Tips and Tricks for Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy Baseball 2014 is coming up. Who should you draft? Who should you trade come the middle of the season? Here are seven big tips and tricks to pay attention to during the draft and the season.

1.   There are SO many players.

It’s not as tough as Fantasy Baseball where the first three tight ends get drafted and you’re stuck with some random player. There are at least 30 infielders at each position, plus over 90 outfielders, and a boatload of pitchers.

The only position that might be scarce is the catcher. There are two big catchers in Buster Posey and Yadier Molina, but getting a guy like Salvador Perez is just as good. That being said, that’s only three catchers.

Never get attached to a player, just because there is most likely someone who can perform just as well in a specific month. Two big examples: Jason Kipnis batted over .400 in June last year, and few people even realized. However, Justin Upton started the year batting .400, and everybody lost their minds! Kipnis finished batting .284, while Upton finished at .263. Sometimes trading a player at the end of the month is the best idea (but DO NOT trade a player like Mike Trout).

Also, add and drop players that come up. Look at who’s hot/who’s not.

2.   Switch off drafting between hitters and pitchers, hitters and pitchers, hitters and pitchers…

Don’t overstock on a certain position. Switching off between hitters and pitchers guarantees that you get some of the best of both. Plus the scoring will most likely have an even number of hitter’s stats with pitcher’s stats.

In Fantasy Baseball, having the number one pick, the middle pick, or the last pick in a snake draft is probably the best option under this philosophy. So in this case, you might be able to pick up Miguel Cabrera AND Max Scherzer.

3.   Check which statistics are being used to compete.

In Fantasy, offense is everything. So while Andrelton Simmons is one of the best shortstops out there, he’s more of a defensive specialist. Also avoid guys who have low batting average but high OBP because it’s more likely that you will only be scoring batting average.

Also make sure that none of the stats are weighted in any way. So if you have home runs and steals, they’re worth the same value in fantasy (so draft a guy like Mike Trout, Yasiel Puig, Ryan Braun, etc.). Or if you draft a guy who only hits home runs (Chris Davis or Jose Bautista), draft a guy who is really good at swiping bases (Starling Marte, Evereth Cabrera, etc.). Don’t stack up on one type of player!

4.   Avoid injury-prone and old, declining players.

Miguel Cabrera has won back to back MVP’s and is one of the best hitters we’ve ever seen, but in last September and October, he has dealt with injury that severely hurt his numbers. Troy Tulowitzki is listed as the best shortstop in fantasy, but he has not played 150+ games since 2009. The same goes with his teammate, Carlos Gonzalez, who has never had a 150+ game season.

I’d rather have a guy who plays all 162 than have a better guy with only 120. Robinson Cano is great for that, plus he’s the best second baseman anyways. So instead of picking Troy, think of picking a guy like Starlin Castro, who not only has led the NL in at-bats, but almost everybody predicts that he will get his batting average back up to at least .280.

Also watch out for guys like Hisashi Iwakuma, Aroldis Chapman, and potentially even Justin Verlander, who will start the season injured.

5.   Take your favorite team- I want the guy who can win!

Remember that other stat? Wins? Love a guy like Jordan Zimmerman, who got 19 wins last season. Also draft pitchers whose offenses are stacked, like Detroit, Boston, St. Louis, and both Los Angeles teams. Some might not put up the best ERA, but they can win, and in the long run that’s what matters.

6.   Look at K/BB ratios, avoid OPS.

It kills me to say avoid OPS, but as we mentioned before, the Fantasy league will most likely only include batting average. There will also be a K stat and a WHIP stat. Who are the two pitchers that are the best to look at with those categories? Yu Darvish and Cliff Lee. Darvish finished in first with 277 strikeouts, while Cliff has posted the best K/BB ratios in the league over the past two years.

Other relievers that can really help this are Craig Kimbrel and Koji Uehara. Kimbrel is a strikeout machine, while Uehara is the only pitcher ever to strikeout more than 100, and walk fewer than 10 batters. Uehara’s career K/BB ratio is the best all time.

7.   Pay Attention!

It’s a long season. If you get down at first, don’t give up. That being said, it takes a long time to progress, so it’s easy to just forget about it. Pick up the guys that come in the middle of the season (if you picked up Puig last season, props). Trade players. And make sure you know if your team is injured or not!

Fantasy Baseball is pretty simple, and, like all of fantasy sports, you have to keep up with it. Only then will you make it on top.

Good luck this year. Hopefully these tips will help you win that trophy!

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd