How To Win Fantasy Baseball: 10 Ways To Do It
1. Quest for value: Research is a big part of fantasy baseball. You have to find players with potential who are on the rise or veteran players who are low ranked but still have something left in their tank.
2. Practice Mock Drafts: It is said that practice makes perfect is true of everything. It’s no different for fantasy baseball drafts. Do at least 5 mock drafts before doing a real one and you should be good to go. Learn from your mistakes in mock drafts.
3. Get sleepers: You can research sleepers from the pros or make up your own. Either way, you should have a fair amount of sleepers in your arsenal come draft day. Many times a sleeper becomes a top player. You want to maximize your chances of getting a top player in the later rounds, which is where sleepers are drafted.
4. Study the rules: Make sure you know all the rules of your league. Know what positions and favorable based on the league setup and use it to your advantage. For example, in leagues that favor hitters, you’ll want to pick a superior hitter over a superior pitcher if presented with the choice. Also be aware of your league’s trade deadline and any waiver limits, if applicable.
5. Know your strong and weak positions: Every year, there are positions that have a lot of good players and others that don’t. For example, the outfield has a lot of good players and you can get them late in the draft, so you might want to wait until later in the draft to pick an OF. However, a position like receiver only has a few great players, and you’ll need to move quickly to get them. If you wait until the end of the draft, you won’t be able to get a good receiver for your team.
6. Check for news at least once a day – Make sure you know a few websites that give you solid updates and analysis. You must know who is hurt and who is hot and who is cold. Relying on just one may not be enough. Sometimes information arrives at a website many hours or even a day before another. That time can make a big difference.
7. Getting good players on good teams: Having a good player on a good team or a bad team makes a big difference. For example, a Yankees pitcher is much better than a Pirates pitcher. This is because the Yankees are a better team with better run support, which means the pitcher is more likely to get a win (and in most leagues, there are big points involved in a win).
8. Really Watch Baseball Games – Don’t just do your research and take everyone’s word for how good a player is. By watching the games live, you can tell what players are slipping or doing well before anyone else. This can give you a step over your opponents. If you wait until news about a player breaks, someone else may have already pulled him off the waiver wire in your league. Watching matches can give you a step up from the competition.
9. Buy low and sell high: This is self-explanatory. Get as many players that you think are underrated as possible. Similarly, trade your overrated players while they’re still worth a lot.
10. Have a playoff plan: It’s always good to be prepared for the future. Sometimes you can dominate a league and then get mad in the playoffs. This is why you need to have a plan come playoff time. Be sure to look for 2 starting pitchers (in weekly leagues), have closers that play a full week against a weak team, and hitters that are healthy and rested to play a full week. You want to be as prepared as possible. Try to prepare as early as possible if you know there is a good chance that you will make it to the league playoffs. All of these things are vital and any little thing you can do to improve your chances counts.