My Live Draft Team Sucks

[motherscratcher]

It's also very clear that I don't have anywhere near the grasp of the player pool that you guys have. I didnt realize until this thread that Marichal has an unacceptably high BPHR total.

That'll come with experience I guess. Hope I can afford it.

[The Last Druid]

Only against righties on his highest priced card. And not on all of his cards.

[motherscratcher]

So is the best approach to pick anstadium and draft to it? Even if that means passing up higher ranked players? How much do you guys consider the cost of the card when determining who to draft?

For me, the card price is usually the main determining factor. I don't have enough experience to go on a lot else. Other tha diamond dope, but DD i found is tough to use during the draft, especially when you haven't picked a park yet.

I guess I really need to know what park I'm using going into the draft.

[motherscratcher]

And BTw, the Cedeno pick was ALL about the price on the card. He's priced like a stud.

Pretty big fail there.

[raslavens]

Yes, it's good to have a park in mind before you start a live draft. But you need to be flexible to change if the players you targeted don't come your way. I think it's important to select a park that will give you some kind of inherent advantage (though it's more difficult to do so in Live drafts) -- such as a small ball park or RH HR park or whatever.

Position scarcity can also come to play. Hornsby may not outperform Bonds or Ruth straight up, but Hornsby and, say, Aaron will usually outperform say, Alomar and Ruth. (Especially in a righty park!)

You also have to look at the BP HRs on both hitters and pitchers cards, and build to that. Marichal may be priced higher, but a guy $1M cheaper with no BP HRs will usually perform much better in a bomber park.

I don't think Cedeno is a bust -- just not someone you want to draft ahead of others priced similarly. Over time, you'll watch and learn which players don't live up to expectations that pricing may set. Use DD's actuals if in doubt. They're a nice rough guess, especially if you're running out of time to make a pick.

Hope this helps. We're all still learning here. Don't get discouraged.

[nevdully's]

Tons of well thought out advice from some damn good vets....WTG!

[motherscratcher]

After the draft, it seemed like there was still a lot of good starting pitching available. Would it be a ridiculous strategy to forgo drafting any starting pitchers until the 12th-13th round? Would this a recipe for disaster?

[raslavens]

I think it's important to get an ace SP. But it's not necessary.

I had a 95-win live draft team (lost in semis) with a rotation of:
Cicotte (every 4 starts)
Chesbro (every 4 starts)
Reulbach (mix of starting/relieving)
Phillippe (spot starts)
Faber (spot starts)
Ojeda (spot starts)
L.Williams (spot starts)
Trucks (spot starts/relieving)

I think with the new players being added, the SP depth is only getting better and could cause more owners to wait longer to fill out their rotations in live drafts. On top of that, IMO, you're more likely to have an ace SP perform poorly than you are a top 25-50 hitter. I currently have a live draft team sitting at .500 with a rotation of Walsh, Joss, Johnson and spot starters (plus Hoffman and Sutter in the pen) that are 2nd to worst in runs allowed. Go figure.

[The Last Druid]

I never have a specific park in mind [b:53004a904a][color=orange:53004a904a]before[/color:53004a904a][/b:53004a904a] I start a live draft. So much depends on your draft order. After the first pick I generally have an idea and after the second pick I know where I plan to play. By then you do need a concrete, no pun intended, park plan.

Yes, waiting until the 12th round to start picking up pitching is a surefire recipe for complete disaster.

And no, after the draft there is [b:53004a904a][color=green:53004a904a]no [/b:53004a904a]good[/color:53004a904a] starting pitching available.
At least none good enough to play no cap ball, other than as a spot starter or reliever.

[raslavens]

Concur with Petro. Think you should at least have 2 SPs picked before 12th-13th round.