Who is your first pick in a fantasy draft?

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Quote: Originally Posted by dpower15

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. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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

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Quote: Originally Posted by extremeskins04

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]

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]

Quote: Originally Posted by extremeskins04

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]

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]

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]

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.

[Dolenz]

I am thinking that how I draft will also be determined by how I want to play my franchise. If I am simming a lot then I just want to draft the overall best players for each position. If I plan on playing the games out then I might take a lesser player if they have better contact ratings, because that directly affects my ability to get hits.