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Draft Strategy for Deep Leagues
What are deep leagues? Are they anything over 10 team leagues? The phrase "deep leagues" gets thrown around a lot on fantasy websites. You see headlines like, “Deep League Sleeper” and “Deep League Targets” all over the internet. Who are they targeting? Are they targeting me since I’m in a 14-team keeper league or are they targeting you in a 12-team NL only league? To me, both of these leagues are “deep leagues”. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to consider anything over 12-team for mixed and anything over 10 team for non-mixed leagues to be “deep leagues”. Let's discuss how to draft and target players in deep formats.
The draft is all about value. Each player should be assigned a value either by yourself, your favorite fantasy guru, or a draft kit (Rotoballer draft kit only $2.99!). You must put a value on your players. This is so you can know who should be going where in a draft. Value changes depending on the depths of leagues. A 14-team league compared to a 20-team league is very different environment. This leads us to the first strategy.
1) Know Your League Format
Understand the setup and rules prior to preparing for your draft. You need to know the positions, stats, transaction rules, and league type. There are different strategies for each league setup. There is nothing worse than drafting a team of home run or bust guys only to find out you’re league uses OBP and strikeouts for hitters.
2) Understand Position Scarcity
There are only 30 MLB teams, so if you’re in a 14-team, two catcher league, all but two starting catchers will be drafted. If you wait until the final few rounds you could end up with Tyler Flowers and Nick Hundley. Ouch! Understand that second base and shortstop are two of the shallowest positions if you're playing in a 14+ team league. Waiting on them until late rounds will hinder your success in leagues that use middle infielders. You'll get stuck with players well outside the top 15 at each position.
3) DO YOUR RESEARCH!
The draft is critical in deep league drafts because the waiver wire is bleak. Hitting on your early picks is important. Instead of taking chances on up-and-comers, grab the studs so that you have known commodities to anchor your team. After you get these anchors, feel free to grab that young phenom if you believe that he will be a vital piece of your team. The internet is inundated with information on drafts (such as this article). Use the information to become better prepared.
4) Know Your League Format Part Deux
Yes, I know this was the first strategy, but it’s so important that I have to mention it twice! Are you in a keeper, dynasty, or re-draft league? Two catchers? MI and CI? Five OF? Eight bench spots? Five DL? Know the differences. The different types of leagues change your approach to the draft. In keeper and dynasty leagues, players like Byron Buxton and Javier Baez will be drafted much earlier than in re-draft leagues. You can justify spending a third round pick on Buxton in a dynasty league but not a re-draft league. You need to draft reliable players as well as prospects in these keeper and dynasty leagues. Try referring to RotoBaller's Keeper and Dynasty league analysis!
5) Use Rankings and ADPs
Find the rankings you like, combine rankings, or come up with your own. Have a plan of attack and use these rankings along with ADP (average draft position) to better understand where players will be going in drafts. For instance, say you are targeting Corey Dickerson and you have him ranked 51st overall but see his ADP at 33. Will he be there in the fourth round in your 14-team league? If you’re not sure, do you grab him in the third if he is there? Plan accordingly and have fallbacks in case the guy you are targeting gets sniped before your pick. If you haven't checked out RotoBaller's ADP Sleeper Finder Tool, do so now.
6) Practice Makes Perfect
We’re talking about practice? Yes, there are mock drafts available everywhere! ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and our personal favorite, Fantasy Pros all have mock drafts. Doing this helps you get a feel for where players are being taken in drafts. You can see if the sleeper you had been targeting is going earlier than you expected. At what point in the draft are top closers being picked? Doing mock drafts will give you some of the answers you’ve been seeking!
7) Be Smart and Have Fun
The reason you play fantasy sports in the end is to have fun. Yes, winning money and prizes helps, but we all put this time in because we think it’s fun. Have fun but be smart. Don’t draft players just because you grew up watching them play for your favorite team. If this was the case, I would be drafting Darwin Barney as my second basemen with Luis Valbuena at third. At the same time, if you're a Tigers fan with the first pick, we'll cut you some slack for going with Miguel Cabrera over Mike Trout. Generally, you’re not drafting them for the names on the back of their jerseys. Jonah Hill says it perfectly right here.
In the end, what really matters is knowing your league. Don’t be the guy that doesn’t do any draft prep and wings it (although, those jerks somehow win the league sometimes!) Be cognizant of rules and the different stat categories and then do your research. Then, crack open your favorite beverage and sit back!
