How to Win Your Auction Style Fantasy Baseball League

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Last Updated: October 8, 2020

Ugh. Your beloved fantasy baseball team, "Piazza Parlor", was left in last place again in your league. Don't worry, my friend, there is hope. This article will show you how to go from chump to champ.

Steps

How will you spend that money on the 23 positions available?
Rank players for each position -- do about the top 50 or so for each position, and more than that for pitchers, utility players, and corner men and middle infielders. On this list, have the most you are willing to pay for a player, and set yourself at that price. Don't go too hard after certain players because they play for your home team.
$1 players are usually the backups, or subpar starters.
Decide if you are going to build your team around pitching or hitting, either strategy can bring you success, but ensure your team is strong in one or the other so you can take all available points in the categories. A well-balanced team may leave you smack dab in the middle of the standings, unable to dominate in any particular statistic.
stars who disappoint for one year and fall in the fantasy draft. Take the redeemers and reap the rewards.
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Make sure you are making good trades.
- If your league has minor league and minor league picks, use those in your trades.
- Trade for categories you are in need of, not something you are already strong in.
If you read the book, you realize Billy Beane is just running a de facto fantasy baseball team. Though you needn't overanalyze your fantasy team, general principles outlined in the book for picking players can be useful. Joe Shlabotnik's .350 batting average means diddly squat next year, because he can't walk and can't hit for power. Only fools would pick Shlabotnik high in next year's fantasy draft.
Advanced statistics can be good as predictive tools, but in the end the league will likely be scored based upon more simplistic statistics.
As the great P.T. Barnum once said, "there's a sucker born every minute.",and this applies even in fantasy baseball leagues. You will almost surely have someone in your league who insists on buying high and selling low and riding every player's short-lived wave of success for all it's worth. Use them to purchase players with high upside for nominal prices.

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Tips

Never put too much stock into one stat. The number one key is to have players who, in combination, allow for maximum statistics in all categories. Skipping over stolen bases cuts of 20% of your offensive capabilities automatically.

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It can be wise to practice with mock drafts before the real deal.

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The best team in the league will not in all likelihood have the most stars, but they will have the best middle-priced players. These are the solid guys that usually fly under the radar, and make the difference in the league for not much money.

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Warnings

Try to avoid potential one-year wonders- these players may be chosen high in the draft after a particularly surprising performance last year, but likely will not replicate said success.

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Avoid bench players. Don't rely on the minuscule chance that said player may get playing time.

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Avoid non-closer relievers except in NL or AL-only leagues. If you are playing in a mixed (player pool contains those from both leagues) league, you really have no business picking some team's middle reliever or set-up man. Holds are not likely to be one of the statistics you need.

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