I am not sure about Machado but I believe Davis will be a lot better than last year. At the end of the year he started coming on strong but then got suspended for not getting the addarall approved. Now he can take it again so I bet he will boost his average. Wieters was hitting the ball very well last year but then got hurt. I never expected much from him because he's such a good defensive catcher but I think you'll be surprised at how good he can be. Bundy probably wont be called up until the expanded rosters in Sept unless we get plagued with injuries.
Let me know if you end up with extra spots. Would be interested in playing. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
This will be my first yr in a fantasy baseball league. Any info or tips that would help a newb like myself?
It's a lot of work if you want to win... A lot different that Fantasy Football as you need to pay attention to your line up every day. It really depends on what type of league you are in as well (H2H, Points league, Roto). I would recommend starting with something simple, such as rankings, etc. Also - Do a lot of mock drafts to get a sense of the average draft position of certain players and what round they are being drafted in. Take for instance Billy Hamilton... IMO he is a terrible fantasy baseball player and is being drafted way higher than what he should be. He is being drafted for his speed... And if you're playing in a categories league (H, RBI, OBP, SB, AVG), he's only helping you in one category and hurting you in 4 others. Billy Hamilton cannot hit. Billy Hamilton hits worse than your half blind, 84 year old grandma. Period. Sorry for the rant. Here is a good resource for anyone starting out: Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit - Free Fantasy Baseball Leagues, Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheets, Rankings and more - Fantasy Baseball - ESPN
I was in a H2H league last year and won the league with about 150 moves. Some guys were upset that I made all those moves but in fantasy baseball you can't get attached to players. You have to keep going with whoever is hot at that time. Don't worry about not drafting well because most likely half your roster at the end of the year will be from waivers. When I drafted for H2H, I focused on drafting for HRs. HRs will give you hits and RBIs. The rest of the categories can be filled with guys on waivers if you have a weakness. Also, draft at least one elite pitcher on H2H. This past year we had 20 categories in H2H, which included saves and blown saves. After awhile I gave up on having RPs because they could potentially lose two matchups. If you have no RPs then you'll always split saves and BS.
We can make this into quite the fantasy baseball debate if we really wanted lol The longer I play, the more I feel 5x5 or 6x6 is best, especially with OBP, Holds, QS. In my league, I got rid of Wins. I am a stathead and really dig into Sabermetrics. My best advice is to try and adjust your pre-draft rankings to your own personal taste, while still taking into account ADP, and then try and form tiers of players in each position. Also, knowing your format is important. Know the categories and know the roster configuration.
I'm in the same boat as you... 5x5 is the best format there is and truly shows who manages the best team. Holds and QS though... Im still sticking with wins and saves. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I keep saves too, and don't mind wins necessarily, but more luck involved. In my league I used Saves+Holds as a category. Also heard of some deeper leagues that do S+H/2
Yeah QS are pretty sweet... I haven't played in a league with QS, but look at a guy like Jeff Samardzija with the cubs. The definition of why QS are a good category. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm in the 5x5 group as well, but I agree with the luck playing into Wins. Some of the players in my league are old fashioned, so it'd be hard to implement more analytical cats. As far as draft pointers go, just familiarize yourself with the players. Do some mocks and figure out what you want your roster to look like. Is there a cap on innings where you can't stream pitchers? Do you want to draft for HR and RBI and let everything else sort itself out? For my league, we have no cap on innings. I generally focus heavily on offense, with an emphasis on power early. Oddly enough, that is the exact reason I like the Billy Hamilton and Dee Gordon types, because they can carry me in steals with just one roster spot. If you pair them with Chris Carter or Mark Trumbo, you now essentially have 2 players that are going to go .240-20-30, I'll take that. For pitching, I do like have one stud to anchor it, but I don't freak if I don't have it. I draft for high K%, and really like grabbing closers for their saves and excellent ratios. I stream pitchers at times also, it gives you 2 cats with W and K and you generally have a fighting chance in ERA and WHIP occasionally if you hit your match ups right. If you have stud closers, you are almost guaranteed to win 3 of the 5 pitching cats every week. For rankings, make my own if I have the time. Know your league settings, tier each position off, and know your general ADP. Knowing the tendencies of the guys you play with helps with making a draft strategy as well.
I agree with this almost 100%. Pitching is too up and down during the season to worry about drafting great ones. Last year is a great example. Tanner Roark carried my pitching, after Jose Fernandez went down, and he started as a reliever. I play in leagues with waiver limits per year, so I generally draft offense first and pitching last. I save my moves until the end of the year, then come playoff time I stream pitchers like mad. Generally I'll win offense across the board, and then k's and wins with the constant stream of pitchers.
Yeah my 1 year I drafted a pitcher high was Verlander in '13...enough to burn a guy on them. I leaned heavily on Gray, Wood, Arrieta, Ross, and McHugh last year. All were mid to late picks/waivers.
Find out the format then we will give more advice. Sounds like we all play different formats so one strategy is going to sound ridiculous to another.
I grew up watching the Orioles at Memorial Stadium. Back during the Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Al Bumbry, Boog Powell years. Followed them a bit into Camden Yards, mostly due to Cal Ripken. Once Cal left, along with any semblance to quality playing, we stopped watching and going to games, with the exception of the occasional free/reduced tickets once in a while. Sounded like they kicked butt last year, just might have to dust off the orange and black and get out to the park and see what they have going on this season. V
Here's a case where knowing your format is absolutely crucial. I play in one H2H weekly points league... If you can avoid such a thing, I recommend it... It's frustrating and SOOOO luck driven that it makes you want to go bonkers. I've done pretty well in it, but I don't love it. Everyone stacks up on pitchers so heavily, that it usually doesn't matter how good your hitting is. Last year, 8 pitchers scored more fantasy points than Mike Trout. And a few were 100+ over. Now I understand you can make the case for Kershaw being the number one player, but not 7 other pitchers before Mike Trout. The lack of offense and the points categories really favor pitching.
Yeah, I hated my points league too. Especially when the closer would blow the save and still get the win. Wins were 10 pts, saves 5, and -2 for blown saves. The closer would end up getting more points for blowing the save than he would get for actually doing well and closing out the game.
