type starter. "Replacability" is an important cinsideration. Try to be creative and take advantage of preconceived notions that others may have concerning the value of some players and the popularity(or unpopularity?) of other players. The more players in your consideration, the more of a chance you have of getting who you want. If you know the parks before the draft, try to think which players are the most valuable commodities for the league. Use every advantage you can think of. Most say the true test of a good player is how you fare when your drafts go bad, but do everything you can to get a good one, as there is no need to show off.

[BRIANSIELSKI]

Thanks for the responses so far.

another question ... is there a non-auto draft? I saw you referred to that.
It would be nice to draft something more traditional than this auto-draft feature.

Thanks,
Doc

[Stoney18]

There are occaisonal live drafts. Takes more time but is more fun. A former strat player developed a web site that's still in use that has a good proxie system so the draft can go quick if every one uses them.

Keep an eye out for posts about new leagues starting and whether they will be auto or live drafts. Or start one yourself and I'm pretty sure someone familiar with Penn's site will join and help get things started.

[geekor]

There are live draft every now and then. They either go slow paced (using this message board) or fast paced (using a site created and run by someone who used to play here a lot). The site is penngray.com/draft (I forgot the other URL, but they both go to the same place). On that site you can leave proxies for your picks, so the drafting goes much much faster.

[quote:9e09e5f654]"Replacability" is an important cinsideration. Try to be creative and take advantage of preconceived notions that others may have concerning the value of some players and the popularity(or unpopularity?) of other players. The more players in your consideration, the more of a chance you have of getting who you want.[/quote:9e09e5f654]

This is a big factor on who I rate up high on my draft card. Plus just doing enough autodrafts, you get an idea of where you can draft someone and still get them. If you want ARod, he has to be #1 on your list (and even then I only get him maybe half the times). Like Durantjerry, I will often try to grab 5 non * sp's beacuse it will be easier to replace the ones I miss later. Especially the expensive one, F Hernandez, Halladay, rarely get drafted in 80 mil leagues. Z Duke on the other hand, you still have to place kinda high to get, at least in your top 6 (from experience).