Greetings, friends. It’s been a while since we’ve talked fantasy baseball in this space. The MLB lockout finally ended a few weeks ago, and we’re just over a week from baseball games that actually matter being played again.
For the majority of you, that means your fantasy drafts are happening this week and/or this upcoming weekend.
Here at FantasyPros, we’ve been publishing draft cheat sheets from some excellent fantasy baseball analysts for you to have as resources before and during your drafts. Today, it’s my turn to share my draft cheat sheet with you.
Review and save this cheat sheet along with these other great cheat sheets:
- KC Bubba’s Draft Cheat Sheet
- Michael Waterloo’s Draft Cheat Sheet
- Joe Pisapia’s Draft Cheat Sheet
- Chris Clegg’s Draft Cheat Sheet
- Chris Welsh’s Draft Cheat Sheet
- Andrew Gould’s Draft Cheat Sheet
Have questions or just want to talk baseball? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
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Targets By Position
*NOTE: These are listed in order of my rankings and, more often than not, their current ADP. That means the players at the end of each section are ones you can typically get in later rounds
Catcher: Salvador Perez, J.T. Realmuto, Will Smith, Tyler Stephenson, Carson Kelly, Gary Sanchez (note that I typically don’t target catcher early enough to snag any of those first three, but I will take them if they fall far enough, and definitely like Perez in points leagues)
First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant (if eligible at 1B in your league), Kyle Schwarber (if eligible), Rhys Hoskins (for OBP and points leagues), Max Muncy, Joey Votto, Luke Voit
Second Base: Trea Turner, Ozzie Albies, Mookie Betts, Marcus Semien, Jonathan India, Max Muncy, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Tommy Edman (specifically for steals if he falls), Gleyber Torres (if eligible)
Third Base: Jose Ramirez, Rafael Devers, Austin Riley, Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, Spencer Torkelson (late-round dart throw)
Shortstop: Trea Turner, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Francisco Lindor, Luis Urias
Outfield: Kyle Tucker, Mike Trout, Nick Castellanos, Randy Arozarena, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Jarred Kelenic, Robbie Grossman, Alex Kirilloff, Tommy Pham
Utility: Shohei Ohtani, Franmil Reyes, Nelson Cruz
Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes, Julio Urias, Lucas Giolito, Freddy Peralta, Joe Musgrove, Carlos Rodon, Charlie Morton, Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease, Shane McClanahan, Clayton Kershaw, Framber Valdez, Michael Kopech (especially as an RP-eligible weapon in points leagues), Anthony DeSclafani, Ranger Suarez (same note as Kopech), Noah Syndergaard
Closer: Ryan Pressly, Raisel Iglesias, Blake Treinen, Taylor Rogers, Jordan Romano, Corey Knebel
Targets By Round (12-Team League)
1st: Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Jose Ramirez, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kyle Tucker
2nd: Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman, Rafael Devers, Luis Robert, Ozzie Albies
3rd: Yordan Alvarez, Julio Urias, Marcus Semien, Matt Olson
4th: Lucas Giolito, Trevor Story, Austin Riley, Nick Castellanos
5th: Freddy Peralta, Lance Lynn, Randy Arozarena
6th: Max Fried, Kris Bryant, Charlie Morton, J.T. Realmuto
7th: Alex Bregman, Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease
8th: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yu Darvish, Carlos Rodon, Jonathan India
9th: Max Muncy, Justin Verlander, Jessie Winker, Kyle Schwarber, Shane McClanahan
10th: Clayton Kershaw, Franmil Reyes, Ryan Mountcastle, Tommy Edman
11th-15th: Framber Valdez, Tyler Mahle, Joey Votto, Rhys Hoskins (OBP/Points), Pablo Lopez, Ian Anderson, Trent Grisham (OBP/Points), Jarred Kelenic, Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez, Michael Kopech (Points, SP/RP), Dylan Carlson, Ranger Suarez (Points, SP/RP), Gleyber Torres
16th-20th: Alex Kirilloff, Noah Syndergaard, Anthony DeSclafani, Eduardo Escobar, Patrick Sandoval, Kolten Wong, Luis Urias, Charlie Blackmon, Tanner Houck (Points, SP/RP), Spencer Torkelson, Luke Voit, Jon Gray
21st-25th: Mark Canha (OBP/Points), Case Mize, Alex Cobb, Nick Lopez, Garrett Whitlock, Tommy Pham, Yusei Kikuchi, Tony Gonsolin, Jesus Luzardo, Cristian Javier (Points, SP/RP), Jonathan Villar, Andrew Heaney
Post-300 ADP: Randal Grichuk, Kyle Gibson, Alec Bohm, Mike Moustakas, Taijuan Walker, Jarren Duran (dart throw), Zach Eflin, Dinelson Lamet
Players To Avoid Near ADP
- Gerrit Cole (6)
- Jacob deGrom (N/A, falling due to shoulder injury)
- Max Scherzer (17)
- Zack Wheeler (28)
- Wander Franco (46)
- Byron Buxton (54)
- Kevin Gausman (55)
- Jose Berrios (65)
- Ketel Marte (76)
- Cody Bellinger (92)
- Blake Snell (111)
- DJ LeMahieu (118)
- Jack Flaherty (122)
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (138)
- Zac Gallen (141)
- Adolis Garcia (172)
Strategy/Advice
Pay attention to the format. This is perhaps the simplest advice I have, but it’s often overlooked despite being arguably the most important factor. If you’re in an OBP league, take a look at some projections and adjust your rankings. You’ll be amazed at how many fantasy managers in OBP and OPS leagues draft using the same rankings as their AVG leagues.
Have a plan. Regardless of the format, you should arrive at your draft with at least a general plan. You can be flexible depending on how your draft goes, but take a look at the player pool and your roster setup and identify some targets based on the cheat sheet I provided above or your own rankings. Third base is especially shallow this season, so you should keep an eye on that position. That’s why I have been drafting a lot of Alex Bregman in the sixth and seventh rounds this year.
For points leagues, throw projections into a spreadsheet and calculate projected points. This also works for categories leagues, but it’s incredibly simple and useful for points leagues. Export your favorite fantasy baseball projections, put them in a Google Sheet, and use the =SUM formula to add up all of the points from the relevant columns. That’s it. It’s that simple. You’ll be surprised how useful this is and how different those points might be (depending on your format) from your initial rankings. This is the easiest way to win points leagues.
Starting Pitching appears to be deep this year. These things are always somewhat fluid, but I love the secondary tiers of starting pitching after the first tier(s) of Jacob deGrom, Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, Gerrit Cole, and Brandon Woodruff. I haven’t been spending a first- or second-round for those arms this year because I have been living in that Julio Urias-to-Patrick Sandoval tier that includes about 40 starters being drafted between the third and 16th rounds. Grab some early hitting and see which arms fall into your lap.
Draft your guys. Do your research, form your opinions and then see where you can find value. Don’t feel like you have to adhere to where ADP says guys should be drafted. If you do that, you’ll frequently find yourself a round late on players you want. That’s also a great way to draft a team that finishes in the middle of the pack. You shouldn’t be taking guys four or five rounds early, but be aggressive on players you know you really want. Shoot your shot, and draft your guys.
Don’t panic about steals. Steals are on the decline, and there are only so many players who are reliable contributors who also provide a bunch of steals. If you don’t land someone like Trea Turner or Starling Marte early, it’s ok. Don’t panic. You can build a team with enough steals by grabbing several players who will chip in a few here and there. You shouldn’t reach for a “steals-only” player who won’t contribute in many/any other categories because you’re worried about steals. It will be ok. I promise.
Boring Production > Boom-or-Bust. Every year, there are at least a handful of prospects who jump up the draft boards because of their potential. Some of them end up being solid fantasy contributors right away. Most of them either spend half of the year in the minors or struggle once they come up (remember Jarred Kelenic last year?). Normally, the fantasy managers who take multiple swings on these prospects in their drafts are the ones scrambling for production on the waiver wire early in the season. In his draft cheat sheet, Chris Clegg said winning leagues is about drafting boring veterans. He’s right. Boring is ok. Boring wins championships.
And don’t forget to connect your league to FantasyPros Draft Assistant. The Draft Assistant will sync with your league and update on its own in real-time to show you the best available players, and you can even import your own custom cheat sheets from your favorite experts or your own rankings or just use the current FantasyPros Expert Consensus Rankings.
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