Fantasy Baseball drafting advice

[patrickgpe]

this year will be my first year doing it. I have draft strategy set for football, but would love to hear everyone's top advice for putting together a roster. 

[homer]

It really depends on the type of league you are in. Head to Head? Points? 5x5? How is scoring done? For example, some leagues penalize a lot more for strikeouts than other leagues.

[patrickgpe]

3 hours ago, homer said:

It really depends on the type of league you are in. Head to Head? Points? 5x5? How is scoring done? For example, some leagues penalize a lot more for strikeouts than other leagues.

I'm not sure, I was just asked last night so don't have the invite to get into yahoo league yet

[Playing Catch]

20 hours ago, patrickgpe said:

I'm not sure, I was just asked last night so don't have the invite to get into yahoo league yet

The type of league will matter a lot, as will the type of owners in the league. If the league is established, and if the owners are invested, it will be a steep learning curve.

If everyone is more or less starting together, don't worry about it. You'll have a great time.

I was in two fantasy football leagues for years and years. I quit them both about 10 years ago, and I've never looked back.

Fantasy baseball, however, is awesome.

[patrickgpe]

1 hour ago, Playing Catch said:

The type of league will matter a lot, as will the type of owners in the league. If the league is established, and if the owners are invested, it will be a steep learning curve.

If everyone is more or less starting together, don't worry about it. You'll have a great time.

I was in two fantasy football leagues for years and years. I quit them both about 10 years ago, and I've never looked back.

Fantasy baseball, however, is awesome.

This league has been established for more than 15 years. A guy dropped out so I took over. Thats my concern, that everyone has strategy's established and knows what to focus on.. I guess its fair to understand that you may not do well year 1, but I will learn how to do it for 2026.

[TURBO]

I comish 4 leagues, and the only way anyone can give you accurate advice is to know your scoring system.

Roto, points, H2H, etc.  All scoring systems are different and provide different strategies for sure...

If you are playing in an established league with established members, it will be tough being the new guy if you have zero experience.  There are so many ins and outs to fantasy baseball.  Go into the year as strictly a learning year and you should be able to enjoy it.  Pay attention to what others do and why they do it.

Fantasy baseball is a blast, but you really have to be willing to put some time in to have success. You MUST check into your team daily to see what is going on with waivers, drops, trades, etc.  If you plan to check in every few days, you are already sunk. 

I too did fantasy football for years and years, but when my interest in the NFL took a dive a few years ago, so did my interest in fantasy football.  Dropped out and haven't missed it at all.

There is no way I could ever stop fantasy baseball though, just absolutely freaking love it!  I probably spend an hour a day on my teams, or more, without fail.

[homer]

I'm in two leagues. Just to point out how different things can be, in one league stolen bases count for 2 points and strikeouts are minus 1. In the other league, stolen bases are 1 point and strikeouts are -1/2 a point. So in the first league, guys who steal a lot of bases and don't strikeout have a lot more value than the other league. I can also take more chances on guys who have power but K a lot in the second league....harder to pull the trigger on that same type of boom/bust guy in the other league.

One league is head to head - meaning you play another guy in the league for a week and whoever has the most points at the end of the week "wins". You keep records and then there are a few weeks of playoffs at the end of the season. 

The other league (which is rare) is total accumulated points. At the end of the years who ever has the most points total wins the league. 

Then there are 5x5 leagues, which track 5 hitting and 5 pitching categories. Usually, it's batting average, runs, RBI, home runs, and steals for hitting and wins, strikeouts, saves, ERA, and WHIP for pitching. I've never played in one of those but you can see how the strategy is going to be different depending on league type.

[SeaBass]

If it's your first time there's going to be a learning curve, your main goal should be to have fun and learn what works in your league so that you can have a better year two.

Even once your draft is over there will be many impact players that emerge on the waiver wire/free agent pool throughout the season. Just being diligent and keeping an eye on up and coming players will serve you well. Watch for hot streaks and pounce on them if you have expendable players on your roster. Some leagues do have transaction limits but if you're in one that doesn't always look to see if you can improve through waivers.

Make use of your IR spots. If you don't have any players currently injured see if there are some free agents with longer term IR stints that you can stash for later. If you end up getting a player injured for a shorter term and need an IR spot it doesn't hurt to drop those stash type guys and maybe pick them back up later.

[RobertR]

My advice is to see which way your league is biased and zig where they zag. If the league leans heavy to offense, go pitching first.

Also, there's not much you can do at the deadline for BA, ERA, or WHIP. Come out of the draft strong in those categories. I usually let the other owners lead me to my strategy. Also, guys who play everyday with a good BA inevitably lead you to RBIs and Runs. I like to concentrate on building up the middle to avoid the dregs at catcher and middle infield that can really drag your BA down while adding little to no value elsewhere.

 

Also, never chase wins on draft day. And remember that it's all about accumulating value.

[patrickgpe]

the league is NL only. Its Head to Head, but a lot of scoring categories, not 5x5 and rewards accomplishments like no hitters and cycles.

Doesn't seem like you can focus on certain categories to win the week, since its total score. Unlimited waivers which seems like I can rotate through starting pitchers daily to accumulate points, but I'm sure everyone else does that too. 

[zurch1818]

In my points league, good starting pitchers that rack up Ks can dominate. We get a point for an out and a point for a K. A prime starting pitcher can average over 20 points...which if you get a few of those, you don't need to have the best offense to win.

Our league has 3 bench spots and I have them filled with SPs. I only have Megill has an RP...and I took him at pick 165. Drafting closers aren't worth it in my eyes as a good starting pitcher can score at least 2x the points over the duration of the season. Closers just don't pitch that much.

In my drafts, I tend to take a few good SPs early...but I then draft 50/50 between pitchers and batters. I usually try to draft high ceiling players as it seems maybe only 25% of the guys drafted make it to the end of the year anyway.

You'd be surprised how many above average players you can get during the season... especially SPs. Offense seems to be harder to obtain...especially the infield positions.

[patrickgpe]

I was planning on spending the first few rounds on elite offense and then try to get. 3 closers 4-6. You get. 8 points for a save and 10 for a win. Seems like you can do way better by getting dominant closers 

[zurch1818]

The problem I've had with chasing wins and saves is they are team dependent. Sometimes a closer won't pick up a save in a week...and they occupy a roster spot all the time. Innings and Ks are more reliable. Plus top closers may only pitch 60 to 70 innings in a year. I've gotten pretty good value from free agent pickups of multi inning relievers at a much cheaper cost. The @bulk_guy on Twitter can help with finding bulk relievers.

In our league, wins are 5, quality starts are 3, and saves are 3. Losses are -2 and BS -3. Maybe if the points are more substantial, it could make more sense?  You'll have to figure that out during the course of the year.

[homer]

18 hours ago, patrickgpe said:

I was planning on spending the first few rounds on elite offense and then try to get. 3 closers 4-6. You get. 8 points for a save and 10 for a win. Seems like you can do way better by getting dominant closers 

In theory, but closers are pretty volatile. Guys get hurt or they fall off a cliff out of nowhere seemingly every season. Also, your league may have appearance restrictions so too many relievers may mean you run out of appearances in September. 

[homer]

To me, fantasy baseball success is greatly determined by how you do after round 10 or so. You have to be able to pick up the guys who are ready to breakout but their draft position is such that you can get them later on. Here is a list you can use or not use of guys you should be able to get a little later in your draft:

Pitchers:

Spencer Schwellenbach

Hunter Brown

Christopher Sanchez

Spencer Arrighetti

Nick Lodolo

Brandon Pfaadt

Bubba Chandler

 

Hitters:

Christian Encarnacion Strand

Matt McLain

TJ Friedl

Heliot Ramos

Michael Toglia

Jung Hoo Lee

Isaac Paredes

Xavier Edwards

Pete Crow Armstrong

 

One thing you can do is look up the ADP (avg draft position) of each guy (usually provided by whatever site you are using) and gauge where someone might go and decide if you can wait to get him.

 

[patrickgpe]

5 hours ago, homer said:

To me, fantasy baseball success is greatly determined by how you do after round 10 or so. You have to be able to pick up the guys who are ready to breakout but their draft position is such that you can get them later on. Here is a list you can use or not use of guys you should be able to get a little later in your draft:

Pitchers:

Spencer Schwellenbach

Hunter Brown

Christopher Sanchez

Spencer Arrighetti

Nick Lodolo

Brandon Pfaadt

Bubba Chandler

 

Hitters:

Christian Encarnacion Strand

Matt McLain

TJ Friedl

Heliot Ramos

Michael Toglia

Jung Hoo Lee

Isaac Paredes

Xavier Edwards

Pete Crow Armstrong

 

One thing you can do is look up the ADP (avg draft position) of each guy (usually provided by whatever site you are using) and gauge where someone might go and decide if you can wait to get him.

 

Thank you since it’s nl only picking sleepers is a key 

[patrickgpe]

6 hours ago, zurch1818 said:

The problem I've had with chasing wins and saves is they are team dependent. Sometimes a closer won't pick up a save in a week...and they occupy a roster spot all the time. Innings and Ks are more reliable. Plus top closers may only pitch 60 to 70 innings in a year. I've gotten pretty good value from free agent pickups of multi inning relievers at a much cheaper cost. The @bulk_guy on Twitter can help with finding bulk relievers.

In our league, wins are 5, quality starts are 3, and saves are 3. Losses are -2 and BS -3. Maybe if the points are more substantial, it could make more sense?  You'll have to figure that out during the course of the year.

I guess if you get points for k’s, starters are more valuable than closers after looking more into it. I’m new to this so trying to figure out a strategy 

[sveumrules]

9 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

I guess if you get points for k’s, starters are more valuable than closers after looking more into it. I’m new to this so trying to figure out a strategy 

Relievers will (theoretically) help your ERA/WHIP a lot more than starters though, so there is a tradeoff there too.

Not sure how your league is structured but I believe last time I played fantasy there were a certain amount of slots that had to be filled by SP/RP each week and also a minimum number of IP you needed on the season to prevent teams from stacking relievers too much.

[zurch1818]

It's pretty normal to get points for Ks and IPs. If you have access to last year's data/look at the projected points for this year, it should give you an idea of what to target on draft day. In our league, you can find really good relievers cheaply. Lots of teams rotate through closers...or someone is bound to get hurt.

6 hours ago, homer said:

To me, fantasy baseball success is greatly determined by how you do after round 10 or so. You have to be able to pick up the guys who are ready to breakout but their draft position is such that you can get them later on.

This is so true. Last year I got Chourio at #127 and Jackson Merrill as a free agent right before the first game. This year I got Chourio at #33. Maybe a little to high? We will find out.

Our league is nice where you get two keepers and you can only keep someone three times. Ohtani was on the draft board last year because of this. For this year, I kept Tarik Skubal and Gunnar Henderson and rolled the dice on Chourio. Maybe I will be able to keep him an extra year now?

[patrickgpe]

26 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Relievers will (theoretically) help your ERA/WHIP a lot more than starters though, so there is a tradeoff there too.

Not sure how your league is structured but I believe last time I played fantasy there were a certain amount of slots that had to be filled by SP/RP each week and also a minimum number of IP you needed on the season to prevent teams from stacking relievers too much.

R)	1
Hits (H)	1
Singles (1B)	1
Doubles (2B)	2
Triples (3B)	3
Home Runs (HR)	4
Runs Batted In (RBI)	1
Stolen Bases (SB)	2
Caught Stealing (CS)	-1
Walks (BB)	1
Intentional Walks (IBB)	1
Hit By Pitch (HBP)	1
Hitting for the Cycle (CYC)	10
Grand Slam Home Runs (SLAM)	5

Pitchers Stat Category	Value
Wins (W)	10
Losses (L)	-4
Complete Games (CG)	10
Shutouts (SHO)	10
Saves (SV)	8
Outs (OUT)	.5
Hits (H)	-1
Earned Runs (ER)	-1
Walks (BB)	-.5
Hit Batters (HBP)	-.5
Strikeouts (K)	3
Holds (HLD)	3
No Hitters (NH)	10
Perfect Games (PG)	10
Blown Saves (BSV)	-4

[sveumrules]

30 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

R)	1
Hits (H)	1
Singles (1B)	1
Doubles (2B)	2
Triples (3B)	3
Home Runs (HR)	4
Runs Batted In (RBI)	1
Stolen Bases (SB)	2
Caught Stealing (CS)	-1
Walks (BB)	1
Intentional Walks (IBB)	1
Hit By Pitch (HBP)	1
Hitting for the Cycle (CYC)	10
Grand Slam Home Runs (SLAM)	5

Pitchers Stat Category	Value
Wins (W)	10
Losses (L)	-4
Complete Games (CG)	10
Shutouts (SHO)	10
Saves (SV)	8
Outs (OUT)	.5
Hits (H)	-1
Earned Runs (ER)	-1
Walks (BB)	-.5
Hit Batters (HBP)	-.5
Strikeouts (K)	3
Holds (HLD)	3
No Hitters (NH)	10
Perfect Games (PG)	10
Blown Saves (BSV)	-4

Oh man, that is a lot to try and internalize.

1/2 a point for every out definitely favors starters who would get 7.5 points for an "average" outing of 5 IP versus relievers only getting 1.5 points for an "average" outing of 1 IP.

The -4 points for a loss is kind of interesting too. On a leaguewide level last year starting pitchers went 1,424 W - 1,584 L, whereas relievers came in at 1,005 W - 845 L, so wins/losses were awarded more favorably to relievers on a ratio basis anyway.

[homer]

59 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

R)	1
Hits (H)	1
Singles (1B)	1
Doubles (2B)	2
Triples (3B)	3
Home Runs (HR)	4
Runs Batted In (RBI)	1
Stolen Bases (SB)	2
Caught Stealing (CS)	-1
Walks (BB)	1
Intentional Walks (IBB)	1
Hit By Pitch (HBP)	1
Hitting for the Cycle (CYC)	10
Grand Slam Home Runs (SLAM)	5

Pitchers Stat Category	Value
Wins (W)	10
Losses (L)	-4
Complete Games (CG)	10
Shutouts (SHO)	10
Saves (SV)	8
Outs (OUT)	.5
Hits (H)	-1
Earned Runs (ER)	-1
Walks (BB)	-.5
Hit Batters (HBP)	-.5
Strikeouts (K)	3
Holds (HLD)	3
No Hitters (NH)	10
Perfect Games (PG)	10
Blown Saves (BSV)	-4

Nice. thanks for that. So just looking at hitters, there is no penalty for strikeouts. That's good as that can take a dude who hits a lot of home runs and drop him to average pretty quick.

[patrickgpe]

15 minutes ago, homer said:

Nice. thanks for that. So just looking at hitters, there is no penalty for strikeouts. That's good as that can take a dude who hits a lot of home runs and drop him to average pretty quick.

Thanks for the tip 

[patrickgpe]

40 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Oh man, that is a lot to try and internalize.

1/2 a point for every out definitely favors starters who would get 7.5 points for an "average" outing of 5 IP versus relievers only getting 1.5 points for an "average" outing of 1 IP.

The -4 points for a loss is kind of interesting too. On a leaguewide level last year starting pitchers went 1,424 W - 1,584 L, whereas relievers came in at 1,005 W - 845 L, so wins/losses were awarded more favorably to relievers on a ratio basis anyway.

It is a lot, that’s why I came here to see what others thought that have done it. I think it makes sense to go heavy sp early. Since it’s my first year I can see how it goes and adjust a strategy next year after seeing how things go, 

[zurch1818]

You buried the lead with not posting the scoring system.

For pitching...Wow...3 points for a strikeout, yes please. Facing 3 batters and striking out the side is basically worth a win. A reliever won't even come near that performance on average. A pitcher that gets 10 Ks in a matchup can carry you in a matchup  Load up on Ohtani, Skenes, and Wheeler and any strikeout pitcher possible.

For batting, I agree with the above. I find it interesting that a hit is worth a point. You could just increase the point count by one for all the others and make it less confusing.