What is the best way to draft?

[ANDYCOCHRANE]

When drafting a team, how is the best way to go about it? By this I mean, how do you experts do it? This is an area I have little skill in. Do you identify a player you want in particular: Pujols, ARod, Bonds, Santana and put him top every time, or do you tend to look for a particular position you want, i.e. a 1 SS, or CF and put him top. My teams tend to be drafted looking at the disk and book but with no particular strategy behind it.

In essence, do you already have the players noted down in the team you want and hope to get them, or do you mould your team and lineup after the draft?

[JOELKING]

I cant tell secrets. :)

[ANDREWLAITURI]

Shankly,

I posted a few thoughts on approaches to drafting on the other thread.

[HizzyForShizzy]

I start by identifying the stadium I want to play in first. Next I put Randy Johnson #1 on my card. Then I start identifying players that suit the stadium I want to play in w/ consideratin to making sure I go w/ 1 or 2's at 2B, SS, and CF.

Players that I feel like I have to have go in the top 5. You also develop a feel for whose going where simply by playing in more leagues. By now I know that if I want ARod I have a pretty good shot at putting around 5-6, if I want a shot at Abreu I cant put him lower than 3. If I feel I cant put Abreu at at least 3, I dont put him on. I double up on key defensive positions(2B,SS,CF) and key stadium suited players, for example I'll put Edmonds at 3 and than maybe Damon around 12. If you get them both you can trade. I work on the core of my bullpen around 6-10. IDing my closer and set up.

Its tougher now because everyone knows the bargains like Young, Wickman, Gomez, Robinson, so you cant just put them at the bottom.

Hope that helps.

[Jerlins]

Actually, some of the players you've id'd I put on the bottom to insure myself a higher waiver pick, unless they are part of my overall strategy. Some of the players I've put near the bottom knowing I will never get them include Blanco, Ausmus, Alverez, Lowry, and Huff to name a few. These guys are rarely, if ever, in my plans and it seems to pay off as I have never had a waiver pick lower than third. Nothing is more annoying than having to waste four or five waiver picks in hopes of getting one if you're lower in the food chain during waivers.

At the top, I concentrate on the key players vital to the team I am building, which doesn't necessarily mean the best players. While a player like Manny is a nice fit on any team, a player such as Dunn or Wilkerson is more key to me if building a Shea or Safeco team.

As for positions, the only position I've made sure I rank semi high is 2nd base, as the choices are few and far between. Shortstop is a position that seems to always have plenty of decent players left that if nothing else, can be an adequate defensive position, which means I just have to find my hitting elsewhere. I also tend to stay away from catchers as there is always a good catcher available after the draft, unless I decide I want Kendall.

Pitching wise, I tend to make sure I have a couple of S/R's, which allows me to drop any pitcher during waivers. I was in one league where someone had the first pick, chose Randy Johnson, but handcuffed him to dropping a reliever. He lost his pick because he didn't have enough relievers to make the move. And this was a seasoned vet!!! I also tend to choose a low priced closer I don't plan on keeping as I've found there are always plenty of closers available after the initial draft.

While I miss out on a lot of players I want employing these strategies, I at least have some control of my destiny during waivers and the frenzy as opposed to the non control I have during the draft. To me, the waiver period is more important and again, nothing is more frustrating (or wasteful) than having to place 4 or more players on your list on the hopes of getting one you feel vital to your team's success.

[Woody5]

There is an art to drafting because you have to know :

1) What players are in the most demand

2) Who you can't live without baised on your strategy and stadium


You can start to weigh you decissions also on what positions are deep and what positions are not. (Ex)- 2B is not deep, There are 2 1's and about 5 good 2B. If I am going with pitchers and defence up the middle, I need Luis Castillo. He is in very high demand. I need to rank him 1st or 2nd to get him. If I can't do that, I don't try.

Manny Ramirez is also in high demand, however LF is a fairly deep position so I may rank him 4th or 5th even if I really want him because I know if I don't get him....there are alternatives.

I've also found that because of the lack of ample 20+ potetial game winning SP, a lot of people rank pitchers 1, 2, and even 3 to ensure they get at least one. If I really want RJ or Santana I have to put them 1-2 to even have a shot.


No strategy is perfect but most of the time it revolves around the stadium.

[JdEarly]

Woody has no idea what he's talking about. It's not like he's played 16,000 teams in his 'career,' you know. :D

It seems that the consensus is saying that you should put your "must have" players in the top 5 and fill out around them. Use your budget the best way that you can.

-Do you REALLY need Randy Johnson? Then Jim Edmonds cap number would basically kill the rest of your team.

-Don't be afraid to spend a couple million on a backup to a stud player with high injury risk (Joe Mauer, Larry Walker, for example). You don't want the production drop off to be that of an expensive player to a .50M player, right?

-What is your strategy? Are you going to pound your opponent's heads in? Then don't worry about stealing bases, don't worry too much about defense, and you really won't have the money to worry about pitching. Small ball approach? Spend a little extra for pitching and defense, worry more about OBP and speed.

-Type of park. In Coors, I would go with Bonds or Pujols first on my draft list. Petco, I might still go with one of those hitters because of their natural homers and high OBP, but I would be more likely to go with pitching and fill out my hitters based on defense and OBP.

I am a firm believer that there is no one "best" way to go about filling out a draft card. Many of us have similar management theories, it seems, but none of us are completely alike. Because of this, you've got to figure out what is most important to you in the situation that you're in. I hope any of that made sense. When I ramble, I tend to get off the subject. Did any of you see LOST last week? Albequerque. See?

[durantjerry]

Some of my draft strategies:
1)I agree top picks must be key players for your home ballpark
2)I don't pick top pitchers, as it's tough to get the top 3 to 5 unless listed as 1st or 2nd pick, and you could still get none of them. This also gives you access to top offensive players when others are grabbing pitching. I do usually use two of first five or six picks to grab pitchers though.
3)I am conservative, that is I draft players at or higher than where I think they will go. That is, I don't bother drafting Manny in the 3rd(or even 2nd) round.
4)I put top cheapos at bottom of my draft unless I really want them. If I get Ausmus at #21 I'm happy, but if I don't I'll take the higher waiver position.
5)You must alter strategy against more experienced players.
6)It's sometimes worth drafting a guy lower even if he's popular, especially if there is some kind of park restriction that may make him less sought after. Someone like L Castillo for example, in a league with no Petco's allowed.
Can't think of anything else at this time

[the splinter]

Point and click until your money is gone.

[LMBombers]

The first 20 or so picks are all players that I can't live without (until I don't get some of them). I fill in the bottom picks with popular low value picks like Pods, Ausmus, Merloni, E. Young, etc. I have no expectations of winning these players but instead use them to boost my waiver position. If you get most of your starters AND have a high waiver position all the better! I don't fill out an autodraft card without putting Ausmus #25. Guaranteed waiver boost. You can always pick up a backup catcher later. Pods is the same way. You can always get gathright or Guzman as a PR if you want one later.