A solid strategy on draft day sets the stage for a fantasy baseball championship run.
That’s where our Draft Day Cheat Sheet series comes into play, offering you a comprehensive guide from some of the sharpest experts in the industry to help you make every pick count. Check out my fantasy baseball draft day cheat sheet below, where I walk you through my favorite targets by position, favorite targets by round, players to avoid at their current ADP and an overview of my draft day strategy.
For an even more tailored draft experience, leverage the power of the FantasyPros Draft Wizard. This innovative tool syncs to your league to offer mock drafts, instant analysis and customizable cheat sheets to ensure you’re fully equipped for your specific leagues and formats.
- Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Simulator
- 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit
- Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings
- Fantasy Baseball Projections
Blake Meyer’s Draft Day Cheat Sheet (2024)
My Favorite Targets by Position
Catcher: Yainer Diaz, Cal Raleigh, Bo Naylor, Jake Rogers, William Contreras, Logan O’Hoppe
First Base: Bryce Harper, Nolan Jones, Triston Casas, Yandy Diaz, Spencer Torkelson, Ty France, Rhys Hoskins, Vinnie Pasquantino, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jeimer Candelario, Brandon Drury
Second Base: Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, Jose Altuve, Marcus Semien, Bryson Stott, Zack Gelof, Nolan Gorman, Jackson Holliday, Edouard Julien, Jorge Polanco, Christopher Morel, Amed Rosario, Brandon Drury
Third Base: Rafael Devers, Austin Riley, Gunnar Henderson, Nolan Arenado,Yandy Diaz, Nolan Gorman, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jeimer Candelario, Maikel Garcia, Jorge Polanco
Shortstop: Mookie Betts, Bobby Witt Jr. Francisco Lindor, Gunnar Henderson, CJ Abrams, Oneil Cruz, Anthony Volpe, Jackson Holliday, JP Crawford, Maikel Garcia, Zach Neto, Jordan Lawlar, Amed Rosario
Outfield: Ronald Acuna Jr. Corbin Carroll, Julio Rodriguez, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr. Yordan Alvarez, Michael Harris II, Adolis Garcia, Nolan Jones, Christian Yelich, Jazz Chisholm Jr. Lane Thomas, Jordan Walker, Riley Greene, Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, James Outman, Jarren Duran, Kerry Carpenter, Jung Hoo Lee, Parker Meadows, Henry Davis, Max Kepler, Matt Wallner, Jose Siri
Utility: Shohei Ohtani, Joey Meneses, Giancarlo Stanton
Starting Pitchers: George Kirby, Pablo Lopez, Hunter Greene, Spencer Strider, Luis Castillo, Zack Wheeler, Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, Jesus Luzardo, Bobby Miller, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, Cole Ragans, Tanner Bibee, Chris Bassitt, Michael King, Bailey Ober, Gavin Williams, Ryan Pepiot, Kyle Harrison, Kutter Crawford, Edward Cabrera, Seth Lugo, Louie Varland
Relief Pitchers: Andres Munoz, Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Jhoan Duran, Jordan Romano, Raisel Iglesias, Alexis Diaz, Cole Ragans, Kutter Crawford, Pete Fairbanks, Michael King, Kenley Jansen, Ryan Pepiot, Jose Alvarado
Targets by Round (12-Team League)
First: Ronald Acuna Jr. Bobby Witt Jr. Corbin Carroll, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto
Second: Bryce Harper, Rafael Devers, Austin Riley, Marcus Semien
3rd: Francisco Lindor, Jose Altuve, Michael Harris II, Pete Alonso
4th: Pablo Lopez, George Kirby, Bo Bichette, Adolis Garcia
5th: Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger, Freddy Peralta, Nolan Jones
6th: CJ Abrams, Logan Gilbert, Royce Lewis, Alex Bregman, Jhoan Duran
7th: Jesus Luzardo, Nolan Arenado, Bobby Miller, Jazz Chisholm Jr.
8th: Oneil Cruz, Josh Lowe, Triston Casas
9th: Cole Ragans, Yandy Diaz, Evan Carter, Tanner Bibee, Bryson Stott
10th: Spencer Torkelson, Andres Munoz, Evan Phillips, Pete Fairbanks, Lane Thomas
11th-15th: Josh Jung, Jordan Walker, Merrill Kelly, Chris Sale, Hunter Greene, Cal Raleigh, Anthony Volpe, Zack Gelof, Jackson Chourio, Michael King, Willson Contreras, Bailey Ober, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Masataka Yoshida, Vinnie Pasquantino, Riley Greene, Wyatt Langford, Gavin Williams, Nolan Gorman
16th-20th: James Outman, Jose Alvarado, Jackson Holliday, Bryce Miller, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Ryan Pepiot, Christopher Morel, Logan O’Hoppe, Jarren Duran, Bryan Woo, Ezequiel Tovar, Lars Nootbaar, Kerry Carpenter, Brandon Pfaadt, Jung Hoo Lee, Jeimer Candelario, Aaron Civale, Edouard Julien, Bo Naylor, Brayan Bello, Mitch Garver, Tyler O’Neill, JP Crawford, Kyle Harrison
21st-25th: Ryan Mountcastle, Jorge Polanco, Maikel Garcia, Anthony Rizzo, Kutter Crawford, Christopher Sanchez, Henry Davis, Luis Campusano, Max Kepler, Bryan De La Cruz, Alex Verdugo, Brandon Lowe, Brent Rooker, Edward Cabrera, Will Benson
Post-300 ADP: Brendan Donovan, Seth Lugo, AJ Puk, Ty France, Louie Varland, Zach Neto, Jordan Hicks, DL Hall, Joey Meneses, Parker Meadows, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jordan Lawlar, Amed Rosario, Matt Wallner, Jose Siri, Michael Busch, Jake Rogers, Jackson Merrill, Joe Boyle
Players To Avoid at ADP:
Elly De La Cruz, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Luis Robert Jr. Adley Rutschman, Randy Arozarena, Mike Trout, Will Smith, J.T. Realmuto, Xander Bogaerts, Esteury Ruiz, Kodai Senga, Justin Verlander, Mitch Keller
Strategy/Advice:
- Nailing your picks in the first three rounds is crucial. Taking high-floor/high-ceiling players with guaranteed production will go a lot farther toward helping you win a league than taking a risk on a much more volatile player who may have a higher ceiling.
- Wait on catchers. There are 17 catchers who are likely to produce starter-worthy production. There’s no reason to use a pick in the first nine rounds on a catcher when you can draft someone in the 15th with similar production.
- Spencer Strider in the first round is a great pick anywhere after pick four. If you don’t get Strider, wait until round four. Players like Pablo Lopez and George Kirby are elite pitching options and make for a great SP1.
- With pitching in mind, you need to ensure you grab at least one of the elite starting pitchers. Waiting a bit for your SP2 can be OK, but you need at least one of the elite pitching options. This means you must draft at least one pitcher before the end of the fifth round.
- In points leagues, fade closers. Unless your league limits the number of starts your pitchers can make in a week, they’re unnecessary. If this is the case, try and grab just one. In roto/H2H leagues grab yourself one elite closer option (my favorite is Josh Hader) and then someone like Pete Fairbanks later on. This way you end up competitive in the saves category without spending too much top-end draft capital on closers.
- Second base and outfield are the thinnest non-pitching positions in fantasy baseball. I always try to lock in an outfielder in the first round and then a second baseman by the end of the third round.
- Use later-round picks on high-upside players. The later you get in drafts, the more the players you draft become expendable. Use those expendable picks on players with potential high ceilings who could pay off big. If they don’t pan out, move on from them early on in the season for productive players on the waiver wire.
- Save at least one pitching spot for streaming options. Your last starting pitcher should be someone with a great early schedule who can be dropped afterward or traded to someone else. As long as you can stay on top of it, streaming your last starting pitcher position will likely yield more upside than drafting a boring starter you just keep running out there.
- Avoid big injury risk early on, but drafting high-upside, injury-prone pitchers late can pay dividends. I don’t like Luis Robert Jr. early because he has a history of struggling to make it through even 100 games, despite his productivity in 2023. On the other side, someone like Mitch Garver also has a history of struggling to make it through 100 games, but he’s going 10 rounds later. By then, you should have drafted well enough that your roster will still be OK should Garver miss a large chunk of time again in 2024.
Tools To Help You Win Your Fantasy Leagues
- Draft Simulator
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Expert Fantasy Baseball Draft Advice:
- The Welsh’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- Joe Pisapia’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- Justin Mason’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- KC Bubba’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- Blake Meyer’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- Mason’s High-Stakes Leagues Draft Strategy (Premium)
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