Sexy Rexy’s Drafting Tips

With Opening Day seemingly right around the corner, I'm sure you all are in the midst of drafting for your fantasy baseball team. Wait, what am I saying, I know all five people who read this blog and you all are in my fantasy league. So because I know you will be drafting soon, I'm here to help you out.

Although I would like to say, I've never played roto before this year and the three years prior I haven't done THAT well so maybe I don't have the best ethos (read more Aristotle dude), but I'm confident these tips will help. Also, I did win my fantasy football league a couple months ago so maybe I'm on the up and up? Haha

Pre-Draft:

1. You can never do enough research. For any fantasy sports, you are essentially predicting the future. MVP Eckstein has done a great job in his analysis of John Danks and Edison Volquez and how they might fare in 2009. Unfortunately, that analysis is long and tedious. I personally have signed up for baseball prospectus for offensive players and have my own system using certain past stats for all pitchers. MVP Eckstein also posted a bit back about some free websites to help you out. Me personally, I have analysis of every single projected starter (both offense and defense). The point is I recommend you find a way to get analysis on every single player and then some. This may seem excessive, but you can never do enough research
2. Know what stats your league has. I'm in four league and all have different stats they use to judge players. Not all leagues use the basic 5x5 format. In another random football league I was in last year, I didn't realize that essentially one great to above average QB could win head-to-head match ups for you by himself every week. This fucked me because in my normal Fantasy Football strategy is to draft a QB late so I got sort of a shitty QB. Clearly I did not win that league.
3. Ready, aim, TARGET! Make sure you have multiple players you are targeting, for both big guys AND sleepers.
4. Strategery. Have a specific strategy in mind. Take Fantasyland for example. Author Sam Walker had a pitching strategy mind; he was going to take two stud SP and one stud RP and hoped to build enough of a pitching lead to then trade away from P for offense. Have something like this in mind.
5. Don't worry about big names. Trust whatever research you do.
6. Practice, practice, practice! There are many great sites like MockDraftCentral or ESPN that you can go to hone your skills

During Draft:

7. Play the expectations game. The key to drafting is all relative to how other people view the players you want. Don't trust that counter thing on the side of yahoo or ESPN or whatever. For example, I drafted a player probably WAY too high, but I don't really care. I got most of the players I wanted later in the draft PLUS this one player. People may have laughed at me then but we'll see who's laughing when we actually play. If you've done all the above well, don't worry about what other people think of your picks
8. Adjust. For by now you've come up with a pretty solid draft strategy. That will change because there will always be people who don't know what they're doing or people who will take a player who want and you'll be like, "WTF! Why would you ever take THAT player so high!?" It'll happen and you need to prepare for it. So despite all your preparation, practice, and targeting, just be aware that things won't go as planned.
9. Learn from your mistakes. I myself have of course made a few and that hopefully will help me for this year
10. Don't be hatin! Don't draft a player just to spite someone else. I.E.- last year in the second to last round I took Pat Neshek to spite MVP Eckstein instead of this reliever I had on my team last year who I recently found out was going to be a closer, George Sherill. Sherill was picked up in free agency the next day. Sherill racked up SV and Ks and was a quality undrafted free agent closer. Neshek was out most of the year. The joke was on me.
11. Take risks in the very last rounds. Once you reach towards the end of the draft, the players that you can choose from are pretty slim. Unless there is a player you are targeting or think should have been drafted higher or something along those lines, draft risks. Chances are, no matter what, your last round picks won't be on your team anyway.

Post Draft:

12. Be on the lookout for breakout players. I'm sure not many people in your league last year drafted people like Edison Volquez, Carlos Quentin, or Nate McLouth. Do your best to get them early but look at peripherals to make sure you're not just getting a player who's having a good couple weeks and then will suck again (I don't know what peripherals actually are but there's a way to look at them)
13. Patience is a virtue. I myself am I huge hypocrite of this because I am an impatient motherfucker and I'm positive this will hurt me when I play roto this year but it's something I, and you, should do.
14. Don't be complacent. Be on the lookout to help your team but don't make any trades or pick up any guys just for the sake of it.

This is all the tips I'm going to give away right now. I'll tell you guys my strategy after our drafts. Happy drafting!