Who to Draft in Your Fantasy Baseball League
Contents
It’s that time of year again. Time to start prepping for your fantasy baseball league. But who should you draft? Get some tips here.
Introduction
Fantasy baseball is a game in which you the participant act as the general manager of a team of real-life Major League Baseball players. You are responsible for drafting, trading, and waiver-wire pickups to assemble a team of players to compete against other fantasy baseball managers in your league.
The object of the game is to score more points than the other teams in your league over the course of a season.Points are awarded for each statistical category (e.g., hits, homeruns, stolen bases, etc.) that your players accumulate during real-life MLB games. The fantasy baseball season mirrors the real-life MLB season, running from Opening Day through the end of the playoffs.
At the end of the season, the team with the most points in each league qualifies for their league’s playoff tournament. The winner of each league’s playoff tournament is crowned that league’s fantasy baseball champion.
What is Fantasy Baseball?
Fantasy baseball is a game in which fans draft players and compete against other fans in a virtual baseball league. The game is usually played online, and participants manage their teams throughout the season, making lineup and roster changes in an attempt to win their league. Fantasy baseball can be a fun and exciting way to follow baseball, and it can also be a great way to make some money.
The game
Fantasy baseball is a game in which participants assemble imaginary teams of real players of Major League Baseball (MLB) and compete against other fantasy owners according to the statistical performance of those players in actual games.
What you need to know
To play fantasy baseball, you first need to understand the basics of the game. Fantasy baseball is a game in which you create your own team of real-life Major League Baseball players and then compete against other teams in your league. The performance of your players in real life determines how well your team does in the fantasy baseball standings.
There are a few different ways to play fantasy baseball. The most popular way is to join a pre-existing league, which can be found online or through friends and family. You can also start your own league with a group of people you know.
Once you’ve joined or started a league, each team will draft players in a snake draft format. In a snake draft, the order of the draft reverses after each round, so the person who picks first in round 1 picks last in round 2, and so on. This continues until all rosters are full.
After the draft, your team will compete against other teams in your league throughout the Major League Baseball season. At the end of the season, the fantasy baseball standings are used to determine which teams make the playoffs. The playoffs follow a single-elimination format, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of the playoffs. The final remaining team is crowned the champion of their fantasy baseball league!
How to Play Fantasy Baseball
In order to play fantasy baseball, you must first understand how the game is played. Fantasy baseball is a game in which real-life baseball players are drafted by fantasy owners and compete against other owner’s teams. The object of the game is to score the most points possible.
Setting up your league
There are a few important things you need to do before setting up your fantasy baseball league. First, you need to decide on the format of your league. There are two main types of fantasy baseball leagues- rotisserie and head-to-head. In a rotisserie league, each team competes against every other team in the league in every statistical category. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the league. In a head-to-head league, each team plays against another team each week, and the winner is determined by who wins the most categories that week.
Once you’ve decided on the format of your league, you need to decide how many teams will be in your league and how many players each team will have. The number of teams in your league will determine how difficult it will be to put together a competitive team. A 12-team league will obviously be more difficult than a 6-team league. The number of players on each team will also affect the difficulty of putting together a competitive team. A standard fantasy baseball roster has 23 or 24 spots for players, but some leagues have as few as 10 spots or as many as 40 spots.
After you’ve decided on the format and size of your league, you need to choose a scoring system. The two most common scoring systems are 5×5 and 6×6. In a 5×5 scoring system, each team is ranked in five offensive categories (runs scored, home runs, RBIs, batting average, and stolen bases) and five pitching categories (wins, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, and saves). In a 6×6 scoring system, an additional category is added for each side- either walks or strikeouts for hitters and wins or losses for pitchers.
Once you’ve chosen a scoring system, you need to choose a draft type. The three most common types of drafts are snake drafts, auction drafts, and linear drafts. In a snake draft, the draft order is reversed after every round so that the person who picks first in round 1 picks last in round 2 and so on. This ensures that everyone gets a fair chance at picking early in the draft while still giving an advantage to those who pick early in odd rounds (since they get both an early pick AND a late pick). In an auction draft, each owner has $200 “virtual” dollars to spend on however many players they want (the minimum is usually 23). Each player goes up for “auction” one at a time and owners can bid whatever amount they want up to their $200 budget (there is usually also a $0 option so that owners can save their money for later). The owner who puts in the highest bid gets that player. In linear drafts (also known as serpentine drafts), the draft order stays the same for every round so that whoever picks first overall picks first in every round (and similarly for whoever picks last overall- they pick last in every round). This can be somewhat unfair since those who pick early have an obvious advantage over those who pick late but it does make things simpler since there is no need to reverse/change the draft order after every round
Drafting your team
It’s finally here. The best time of the year. Baseball season. And with baseball season comes fantasy baseball season. Here is a guide on how to draft your team and who to target in your fantasy baseball league:
When you are in your fantasy baseball draft, there are a few different strategies that you can use when drafting your team. You can go for all power hitters, which is a valid strategy, but you need to be careful that you don’t end up with a team full of strikeouts. You can also go for all speed, but then you might not have enough home runs. A lot of it depends on who is available when you are picking and what kind of players are left.
There are a few different ways that you can approach drafting your team. You can either draft by position or by player. If you draft by position, you will want to make sure that you have all of your bases covered (pun intended). You don’t want to be stuck without a first baseman or third baseman halfway through the season because everyone already drafted them.
If you draft by player, you will want to make sure that you are getting the best player available regardless of position. This is usually the best way to draft because the best players usually end up being the ones who score the most points for your team.
Sometimes it is helpful to make a list of players before the draft so that you have an idea of who you want on your team. This way, if someone else drafts one of your top players, you will still have a plan and know who else you want on your team.
Here are some specific players who are great picks for your fantasy baseball team:
-Mookie Betts (OF): Betts is one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball and he will give you a good mix of power and speed. He is also eligible for multiple positions, which is always helpful.
-Javier Baez (2B/SS): Baez is another player who is eligible for multiple positions and he provides good power and speed numbers. He also had a great 2018 season and should continue to be one of the top fantasy baseball players in 2019.
-Mike Trout (OF): Trout is arguably the best player in Major League Baseball and he will give you elite numbers in every offensive category. He is definitely worth taking with one of your early picks
Who to Draft in Your Fantasy Baseball League
If you’re in a fantasy baseball league, you know that the draft is one of the most important aspects of the season. It’s important to do your research and know who the best players are so you can draft them for your team. In this article, we’ll provide you with some tips on who to draft in your fantasy baseball league.
First Round
The first round of your fantasy baseball league draft is critical. You need to pick a player who will be a difference-maker on your team and help you win games. But who should you take?
There are a few different schools of thought on this. Some people believe that you should draft the best player available, regardless of position. Others believe that you should draft the best player available at a position of need. And still others believe that you should draft the best player available who is also a value pick (i.e., someone who is being drafted later than they should be).
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which strategy is best for your team. But here are a few players to keep in mind for the first round of your draft:
Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels: Trout is widely considered to be the best player in fantasy baseball and he should be one of the first players off the board in every draft. He’s a five-tool player who can do it all, and he’s just entering his prime at age 27. Trout is a no-brainer first-round pick.
Mookie Betts, OF, Boston Red Sox: Betts is another five-tool player who can do it all for your fantasy team. He’s just 26 years old and he’s coming off back-to-back seasons with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBIs. Betts is an elite fantasy outfielder who should be taken in the first round of every draft.
Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros: Altuve is one of the best hitters in baseball, period. He’s a career .313 hitter with four 200+ hit seasons under his belt. Altuve also has some pop in his bat, as evidenced by his career-high 24 home runs last season. He’s also stolen double-digit bases in each of the last six seasons. Altuve is an elite fantasy second baseman who should be taken early in drafts.
Christian Yelich, OF, Milwaukee Brewers: Yelich had a breakout season in 2018, hitting .326 with 36 home runs and 110 RBIs while also stealing 22 bases. Yelich has established himself as one of the best hitters in baseball and he’s still just 27 years old. He’s an elite fantasy outfielder who should be taken early in drafts.
Second Round
The second round of your fantasy baseball draft is where you start to see a bit of a drop-off in talent. However, there are still some very good players that can be had in this round. Here are some second-round fantasy baseball draft picks that should be available.
-Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros
-Manny Machado, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
-Brian Dozier, 2B, Minnesota Twins
-Carlos Correa, SS, Houston Astros
-Josh Donaldson, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Third Round
The third round is important because it is usually when the top tier starters come off the board. If you have not drafted a starter yet, this is the round to do it. Aces such as Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, and Felix Hernandez will be available, as well as a few very good #2 starting pitchers. Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels, and Stephen Strasburg are all typically gone by the end of the third round. If you wait any longer to draft a starter, you may be stuck with a subpar pitcher who will hurt your ratios and win total.
In terms of hitters, this is usually when the best everyday players are drafted. Star outfielders such as Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, and Andrew McCutchen will be gone by the end of the third round, as will elite shortstops like Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez. This is also the round where most first basemen are drafted, so if you need help at that position, you should look to draft someone like Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, or Edwin Encarnacion.
Overall, the third round is important because it is typically when the best players at each position are drafted. If you have not drafted a starter or an everyday player yet, this is the round to do it.
Conclusion
So, who should you draft in your fantasy baseball league? The answer, as with most things in baseball, is that it depends. It depends on the format of your league, the scoring system, the size of your league, and a host of other factors. But if you follow the general tips laid out above, you should be able to put together a competitive team that will have a good chance at winning your league.