Fantasy Baseball Tips

The Ten Commandments of Fantasy Baseball Success

In order to achieve any amount of success in life, one should have a plan. Fantasy baseball is no different. Owners must enter the season prepared, or they are bound to fail. Below, we have added a list of tips (commandments) that we believe will help guide and maintain any fantasy baseball owner on track…

Thou shalt not get overly concerned with April statistics
The point here is that statistics tend to average out throughout the course of a season. In 2004, Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki managed just 26 hits and batted a mere .255 in April. However, soon after, he caught on fire and went on to break the MLB record for most hits in a season with 262. Owners, who remained patient, were rewarded when he batted .392 from May on.

Thou shalt Buy Low and Sell High
This is where successful owners capitalize on the market. A case in point is 2004 American League CY Young winner, Johan Santana. During April and May of 2004, Santana recorded just 2 Wins and his ERA was well above 5.00. Many owners did not wait until June to dump him, giving many other owners, the opportunity to purchase him below market value (Buying Low). Owners who seized this opportunity where rewarded with a strong finish of 18 more Wins and an ERA of 1.50 Two years ago, owners of Milwaukee’s Lyle Overbay watched as a he went from a .270 hitter with little power in 2003, to hitting .344 with 10 HR and 62 RBI by the All-Star break in 2004. Seasoned players saw the opportunity and dangled him in front of willing owners well above fair market value (Selling High). It proved to be a wise move because Overbay hit just .245 with 6 HR and 25 RBI in the second half.

Thou shalt draft top notch starting pitchers
Starting pitchers are arguably the most important players on any fantasy baseball team. Their statistics count in 4 categories (Wins, ERA, K’s, and WHIP) in 5x5 leagues, which is why all winning teams have strong starters. One poor start can ruin a good week, while one lousy starter can wreak havoc on your teams ERA, WHIP, and as well on your nerves.

Thou shalt not dump a category
This has to be one of the most unwise strategies of all time. Take, for example, an owner who dumps “Saves” in a standard 5x5 league consisting of 25 players. That team would have to average around 24 points (out of 25) in each of the remaining 9 categories (217 total points) just to have a chance at winning.

Thou shalt draft with thy head, and not with thy heart
It is nice to have some of your favorite players from some of your favorite teams on your fantasy squad. However, depending on who you like, that might not be so wise. When it comes to fantasy sports it is very important to select the best players. Another problem that can arise from drafting with your heart is that other owners might take advantage of your situation and cause you to over pay for certain players.

Thou shalt be careful with players that have switched leagues
Hitters tend to take a little longer to adjust because they have to learn all of the new pitchers and their pitches. Base runners can also run into problems because they have to study all of the different pitchers pickoff moves. Pitchers moving from the NL to the AL have to deal with pitching to the DH yet pitchers with unorthodox deliveries can sometimes excel in their new surroundings because hitters can have a difficult time picking up the ball out of their hands.

Thou shalt concentrate on BA, ERA, and WHIP
It is much harder to catch up in these categories as the season goes on. Statistics like HR’s, RBI’s, K’s, etc, are easier to accumulate once certain owners begin to drop out because their teams are performing poorly.

Thou shalt rotate your starters
Like we mentioned before, starting pitching is one of, if not the most important positions on any fantasy baseball team. They too are very costly and you should rotate your starters to take advantage of them when they pitch twice in one week.

Thou shalt draft cheap steals and cheap saves
For some reason, many owners either overspend on these two categories or they simply dump one of them in hopes of saving money. We do not recommend either strategy. It is very important to find bargains with steals and saves because this will free up money for you to spend elsewhere.

Thou shalt coach your team
Winning owners coach their teams. If you are leading a certain category by a landslide, then trade off some of your players who excel in that category for others who can help your team in other areas. Follow the market and don’t forget to Buy Low/Sell High.

These are just some of our Fantasy Baseball Tips. If your looking for more information such as, In-Depth Scouting Reports and Player Projections, make sure to click on our link below.

Good Luck,

Troy St. Louis
President
Rotodoc.com

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