Plain and simple, i do not draft for positional scarcity. I draft to fill categories, and take whoever is left at the end of the draft. I saw the most rediculous pick in a mock draft yesterday. At Pick 14 overall a manager selected Brandon Phillips. Now there is nothing wrong with that. Phillips should go 25/25 and he plays at a weak position. However the fact that the manager passed over Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Braun makes it rediculous. You could wait 10 more rounds and grab a second baseman with more speed. So here is my theory on drafting for the scarce positions.
Catcher- This is the one position that you can maybe justify spending a third round pick to ecure one of the best. Victor Martinez and Russell Martin are head and shoulders above every other catcher. If these guys dont come up at the right time, i would suggest grabbing J.R. Towels. However one downfall of many fantasy managers is waiting to the very end to secure their catchers, and they end up with two guys who hit .240 with no power and speed.
SS- Jimmy Rollins is the only SS i would consider picking in the 1st round. He does everything. Reyes will only help you in SB, and Ramirez has injury risks. Skip over the next tier. Instead i would suggest grabbing Furcal or Young in the middle rounds. I dont beileve in F. Lopez the way Mike does, he will kill your average. But Theriot who can guarentee you 30sb along with Carlos Guillen if he falls into the 6th round would make good picks.
2b- Utley does not excite me. He is head and shoulders above all the other second basemen, but he does not dominate any categories. Dont be tempted to pick him or Phillips over a power guy. Aaron Hill is my personal recomendation to fill the 2b void. I guarentee he will hit around .300 with at least 20 HR. Kaz Matsui and Placido Polanco are also attractive options to secure categories.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
HR Draft Tool
Everyone seems enamored with projecting speed these days. Every year Mikey comes out with a Stolen Bases draft tool, but why no Homeruns? If you think about it, Homeruns are a better indicator of rotisiree value than Stolen bases. A player who clobbers HRs will inevitably suceed in AT LEAST 3 categories, where a speedster can only guarentee 2 categories. So i thought it would be useful to post a Homerun draft tool. If nothing else it should give you a quick look at which guys will be able to carry you to the 300 HR mark in 2008.
Note: I am basing all these tiers on POTENTIAL. I am giving guys the benefit of the doubt. That is not to say that these projections are lofty however. I am just saying that these "tiers" are the amount of production that you can reasonably expect.
Tier 1 (50+ HR Potential)
1. Ryan Howard
2. Prince Fielder
- These guys should be gone by the end of the first round. Both will contribute nicley in R and RBI on top of this. Given the choice i would take Fielder. Fielder is a contact hitter who does not strike out as much as Howard. His ceiling is also higher. I think we may have seen the best from Howard two seasons ago. Dont be suprised if you get a .270 avg from him. He earned it.
Tier 2 (40-45 Hr Potential)
3. Albert Pujols
4. Mark Texiera
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Lance Berkman
6. David Ortiz
7. Carlos Pena
8. Adam Dunn
9. Ryan Bruan
- If you dont take a Howard or a Fielder and the first round and go for Santana or a speedster instead i would suggest grabbing two of the guys in the second tier. Texiera is one of my favorite players this year. All of his stats and his fly ball% rose when he moved to Atlanta this year. I know people are generally down on him because he has been a disspointment the past few year, but i really belive that he could join the first tier this year. Pujols and A-rod are perenial early first round picks. However dont grab them expecting them to hit you 50Hr. They should both grab around 45. I think Lance Berkan is an attractive 3rd or late second round pick. He hit 23 HR in the 2nd half of last season compared to the 11 in the first half. That tells the story. Dunn and Pena should net about 40 hr each. Dont be too afraid of their average. Just make sure you grab a guy with a superb average to cancel them out.
Tier 3 (30-39 Hr Potential)
9. Matt Holiday
10. Miguel Cabrera
11. Carlos Lee
12. Alfonso Soriano
13. David Wright
14. Chase Utley
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Vlad Guererro
17. Jimmy Rollins
18. Travis Hafner
19. Manny Ramirez
20. Justin Morneau
21. Aramis Ramirez
22. Pat Burell
+ Dereck Lee
- With a few exceptions, those guys could finish in any order. However, the point i am trying to make is that if you snag two of those guys in addition to either two guys in tier 2 or one guy in tier one..you will have roughly half your Homerun potential in 3 Picks. You could even have more if you "load up" on power.
Lets take this potential draft i am coming up with off the top of my head for example. We will focus on the power.
You have the 5th Pick:
1st round- David Wright- 30 Hr in the bank
2nd round Mark Texiera- 45 Hr in the bank
3rd round- David Ortiz slips another 40 Hr
4th round- Go speed here. Pick up a Chone Figgins or a Brian Robers (who can also hit 20)
5th round- Go for the knock out and take Pena or Dunn
- So potentially you could have more than half of your Hr hole filled in your first 5 rounds while still picking guys with speed (Wright/Roberts/Figgins). That is why it is important to resist the temptation of chosing a closer early or staring pitchers.
Tier 4 (20-29 Hr Potential)
23. Hanley Ramirez
24. Grady sizemore
25. Brandon Phillips
26. BJ Upton
27. Nick Markakis
28. Victor Martinez
29. Russell Martin
30. Curtis Granderson
31. Alex Rios
32. Bobby Abreu
33. Torri Hunter
34. Delmon Young
35. Garett Atkins
36. Troy Tulowitski
37. Dan Uggla
38. Jason Bay
39. Adrian Gonzalez
40. Ian Kinsler
41. Paul Konerko
42. Hideki Matsui
43. Brad Hawpe
44. Jermaine Dye (Who i belive will come back and COULD hit 35)
45. Jim Thome (Will hit 30+ if he stays healthy, but my bet is that he does not)
46. Adrian Beltre
- There are probably more of these guys. And most of them are interchangable. So what was the point of that tier. Plain and simple, it was to demonstrate that NONE of those guys will eclipse 30 hr on my projections (or very few). Power had been declining in recent years, and if you bank on any of the above guys getting 30+ HR you are in trouble. If you want my personal bets i will say:
- Jermaine Dye wins comeback player of the year and hits 35 HR.
- Jason Bay goes back to old levels and is an excellent value.
- Curtis Granderson approaches 30/30 and becomes a star.
- By the way: Do NOT WRITE OFF ADRIAN BELTRE
Tier 5 (The guys that people think will be power sources but wiil not)
- This is not an actual tier. I dont think it would be useful to sit here and type which guys i think will hit 10 hr and which guys i think will hit 15. Instead i think it would be more useful to tell you which guys WILL NOT produce power this year that are expected to
- Crawford and Reyes- People have been saying for years that these guys will be 20 hr hitters. I have not seen it yet. And we will not in 08 either. Reyes is more likley to break out than Crawford.
- Jeter
- Mauer
- Rickie Weeks- His contact skills are atrocious. They will keep him from fufiling his potential.
- Posada
That concludes my Hr draft tool. If nothing else, it should be a good visual aid for comparing the players in terms of power.
Note: I am basing all these tiers on POTENTIAL. I am giving guys the benefit of the doubt. That is not to say that these projections are lofty however. I am just saying that these "tiers" are the amount of production that you can reasonably expect.
Tier 1 (50+ HR Potential)
1. Ryan Howard
2. Prince Fielder
- These guys should be gone by the end of the first round. Both will contribute nicley in R and RBI on top of this. Given the choice i would take Fielder. Fielder is a contact hitter who does not strike out as much as Howard. His ceiling is also higher. I think we may have seen the best from Howard two seasons ago. Dont be suprised if you get a .270 avg from him. He earned it.
Tier 2 (40-45 Hr Potential)
3. Albert Pujols
4. Mark Texiera
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Lance Berkman
6. David Ortiz
7. Carlos Pena
8. Adam Dunn
9. Ryan Bruan
- If you dont take a Howard or a Fielder and the first round and go for Santana or a speedster instead i would suggest grabbing two of the guys in the second tier. Texiera is one of my favorite players this year. All of his stats and his fly ball% rose when he moved to Atlanta this year. I know people are generally down on him because he has been a disspointment the past few year, but i really belive that he could join the first tier this year. Pujols and A-rod are perenial early first round picks. However dont grab them expecting them to hit you 50Hr. They should both grab around 45. I think Lance Berkan is an attractive 3rd or late second round pick. He hit 23 HR in the 2nd half of last season compared to the 11 in the first half. That tells the story. Dunn and Pena should net about 40 hr each. Dont be too afraid of their average. Just make sure you grab a guy with a superb average to cancel them out.
Tier 3 (30-39 Hr Potential)
9. Matt Holiday
10. Miguel Cabrera
11. Carlos Lee
12. Alfonso Soriano
13. David Wright
14. Chase Utley
15. Carlos Beltran
16. Vlad Guererro
17. Jimmy Rollins
18. Travis Hafner
19. Manny Ramirez
20. Justin Morneau
21. Aramis Ramirez
22. Pat Burell
+ Dereck Lee
- With a few exceptions, those guys could finish in any order. However, the point i am trying to make is that if you snag two of those guys in addition to either two guys in tier 2 or one guy in tier one..you will have roughly half your Homerun potential in 3 Picks. You could even have more if you "load up" on power.
Lets take this potential draft i am coming up with off the top of my head for example. We will focus on the power.
You have the 5th Pick:
1st round- David Wright- 30 Hr in the bank
2nd round Mark Texiera- 45 Hr in the bank
3rd round- David Ortiz slips another 40 Hr
4th round- Go speed here. Pick up a Chone Figgins or a Brian Robers (who can also hit 20)
5th round- Go for the knock out and take Pena or Dunn
- So potentially you could have more than half of your Hr hole filled in your first 5 rounds while still picking guys with speed (Wright/Roberts/Figgins). That is why it is important to resist the temptation of chosing a closer early or staring pitchers.
Tier 4 (20-29 Hr Potential)
23. Hanley Ramirez
24. Grady sizemore
25. Brandon Phillips
26. BJ Upton
27. Nick Markakis
28. Victor Martinez
29. Russell Martin
30. Curtis Granderson
31. Alex Rios
32. Bobby Abreu
33. Torri Hunter
34. Delmon Young
35. Garett Atkins
36. Troy Tulowitski
37. Dan Uggla
38. Jason Bay
39. Adrian Gonzalez
40. Ian Kinsler
41. Paul Konerko
42. Hideki Matsui
43. Brad Hawpe
44. Jermaine Dye (Who i belive will come back and COULD hit 35)
45. Jim Thome (Will hit 30+ if he stays healthy, but my bet is that he does not)
46. Adrian Beltre
- There are probably more of these guys. And most of them are interchangable. So what was the point of that tier. Plain and simple, it was to demonstrate that NONE of those guys will eclipse 30 hr on my projections (or very few). Power had been declining in recent years, and if you bank on any of the above guys getting 30+ HR you are in trouble. If you want my personal bets i will say:
- Jermaine Dye wins comeback player of the year and hits 35 HR.
- Jason Bay goes back to old levels and is an excellent value.
- Curtis Granderson approaches 30/30 and becomes a star.
- By the way: Do NOT WRITE OFF ADRIAN BELTRE
Tier 5 (The guys that people think will be power sources but wiil not)
- This is not an actual tier. I dont think it would be useful to sit here and type which guys i think will hit 10 hr and which guys i think will hit 15. Instead i think it would be more useful to tell you which guys WILL NOT produce power this year that are expected to
- Crawford and Reyes- People have been saying for years that these guys will be 20 hr hitters. I have not seen it yet. And we will not in 08 either. Reyes is more likley to break out than Crawford.
- Jeter
- Mauer
- Rickie Weeks- His contact skills are atrocious. They will keep him from fufiling his potential.
- Posada
That concludes my Hr draft tool. If nothing else, it should be a good visual aid for comparing the players in terms of power.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Is "Loading Up" a Good Idea?
Isnt the point of roto to gain the most points in the most categories? It is. So, how can Mikey justify spending his firt four picks on all power guys? Wouldnt that leave him vulnerable in the speed department. The best justification i can use for "loading up" on a category is; NOTHING IS A SURE THING IN FANTASY BASEBALL!
Whatever your argument may be, the reality is that a stud power hitter will contribute to your team in 4 categories while Jose Reyes for example will only contribute heavily to 2. Think about it. What are you REALLY paying for in Jose Reyes. His 70 sb potential, thats what i thought. But the reality of the situation is that you can EASILY snag 2 35ish sb guys at the end of the draft. Who can be a potential 40 hr hitter at the end of the draft? The answer is noone.
Heres examples of speedsters you should be able to snag if you "load up" on power in the beginning of the draft and grab speed later:
Dave Roberts- Late pick, at least 30 sb
Brian Roberts- A GREAT 6th round pick because he will steal you 40 bags, hit for avg, and will have pop.
Victorino- 8-10th Round..Should be good for 40sb
Kaz Matusi- Should get 25-30
If you want to use an earlier middle round pick..Figgin and Pierre are almost locks for 50.
Eric Byrnes- 35-40
Jacoby Ellsbury<- If your not playing with Boston fans he should give you at least 30 sb in the middle rounds.
Willy Tavares- 40 sb capability
Rafael Furcal- My comeback player of the year. Should go for at least 30 and will contribute across the board.
Those are just a few. My point is that i could keep listing them off. You wont find that many power sources in the later rounds. Therefore spending your first few picks on hitting is an excellent strategy.
Also a shoutout to my friend dave who compiling a fantasy baseball magazine list on his blog..... http://www.brockforbroglio.com/2008/01/19/2008-fantasy-baseball-guides-books-and-magazines/
Thats a very useful tool!
Whatever your argument may be, the reality is that a stud power hitter will contribute to your team in 4 categories while Jose Reyes for example will only contribute heavily to 2. Think about it. What are you REALLY paying for in Jose Reyes. His 70 sb potential, thats what i thought. But the reality of the situation is that you can EASILY snag 2 35ish sb guys at the end of the draft. Who can be a potential 40 hr hitter at the end of the draft? The answer is noone.
Heres examples of speedsters you should be able to snag if you "load up" on power in the beginning of the draft and grab speed later:
Dave Roberts- Late pick, at least 30 sb
Brian Roberts- A GREAT 6th round pick because he will steal you 40 bags, hit for avg, and will have pop.
Victorino- 8-10th Round..Should be good for 40sb
Kaz Matusi- Should get 25-30
If you want to use an earlier middle round pick..Figgin and Pierre are almost locks for 50.
Eric Byrnes- 35-40
Jacoby Ellsbury<- If your not playing with Boston fans he should give you at least 30 sb in the middle rounds.
Willy Tavares- 40 sb capability
Rafael Furcal- My comeback player of the year. Should go for at least 30 and will contribute across the board.
Those are just a few. My point is that i could keep listing them off. You wont find that many power sources in the later rounds. Therefore spending your first few picks on hitting is an excellent strategy.
Also a shoutout to my friend dave who compiling a fantasy baseball magazine list on his blog..... http://www.brockforbroglio.com/2008/01/19/2008-fantasy-baseball-guides-books-and-magazines/
Thats a very useful tool!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Reflection of 07 Strategy AND Early 08 Strategy!!
Take The Fantasy Man League The Superior Mendoza Swingers for instance. Like thousands of other fantasy managers, i did my homework. I came up with a clear strategy. I knew the players i wanted to target. I got most of them. Again,like thousands of other fantasy players i wound up in 5th place. Out of the money. A less than desirable finishing.
In 2007 i used a variation of the BaseballHQ LIMA plan. I focussed on dominating the offense, and picked high skill (ERA/WHIP/K) pitchers in the later rounds. I did not focus on these pitchers current roles on their teams. I knew that they had good skills, and i just hoped that they would work out. Funny thing. They did.
Here is a look at my 2007 draft (keeper league)
1. Jose Reyes
2. Matt Holiday
3. Andruw Jones
4. Chone Figgins
5. Jim Thome
6. Adam Laroche
7. Delmon Young
8. Torri Hunter
9. Edgar Rentaria
10. Jeff Kent
11. Javier Vazquez
12. Jose VAlverde
13. Aj Burnett
14. Jonathan Broxton
15. Scott Shields
16. Kelvin Escobar
17. Ivan Rodriguez
18. Josh Willingham
19. Kenny Lofton
20. Taylor Tankersly
21. Manny Corpas
22. Mike Jacobs
23. Scott Linenbrink
24. Kiko Calero
25. Omar Vizquel
26. Rafael Soriano
27.Dutin Pedrioia
28. Jeremy Accardo
29.Manny Delcamen
30. Craig Bigio.
Let me point out a few things about my team in this draft that exemplify the strategy on waiting on high skill pitchers.
1. Without drafting a pitcher until round 11 i was able to have the 4th highest scoring pitching staff in an ultra competitive league.
2. While drafting one closer with a job (The overlooked Jose Valverde) and relying on the extremley undervalued guys who got oppurtunities (Accardo/Corpas)i scored 11 points in Saves.
3. Although i finished in the cellar of the wins category (Which i expected to) by only drafting 3 starters Vazquez Escobar and Burnett (Who all had great years)i gained 11 points in ERA and WHIP.
-- As far as pitching goes i would continue to endorse LIMA guys (High skills maybe not jobs)to make up the majority of your staff. Dont worry i will get to the LIMA guys for this year soon enough. As for closers go, i think my team in the Superior Mendoza Swingers perfectly exemplifies where you're team can go without spending a top pick on a closer. To be more competitive in W/K i realized that i need to get either a true staff anchor or a couple more starters.
So how did i finish in 5th place with this underrated pitching staff?
My Offense.
Although by implimenting my strategy i hoped to dominate the offensive categories, i most certainly did not. In fact for spending my first 10 picks on offense, it was atrocious.
To be fair, i will admit that i was wrong and was unlucky enough to have:
1. Andruw Jones
2. Adam Laroche
3. Chone Figgins
4. Delmon Young
5. Jeff Kent
produce less than i expected.
So you would think i would learn from my mistakes. Not at all! This year i will focus even harder on building an impenatrbale hitting unit and continue to focus on LIMA pitchers. With a year of this strategy under my belt, 08 is the year that i think i can get it to work the way i want it to.
In 2007 i used a variation of the BaseballHQ LIMA plan. I focussed on dominating the offense, and picked high skill (ERA/WHIP/K) pitchers in the later rounds. I did not focus on these pitchers current roles on their teams. I knew that they had good skills, and i just hoped that they would work out. Funny thing. They did.
Here is a look at my 2007 draft (keeper league)
1. Jose Reyes
2. Matt Holiday
3. Andruw Jones
4. Chone Figgins
5. Jim Thome
6. Adam Laroche
7. Delmon Young
8. Torri Hunter
9. Edgar Rentaria
10. Jeff Kent
11. Javier Vazquez
12. Jose VAlverde
13. Aj Burnett
14. Jonathan Broxton
15. Scott Shields
16. Kelvin Escobar
17. Ivan Rodriguez
18. Josh Willingham
19. Kenny Lofton
20. Taylor Tankersly
21. Manny Corpas
22. Mike Jacobs
23. Scott Linenbrink
24. Kiko Calero
25. Omar Vizquel
26. Rafael Soriano
27.Dutin Pedrioia
28. Jeremy Accardo
29.Manny Delcamen
30. Craig Bigio.
Let me point out a few things about my team in this draft that exemplify the strategy on waiting on high skill pitchers.
1. Without drafting a pitcher until round 11 i was able to have the 4th highest scoring pitching staff in an ultra competitive league.
2. While drafting one closer with a job (The overlooked Jose Valverde) and relying on the extremley undervalued guys who got oppurtunities (Accardo/Corpas)i scored 11 points in Saves.
3. Although i finished in the cellar of the wins category (Which i expected to) by only drafting 3 starters Vazquez Escobar and Burnett (Who all had great years)i gained 11 points in ERA and WHIP.
-- As far as pitching goes i would continue to endorse LIMA guys (High skills maybe not jobs)to make up the majority of your staff. Dont worry i will get to the LIMA guys for this year soon enough. As for closers go, i think my team in the Superior Mendoza Swingers perfectly exemplifies where you're team can go without spending a top pick on a closer. To be more competitive in W/K i realized that i need to get either a true staff anchor or a couple more starters.
So how did i finish in 5th place with this underrated pitching staff?
My Offense.
Although by implimenting my strategy i hoped to dominate the offensive categories, i most certainly did not. In fact for spending my first 10 picks on offense, it was atrocious.
To be fair, i will admit that i was wrong and was unlucky enough to have:
1. Andruw Jones
2. Adam Laroche
3. Chone Figgins
4. Delmon Young
5. Jeff Kent
produce less than i expected.
So you would think i would learn from my mistakes. Not at all! This year i will focus even harder on building an impenatrbale hitting unit and continue to focus on LIMA pitchers. With a year of this strategy under my belt, 08 is the year that i think i can get it to work the way i want it to.
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