FSRU has provided the first "draft day cheat sheet" for 2002. You can bet it won't be the last. Do your homework! By the end of February there will be a cheat sheet on every fantasy baseball website and countless books comparing every player at every position. Compare a few of them and you will get an idea of where the players rank at a position (or in bid leagues, what each player is worth at draft time). If Sosa is listed between $30-$32 in every list you see, chances are good that he will go in your draft in that range. If the bidding is stopping at $27 in your league, go to $28. If the bidding has reached $34, you will know to let him go and move on to another player.
2. Track Off-Season Trades and Free Agents
Player movement is vital to your preparation. Players who are penciled in at a starting position in October (Todd Zeile/ Dave Veres/ Wes Helms) can quickly lose their starting jobs when a team makes a trade or signs a free agent. Their value will drop accordingly.
3. In bid leagues - Spend about 65%-70% on Hitting
Starting position players are more durable than pitchers and their stats are consistently more reliable than starting pitching from year to year. Even the great Pedro cannot beat this rule. If you are going to spend on pitching, I recommend you spend on the closers. You draft your offense and "manage" your pitching throughout the year. If you have a $270 cap for your team, spending $180 - $190 on your offense is about right.
4. Know your stadiums
When deciding between players on draft day, it is important to consider where they play. Everyone knows that hitters thrive in Colorado, Houston, Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, New York (Yankee Stadium) and Milwaukee. These are preferred stadiums to have your hitters call home. When your looking for pitching, the recommended parks are in Los Angeles, New York (Shea), Montreal, San Francisco, Anaheim, Kansas City and Oakland.
5. In bid leagues - Bid up the superstars
In the beginning of the draft, everyone has money and is anxious. There are superstars that will be overpriced, aging veterans, local players and players coming off of an injury that have been popular over the years and are great to get some "money" off of the table. Ken Griffey Jr, Glavine, Shaw, Palmeiro, Justice, Bichette, Wells and Roberto Hernandez have all been roto-studs in the past and depending on how competitive your league is, will likely be overpriced at the beginning of the draft. But don't be the one caught overpaying!
6. Draft at least one multi-position player
There are many players in both leagues that qualify in at least two (or three) different positions. They can usually be had at the end of the draft and are invaluable to a team for flexibility once the injuries start (and they will). In the National League, I recommend Pujols (ok, he won't be at the end), Polanco, Helms, Castro, Norton, Millar, Loretta, Blum and Relaford. In the American League, Paquette, Gil, Spiezio, Conine, Valentin, Cabrerra, Macias, Hocking, Valarde and McLemore are all quality players who can offer you great flexibility until your superstar's hang nail grows back so that he can play.
7. Draft pitchers with good K to IP Ratio
As you do your research, and if you have read this far you already started, you will want to draft pitchers who have close to (or better than ) a 1:1 ratio of strikeouts to innings pitched. They will help with more than strikeouts, they will also help with ERA and Ratio over a season. They keep the defense on their toes and tend to have fewer walks per game.
8. When in doubt, take power over speed
Home Runs and RBI's are more difficult to control over the long season than Stolen Bases. You can always trade from a known strength to pick up steals during the year and make up points quickly. If you fall too far behind in the Home Runs or RBI's the fat lady will be warming up her voice around Memorial Day. Don't even try to control Batting Average!
9. Forget Rookies -Especially Pitchers
I know about Kerry Wood, and I catch a lot of heat on this one, but for every Kerry Wood, there are ten Jason Grilli's. The can't miss prospect that is going to set the league on it's ass. Future 'stars' such as Bill Pulsipher, Carl Pavano, Rob Bell, Tony Armas Jr, Britt Rheams and Paul Wilson were roto-death. How many more years are Corey Patterson, Alex Escobar, Kurt Ainsworth and Ricky Ledee going to be can't miss prospects.
10. Watch Spring Training
There will be injuries and many players who fall in and out of favor by opening day. It will determine starters at every position by April 1st. Keep one eye on the boxscores and the the other on transactions. Have a beer and be sure to use a pencil. This is the best time of the year. Enjoy it.
