Initial Draft Strategies, 30 MLB League

[Count Coleman]

Does anyone play against the computer in a full MLB initial straight (not snake or alternating draft position) draft mode? If so, what are your draft strategies? If you haven't, what would you do if you did? I'm thinking to go with a position player first because they play every day, but I'm not sure what's the optimal best move. Hitting or pitching or defense?

[Llamaboy]

I've done it before, and I've used a lot of different strategies. I usually use "Best Player Available" at the beginning, based on whatever appeals to me (Usually some combination of age, position scarcity, and attributes). I usually base my strategy for the type of team I'm building off of what is available in the first few picks depending on where I pick in the draft.

[Count Coleman]

I value everyday players the highest, so that's what I go for with my first pick. Usually my #3 hitter. My question comes with the second pick. Starter? Or maybe go with the highest OBP I can get, or my clean up hitter.

[NoOne]

fantasy draft?

best thing you can do is learn when things are taken off the board, and let that dictate best strategey. everything below is from years past , so they may or may not have tweaked AI choices a bit, but it used to be VERY predictable -- not hte exact player, but how/when they pick'em.

when will it be impossible for find a good power hitter? when will it be impossible to find a decent leadoff bat? when can you not find a decent SP (slotted 1-5 as if each is a different position/tier of talent you expect)? etc... once you have that mapped out in your head, you can dominate this type of draft and the next 20 years you should be winning WS nearly every year, if not the first.

100-110wins in first year should be a goal with zero trading... if you trade assets for first year, then much higher totals can be expected. likely less setup for future though... stick to young players if you seek top-teir talent the first year via trades.

aim high after fantasy draft when trading your plethora of assets in minors... target only the best, even if it's a 21year old in A, but wary of "too young" too. go for those that will replace the oldest players on your current team, first etc... also, your accuracy of scouting on the amatuers you know less by name will be significantly improved... your knoweldge of mlb players will easily let you seethrough scouting inaccuracies of MLB players (the one exception you should draft by name, if inaccurately scouted).

more about fantasy, if still the same dynamics ~6-7 years ago. can't recall the last time i did one.

SP come off the board FAST -- as do true sluggers. you better have a few of each after 5-6 rounds, lol. whether i pick an SP or slugger first really depends on how i evaluate what's available. if i think one is more differentiated from a group of nearly as good choices, i go that route in hopes i have a greater chances of seeing 'more' near choices the next roud for the 'position' i didn't go with.

if there's a ton of similar SP and only 2-3 really solid sluggers, i'm going with the sluggers. (unlikely, they pretty much go at the same time. a good mix is best in first 5-6 rounds. better have your 5th starter by 9-12ish. 3sp/3sluggers in first 6 isn't bad at all, but you could favor one or the other too and have similar results.)

don't draft some highly rated SS that hits a slash like ~280/320/ and barely over 400 slugging... that's a bad pick early... you can get that in the 25th-30th round, or very near that.

So, don't draft names... don't over-think ss/cf... thnk offense and pithing.. a good hitting SS isn't the same as a good hitting any-other-position... don't relate position to offense at all... just make sure you can field each position in any way possible with best offense and not horrendous defense.

whehter you snake or not or pick top, middle or bottom of draft, it won't change your strategy very much. stuff still comes off the boards at ~same time and at ~same rates. stil the same exact process in choice for you.

the other suggestion i'd say is once choices seem ubiquitous, start loading up on prospects, but don't waste early picks on the 'best' and most mlb-ready ones.

1-12ish you should be focused on rotation and 1-6 or 7 of lineup, then start loading up on prospects for a bit. maybe you can sneak in a prospect near 10-12 and postpone filling in lineup and get a AAA-AA developed prospect, etc.

the most elite closers may be picked 16-19, but you can get a KILLER bullpen in the 20-30s rounds too. if you like a certain name, get that closer before end of teens.

i'd load up on prospects until late 30's before rounding out bench and mixing in bullpen choices along the way before the elite ones disappear.

you can get good prospects as late as 50, but i'd start looking at depth and such before then. mix it in. the choices will be interchangeable, and you have time to still get prospects. after 50-60 i let the ai finish up, typically.

money is key... if two similar choices, go for younger and cheaper. with all the prospects you will amass, you will have no shortage of prime talent in coming years -- youmust consolidate assets through trades for better, needed pieces over time... first in, first out, when possible.

expesnive or old isn't bad... jsut make sure it is in a window of time that makes it inconsequetial. as far as old goes, it's a matter of proportion... don't have a bunch of 30 year olds, it'll force decisions instead of smart ones made over a longer window of time.

EDIT: the fantasy draft is extremely deep with real players... if fictional, you have to up the time-frame give above with a lesser talented depth of draft. the real 2019 players will include many amatuers that would normally be your next few draft classes -- if they change dthis you have to be more conservative than what i explained above, but still the same strategy on a different time frame after round ~12-14. (12-14 better have 5sp, ~7-8 position players - not redundant positions, of course. probably want your bullpen and rest of starting position players ~10 rounds sooner than above.)