5 Tips to Help You Win Your Fantasy Draft

Ahhh, can you smell it? The fresh cut grass, the hot dogs grilling, spring is coming and baseball season is here. It smells wonderful. What's that? You don't smell it? Must be because you're stuck in front of your computer playing fantasy baseball! Well don't fret, there's plenty of ways to make the most of your spring and summer indoors. It all begins with the draft: win your draft and you win your league. Take some tips from me, he who's won a regular season title each of the last two years. Some may credit my recent success to an overwhelming amount of time spent researching online, exploiting hot streaks, or negotiating blockbuster trades... but without drafting as well as I did, I wouldn't have stood a chance.

1. Jog Your Memory: Who was that first baseman in Texas last August? What about that Cleveland outfielder who hit .350 down the stretch? Didn't the Dogers call up some hyped-up flamethrower? Can't quite recall the young studs and blue chips who caught your eye at the end of 2008? Well its time to refresh your memory with a few names worth considering: Chris Davis, Shin-Soo Choo, Clayton Kershaw, are just a handful of players to draw interest down the stretch. They'll be cheap picks in the draft, with plenty of upside, and there's players like these all over the league. So did you miss out on Pujols? Morneau? Even Adrian Gonzalez? Don't worry, I'm sure Chris Davis' monster power bat is still available.
2. Don't Think Too Early: Ryan Braun or Ryan Howard? Grady Sizemore or Carlos Beltran? The first two or three rounds might pose such questions, but they rarely require any thought to answer. In the beginning, take the best available player. Don't like Braun or Beltran for any particular reason? Fine, get Howard and Sizemore and move on. Either way you've got 40HR's and a 30/30 guy. Don't waste a first or second round pick on a guy who should be available in the sixth or seventh. Last season someone in one my leagues drafted Jimmy Rollins first overall. Needless to say he did not win the league.
3. Draft Stats You Want: So say you really like hitters who hit lots of home runs, and pitchers who amass a ton of strikeouts - and you could care less about other categories. Then how come you drafted Jose Reyes, Shane Victorino and Chien-Ming Wang? There's plenty of types of players you can use to build a winning team, as long you're consistent in your drafting of them. Don't draft high-average, high-runs for seven rounds and then grab Adam Dunn and Jack Cust because of their homers. You just ruined your team's average anyway, so why bother with the high-average guys to begin with?
4. Know the Positions: Don't get so upset that the top-tier shortstops are all gone after two rounds that you turn around and draft Rafael Furcal in the third round. Bad move. How much better is Rafael Furcal (fantasy-wise) than Jhonny Peralta (likely to get drafted after the 8th round)? Not much. Be aware of positional scarcity going in. There's three outstanding shortstops, maybe four outstanding second basemen, corner infielders are known for their power (so don't settle for a James Loney), and there's hordes of outfielders with 20/20 potential. As long as you don't end up with a 1B who hit ten homers last year, a shortstop who stole 6 bases and zero outfielders who hit 25HR, your roster is probably headed in the right direction.
   
5. Finish the Draft: Its after midnight, most of the other managers have logged off and gone to sleep or to watch Chelsea Lately on E!.. but not you. No you've still got players in your queue, sleeper guys you targeted a month ago who you knew would be available come round 20. Maybe its a veteran coming off injury, or a prospect likely to be called up later in the season, or maybe just a guy who can fill in and give you 20 steals. There's quality picks until the very last round, even if they're not the sexiest. Stay until the end, and you'll be the one laughing when you end up trading your 21st round pick for someone else's 3rd rounder. It happens.

So go prepare yourself, make a list, keep a few notes on under-the-radar guys you want for your team, and most importantly go into the draft with a plan. As long as you draft a well-rounded, balanced roster, you will be competitive this season - I guarantee it!