Chris Welsh’s Draft Day Cheat Sheet (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

Check out my fantasy baseball draft day cheat sheet.

My Favorite Targets By Position

Catcher: Adley Rutschman, Willson Contreras, William Contreras, Tyler Stephenson, Logan O’Hoppe

First Base: Freddie Freeman, Jose Abreu, Ryan Mountcastle, Rowdy Tellez, Miguel Vargas

Second Base: Jazz Chisholm, Max Muncy, Brandon Lowe, Ketel Marte, Kolten Wong

Third Base: Bobby Witt Jr., Austin Riley, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Walker, Jose Miranda

Shortstop: Corey Seager, Oneil Cruz, Wander Franco, Willy Adames, C.J. Abrams

Outfield: Ronald Acuna, Mookie Betts, Randy Arozarena, Teoscar Hernandez, Eloy Jimenez, Corbin Carroll, Kris Bryant, Lars Nootbaar, Lourdes Gurriel, Bryan De La Cruz, Wil Myers, Oscar Colas

Utility: J.D. Martinez

Starting Pitcher: Jacob deGrom, Spencer Strider, Shane McClanahan, Luis Castillo, Cristian Javier, Zac Gallen, Blake Snell, George Kirby, Nick Lodolo, Lucas Giolito, Jesus Luzardo, Charlie Morton, Jeffrey Springs, Andrew Heaney, Reid Detmers

Reliever: Emmanuel Clase, Jordan Romano, Alexis Diaz, Andres Munoz, Jose Leclerc

Targets By Round (12-Team League)

1st: Ronald Acuna, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman

2nd: Bobby Witt Jr., Austin Riley, Fernando Tatis Jr.

3rd: Spencer Strider, Shane McClanahan, Randy Arozarena

4th: Jazz Chisholm, Corey Seager, Devin Williams

5th: Cristian Javier, Teoscar Hernandez, Corbin Carroll

6th: Oneil Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, Jose Abreu

7th: Wander Franco, Willy Adames, Nathaniel Lowe

8th: Blake Snell, George Kirby, Kris Bryant

9th: Taylor Ward, Nick Lodolo, Lance Lynn

10th: Lucas Giolito, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar

11th-15th: Alexis Diaz, Jesus Luzardo, Dustin May, Jeffrey Springs, Charlie Morton, Rowdy Tellez, Jose Miranda, Andres Munoz, Drew Rasmussen, Masataka Yoshida, J.D. Martinez, Riley Greene, Ketel Marte, Jose LeClerc, Andrew Heaney

16th-20th: Merrill Kelly, Josh Rojas, Hunter Brown, Nathan Eovaldi, Jean Segura, C.J. Abrams, Lourdes Gurriel, Miguel Vargas, Kodai Senga

21st-25th: Alex Lange, Ezequiel Tovar, Kolten Wong, Noah Syndergaard, Bryan De La Cruz, Wil Myers

Post-300 ADP: Oscar Colas, Elvis Andrus, Michael Wacha, Hayden Wesneski

Players To Avoid Near ADP

Strategy/Advice

Hitting early seems to be an industry-wide agreement. You can always look to pivot, but good hitters are coming off the board earlier and earlier. Outfield is strong at the top, but it falls off a cliff if you wait too long. Everyone looks at shortstop as a deep position, but I see a clear difference between the top half and bottom half. If you wait because you can get a fun name later, you are leaving yourself susceptible to being behind the eight ball on the position. The increase in stolen bases across the league is pretty inevitable, but we don’t know where it will come from. I still would try and get your stolen bases in the early rounds, instead of trying to get lots of 10+ stolen base guys. You can still go get them, but waiting for Kwan and McCarthy post-100 is dangerous.

Starting pitching has a bunch of big tiers. There really isn’t one guy that is worlds better than another. The top pitchers go anywhere from two to five deep. The next tier can be 10-15 deep. 90% of the time, I will start my first two rounds with hitters. I love the group in the third round, and I might snag one there. Those middle rounds between Rounds 5 and 9 should be a spot to grab one or two more. I have a list of post-100 starting pitchers I love, so I am looking to get my SP3/SP4-SP6 in that range. As far as relievers go, the position is just as volatile as ever. Getting a top-eight closer should be a semi-priority. Andres Munoz is pretty much my RP2 everywhere. I don’t like to punt, but if you do, look for the SPARP pitchers like Jeffrey Springs (who qualifies in some places) and even Ross Stripling.

Good luck with your drafts. Don’t forget to mock draft. Then do a little more mocking. After that, do another mock. Go in with a game plan. It will serve you well.

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MLB Adley Rutschman Willson Contreras William Contreras Tyler Stephenson Logan O’Hoppe Freddie Freeman Jose Abreu Ryan Mountcastle Rowdy Tellez Miguel Vargas Jazz Chisholm Max Muncy Brandon Lowe Ketel Marte Kolten Wong Bobby Witt Jr. Austin Riley Gunnar Henderson Jordan Walker Jose Miranda Corey Seager Oneil Cruz Wander Franco Willy Adames C.J. Abrams Ronald Acuna Mookie Betts Randy Arozarena Teoscar Hernandez Eloy Jimenez Corbin Carroll Kris Bryant Lars Nootbaar Lourdes Gurriel Bryan De La Cruz Wil Myers Oscar Colas J.D. Martinez Jacob deGrom Spencer Strider Shane McClanahan Luis Castillo Cristian Javier Zac Gallen Blake Snell George Kirby Nick Lodolo Lucas Giolito Jesus Luzardo Charlie Morton Jeffrey Springs Andrew Heaney Reid Detmers Emmanuel Clase Jordan Romano Alexis Diaz Andres Munoz Jose Leclerc Fernando Tatis Jr. Devin Williams Nathaniel Lowe Taylor Ward Lance Lynn Dustin May Drew Rasmussen Masataka Yoshida Riley Greene Merrill Kelly Josh Rojas Hunter Brown Nathan Eovaldi Jean Segura Kodai Senga Alex Lange Ezequiel Tovar Noah Syndergaard Elvis Andrus Michael Wacha Hayden Wesneski Carlos Rodon Dylan Cease Shane Bieber Starling Marte Dansby Swanson Tyler O’Neill Kyle Wright Jake McCarthy Clay Holmes Ross Stripling