Bradyard

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

I've done fantasy football a couple times (once through CBS) but this is my first year doing fantasy baseball.  I was basically wondering what order the draft normally goes in.  What's your first round pick? A power hitter? What if he's a DH? Santana? An average hitter? A great fielder?  Just what order do you pick in?
Thanks

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Tricky question, because it depends on what kind of league you are in. If it is a Head-to-Head league you are building a team of 9 hitters (one at each position, plus a "utility" which can be someone of any position), 7 pitchers, and 5 reserve slots that can be taken by any player. If you are in a Roto league, you are building a team to compete for statistics. Best win/loss ratio, K/BB ratio, saves, holds, WHIP, ERA etc. for pitchers, and K/BB, hits, HRs, RBI, Runs, etc. for hitters. Roto leagues are usually done by people who been in Fantasy for awhile. H2H is easier and more fun (my opinion).

In these leagues you have a choice of an "Automated draft" or a "Live draft". In a "Live draft" you have to log in, enter your draft room at a pre-set date and time and you draft players to fill your needs at each position, order doesn't matter, you're really just picking the best player available for a roster spot you need to fill (because you need to have at least one player for each position, and at least 7 pitchers). In an "Automated draft" you need to rank each player at each position (there is a link on your fantasy page to "rank your players" you probably had to do it for football) then set what rounds you want what position to be drafted in. CBS will give a pre-set draft order that is usually pretty good, but if there is an area where you feel you want to get to earlier you can move it up in importance.

For example, Starting pitcher is usually the first round that CBS chooses to draft from. Since there are so many good starting pitchreees in MLB I usually choose to move that down to round 2-4 and move up a position like 2B, SS, or 3B where there are fewer impact players available. You have to draft 5 starting pitchers, 2 relief pitchers, and 5 reserve players. You have the flexibility to move what round you want each to be drafted in. Obviously reserves should be the last rounds, and then you have to go on what position you think is most important to pick early, and which have a lot of good players where you can wait until later to draft.

In Fantasy Baseball the basic stats go like this: Hitters- 1pt for RBI, Run scored, Walk, Single. 2pts for Double, Stolen Base. 3pts for Triple. 4pts for HR. So if your batter hits a HR with 2 guys on base you get 4pts for the HR and a point each for the 3rbis and 1pt for the run scored, making it 8 total points on that hit. This makes guys like Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz etc. extremely valueable hitters and usually some of the first people drafted. For Pitchers- 1pt for Strikeout, 2pts per inning pitched, 5pts for complete game, 10 pts for win, save, or shutout. With Pitchers you can also lose points, minus .5 for each hit or walk.

I hope some of that helps!

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

As I'd expect, a very informed response from Bradyard, but I thought I'd add a couple of extra thoughts.

When drafting for fantasy baseball, make sure your first round pick is as safe a bet to contribute as you can.  If there's an injury doubt (Pujols could be one) then let someone else risk them flaming out.  Look at the roster positions in the league you'll be playing in.  Are there two active catchers?  Extra slots for middle infielders or maybe corner infielders?  Does the league differentiate between LF/CF/RF or just require OFs? 

Also look at the scoring categories, and figure out what sort of player gives you the most bang for your buck.  In rotisserie leagues, for example, I always think this tends to mean taking mostly hitters early - because they can contribute fully in all the standard categories, whereas starting pitchers won't get saves and relievers won't get many wins.  Also there is inherently more risk of a pitcher having an injury which keeps them out for most or all of the season. In head-to-head leagues it depends on the scoring system.  In both types you can make a case for Johan Santana being a first rounder, but not too many others - perhaps Peavy in a deep league.

Second top tip - don't overdraft closers, even if the top ones are starting to come off the board.  It's a very volatile position, and quite a few of last year's go-to guys end up as middle relievers by the All-Star Break.

Thirdly consider positional scarcity, but don't be scared by it.  If you've pre-ranked the players (and you should ALWAYS take the time to do this) you will have worked out which 2Bs, SSs etc you like best, but also spend some time thinking in terms of tiers.  Taking shortstops for example, your top three will be - in some order - Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins.  After that there will be a drop-off to the next tier of guys who are of similar fantasy value, so once those three have gone don't rush to draft a shortstop, you can afford to wait.  On the other hand once two have gone it might be a good time to grab the third one.

Fourthly think of projected stats.  Too many people draft teams that would have won last year, seemingly forgetting that you score points based on this year's performance.  Look for breakout guys, bounce-back guys, guys turning 27 (often the year when everything clicks), pitchers in their third season, guys who were dominant in the second half of 2007 but whose weaker first half numbers could put people off them.

Fifthly - have fun, and remember if in doubt - especially in the first 4 or 5 rounds - get the best player available.  You can always trade if you end up with too many 1Bs or whatever.

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Oh Famed Soothsayer of sports...

Looking at the trend of football stats in the past couple of years. As for drafting order on FFball. the RB RB QB was the way to go. Do you think it wise that one should draft RB QB WR RB in order to try and get more of  the elite players at each position, or should you still stock up on RBs first then worry about the middle class pool to sustain a decent lineup?

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Considering the trend in recent years I have been staying away from RB, RB, QB in automated drafts. Every year I do 3 leagues here at CBS, 1 live draft and 2 automated ones. Obviously in a live draft you are able to discern what position you should pick at when you see what's available, but you don't have that ability in an automated draft. What I've done the last two years is the following: League 1; QB, WR, RB, WR, TE, RB, DST, WR, K and then the backups in just about any order. League 2; RB, WR, WR, RB, TE, DST, QB, WR, K and then the backups.

I try to use different approaches in the two leagues, and while I find that both approaches work it should be noted that the top 5 scorers in a standard head to head league last year were QBs, and many people ignore them in the first round (other than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning). I try to take a TE and more importantly a DST AT LEAST a round earlier than usual because a top TE (like Jason Witten or Antonio Gates, both were in the top 40 in pts scored H2H league) can put up as many points as a #1 or #2 WR and most people don't value them as such. A top DST can often score as many points as an average QB or RB, last year the top 8 DST were in the top 20 for points scored in a standard H2H league, ahead of guys like Reggie Wayne and Chad Johnson, yet the automated drafts have them not being picked until the 7th or 8th round. Little things like that make a huge difference in how successful your draft is.

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Oops. I have to redo those two draft orders for my automated leagues (thats what happens when you try to do it late at night).

League 1: QB, WR, RB, TE, WR, DST, WR, RB, K

League 2: RB, WR, WR, TE, RB, DST, WR, QB, K

I forgot to move up my TE and DST rounds the first time!

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Once the top five QB's are gone does it really matter where in the draft you pick up one. I have been dabbling in FFL's for a few years but this is the first year I am paying to be in one. I have used the CBS and ESPN ones to work out the kinks but I have to either grab my number one back and then a QB in round two or it seems that you are left with the middle of the pack. A little advice is welcomed.

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Without knowing the scoring system for your league I can only give you basic info for a standard scoring league here at CBS. In another comment on here, another poster mentioned putting positions into "tiers". He was referring to baseball, but the same strategy works in football. Here's a basic explanation:

If you've pre-ranked the players you know which players you like at what position, and think of what level or "tier" you would put them on. Taking quarterbacks for example; your top tier will be Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. After that there will be a small drop-off to the next tier of guys who are of similar fantasy value (like Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer), and once that "tier" is gone there is a huge dropoff to the next level. So once those top 5 have gone don't rush to draft another QB, you can afford to wait. On the other hand, if three of those guys are taken you may want to consider taking one of the two that are left.

Since you're going to be in a live draft, what you do will really depend on what number pick you are. I usually work out the order that I would take the first round for me it would have been: LaDanian Tomlinson, Tom Brady, Adrian Peterson, Peyton Manning, Brian Westbrook, Tony Romo, Steven Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Drew Brees, Randy Moss, Joseph Addai, and Terrell Owens.

Once I make my first pick I have a better idea of what to do next. If a QB is my first pick I know to go RB or WR next, if my first pick is a RB or WR and there is a top 5 QB left for my 2nd pick I know thats what I want, but if the top 5 QBs are gone I'm going for another RB or WR. Hope that helps!

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

Soothsayer,

Thought I would run my draft by you and get your opinion.

I picked 7th over all.

QB - Roethlisberger - Pit

QB Schaub - Hou

RB- Gore - SF

RB -MJ Drew - Jac

RB - Forte- Chi

WR - Colston - NO

WR - Harrison - Ind

WR - S. Moss - Wash

WR - Bruce - SF

TE - Davis - SF

TE - Watson - NE

D - Seahawks

D - Cardinals

K Brown - StL

Fantasy Advice for the Big Four Leagues: Intro

I'm assuming you start 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, and 1 TE, DST, and K. It looks like a very solid draft. Out of curiousity, what Round did you draft everyone in? I'm assuming Frank Gore in the 1st, Ben Roethlisberger or Marques Colston in the 2nd.

As I look at your team, I don't see a super stud at any position, but I don't see any weaknesses either (which I think is more important).

QB: Roethlisberger is a good QB, he is consistent and coming off of a great year while Schaub is an excellent backup as he has the potential to have a very good year.

RB: Gore should have a bounce back year, and if he is healthy will get a ton of touches (most important stat for RBs is how often they touch the ball). This year should be the year Maurice Jones-Drew starts taking more carries away from Fred Taylor so he should be a very good #2 RB. I like taking a shot at the rookier Forte from the Bears.

WR: Colston should be a fantasy dream at WR with Drew Brees targeting most often and especially in the red zone. Marvin Harrison probably won't be Peyton Manning's favorite target anymore, but he's still capable of being a #1 WR and you have him #2. Santana Moss was disappointing last year, but he has talent so could be a good bounce back year. I don't think Isaac Bruce has much worth anymore, but the 49ers need help at WR, so might work out well.

TE: Vernon Davis is one of the most talented, it will be interesting to see how the QB position works out for the 49ers, he should be their best receiving option. Benjamin Watson is a great backup, if he can stay healthy he's a great red zone target for Tom Brady.

DST: Seahawks will have a pretty good DST, they may not put up a huge amount of points, but they will be very solid. I wouldn't bother keeping the Cardinals DST, you can always pick up a DST from the waiver wire the week you need them, and just pick the DST with the best matchup that week.

K: Brown is a good kicker on what should be a decent offense, but its really hard to tell what you're going to get from kickers.

Overall, I think you have a very good to possibly a great team. If your team stays healthy you certainly should be a playoff team, and on the right week are capable of winning it. Nicely done.