A very useful draft strategy in fantasy baseball is to use the tier system. This method allows you to more clearly see the difference between a potential pick and the next best alternative. The details of this strategy are:
1. Rank the players position by position:
Compile a list of roughly 20 players for infield positions, and 30-40 for outfielders, starting pitchers, and relievers. Go through the list and ask yourself where the players fit in relation to others at the position. Make sure to take into account players with eligibility at multiple positions, such as Chone Figgins.
2. Compile a statistics sheet:
It is important to have the numbers in front of you while you make decisions. Ideally, you should have the last three seasons statistics, and possibly splits (home/away, first half/second half). Feel free to go back and revise your rankings from part one.
3. Break down the lists into distinct tiers:
Based on the statistics sheet, you should be able to group players into different classes. For example, you can see that Chase Utley is the only second baseman who produces at an elite level. Therefore, Utley should be considered a top tier selection. If you fail to land him in the draft, you can wait several rounds before drafting a second baseman, as the talent level drops of dramatically.
The benefits of the tier system is that you can see the scarcity at a position at any given point in the draft. You can accordingly bump someone up on your master list because you see that player’s value over their replacement. It can also act as a guard against participating in positions runs, where one player picks Joe Mauer and everybody else rushes to get a catcher.
