When I got my writing assignments from my editor for March, I was elated to find that I would be writing a cheat sheet for my friends and family — both real and virtual. I enjoyed Bobby’s version last year, and I thought it would be a great resource to have handy for the new and old friends who seemingly come back in contact with me just in time for their fantasy baseball drafts.

This one’s for you, friends.

Prep for your draft with our award-winning fantasy baseball tools

My Favorite Targets by Position

Catcher
Carson Kelly, Danny Jansen, Yadier Molina, Tom Murphy — all with your last pick in the draft.

1st Base
Freddie Freeman — 2nd round,
Anthony Rizzo — 5th round,
C.J. Cron — last round.

2nd Base
Ketel Marte — 3rd round,
Keston Hiura — 4th round,
Yoan Moncada — 5th round.

Shorstop
Trevor Story, Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner — 1st round,
Carlos Correa — 9th round,
Corey Seager — 11th round

3rd Base
Vladimir Guerrero — 5th round,
Matt Chapman — 8th round,
Miguel Sano — 9th round,
J.D. Davis — 15th round.

Outfield
J.D. Martinez, Bryce Harper — 2nd round,
Charlie Blackmon — 3rd round,
Nick Castellanos — 8th round,
Michael Brantley — 10th round,
Mark Canha –16th round,
Avisail Garcia — 18th round,
Trent Grisham, Shogo Akiyama — last round.

Utility
Nelson Cruz — 7th round.

Starting Pitcher
Luis Castillo — 3rd round,
Charlie Morton — 4th round,
Yu Darvish — 5th round,
Sonny Gray — 7th round,
Zac Gallen — 8th round,
Robbie Ray, Julio Urias Matthew Boyd — 12th round,
Mitch Keller — 20th round,
Brendan McKay, Dylan Cease, Garrett Richards, Josh James, Adrian Houser, Aaron Civale — last round.

Relief Pitcher
Kenley Jansen — 8th round,
Ken Giles — 10th round,
Diego Castillo, Hunter Harvey, Jose Alvarado, Aaron Bummer — last round.

My Favorite Targets by Round (based on FantasyPros’ Expert Consensus Rankings)

1st: Cody Bellinger, Francisco Lindor

2nd: Freddie Freeman, J.D. Martinez

3rd: Charlie Blackmon, Jack Flaherty

4th-5th: Ketel Marte, Luis Castillo, Anthony Rizzo, Keston Hiura, Nelson Cruz, Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette

6th-7th: Yu Darvish, Noah Syndergaard, Eddie Rosario, Victor Robles, DJ LeMahieu, Marcell Ozuna

8th-9th: Nick Castellanos, Matt Chapman, Jose Berrios, Tyler Glasnow, Carlos Correa, Michael Brantley, Brandon Woodruff

10th-12th: Kenley Jansen, Michael Conforto, Rhys Hoskins, Franmil Reyes, Corey Seager, Gary Sanchez, Frankie Montas, Hyun-Jin Ryu

13th-15th: Zac Gallen, Dinelson Lamet, Kyle Schwarber, David Price, Miguel Sano, Justin Turner, Jesus Luzardo, Max Fried, Matthew Boyd, Robbie Ray, Yasmani Grandal, Julio Urias, Khris Davis, Gavin Lux

16th-18th: Justin Upton, Yasiel Puig, Lance McCullers, Luke Waver, Joe Musgrove, J.D. Davis, Keone Kela, Carlos Martinez, Scott Kingery, Trey Mancini, Alex Verdugo, Brandon Lowe, Avisail Garcia, David Peralta

19th-23rd: Mitch Keller, Brendan McKay, Kolten Wong, Will Smith, Luke Voit, Chris Archer, C.J. Cron, Miguel Andujar, Dylan Bundy, Brian Anderson, Josh James, Gio Urshela, Mark Canha, Garrett Richards, Nick Solak, Aaron Civale, Luis Arraez, Shogo Akiyama, Dylan Cease, Trent Grisham, Carson Kelly, Jonathan Schoop, Austin Hays, Chris Bassitt, 

ADP 300-plus: Jorge Alfaro, Nick Madrigal, Alex Wood, Sean Murphy, Ian Happ, Carter Kieboom, Dylan Carlson, Hunter Harvey, MacKenzie Gore, Luis Urias, Danny Jansen

Players I’m Avoiding Near ADP

• Mitch Garver (C – MIN)
• Pete Alonso (1B – NYM)
• Josh Bell (1B – PIT)
• Gleyber Torres (2B/SS – NYY)
• Whit Merrifield (2B/OF – KC)
• Jonathan Villar (2B/SS – MIA)
• Fernando Tatis (SS – SD)
• Adalberto Mondesi (SS – KC)
• Manny Machado (3B/SS – SD)
• Eduardo Escobar (3B/2B – ARI)
• Austin Meadows (OF – TB)
• Tommy Pham (OF – SD)
• Yordan Alvarez (OF/DH – HOU)
• Luis Robert (OF – CHW)
• Danny Santana (1B/2B/3B/SS/OF – TEX)
• Max Scherzer (SP – WAS)
• Mike Soroka (SP – ATL)
• Lance Lynn (SP – TEX)
• Dinelson Lamet (SP – SD)
• German Marquez (SP – COL)
• Kirby Yates (RP – SD)
• Liam Hendriks (RP – OAK)
• Nick Anderson (RP – TB)

General Strategy

• Wait until your last pick to grab your catcher if you miss out on the top four.
• Limit your risk in the early rounds to allow for sexy picks later.
• Don’t chase steals early on by selecting Mondesi or Villar.
• Know your league settings and utilize an auction calculator.
• Mock draft using our mock draft tools.
• Don’t wait too long on second base or first base.
• There is late value at starting pitcher with post-hype guys.
• Grab three of your top-35 starting pitchers.
• Don’t bid players up in auctions and get trapped.
• Draft the guys who you want and enjoy.
• Get Vlad Jr. for his MVP-type season. 
• Go into your draft with a plan in pencil, not pen. Be able to adjust with the flow of the draft.
• Pair boring late-round guys (Brian Anderson, Bryan Reynolds, Mark Canha) with risky picks to offset the potential damage in categories.
• OBP is just one category. 
• Don’t take Lamet when you can get the same pitcher in Ray rounds later.

My Rankings
My 2020 rankings (updated monthly)
Dynasty trade chart (updated monthly)

Practice fast mock drafts with our fantasy baseball software

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | SoundCloud | Stitcher | TuneIn

Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.