What's your strategy for the first 10 rounds or so of a 5x5 (1 Viewer)

[eoMMan]

Do you load up on hitters? Pitchers? Draft the top closers early? Avoid all guys over 32 years old?

What's your strategy?

 

[Oh Yes!]

Do you load up on hitters? Pitchers? Draft the top closers early? Avoid all guys over 32 years old?What's your strategy?

draft the best hitters available. dont over value position scarcity. but dont neglect it.

 

[eoMMan]

Do you load up on hitters? Pitchers? Draft the top closers early? Avoid all guys over 32 years old?What's your strategy?

draft the best hitters available. dont over value position scarcity. but dont neglect it.

So you're staying that you don't draft a single pitcher in the first 10 rounds?

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Do you load up on hitters? Pitchers? Draft the top closers early? Avoid all guys over 32 years old?What's your strategy?

draft the best hitters available. dont over value position scarcity. but dont neglect it.

So you're staying that you don't draft a single pitcher in the first 10 rounds?

Get an SP anchor and don't get caught up in a closer run. That's what I'd suggest.

 

[Your Mother]

There's no real silver bullet. The more teams there are, the more you should care about pos. scarcity. If your league counts for QS or OBP, look for good pitchers on bad teams or guys who have a large BA/OBP split (Zack Greinke, Adam Dunn, respectively), as they'll be slightly undervalued by people who have been looking at standard 5x5 cheatsheets.

Do a lot of mocks if you can.

 

[cosjobs]

Punt MI, unless value on one of the very top guys. Most of the rest are all within 10% of each other. A few will breakout on top, but just as many will regress.

Avoid RP until you can land one in the top 8

Avoid SP unless great value on a top 10 guy

Load up on HRs, Rs and RBIs

 

[Oh Yes!]

pay for the bi-monthly finless or clifton newsletter.

:boatloads:

 

[David Yudkin]

Punt saves. Take decent set up men very late from teams with shaky closers. You can always make some moves later on to finish in the middle of the pack in saves with very little effort, as you won't catch the guys that go nuts on closers anyway. The benefits far outweigh the risks, as you will rank higher across the board in every other category and could still end up with a couple closers and get a few points in saves anyway.

 

[MrPhoenix]

Punt MI, unless value on one of the very top guys. Most of the rest are all within 10% of each other. A few will breakout on top, but just as many will regress.

Unless you grab an Utley or Han Ram in the 1st round, just wait. Good posting here.

Avoid RP until you can land one in the top 8

This is generally true, although you have to be careful if the rest of the league goes ape#### for closers. Not a terrible idea to grab your anchor early and wait for a lower-rated closer later on.

Avoid SP unless great value on a top 10 guy

And I'd add DrDetroit's advice to get an anchor early and build later on. You can get good pitching value in the upper-to-mid teens.

Load up on HRs, Rs and RBIs

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Draft good players.

I don't like to have a specific strategy for the early rounds. I prefer to stick to my value board and take bargains wherever they show up. You can draft players to fit specific needs later.

 

[cheese]

I like to take as many sure things as possible early. I will look for guys with high upside later, but I'll never be the guy spending a 4th on Chris Davis assuming he will bust out (just a random example). You can take chances later. I subscribe to the theory that you can't win your league in the first few rounds, but you can definitely lose it.

Like others have said, I usually prefer to undervalue position scarcity rather than to overvalue it.

 

[Jason Wood]

I don't have ironclad rules but certainly I usually would usually take offense in the first ten rounds. I would say I usually come away with 8 hitters in the first 10 rounds of a 5x5 snake draft. Agreed with those who say position scarcity shouldn't be ignored, but you have to understand league size and also tiering. For example, I'm not racing to grab Aviles b/c there's been a run on MI.

Unlike many folks, I don't explicitly punt saves. I generally try to grab an "elite" save guy and then fill in later with relievers with high BPIs.

Whereas saves are as much about arbitrary role as skill set in many cases, starting pitching is not. I usually target mid level SPs with good command, high K/9 rates and, hopefully, guys that had bad luck the year before and are thus being drafted too late.

 

[David Yudkin]

I don't have ironclad rules but certainly I usually would usually take offense in the first ten rounds. I would say I usually come away with 8 hitters in the first 10 rounds of a 5x5 snake draft. Agreed with those who say position scarcity shouldn't be ignored, but you have to understand league size and also tiering. For example, I'm not racing to grab Aviles b/c there's been a run on MI.Unlike many folks, I don't explicitly punt saves. I generally try to grab an "elite" save guy and then fill in later with relievers with high BPIs. Whereas saves are as much about arbitrary role as skill set in many cases, starting pitching is not. I usually target mid level SPs with good command, high K/9 rates and, hopefully, guys that had bad luck the year before and are thus being drafted too late.

The raionale why I generally have punted saves (or waited for later round closers that many folks didn't really want) is that for the most part you are chasing a one category player with a high turnover rate. With the rare exception of a couple of guys, closers really won't help you in the other categories, so you are paying through the nose to rank in saves at the cost of bulking up in either all the pitching categoried (or improvements in batting categories).I've been in leagues where 3 or 4 guys gobbled up all the top closers. To which I say, why? It left the door open for teams with even two closers getting in the Top 5 in saves with a very minimal investment.

 

[MAC_32]

Draft good players.I don't like to have a specific strategy for the early rounds. I prefer to stick to my value board and take bargains wherever they show up. You can draft players to fit specific needs later.

The only thing I really try to do is keep additional spots open at the end of the draft for OF's as I think there are a lot of quality end-game OF's this year, unlike in the infield. That said, I'd be surprised if I ever have more than one arm after 10 rounds, if the value's there I'll take it but it rarely unfolds that way.

 

[Jason Wood]

I don't have ironclad rules but certainly I usually would usually take offense in the first ten rounds. I would say I usually come away with 8 hitters in the first 10 rounds of a 5x5 snake draft. Agreed with those who say position scarcity shouldn't be ignored, but you have to understand league size and also tiering. For example, I'm not racing to grab Aviles b/c there's been a run on MI.Unlike many folks, I don't explicitly punt saves. I generally try to grab an "elite" save guy and then fill in later with relievers with high BPIs. Whereas saves are as much about arbitrary role as skill set in many cases, starting pitching is not. I usually target mid level SPs with good command, high K/9 rates and, hopefully, guys that had bad luck the year before and are thus being drafted too late.

The raionale why I generally have punted saves (or waited for later round closers that many folks didn't really want) is that for the most part you are chasing a one category player with a high turnover rate. With the rare exception of a couple of guys, closers really won't help you in the other categories, so you are paying through the nose to rank in saves at the cost of bulking up in either all the pitching categoried (or improvements in batting categories).I've been in leagues where 3 or 4 guys gobbled up all the top closers. To which I say, why? It left the door open for teams with even two closers getting in the Top 5 in saves with a very minimal investment.

I have punted saves in the past, but the last few years I've felt much more comfortable grabbing at least one early that I believe has a) job security, b) proven history and c) killer BPIs. I realize it's non-conventional but if you play in 5x5 leagues with the same guys long enough, you sometimes need to tweak your status quo and for awhile too many of us were punting saves and that led to great 8th inning guys being snatched up in runs late, making it hard to execute against the strategy.This way if I grab a 30-save guy and, worst case, my other relievers don't get save chances, I have a chit to trade away to bolster another category.No right or wrong in this, just makes me more comfortable executing my draft this way. I'm usually the guy that people mock my SP, and yet more times than not my SP ranks in the top 5 when all is said and done. Just how I roll.

 

[David Yudkin]

I don't have ironclad rules but certainly I usually would usually take offense in the first ten rounds. I would say I usually come away with 8 hitters in the first 10 rounds of a 5x5 snake draft. Agreed with those who say position scarcity shouldn't be ignored, but you have to understand league size and also tiering. For example, I'm not racing to grab Aviles b/c there's been a run on MI.Unlike many folks, I don't explicitly punt saves. I generally try to grab an "elite" save guy and then fill in later with relievers with high BPIs. Whereas saves are as much about arbitrary role as skill set in many cases, starting pitching is not. I usually target mid level SPs with good command, high K/9 rates and, hopefully, guys that had bad luck the year before and are thus being drafted too late.

The raionale why I generally have punted saves (or waited for later round closers that many folks didn't really want) is that for the most part you are chasing a one category player with a high turnover rate. With the rare exception of a couple of guys, closers really won't help you in the other categories, so you are paying through the nose to rank in saves at the cost of bulking up in either all the pitching categoried (or improvements in batting categories).I've been in leagues where 3 or 4 guys gobbled up all the top closers. To which I say, why? It left the door open for teams with even two closers getting in the Top 5 in saves with a very minimal investment.

I have punted saves in the past, but the last few years I've felt much more comfortable grabbing at least one early that I believe has a) job security, b) proven history and c) killer BPIs. I realize it's non-conventional but if you play in 5x5 leagues with the same guys long enough, you sometimes need to tweak your status quo and for awhile too many of us were punting saves and that led to great 8th inning guys being snatched up in runs late, making it hard to execute against the strategy.This way if I grab a 30-save guy and, worst case, my other relievers don't get save chances, I have a chit to trade away to bolster another category.No right or wrong in this, just makes me more comfortable executing my draft this way. I'm usually the guy that people mock my SP, and yet more times than not my SP ranks in the top 5 when all is said and done. Just how I roll.

What do you know anyways, you work for a fantasy football site.

 

[ceo3west]

I don't have ironclad rules but certainly I usually would usually take offense in the first ten rounds. I would say I usually come away with 8 hitters in the first 10 rounds of a 5x5 snake draft. Agreed with those who say position scarcity shouldn't be ignored, but you have to understand league size and also tiering. For example, I'm not racing to grab Aviles b/c there's been a run on MI.Unlike many folks, I don't explicitly punt saves. I generally try to grab an "elite" save guy and then fill in later with relievers with high BPIs. Whereas saves are as much about arbitrary role as skill set in many cases, starting pitching is not. I usually target mid level SPs with good command, high K/9 rates and, hopefully, guys that had bad luck the year before and are thus being drafted too late.

The raionale why I generally have punted saves (or waited for later round closers that many folks didn't really want) is that for the most part you are chasing a one category player with a high turnover rate. With the rare exception of a couple of guys, closers really won't help you in the other categories, so you are paying through the nose to rank in saves at the cost of bulking up in either all the pitching categoried (or improvements in batting categories).I've been in leagues where 3 or 4 guys gobbled up all the top closers. To which I say, why? It left the door open for teams with even two closers getting in the Top 5 in saves with a very minimal investment.

I have punted saves in the past, but the last few years I've felt much more comfortable grabbing at least one early that I believe has a) job security, b) proven history and c) killer BPIs. I realize it's non-conventional but if you play in 5x5 leagues with the same guys long enough, you sometimes need to tweak your status quo and for awhile too many of us were punting saves and that led to great 8th inning guys being snatched up in runs late, making it hard to execute against the strategy.This way if I grab a 30-save guy and, worst case, my other relievers don't get save chances, I have a chit to trade away to bolster another category.No right or wrong in this, just makes me more comfortable executing my draft this way. I'm usually the guy that people mock my SP, and yet more times than not my SP ranks in the top 5 when all is said and done. Just how I roll.

I have had very good sucess in these leagues in the past where I have ignored the first 15 or so closers, and then grab 3 that remain. One or two of these guys generally pan out very well and you can end up mid pack in saves. Some good examples of this from the last few years are Chad Cordero, Joe Borowski, Kerry Wood, George Sherill, etc. This year I project the 15th closer off the board to be Fransico Cordero, which leaves these guys:Capps, Bell, Francisco, Gonzalez, Wilson, Devine, Lindstrom, Qualls, Hoffman, Street, Hanrahan, Perez, Percival & Lyon.Some of these guys are in muddied situations, but a good strategy is to grab them along with their backup which can be had many rounds later, for example--Hoffman/VillanuevaStreet/CorpasDevine/ZeiglerThis year I'm targeting Qualls, Gonzalez, Fransisco, Devine & Hanrahan. Assuming I only get one or two of these, I'll then go after Hoffman & Villanueva who are both afterthoughts in drafts right now. I have used this same strategy every year and always end up in the top half in saves, and some years in the top 3.

 

[eoMMan]

I don't have ironclad rules but certainly I usually would usually take offense in the first ten rounds. I would say I usually come away with 8 hitters in the first 10 rounds of a 5x5 snake draft. Agreed with those who say position scarcity shouldn't be ignored, but you have to understand league size and also tiering. For example, I'm not racing to grab Aviles b/c there's been a run on MI.Unlike many folks, I don't explicitly punt saves. I generally try to grab an "elite" save guy and then fill in later with relievers with high BPIs. Whereas saves are as much about arbitrary role as skill set in many cases, starting pitching is not. I usually target mid level SPs with good command, high K/9 rates and, hopefully, guys that had bad luck the year before and are thus being drafted too late.

The raionale why I generally have punted saves (or waited for later round closers that many folks didn't really want) is that for the most part you are chasing a one category player with a high turnover rate. With the rare exception of a couple of guys, closers really won't help you in the other categories, so you are paying through the nose to rank in saves at the cost of bulking up in either all the pitching categoried (or improvements in batting categories).I've been in leagues where 3 or 4 guys gobbled up all the top closers. To which I say, why? It left the door open for teams with even two closers getting in the Top 5 in saves with a very minimal investment.

I have punted saves in the past, but the last few years I've felt much more comfortable grabbing at least one early that I believe has a) job security, b) proven history and c) killer BPIs. I realize it's non-conventional but if you play in 5x5 leagues with the same guys long enough, you sometimes need to tweak your status quo and for awhile too many of us were punting saves and that led to great 8th inning guys being snatched up in runs late, making it hard to execute against the strategy.This way if I grab a 30-save guy and, worst case, my other relievers don't get save chances, I have a chit to trade away to bolster another category.No right or wrong in this, just makes me more comfortable executing my draft this way. I'm usually the guy that people mock my SP, and yet more times than not my SP ranks in the top 5 when all is said and done. Just how I roll.

I have had very good sucess in these leagues in the past where I have ignored the first 15 or so closers, and then grab 3 that remain. One or two of these guys generally pan out very well and you can end up mid pack in saves. Some good examples of this from the last few years are Chad Cordero, Joe Borowski, Kerry Wood, George Sherill, etc. This year I project the 15th closer off the board to be Fransico Cordero, which leaves these guys:Capps, Bell, Francisco, Gonzalez, Wilson, Devine, Lindstrom, Qualls, Hoffman, Street, Hanrahan, Perez, Percival & Lyon.Some of these guys are in muddied situations, but a good strategy is to grab them along with their backup which can be had many rounds later, for example--Hoffman/VillanuevaStreet/CorpasDevine/ZeiglerThis year I'm targeting Qualls, Gonzalez, Fransisco, Devine & Hanrahan. Assuming I only get one or two of these, I'll then go after Hoffman & Villanueva who are both afterthoughts in drafts right now. I have used this same strategy every year and always end up in the top half in saves, and some years in the top 3.

Nice writeup.Also, in leagues where it's points and not necessarily 5x5, I like throwing starters in my RP spots that qualify for RP position eligibility. If you have a decent RP/SP that's getting 2 starts (Joba, for example) he could very easily get you more points in a week than an elite closer whose workload varies week to week.