It is that time of year, the final stretch for 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. Spring training is rolling, the World Baseball Classic is underway, and the regular season will be here before you know it. It is cramming time before the final test, as your most significant drafts are likely getting underway soon!
Sometimes, reading an abbreviated version of something is helpful when you are low on time. This Draft Cheat Sheet is designed for that purpose. Something you can easily reference when you need it. So, here it is: Chris Clegg’s Draft Cheat Sheet for 2023.
- Fitz’s Positional Primers
- Justin Mason’s Draft Day Cheat Sheet
- Players the Experts Draft
- Latest Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft
Targets By Position
- Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Daulton Varsho, Will Smith, Sean Murphy, Tyler Stephenson, Gabriel Moreno (two-catcher leagues), Logan O’Hoppe (two-catcher leagues), Jose Trevino (two-catcher leagues)
- First Base: Freddie Freeman, Pete Alonso, Nathaniel Lowe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Ryan Mountcastle, Rowdy Tellez, Ty France
- Second Base: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Gleyber Torres, Max Muncy, Brandon Lowe, Vaughn Grissom, Jonathan India, Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan
- Third Base: Austin Riley, Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Alec Bohm, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Josh Jung, Jordan Walker, Brett Baty
- Shortstop: Trea Turner, Bo Bichette, Corey Seager, Oneil Cruz, Wander Franco, Tim Anderson, Carlos Correa, Ezequiel Tovar, Oswald Peraza
- Outfield: Ronald Acuna Jr., Kyle Tucker, Eloy Jimenez, Corbin Carroll, Bryan Reynolds, Taylor Ward, Ian Happ, Riley Greene, Brandon Marsh, Garrett Mitchell, Oscar Colas
- Starting Pitcher: Aaron Nola, Shane McClanahan, Brandon Woodruff, Max Fried, Zac Gallen, George Kirby, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Jesus Luzardo, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Michael Kopech, Kenta Maeda, Zach Eflin
- Relief Pitcher: Edwin Diaz, Emmanuel Clase, Jordan Romano, Kenley Jansen, Clay Holmes, Jhoan Duran, Andres Munoz
Targets By Round (12-Team League using FantasyPros ADP)
- 1st: Trea Turner, Jose Ramirez, Ronald Acuna Jr., Kyle Tucker, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman
- 2nd: Bo Bichette, Pete Alonso, Mike Trout, Fernando Tatis Jr., Austin Riley, Rafael Devers
- 3rd: Aaron Nola, Edwin Diaz, J.T. Realmuto, Spencer Strider
- 4th: Shane McClanahan, Brandon Woodruff, Emmanuel Clase, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Shane Bieber
- 5th: Ozzie Albies, Corey Seager, Daulton Varsho, Josh Hader, Will Smith, Max Fried
- 6th: Cristian Javier, Jordan Romano, Eloy Jimenez, Adley Rutschman
- 7th: Zac Gallen, Oneil Cruz, Corbin Carroll, Raisel Iglesias, Bryan Reynolds, Gunnar Henderson
- 8th: Triston McKenzie, Wander Franco, Willy Adames, Tim Anderson, Vinnie Pasquantino, Kenley Jansen
- 9th: Nathaniel Lowe, Clayton Kershaw, Carlos Correa, Willson Contreras, Logan Gilbert, Nestor Cortes Jr.
- 10th: Luis Severino, Gleyber Torres, Blake Snell, Jeremy Pena, Steven Kwan, George Kirby
- 11th-15th: Hunter Greene, Taylor Ward, Sean Murphy, Clay Holmes, Nick Lodolo, Max Muncy, Lancy Lynn, Brandon Lowe, Matt Chapman, Jhoan Duran, Jesus Luzardo, Rowdy Tellez, Chris Sale, Ryan Mountcastle, Jeffrey Springs, Ian Happ, Ty France, Jordan Montgomery, Alec Bohm
- 16th-20th: Jonathan India, Javier Baez, Riley Greene, J.D. Martinez, Ketel Marte, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jon Gray, Triston Casas, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Hunter Brown, Jordan Walker, Edward Cabrera, Kendall Graveman
- 21st-25th: Michael Conforto, Miguel Vargas, Ezequiel Tovar, Luis Urias, Alex Lange, Michael Kopech, Noah Syndergaard, Austin Meadows, Brandon Marsh, Spencer Torkelson, Kodai Senga
- Post-300 ADP: Kenta Maeda, Yoan Moncada, Brayan Bello, Garrett Mitchell, Aaron Civale, Roansy Contreras, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, A.J. Puk, Oscar Colas, Drey Jameson, Brandon Pfaadt
Strategy/Advice
- Build your draft backward. Everyone wants to start at the front, but building your ideal team from the back of the draft makes it significantly easier to figure out who you want to target at the front end of drafts.
- On that note, always know your end-game targets and be willing to jump ADP to get them.
- Know your league settings! This is vital. I have been in too many draft rooms where people did not realize it was OBP instead of AVG. Knowing the simple rules will help you significantly.
- Draft at least one high-end closer. Saves are spread out more than ever, and you don’t have to try and dominate that category, but having a solid anchor like a top-five closer gives you a great foundation to build on.
- Grab a solid source of speed early. Speed is scarce, and waiting on speed hurts you in other categories. The five-category contributors go early. Be sure to draft one of them.
- Winning your league is about having boring veterans later in drafts. The shiny new toy is always fun to draft, but you often get more production by grabbing the boring veteran.
- Use a cheat sheet, or you can create your own right here at FantasyPros.
- Connect your league to FantasyPros’ Draft Assistant.
Thanks for stopping by to read my cheat sheet. I wish you all a happy draft season and the most success in all of your leagues in 2023!
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