I probably should not go throwing away my logic and strategy less than two weeks before draft day in Show and Tell with Sean Salisbury… but One More Dying Quail already tipped their hand, so I might as well put out a few pointers I have picked up over the years, and maybe later I will discuss the guys I like in the late rounds as well as the guys you should avoid like the plague. If you consider yourself a fantasy expert, this is probably of no use. If you are a novice on the other hand, here are some tips that might help you break out of your slump and finally win that imaginary trophy and the imaginary glory that comes with it.

Have A ‘Loose’ Strategy: By having a strategy, I pretty much mean at the very least know who these guys are. If you have no idea who the players are, and are drafting only by ranking or last year’s stats, go to the coaches office, bring your playbook, and do not collect $200 for passing Go. There is more to it than the numbers, there are background stories, position battles, and everything else that helps turn professional sports into man-operas. When I say ‘loose”, get your mind out of the gutter, I mean that you should never take guys higher than you wanted to just because every other idiot in the league is panicking and taking a certain position like its going out of style. Stick to your guns and don’t let your draft plan be too heavily influenced by mass hysteria.

Don’t Be That Guy: When I first started playing fantasy baseball, I was that guy, that is the guy who starts drafting closers in the second round and hords them like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. The biggest problem with that guy is that there is no way to get full value for a player when everyone knows that you have to dump them. Being this guy also pisses me off because it starts the mad panic to get closers, when there are still 100 RBI guys on the board. Trust me, you can always pick up saves from the waiver wire or late in the draft (see 2006 Jonathan Papelbon), but 100 RBI guys are few and far between. Don’t be that guy, and be willing to take the closer “leftovers”/ risks like Eric Gagne, Joel Pineiro, or Seth McClung.

Know Your Positions: When considering which player to draft, always consider how deep the position is. If you are stuck between Jose Reyes and Ryan Howard, you have to consider how deep the position is. Shortstop, second base, center field and catcher have the shallowest talent pools, and if you can’t get someone in the first 10 rounds you might be better off gambling on a sleeper or rookie than settling with a second or third tier type guy. And looking at this season’s stock of third base eligible players, I’d say that unless someone falls into your lap, like Miguel Cabrera falling into the second round, don’t take a third baseman before you have to. If you end up seeing so many 3b players fly by in the first rounds, you might panic and take a guy like Scott Rolen or Ryan Zimmerman in the second or third round, when you can still get guys like Eric Chaves, Adrian Beltre, Morgan Ensberg, and Joe Crede in the 10th round or later.

Don’t Let Your Man-Crush Get In the Way Of Imaginary Glory: Too many times I have seen guys get drafted way too soon because a manager must have their guy. I just participated in a draft for a friend and someone in the league took D-Mat in the first round, and played catch-up for the rest of the draft. Even if its not D-Mat in the first round, if you end up taking your guys earlier than you want to then you not only just got paid too high of a price for them, you also can’t get that value (draft position) back in trades, so don’t do it. Take the guys that fall into your lap, or who are the right pick at the right time, and don’t fall in love or you will get your heart broken.

Liquor Makes The Draft Go Quicker: No matter what you do, some drafts are like watching grass grow, so make sure you have a backup plan, aka six pack.  One method is similar to the “hour of power”, and you take a shot of beer every time a pick is made.  An alternative is to drink every time someone comments on the pick being a great sleeper, overrated, or that someone just took the guy they were about to pick.  But the best method is to open the bottle, pour, consume, repeat.