Perfect Draft Strategy

[JMERCH]

I have entered some sixty or so perfect drafts, and have won but two or three of the 1K drafts. I am trying to play in the 10K drafts as the 1K drafts prove to be not worth the time, but I lose in the first or second rounds every time. What strategies have you guys used that have worked?

[professor ape]

My strategy was to give up on Perfect Draft and focus on my Bronze tournaments.

In other words, I have no clue.

[Hertston]

Originally Posted by professor ape

My strategy was to give up on Perfect Draft and focus on my Bronze tournaments.

In other words, I have no clue.

Ditto, except I tend to play gold and silver. I don't get PD at all.. I could never get a balanced team, kept losing early and gave up. Somebody must know how to achieve competence in it?

[ZachSiggins]

I've been asking the same question recently and have found very little discussion about it or consensus on what works. I've managed two semi-finals appearances in the 64 team tournaments in the past week or two but have no idea what actually works.

The only thing I've found is that when I think I've managed to put together a good team I get bounced early and when I make a run it feels like I'm skeptical anything good is going to come!

Some things I've tried messing around with but remain uncertain of and would love to hear what others think:

I've tried an approach that leans toward drafting starters early to ensure I have a stronger pitching match up every time (usually a Perfect, 1 or 2 Diamond, and 2-3 Gold) and an approach that drafts starter in the middle (3-4 Gold and 1-2 Silver or even a bronze). Since going for lock down starting pitching hasn't yielded great results I've drifted toward drafting starters that should at least be competitive.

I've tried just drafting the best player available (as long as they can be used) and that seems to create some teams that I think are unbalanced but have performed reasonably well or I end up getting pounded.

I've tried having a lock down closer and ensuring my bullpen has at least silver set up men and bronze pitchers with high control. I've found no consistent way to set up a quality bullpen and it seems to be hit or miss no matter what.

I've tried to favor defense up the middle (especially since quality defensive ratings can be found more easily in later rounds) with power at the corners to mixed results.

I usually just end up trying to balance taking best player available I can slot in with making sure I have a reasonable degree of confidence my rotation and bullpen can hold up. Like others have said, it seems to be a crap shoot!

[ncap99]

It is a crapshoot. I've won a handful (probably 3-4) 64 team tournaments, about the same 32 team tournaments that I'll hop in if they are almost full. Probably about 1 in 15 I make it to the money rounds, compared to about 30% of the time in bronze tournaments.

The issue is as they add cards to the pull it becomes a lot more unpredictable, and because of general power creep if you don't get some serious bang for your buck in the perfect and diamond rounds you will have a weak team unless you get very lucky in the gold/silver rounds of the draft. The last time I finished top 4 my first pick was Schmidt (an absolute BEAST in PD, I haven't had him OPS less than 1.200 in the 3 times I've drafted him) followed by Specer Torkelson and Justin Upton.

The other thing I've noticed is perfect, diamond, and even gold pitchers in most cases, are not worth the investment. There are some specific exceptions like Oswalt, but I've found 2-3 silvers and then a few bronzes with high control just works better. Also don't invest much in your 5th starter, if you go deep into a 64 team tournament the 5th starter will get 3 or so less starts than 1-4.

You will have a lot of 1 round exits this way if your offense doesn't come through, but it is also (in my experience) the best way to actually win tournaments. I'd rather lose in the 1st round than the 4th - you get the same amount either way. Then at least I can get into another one quicker. For this same reason I tend to draft high stuff/con pitchers and roll the dice on the HRs - if they get hit I lose if they don't hit it out it works out really well. Again, better to lose fast or win.

Because of the watered down pitching, super high eye rated offensive cards can be pretty nuts. A guy like McGraw is going to walk 1-2 times every game on average.

[JMERCH]

Originally Posted by ncap99

It is a crapshoot. I've won a handful (probably 3-4) 64 team tournaments, about the same 32 team tournaments that I'll hop in if they are almost full. Probably about 1 in 15 I make it to the money rounds, compared to about 30% of the time in bronze tournaments.

The issue is as they add cards to the pull it becomes a lot more unpredictable, and because of general power creep if you don't get some serious bang for your buck in the perfect and diamond rounds you will have a weak team unless you get very lucky in the gold/silver rounds of the draft. The last time I finished top 4 my first pick was Schmidt (an absolute BEAST in PD, I haven't had him OPS less than 1.200 in the 3 times I've drafted him) followed by Specer Torkelson and Justin Upton.

The other thing I've noticed is perfect, diamond, and even gold pitchers in most cases, are not worth the investment. There are some specific exceptions like Oswalt, but I've found 2-3 silvers and then a few bronzes with high control just works better. Also don't invest much in your 5th starter, if you go deep into a 64 team tournament the 5th starter will get 3 or so less starts than 1-4.

You will have a lot of 1 round exits this way if your offense doesn't come through, but it is also (in my experience) the best way to actually win tournaments. I'd rather lose in the 1st round than the 4th - you get the same amount either way. Then at least I can get into another one quicker. For this same reason I tend to draft high stuff/con pitchers and roll the dice on the HRs - if they get hit I lose if they don't hit it out it works out really well. Again, better to lose fast or win.

Because of the watered down pitching, super high eye rated offensive cards can be pretty nuts. A guy like McGraw is going to walk 1-2 times every game on average.

I made it the furthest I have ever made it last night when I got 3rd/4th, but that was just because I got lucky and had Jackie Robinson and Diamond Rose and a stacked bullpen. Even then though I still managed to lose.

[ncap99]

Originally Posted by JMERCH

I made it the furthest I have ever made it last night when I got 3rd/4th, but that was just because I got lucky and had Jackie Robinson and Diamond Rose and a stacked bullpen. Even then though I still managed to lose.

Yep, exactly. Your perfect and diamonds need to be basically your 1-3 hitters and they need to carry you. And even then they can still have a couple bad games and you're out. The format doesn't allow for any type of deep strategy. I've tried to focus on infield defense and groundballer pitchers only to get nothing but trash can groundball starters after drafting Ozzie Smith as my perfect. Maybe every now and then you will pull off a strat and maybe it will work, but it is too difficult to do consistently so you're best off just drafting some hitting studs in the first 3 rounds and best available after that.

[frankbama]

Mostly offense unless you get studs you can't pass up. If the perfect round is Dickey or Mccarver grab him. If not, get the best offense you can while keeping the up the middle d as good as you can. There are plenty of good relievers so don't bother more than 1 early unless there's nothing else.

[RufioBobsled]

Originally Posted by ncap99

Yep, exactly. Your perfect and diamonds need to be basically your 1-3 hitters and they need to carry you. And even then they can still have a couple bad games and you're out. The format doesn't allow for any type of deep strategy.

I disagree with always using that strategy unless you get the right hitters to choose from. I often take my top SP in the first three rounds, and I've done pretty well in PD. But I'll roll with a bronze or silver 5th SP some of the time too. It helps to have certain attributes you look for at certain positions, make sure you don't take players with super high split differences, look for SPs with at least 3 good pitches, and don't forget to draft a backup catcher. After that it's luck.

[diamond3017]

Originally Posted by professor ape

My strategy was to give up on Perfect Draft and focus on my Bronze tournaments.

In other words, I have no clue.

Unless you really enjoy Perfect Draft, it is too time consuming (IMO) to be worthwhile. It probably takes 10-15 minutes to draft and set up your roster. In that time you could set up a tournament team that you can enter every time you open OOTP.

Not to mention, half the time I would screw up the draft by doing something like waiting too long to draft a backup catcher, and then one never showed up.

[frankbama]

Originally Posted by diamond3017

Unless you really enjoy Perfect Draft, it is too time consuming (IMO) to be worthwhile. It probably takes 10-15 minutes to draft and set up your roster. In that time you could set up a tournament team that you can enter every time you open OOTP.

Not to mention, half the time I would screw up the draft by doing something like waiting too long to draft a backup catcher, and then one never showed up.

Agreed and yet I do it anyway. Just not as often as reg tourneys. I have no idea why anyone would join the 600pp tourneys and spend that much time on it.

[IanIachimoe]

don't have a plan & take what the draft gives you.

I do try & have all my pitchers before the gold rounds are gone, but that doesn't always happen.

[IanIachimoe]

Originally Posted by RufioBobsled

I disagree with always using that strategy unless you get the right hitters to choose from. I often take my top SP in the first three rounds, and I've done pretty well in PD. But I'll roll with a bronze or silver 5th SP some of the time too. It helps to have certain attributes you look for at certain positions, make sure you don't take players with super high split differences, look for SPs with at least 3 good pitches, and don't forget to draft a backup catcher. After that it's luck.

same & it's worked well for me. I look for pitchers first.

[ncap99]

I'll do 3-4 drafts trying to max out pitching and see how it goes. In my experience it hasn't, but clearly a few others have had different results. Are you focusing on high stuff/velocity/power pitcher types to max Ks as part of it? I think part of the reason pitching focus is a harder strategy is with a bad defense even good pitchers will give up a decent amount of runs a lot of the time.

[Hertston]

Originally Posted by diamond3017

Unless you really enjoy Perfect Draft, it is too time consuming (IMO) to be worthwhile. It probably takes 10-15 minutes to draft and set up your roster. In that time you could set up a tournament team that you can enter every time you open OOTP.

I suspect the whole point of PD was to provide something that kept players more involved, or at least thinking they were. As you suggest, regular tourneys 'just' require setting up a team, a few tweaks (especially when new cards appear), and then just hitting the sign up button. The blurb describes the tourneys as 'exciting', but there's not much exciting about that. At least PD gives the punter something to actively do, and without needing to accumulate cards first.

[ZachSiggins]

I'm currently in a tournament that I drafted this morning where I waited to draft a catcher until late ( since I can usually grab a bronze catcher with high defensive ratings if none catch my eye in the earlier rounds) and the last couple of rounds did not have a single option that could play catcher to pick.

Of course, my team without a catcher has now progressed further than most of my 'better' drafted teams...

[HRBaker]

It's the closest thing to gambling in Las Vegas you'll find locally.


Since each round you only can pick from what you've been dealt, the only way you end up with a winning team is if the dealer is kind to you. Add to that add that anything can happen in a 5 or 7 game series, and it's no more predictable than rolling the dice.

[ncap99]

Originally Posted by ZachSiggins

I'm currently in a tournament that I drafted this morning where I waited to draft a catcher until late ( since I can usually grab a bronze catcher with high defensive ratings if none catch my eye in the earlier rounds) and the last couple of rounds did not have a single option that could play catcher to pick.

Of course, my team without a catcher has now progressed further than most of my 'better' drafted teams...

You are given a fixed amount of catchers in the draft - I believe it is 12. Just keep track and you'll know if any more are coming.

[ZachSiggins]

Originally Posted by ncap99

You are given a fixed amount of catchers in the draft - I believe it is 12. Just keep track and you'll know if any more are coming.

That is helpful information! Thank you!

[chazzycat]

it's 10