Draft according to Best or Need?

[Skevich]

What is the best strategy for a rebuilding team, to draft the best player available, even if you already have another high potential player at that position already in your farm system? Or is drafting according to your team's need at a position better?

[BaseballGOAT]

Best player available. No prospect is ever a sure thing

[Curve Ball Dave]

Draft the best guy available. In the years it takes for guys to make it to the Big Leagues who knows what your team's needs will be. You address needs through free agency.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

Draft the best guy available. In the years it takes for guys to make it to the Big Leagues who knows what your team's needs will be. You address needs through free agency.

Good advice.

[Pelican]

And even if your needs are not met directly by the guys you draft, if you draft well and they perform, you could trade them for the guys you need. By drafting to fill a specific need, you are by definition not taking the best player available. It's totally okay to overstock with pitchers, or outfielders, or catchers, whatever, because it can all be corrected later.

[Curve Ball Dave]

Originally Posted by Pelican

And even if your needs are not met directly by the guys you draft, if you draft well and they perform, you could trade them for the guys you need. By drafting to fill a specific need, you are by definition not taking the best player available. It's totally okay to overstock with pitchers, or outfielders, or catchers, whatever, because it can all be corrected later.

Yes, I agree 100%.

[Cod]

I agree with what the others have posted; however, the hard part is determining who really is the best available. There is no perfect formula, but part of the fun is trying to find those players that seem to have a higher chance of developing into serviceable players.

The video referenced in this thread will give you a better idea as to what I'm talking about: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=342812

[tejdog1]

ALWAYS BPA

Unless you want to end up with Bryan Bullington

[MathBandit]

I always draft according to Best Player Available- though the calculus for BPA does include how close they are to being ML-ready.

[PSUColonel]

I would always say best available, unless a position of immediate need can be addressed by a player who is more developed than most coming out of the draft. Think of players as currency...would you take $40 when someone is offering you $55?

Players can be traded, and therefore they represent currency for you either now, or in the future. I always try to soimply acquire the best players possible whenever or however I can.

[oldfatbaldguy]

BPA, with one caveat: I'm usually working with small-market teams, so I struggle to acquire elite starting pitchers by any means other than developing them. Generally relievers are affordable in free agency, starters are not. So I have a drafting bias toward starting pitchers. That's a need that is going to be there in the future.

[Bobfather]

The only time I consider drafting for need is if it is hitter vs pitcher.
This is only true for the first few rounds later on I will consider the need.

[pgjocki]

I struggle a little with this though as Relief Pitchers tend to show up as borderline MLB ready at the draft so it can make them appear as Best Player Available (BPA) but they don't always have the best trade value (BTV).

I've found that the players with BTV in my league are Starting Pitchers, Slugging corner infielders and outfielders, and absolute Elite Closers. So sometimes a Relief Pitcher in the draft can be flipped the next season and I suppose you could draft a guy, put him immediately in AAA and then trade him the next year for a position of need.

Last thing - I've had almost zero success drafting and developing middle infielders who can hit and field. There are lots of guys who are potential gold glovers but they might as well not even carry a bat with them to the plate so I usually trade for those guys.

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by MathBandit

I always draft according to Best Player Available- though the calculus for BPA does include how close they are to being ML-ready.

Good point. I always look for college players who may be 22 or 23 and played well against good competition for several years. They should be ready for A+ or AA. That much closer to MLB, I would at least consider matching a need. But better to anticipate a need in a year or two (e.g. expiring contract; aging player; first-time free agent I can't afford to keep), so as not to rush the draftee guy to the majors too soon.