Who is your first pick in a fantasy draft?

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If you were the GM and had the number 1 pick in a fantasy draft, what player would you make number 1? Would it be the best position player? An ace starter? How about a stud closer? How would you attack the drafting of your team? Would pitching be your priority? Would you bounce around round by round trying to pick the best available player, or would you have a drawn up plan and stay the course?

[Dolenz]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

That is a good question. I am thinking about starting a Franchise with an initial draft and really am not sure about drafting strategies.

[extremeskins04]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

I was just going to make a thread discussing this.

If I were to base it on the best available player that could provide the most benefit to me, it would be Mike Trout. Sure I could probably take Kershaw as my pitcher but he would only be helping me 1 game out of 5 when Trout would help me every game.

Not sure if this logic makes sense or is "correct" as I myself am trying to figure out a good fantasy draft strategy.

Like what do I do if I have a "middle of the road" first pick...say between the 10-15th pick range. Take McCutchen? Goldschmidt? Someone else?

I also am curious what people use themselves for a fantasy drafting strategy. Take a speed guy for stealing bases? a few good contact hitters? one or two power hitting guys?

[thawkprime 21]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

I like to have the last pick in the draft. I take 2 good hitters in the first two rounds. Normaly its Puig and then whoever. Then in rounds 3 and 4 you can get Garrett Cole and Sonny Gray to pitch at the top of your rotation. If im lucky sometimes Manny Machado will fall to me in the 5 round and then get Selvador Perez in the 6th. I just fill in the rest of my lineup then based on who ever i see left that i like.

Im useing th OSFM rosters to as well as that might make a difference on when players get drafted.

[reduced price]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

I think I would draft a starter first, followed by a catcher, and a closer. Then alternate between a starter and a position player on my next picks. I look at it this way, a front line starter will influence almost 34% of your games, based on a 5 man rotation. Now a high impact player like say, Trout. How many games does he actually directly impact? Is it more than 34%, I mean he doesn't get in on every play.

[dpower15]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

I think I would draft a starter first, followed by a catcher, and a closer. Then alternate between a starter and a position player on my next picks. I look at it this way, a front line starter will influence almost 34% of your games, based on a 5 man rotation. Now a high impact player like say, Trout. How many games does he actually directly impact? Is it more than 34%, I mean he doesn't get in on every play.

How does one starter on a 5 man rotation influence 34% of your games? I could be wrong but I believe it would be 20%.

33-34% in the postseason since teams usually cut to a 3 man rotation, but not that high in regular season.


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[extremeskins04]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

I think I would draft a starter first, followed by a catcher, and a closer. Then alternate between a starter and a position player on my next picks. I look at it this way, a front line starter will influence almost 34% of your games, based on a 5 man rotation. Now a high impact player like say, Trout. How many games does he actually directly impact? Is it more than 34%, I mean he doesn't get in on every play.

But if you do draft an amazing starter, he's only playing 1 out of every 5 games while if you had Trout, he'd be playing every single game and get roughly 3-5 bats per game.

I would think that would give you more value, no? This is of course if you had the 1st pick or even the top 3 pick.

[asu666]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

Mike Trout because Trout is basically Micky Mantle. He plays a premium defensive position and can hit in any number of spots in the order. Plus, Trout is only around 21 years old and I believe Trout holds up well over the long hall with few major injuries or a large drop off in performance.

[reduced price]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

How does one starter on a 5 man rotation influence 34% of your games? I could be wrong but I believe it would be 20%.

33-34% in the postseason since teams usually cut to a 3 man rotation, but not that high in regular season.


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You are correct it is 20%, my bad, but on game day the starter is the main factor in the game.

[reduced price]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

But if you do draft an amazing starter, he's only playing 1 out of every 5 games while if you had Trout, he'd be playing every single game and get roughly 3-5 bats per game.

I would think that would give you more value, no? This is of course if you had the 1st pick or even the top 3 pick.

Not taking anything away from Trout or any other everyday player. All I'm saying is he can only impact plays he's directly involved with, whereas your starter handles the ball on every play.

[gwshark9]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

A strong lineup goes a long way in the Show...

If it's a real life fantasy draft I'm taking pitchers and middle guys (catcher, ss, 2B, and CF) but in the Show it's all about offense. Get the sluggers and out score people.

[MasonTK]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

But if you do draft an amazing starter, he's only playing 1 out of every 5 games while if you had Trout, he'd be playing every single game and get roughly 3-5 bats per game.

I would think that would give you more value, no? This is of course if you had the 1st pick or even the top 3 pick.

Yes, but if you're doing the math, Trout's 5 PA's are only ~10-15% of the team's offense. A pitcher only throws one out of every five games, but given the extremely low error rate, basically accounts for 95% of the team's runs allowed on that day.

I usually go with lowest depth positions with exception of outliers--like a massive veteran falling a bit too far or a great prospect that I can't pass up. CF is actually pretty deep, so I skip Trout and go with someone like Posey or Cano, maybe. Segura is available a bit later and a great pick. Corner OF gets sucked up quickly, too. 1B can wait, plenty of mashers there, and a position you can put anyone with some pop (like a 3B or LFer). Pitching I take a big one in 2nd or 3rd to anchor rotation, then feed on young stars later on and plan for year 3.

And while I may take a big RP (not CP) in the 8th round, I lay off the bullpen and take best available in the teen rounds. Then trade those guys for RP later. Taking relief pitchers just diminishes the lineup, and most of those guys are in the 70's, B or worse potential, and like 30 years old. You can also convert young SPers with low stamina (being the main reason they're rated lower) to relief.

Be careful not to take too many young stars. You'll need a bit of time for them to develop, you'll clog up your minor league system, and you will never be able to afford everyone once arbitration starts hitting for them. Take a couple vets to compete in year one and give guys time to develop. Can always trade off before they start sliding.

[Madden's Jowels]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

When I do fantasy drafts I tend to go heavy on position players early on and then draft the A potential pitching prospects for the future.

I'll plan on having a crappy or old rotation for the first few years, while I let the young arms develop in the minors and also draft pitching.

[wolfpack23]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

If I have the first pick in the draft I tend to draft the best player on the board who fits my play style, probably Trout since he can do everything. I like to tailor my team to the ballpark that I play in. For example, I am Oakland this year so I built my team around pitching taking Chris Sale with my second pick.

[Qdiddy]

Re: WHO IS YOUR FIRST PICK IN A FANTASY DRAFT.

I would say first this thread is getting me really interested in starting my new Franchise with a fantasy draft as playing as my Yankees year after year gets pretty boring with pretty much the same old players

Second, I would agree that Trout is way more valuable as he plays everday,is already great, young and still has good amount of upside and plays everyday, a front line starter is necessary as well but its a much bigger crap shoot with great pitcher year to year staying great then it is with hitters IMO, more likely to get more quality years from a hitter then a pitcher so that is where I would start.