Fantasy Draft

[hllback23]

I am curious to find out if people are enjoying starting a franchise with a fantasy draft?

How do you guys go about drafting and ranking positions? For example how do you pick the player you want to build around? Importance of pitchers vs hitters.

I'd like to hear how your teams are doing

[Friar Fanatic]

Quote: Originally Posted by hllback23

I am curious to find out if people are enjoying starting a franchise with a fantasy draft? How do you guys go about drafting and ranking positions? For example how do you pick the player you want to build around? Importance of pitchers vs hitters. I'd like to hear how your teams are doing

I usually draft a strong player at a weak position. So for me, I will try to grab Tulo or Posey in the 1st round. There are so many outfielders/pitchers I usually go for them later.

[funnyfiggy]

The most important thing is deciding which kind of team you want. Going straight hitters for the first 9 rounds will lend you the team will expect, though going straight pitchers will give you a terrible team because good relief pitchers and adequate starters go after round 12. My teams usually revolve around hitting, hopefully off of righties, with only slightly below average starting pitching and a good bullpen.

My Wish List

1st Round:
1 of: Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Matt Moore
An ace can be extremely beneficial for a team, and both of the first two will likely win a Cy Young for you at some point. Matt Moore is kind of a rip off to be honest, but he is the only good option at the end of the round except for maybe, David Price. Tulowitzki is a good player, but he is a little bit old for my taste. Don't hesitate to get a gold glove caliber shortstop who can bat 4th on a team with Carlos Gonzalez if you want him.

2nd Round:
1 of: Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Justin Upton, Giancarlo Stanton
Bumgarner is a legitimate ace who can compliment Matt Moore or David Price well, while Posey often develops into a mammoth of a catcher who wins gold gloves and silver sluggers. Upton and Stanton are both good hitters who play a position of little need.

3rd Round
1 of: Eric Hosmer, Dee Gordon, Jay Bruce
Hosmer is a beast, nuff' said. Dee Gordon becomes Jose Reyes, and Jay Bruce is a great slugger capable of hitting 3rd or 4th.

4th Round
1 of: Jason Heyward, Dustin Ackley, Julio Teheran, Jason Kipnis
This round is absolutely terrible. Project starting pitchers rarely work out, and Heyward is only draftable if you chose Matt Moore. The 2nd base prospects are only slightly better than Jemile Weeks, so I really hate this round.

5th Round
1 of: Mike Moustakas, Jarrod Parker
Parker develops into a solid starter; Moustakas becomes a good 3B. Note that Moustakas goes early in the round. Mike Podell also goes in this round, but he can only hit lefties, which I am not a big fan of at all because most pitchers are righties.

This is my mini-guide, and I will intend to update and add more to this at some point, but don't expect it. The best advice I can give is develop a concept for a team and fill that concept with good young players that have room to improve. Also, draft Wilson Moore or Yoenis Cespedes at some point. Both are franchise players.

[hllback23]

Here is how my draft came out with Atlanta Braves. 12th overall pick in 1st round.

I'd love to see what you guys think. I tried keeping age in mind and somewhat of a balance between power and contact hitters.

Lineup:

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. 2B Jason Kipnis
3. SS Hanley Ramirez
4. 1B Prince Fielder
5. C Matt Wieters
6. LF Josh Reddick
7. RF Casper Wells
8. 3B Ruben Tejada
9. Pitcher

Bench Players:

C A.J. Ellis
SS Emil Weaver
LF Cody Ross
1B Derrek Lee
CF Bryan Peterson

Pitching Rotation:

1. Edwin Jackson
2. Derek Holland
3. Francisco Liriano
4. Mike Leake
5. Jeremy Guthrie

Bullpen:

CL Aroldis Chapman
SU David Robertson
MR Joakim Soria
MR Tyler Clippard
MR Arthur Rhodes
LR Ross Detwiler
LR Clay Hensley

[Oh Tyrant]

I used to have a lot of fun with the fantasy draft, but i realized how stacked my team could be. Honestly, last year I got Howard/Braun/Granderon/CC/Kershaw/Fielder/Tulo. Like really? That's no fun lol.

In the future I think it would be fun to draft an absolutely awful team and build it up. Maybe have one ace or a mediocre bat at best to build around.

[TRchamp12]

Just drafted this team, already 4-0

lineup vs rhp

1. Carl Crawford
2. Carlos Gonzalez
3. Ryan Braun
4. Adam Dunn
5. Adam Lind
6. JJ Hardy
7. David Ross
8. Placido Polanco
9. Jose Altuve

vs lhp

1. Ichiro
2. Carlos Gonzalez
3. Ryan Braun
4. Andruw Jones
5. Delmon Young
6. JJ Hardy
7. David Ross
8. Placido Polanco
9. Jose Altuve

Rotation

1. Brandon Beachy
2. Scott Baker
3. Homer Bailey
4. Chris Capuano
5. Matt Harrison
(Usually get Dallas Braden but messed up)
Had 20th pick, let me know what you think

[hllback23]

I like the team however I do feel like its way to easy to have a stacked lineup when doing a draft. I do enjoy playing with it, but I kind of look back and feel like I have too many great hitters.

[funnyfiggy]

Your pitching rotation will make you lose plenty of games, and your team is not young. If you are playing with the Yankees, neither of these things will matter because you can sign everyone in free agency, but otherwise, these problems will give you legitimate issues in your franchise.