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MVP Baseball 2004
Fantasy Draft Guide
Created: 10/03/04
Version 1.0
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-Table Of Contents-
I. Version History
II. Introduction
III. Fantasy Draft Quick Reference List
IV. Fantasy Draft Order & Analysis
V. Sample Drafts & Testimonials
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I. Version History
Version 1.1 (10/4/04)
-Added the results of two of my own drafts.
Version 1.0 (10/3/04)
-Everything here is new.
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II. Introduction
With the 2004 MLB season coming to a close, I suspect many people
are going to use MVP Baseball 2004 to get their baseball fix. Some may
use Sharkports or other similar devices to import updated rosters, but
not all of us have such a device and will thus want to look for something
else to do with the season and not have to use rosters that just don't feel
right. This is where having a Fantasy Draft is very useful as you can assemble
your own cast of characters and see where you can go against completely
different teams. It can be rather fun if you put together that team that
just seems to click, plus the fact that you are dealing with a league that
can be much more competitive.
There are two main parts to this guide. One is just a quick list that
is suitable for printing off that can tell you what type of players you should
be picking. The second is the real meat of this FAQ - it is the analysis based
on that list that tells you exactly what you should be looking for as you make
each pick. Everyone has a different style of playing, but this system will get
you a well-balanced team. Plus, it will guide you in how to think if you'd
like to make some adjustments. Please note, this FAQ does not tell you exactly
who to pick or even exactly what positions you'll be picking, but rather gives
you things to think about in building your team.
I'm willing to take your own strategies. If you want to offer one,
e-mail me (
[email protected]) and put "Fantasy Draft Strategy FAQ" someone where
in the subject. If you don't do that, its probably going to get deleted.
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III. Fantasy Draft Quick Reference List
This is a quick list designed to give a basic outline of how you should
structure your draft. Browse over it and print it out, but I recommend you hit
the next part of the FAQ that tells exactly what you should do with this data.
Symbols:
PP: Position player (Infielders and outfielders)
SP: Starting pitcher
RP: Relief Pitcher
MLB Draft:
1. SP/PP
2. PP/SP
3. PP/SP
4. SP/PP
5. RP (closer)
6. PP
7. SP
8. PP
9. PP
10. SP
11. PP
12. PP
13. SP/RP
14. PP
15. RP/SP
16. RP
17. PP
18. PP
19. RP
20. SP
21. PP
22. RP
23. RP/PP
24. PP
25. PP
AAA Draft:
Coming Soon???
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IV. Fantasy Draft Order & Analysis
Same symbols are used in this section as above.
1. SP/PP
Notes: This is really a matter of personal preference. The top players go
in this round to it all depends on whether you want one of the best hitters or
one of the bester pitchers in the league. There are plenty of good players of
each mold available in the next round, but if you want someone like Pedro
Martinez or Vladimir Guerrero, this is your only chance. Most of the hitters
you'd take here are excellent from both sides of the plate, so keep that in
mind.
2. PP/SP
Notes: Another matter of personal preference. Which ever type of player you
took in the first round, take the opposite in this. There are still tons of
good players on both sides of the tracks that you don't need to load up on
pitching or hitting here.
3. PP/SP
Notes: Its still a personal choice here, but much less of one. I generally
take the same kind of player I took in the second round here. So if you took a
pitcher first round and then a position player second, you'd probably be best
to pick up another position player here. And even if you got a position layer
in the first round, you still might want to use this to get another one. If
you do go this route of getting a position player, you might want to make sure
you have an all-star outfielder and an all-star infielder. Most people would
probably take a n outfielder in the first round since they tend to be the best
hitters, so if that is the case, make sure you are using this round to get an
infielder. Their overall ratings aren't as high, but its all relative to the
position they play.
4. SP/PP
Notes: This is really the last place in which there will be the choice of
what kind of player you want to draft. At the end of this round you should
have two pitcher and two hitters, so which ever type you only have one of at
this point should be what you fill. It should be noted here about pitchers
that there will always be several pitchers rated the same for you to pick. I
always find the highest available overall rating and then choose my pitcher
from those guys. When building your pitching staff, you'll want to look for
varied pitch selection, but make sure your top guys have pitches that you like
to use. I like to use a lot of sliders, so I tend to pick guys that have some
form of it, but I am also sure that I have at least one pitcher with a good
changeup.
5. RP
Notes: This is going to be your closer as the best relief pitchers are
generally used for this purpose. You won't pick another reliever for a long
time so this is pretty much your only chance to do this. You could gamble and
switch this with the next round and hence pick your closer in the 6th, but I
think having a strong closer is essential for success.
6. PP
Notes: Most likely you are probably going to use your first two hitters as
your number 3 and 4 batters, unless you end up picking a speed demon like
Ichiro in the earlier rounds. You want to think of filling your batting order
from 1-5 however. So keep what you need in each hitter in mind:
Leadoff man: Great contact from both sides of the plate and great speed
2-Slot: This should be another good hitter with some decent running
ability (60+)
5-Slot: This will probably end up being the most powerful guy on your
team except maybe your 3rd and 4th guys. make sure he has
massive power (~80 at least) on at least one side of the plate.
7. SP
Notes: This will be your 3rd starter so its good to have a strong pitcher
here. If you don't have any left-handers yet, you might want to start thinking
about getting one. Its not absolutely necessary to have a left-hander by now,
but it might be a good idea. Also, if you lack a young pitcher then you should
be thinking about getting some youth on your staff. Likewise, if you have two
young hurlers already, you might want to get a veteran.
8. and 9. PP's
Notes: Two picks ago I told you to think about your lineup from one to five.
This is where you'll round that part of your lineup most likely. If you don't
already have a leadoff man, that might take priority here as you really are
going to want to have someone speedy. For those picking for an American league
team, its alright to take someone with a hot bad and poor fielding in these
players. You can get a gold-glove quality player in a later round to play in
the field and use your slugger as your DH.
10. SP
Notes: This is your forth man in the rotation. It is absolutely imperative
that you have a left handed pitcher by now. You can exist with 5 righties, but
having that left-hander may give you a distinct advantage against some teams.
Same thing about youth and experience applies here as well.
11. and 12. PP's
Notes: Your next two picks will probably focus on getting your 6th and 7th
batters. Essentially, these guys are going to be similar to your 2nd and 3rd
hitters, but in reverse. Your 6th hitter should be a good hitter from at least
one side of the plate. Make sure he compliments the guy in the 5-slot. If your
5th hitter is strong from the right but a little weaker from the left, you
might want to think about getting a 6th hitter who is a little stronger on the
left side of the plate. Your 7th hitter should be another good hitter, one who
is good on both sides of the plate. You'll want to use him to get RBI's when
the middle of your order is on base.
13. SP/RP
Notes: This is probably where you want to get your 5th starter, but some
may be eager to get a very good reliever in this spot. Your starter should be
a young pitcher who you will build up over the years into your rotation. Don't
worry about having a low stamina, just make sure he has good stuff. Should you
choose the reliever, scroll down to Round 15 and see what you should be getting
there.
14. PP
Notes: We are filling out our order here so just keep two things in mind.
One, if you don't have a catcher yet, this is where you might want to get him.
Its quite possible you got a catcher earlier, but it can be a position that
gets overlooked as catchers generally aren't great hitters. If you don't have
one yet, he's probably going to be your 7th or 8th batter (depending on your
league), so don't worry about his hitting too much. Just make sure you get the
best defensive catcher toward the top of the list. If you do have a catcher,
you might want to start thinking about getting that defensive fielder I spoke
of earlier, especially if you are an AL team and have a DH who can't really
field well.
15. RP/SP
Notes; Most of you will be picking a reliever here, but I put the SP here
for those who switched this with the 13th Round. Go read that section if you
are selecting your 5th starter here. Now for a relief pitcher, you are going
to be looking for your set-up man here. Make sure this guy has some good stuff
as he is going to serve as the bridge between your starter and your closer and
you don't want a good game for your starter blown before your closer gets a
chance to finish it up.
16. RP
Notes: This is probably going to be your main lower to middle inning
reliever. This is going to be the guy you want in should your starter not get
your team in a strong position to win and you want someone you hold down your
opponent's bats as you start a rally with your own. This guy should have at
least 3 pitches as most of the guys at this level do. Just don't take any of
those guys with two pitches for this slot. You are going to need a variety of
pitches for this guy as he may be the one who wins a lot of your close games.
17 and 18. PP's
Notes: Its time to fill out your main position player roster here. If your
a National League team, you'll be looking for strong backups. If you're an
American League team, you are still going to be looking for a 9th hitter. Find
a really fast guy as he will ultimately serve as a lead-off guy for the top of
your order. Even if you are an NL team, speed might be something you want here
as you may need a pinch runner as well. One more thing to do is to balance
your lineup. If you have a guy who is really strong from one side of the plate
and weak on the other (i.e. Trot Nixon, who is excellent from the right, but
mediocre on the left), you may want to find a guy who counteracts that as a
later inning replacement or perhaps even a starter in some games. Regardless,
one of these guys should be of the caliber that if someone gets hurt or you
need another starter, they can step up in this role. After these two rounds,
you'll have the core of your team pretty much set.
19. RP
Notes: If you lack a left handed reliever, this is probably where you are
going to want to pick one up. You should probably carry two lefties on your
bullpen at least, so its crucial to have one by now. Think of this guy as the
left-handed specialist, the kind of guy who you might just bring in to face
one or two left-handed hitters and then put in one of your strong relievers.
20. SP
Notes: Technically, this guy is going to be a spot starter, but we'll be
using him mostly to be a reliever. You'll want to find a guy with good stamina
here though as you may need him to pitch in those games where your starter
absolutely blows it and is out in the first few innings. Youth is also good
here as in a couple of seasons, this guy could probably make it into your
starting 5.
21. PP
Notes: This is pretty much an extension of the last two rounds you picked
up position players. You want a good backup player here, probably one who can
play a little defense and can hit pretty well. You'll probably be using this
guy as a sub only, but he still needs to be pretty good. Make sure you have a
good balance in your backups as well. If you don't have a backup infielder
yet, make sure you pick one up here. Overall for your backups you'll probably
want two outfielders, an infielder, a catcher, and another utility player
(this will depend on whether you have a DH or not).
22. RP
Notes: You are just filling out your bullpen here, so just find the best
availible guy who is to your liking. You may want to look for a young reliever
here as they tend to run pretty cheap.
23. RP/PP
Notes: This is a matter of how big of a pitching staff you want. If you are
drafting for an NL team, you may not need to have another reliever and instead
have a backup to serve as a pinch hitter or runner. The choice is yours, but I
think most people are going to go for a reliever.
24. and 25. PP's
Notes: Its time to fill out your whole roster. Not much to say here, just
check out what I said about Round 21 in getting balance for your backups. You
are probably going to want to just pick the fastest guy you can find in Round
24 and just use him as a pinch runner. My guess is most people will probably
use Round 25 to get a catcher, so just find one that compliments your other
one nicely. Perhaps if your starting catcher is a little weak on the left side
of the plate, you'll look for someone who is stronger on the left to bring in
on later innings and to give your starter a day of rest here and there.
That's it - your team is set to go capture glory.
There is no AAA strategy here yet, but there may be one eventually.
For now, if you want to pick your AAA team, you can follow this basic outline.
There will never be an AA strategy as at that point, you are just picking the
best available players.
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V. Sample Drafts & Testimonials
If you have run a draft using this guide, I encourage you to e-mail
me the results of your draft as well as any comments you have about it. I
will then post your results in this section. Whether you have positive or
negative feedback, I want to hear how well this works for people.
If you'd like to have your results posted here, e-mail me (see my
address below). Please write the players you drafted in the order you
selected them, the number pick you were given, and optionally, write some
comments about how it all went. Should you finish a season using this team,
you can later send me the results and I will post them along with your
draft info.
As I receive these, they will go here. Expect a few of my own to be
posted as examples.
First, my own examples more or less using my strategy.
Fantasy Draft #1, Pick #20
1. SP T. Hudson
2. SS N. Garciaparra
3. CF J. Edmonds
4. SP K. Millwood
5. RP B. Koch
6. 1B D. Lee
7. SP S. Estes
8. RF T. Salmon
9. CF R. Baldelli
10. SP O. Perez (PIT)
11. 3B M. DeRosa
12. LF R. Johnson
13. RP L. Hawkins
14. 2B C. Figgins
15. SP J. Benoit
16. RP J. Colome
17. C V. Martinez
18. 1B D. Segui
19. RP A. Embree
20. SP N. Neugebauer
21. RF R. Ludwick
22. RP M. Crudale
23. RP P. Feliciano
24. C M. DuFelice
25. SS H. Mateo
-Team Ranking-
Pitching - 12th
Batting - 11th
Fielding - 11th
Base Running - 4th
Fantasy Draft #2, Pick #5
1. LF A. Pujols
2. SP C. Schilling
3. SP B. Webb
4. 3B M. Ensberg
5. RP F. Rodriguez
6. LF S. Stewart
7. SP K. Ishii
8. 1B D. Mientkiewicz
9. C P. Lo Duca
10. SP A. Eaton
11. CF R. Baldelli
12. SS D. Eckstein
13. RP J. Isringhausen
14. 2B B. Roberts
15. SP D. Oliver
16. RP D. Baez
17. RF C. Monroe
18. 1B C. Baerga
19. RP R. King
20. SP J. Cruz
21. RF R. Sierra
22. RP S. Downs
23. RP J. Brower
24. C B Estalella
25. RF R. Cedeno
-Team Ranking-
Pitching - 2nd
Batting - 16th
Fielding - 9th
Base Running - 6th
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Copyright 2004 Heihachi Mushroom
Do not use this FAQ without permission.
If you would like to post this FAQ elsewhere, e-mail me.
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Violators will be hurt. Badly. I promise.
