For some of us, our fantasy baseball drafts have already come and gone, which is very sad. But for others, it’s just now beginning. In parts 1 – 4 we discussed league rules, fantasy baseball sleepers, fantasy busts, personnel changes and injuries. Now we’re going to look at the last part of our draft prep section that covers using a tiering strategy with your cheat sheets and my favorite, choosing exact targets.
Using your cheat sheet in conjunction with a tiering strategy is very simple. The basic premise is that you break down each position into separate tiers based upon the value you perceive each player to represent (the stats you expect them to end-up with). Jut grab your cheat sheet and draw a line below each tier or group. For example: What would the first two tiers at SS look like for 2008?
Cheat Sheet (SS) Tier 1
1. Jose Reyes 1. Jose Reyes
2. Jimmy Rollins 2. Jimmy Rollins
3. Hanley Ramirez 3. Hanley Ramirez
4. Troy Tulowitzki Tier 2
5. Miguel Tejada 4. Troy Tulowitzki
5. Miguel Tejada
So what I’m saying in the tiers I created above is that I’m indifferent on having either Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins or Hanley Ramirez, as they’re all rated tier 1 to me. And the same goes for Miguel Tejada and Troy Tulowitzki as they’re both tier 2. Tiering will help you make decisions as to who to draft in each round by objectively presenting you with a clear view of the best value still available at any given point. You can either develop your own tiers or get a fantasy baseball mag that provides tiers for you.
Each and every year I go into my fantasy baseball drafts with some personal favorites that I just have to have on my team…exact targets if you will. Some of them are players that I’ve been following through their progression in the minors, some are rookies or second year players who’ve impressed me and some are just older veterans whom I think could surprise this year.
Either way, these players can sometimes be the most important part in building a championship fantasy baseball team.
Now when we talk about exact targets, I’m not referring to players like Alex Rodriguez, Johan Santana or Matt Holliday. Those guys are obvious no-brainers and first round picks. I’m talking about players who will be taken in the middle to late rounds like Phil Hughes, Michael Bourn, Manny Corpas or Andy Pettitte. These are the picks that are going to determine your fate. Start by making a list of 20 – 25 of your favorite picks or exact targets for the 2008 fantasy baseball season. The reason you’ll select 20 – 25 is because you’ll realistically only be able to get about 10 – 15 of them and it’s nice to have some back-ups. You should expect to begin drafting these exact targets after round 5 or so on draft day. The reason I say after round five is because your first five picks should be guys whose yearly statistics are all but set in stone for 2008 (Never ever take a gamble with one of your first five picks. We’ll talk more about this in my next column that deals with draft strategy). Here’s the exact targets I ended-up with in one of my leagues:
Round Taken (pick) Player
7. (70) Joe Mauer C
8. (71) Billy Wagner RP
9. (90) Roy Halladay SP
10. (91) Daisuke Matsuzaka SP
11. (110) Tim Lincecum SP
12. (111) Rickie Weeks 2B
13. (130) Manny Corpas RP
14. (131) James Loney 1B
15. (150) Michael Bourn OF
16. (151) Phil Hughes SP
18. (171) Clay Buchholz SP
19. (190) Andy Pettitte SP
20. (191) Randy Johnson SP
21. (210) J.D. Drew OF
22. (211) Justin Upton OF
23. (230) Ian Kennedy SP
So what did my top 6 picks look like?
Round Taken (pick) Player
1. (10) Miguel Cabrera 3B
2. (11) Grady Sizemore OF
3. (30) Mark Teixeira 1B
4. (31) Manny Ramírez OF
5. (50) Robinson Canó 2B
6. (51) Hunter Pence OF
Not too shabby huh? That’s why developing your exact targets list, cheat sheet and tiers are so important. They enabled me to get the players I wanted when I wanted. Check back Wednesday and I’ll go over my 2008 fantasy baseball draft strategy and how to put your exact targets list, cheat sheet and tiers into effect so you can end-up with a kick ass team.
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Draft Bible Part 1
Draft Bible Part 2
Draft Bible Part 3
Draft Bible Part 4