Draft strategy

[Bucs4404]

Does anyone have a good Inaugural draft strategy that they would like to share? Not sure how I should go about things - drafting starting pitching in first couple rounds and then switch to solid leadoff hitter and then power hitter and then fill in the gaps.

I've never been in a draft so not sure how I should approach this.

[jaysdailydose]

I shoot to have someone to build around on offense and my ace pitcher in the first two picks. After that I value starting pitching and premium defensive positions first, generally. (SS, C, CF)

I usually have my rotation by the end of the 10th round, and generally will have drafted my closer in that time frame as well so I would then go for more offense in rounds 11 and 12. I also get my backup catcher relatively early, probably by round 13 in this scenario.

It all depends on what you value more, but I definitely don't want to come up short on my pitching staff.

[jaysdailydose]

If you want to see a recent random debut draft I did, I posted the first 19 rounds leaguewide in the first or second page of my dynasty thread in my signature. I got the number 8 pick from the random generator, and got a 20-year-old Lou Gehrig with my first selection.

[Tyler87898]

I usually do SP->batter->SP->batter->etc. until I get my rotation, then just focus on the bats. Somewhere in the rounds 10-20 I will pick a good closer depending on when every other team starts taking relievers. If there is not many good guys left starting after round 20, I'll probably look to see if there is any top prospects left.

[ra7c7er]

My strategy is to draft under performing players for the first 10-15 rounds then somehow find a few high end prospects in the 15-25 rounds. Ultimately culminating in me having really weak owner goals which I still can't complete and then I get fired somewhere between the 2nd and 4th seasons.

Joking aside (The above really does happen to me a lot I am probably the worst drafter on the forums here)

I usually go for mid-aged players 25-30 who have good work ethic leadership and loyalty. My position strategy is usually whatever general position my scout says in the recommendation. Not exact position or player but generalizing the pick (Pitcher, infielder, outfielder, or catcher). I've found the scout is a good indicator of what you should pick position wise even if sometimes the player choice makes no sense. Obviously I take starting pitching over relievers in the early rounds and I do look at what I think will be drafted too. If there aren't many high end 3B players I might go for one early if there is a large crop of quality catchers I'll wait a few rounds, and the like.

But as I said I suck at drafting so don't listen to anything I've said. it will only lead to your imminent firing and being shamed so badly you might quit OOTP.... for a few days.

[sreem]

Originally Posted by ra7c7er

Joking aside (The above really does happen to me a lot I am probably the worst drafter on the forums here)

But as I said I suck at drafting so don't listen to anything I've said. it will only lead to your imminent firing and being shamed so badly you might quit OOTP.... for a few days.

Well I'll be, I thought I was the only one....

[NoOne]

i posted something within the last month or so. i think what i write below will be more useful than my post. i focus on power pitchers only - so if that's not your thing adjust what i say to your preference. there may be other biases in what i type, so keep an open mind.

Have an idea of the offense you want:
i pick players to fit a lineup. so, have a general idea of a prototypical lineup you want. don't be married to this prototype, though. (power hitter, table setter etc) except possibly in very early rounds, get your power hitters first - and imo the early rounds too!

i want at least 3 quality power hitters (3-4-5 lineup, you should be able to get a 4th power hitter). i want 1 table-setter (power irrelavent). i want another table-setter than can hit 16-20hr and a good amount of doubles. the rest i want power hitters. if they aren't available i want developing players (usually 7,8,9 hitters).

Take note of trends of players coming off the board:
the AI will generally take SP before powerhitters before key defensive positions (c, ss, cf) before all other fielders before closers before relievers. power hitters tend to play certain positions, so positions like 3b and OF will go fast.

always know what you need. i keep a txt document on my desktop ready for notes and a spreadsheet for things i need to rearrange or sort easily etc.

Pitching Staff notes:
when it comes to starters, make a filter for position-pitcher and stamina > ##, because a RP with 3 or more quality pitches is a viable starter, if they have the stamina.

Easiest way to keep yourself on track:
i make a tiered (ace, 2nd starter etc) list of acceptable 1-4 starting pitchers - playoffs are 4-man rotation. i will make sure i get 4 of the pitchers i target as acceptable. based on what is left on that list, i pick as many fielders as i can get without scr*wing myself on starting pitching.

Use that to determine when you can pick another batter or when you need to grab a pitcher before it's too late. maybe you choose to focus on 3 SP instead of 4SP. the point is, it's easier to predict when SP will drop off the board and why they are choosen.


rounds 1-2 - all the 'best' players will be gone.

If you want a fully developed 'ace' you better grab one in first 2 rounds - if you draft very late in 2nd, might think about drafting that ace in round 1.

i take 2 fielders with power, unless i cannot get that 2nd sure fire HoFer. i do this because you can get 2-3 high potential, mlb ready pitchers in the next few rounds. these guys will be as good or better than most of the pitchers taken in round 1-2 with very little time.

Round 3-6 - heavy run on SP's, power hitters - get'em fast!

Based on my SP lists, all the 1's-2's and most 3's quality SP will be taken by the end of round 6. if you want a stud pitching staff, make sure to have at least 3 by the end of round 6. you can still have a decent staff, if you only have 2.

Rounds 7-10ish: run on power hitters, decent quality SP, maybe a few aging stars(even after 10).

It becomes quite difficult to predict from this point on... too much depends on your earlier choices, so it's impossible to give a specific strategy. but....

if i only have 2 SP after 6 rounds, i take 3 more by round 10.

if i have 3sp after 6 rounds, i'll take 1 more at rd7 (or before rd10 depending on how many are available i like) and a fifth starter can be found as late as 15, if lucky. i wait longer because i likely have a much better top 3 pitchers than if i had 2SP after 6 rounds.

for batters, focus on what you still need for your prototypical lineup. you likely need power hitters still. they will likely be corner OFs.

ortiz is available very very late in the draft - a DH fallback. A gonzalez often makes it to round 13, i love having him as a DH.

rounds 15+

SP Depth - maybe make a new list and employ same strategy as described in the first 14 rounds. these are junk pitchers so, dont spend too much time thinking about it. how often do you have injured SP? get enough of these guys.

Position depth: i think of these as different than my bench players. my bench is mostly speed and multi position defense. you need a few AAA players that can come up and be and injury replacement. so, i look for batting competency over speed and defense.

Bullpen - Closers will start to come off the board around round 21 or 22. upper echelon relievers will drop off at least a few rounds later. e.g. i got kimbrel pick 21, w davis pick 32, j mcgee pick 33, k giles pick 34. those are 4 pimpy relievers. i like a young, cheap awesome bullpen. you can get superstar relievers with 3-6 years of club control.

Bench - i grab my backup catcher fairly early, but in general i grab these guys as late as i can - mid-30's, maybe still available later. if you want them to hit, get them earlier. i use my bench for pinch running only, unless i couldn't draft a solid starter - then look to maximize a platoon situation.

Prospects:
general trends: the closer to the mlb, the sooner they are drafted. if they are 78-80 they likely are grabbed in first few rounds, regardless. someone like SP C Rodon will go rd10-13ish. SP L Giolito will go around 16-19. plenty of high quality sp will go in 30's and later too.

once you've drafted your 5sp and 9 batters, make lists of available prospects at each position. be willing to change positions of prospects. you'll probably like more CF than corner OFs, but a few of those CF are likely better as corner OF. same with SS position.

Focus on SP prospects and positions you have aging players, or maybe the player is too expensive long-term relative to your finances. if you have drafted well, you shouldn't need immediate help from your prospects. this will allow you to draft based purely on potential as opposed to need. at the end i will post a portion of a draft. i was screwing around. i did not draft depth becuase injuries were off.

Notes on some positions:

SP: better get your depth in rounds 14+ (at least 9 batters and 5SP first). if you don't play with injuries on, ignore this statement.

C: good luck, lol. there are so few catchers that can hit and play defense. once in a while y molina can fall in the draft due to age and expense. i like taking b swihart in round 6. if you draft one early better make sure they can fill an important role in your lineup.

2b: you can get something serviceable as late as the mid 20's. i usually go for a developing 2b in the 20's or 2b j m fernandez in the teens.

3b: you can get developing 3b ready for the mlb at round 11-12. this is usually a difficult position for me. i've gone with M Franco at 11 and g cecchini at 13-14 before. otherwise to get a stud, you have to draft early.

ss: you can get a defensive vet as late as the mid 20's. i usually get a developing j ramirez around 12.


Some ideas on when prospects get drafted - the player will generally be gone by the number in parantheses. you won't be able to draft all these prospects and have depth for injury, but you can use this as a generalized map for when certain types of prospects come off the board.

17 sp t glasnow (21)

18 3b dj peterson (20)

19 sp l giolito (21)

20 cl c kimbrel

21 2b d travis

22 sp d bundy (25)

23 sp b aiken (31)

24 ss jp crawford (26)

25 rf je bell (27)

26 sp k cody (34)

27 rf n mazara (31)

28 lf a jackson (32)

29 sp m matuella (35)

30 3b r devers (37)

31 sp k allard (38)

32 rp w davis

33 rp j mcgee

34 rp k giles

35 rp k herrera

36 rp d farquhar

37 sp d everett (39)

38 sp k funkhouser (39)

39 sp d chalmers (46)

40 ss a bergman (47)

41 cf a meadows (49)

42 ss b rodgers (49)

43 sp m nikorak (46)

44 sp a russell (46)

45 lf b zimmer (49)

46 3b d garcia (52) (ss mondesi, barreto, albies soon after)

47 1b b bradley (52)

48 rf j amundaray (52)

49 ss d swanson (52)

50 1b b stallings (52)

51 cf i happ (54)

52 cf t clark (55)

53 rp d carpenter