Fantasy draft players question?

[yanks22009]

My friend and I have decided to do a fantasy draft sometime soon. I was wondering who you all that have done fantasy drafts take in the first few rounds, and who you guys look to get for some awesome minor league prospects? Any hints would be helpful! Thanks

[PowerofRed25]

I do fantasy drafts quite often, not even necessarily to play but just to draft and see what kind of team I can put together. The one big thing right off the bat is where your first pick is. I actually prefer a pick around 8-15 because you avoid that huge gap between picks while still getting one of the elite players in the game.

Usually in that 8-15 range I go with a big, young bat first. Matt Kemp can usually be had at 8, Justin Upton a few picks after. Those types of guys. Power, speed and still young enough to develop. I dislike one dimensional players, I really love that 40-40 potential of Kemp-Upton. Again, it depends where you draft. If you draft earlier than that, Braun is a never miss pick. If you draft later than that, Andrew McCutchen is a never fail pick. You couldn't go wrong picking an Ace arm in the 1st round, but I tend to find that pitchers just last a lot longer. Even if you miss an "ace" there is a TON of talent and depth at the SP position.

Generally, I'll go hitting with my first 3-4 picks before I even look at pitching. If you don't take a pitcher in the first round, all the top aces will be gone before your 2nd pick so you might as well wait a few more rounds. I usually end up with situations where a guy like Daniel Hudson is my staff ace and then fill out the rotation with guys like Jeff Samardzija, Bud Norris, maybe a prospect here and there. There will always be solid pitching.

Another point about pitching, don't take relievers early. There will always be relief pitching. The only guy I would ever even think about grabbing early is Aroldis Chapman and even then you can wait a bit.

My first three rounds are usually Matt Kemp/Justin Upton, Bryce Harper and then I try and fill a corner infield spot. David Wright is usually around here, Eric Hosmer sometimes. The third round is usually the first round where I scroll through each position individually before selecting a player rather than rely on the best available screen.

In terms of prospects, look up a top 100 minor league prospects list on the internet to help you there. One guy I ALWAYS go after is Wil Myers. He is listed as an OF, but his second position is catcher and he is actually a very solid catcher. The Royals moved him to OF to lengthen his career and utilize him a bit better, similar to Bryce Harper's move from C to OF. I always draft Myers and utilize him as a catcher. I let him play usually a full year at AAA as the starting catcher and then bring him up. Catcher is a brutal position to draft. You don't want to reach on one like Mauer but you don't want to get stuck with garbage. I usually end up with Wilson Ramos as my starter and a vet like Henry Blanco to back him. Keep an eye on Travis d'Arnaud and Devin Mesoraco for catching as well. Both are major league ready catcher prospects.

The rest of the prospects really depends on preference and need. Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado are great SS prospects and SS is VERY hard to fill with established players because the good ones go in the first two rounds. For pitching, hit up that top 100 list and just pick and choose. I love Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole, Bauer is ALWAYS my first prospect pick. A guy like Danny Hultzen is polished enough to start immediately.

At other positions, keep an eye on Anthony Rizzo at 1B, Anthony Rendon at 3B, Bubba Starling and Brett Jackson in CF. I love drafting prospects and youth early and developing it. It makes the game more fun for me, but it is also easy to build a jacked system and that may seem a bit cheap for you. You also may have your personal favorites.

[KomicJ]

I did quite a few fantasy draft as well...I usually prefer to draft at the end of round one, so I can pick two solid players back to back (usually a pitcher and a fielder). But if I'm picking early, Carlos Gonzalez is usually the guy I go for. If I'm near the end, then it's usually a combination of Strasburg/Price with Josh Hamilton.

Starlin Castro is usually my pick in round 3. The next three rounds, it depends on who's available. Rounds 7-8, I turn my focus on relievers (that's when the CPU drafts them). Venters and Robertson are usually my picks. I don't pick a closer until later in the draft, as the CPU picks the good ones very early...so I end up with Joe Nathan for the first year, with a good prospect behind him for the following years (usually Philippe Aumont).

As soon as my starting line-up is completed (plus three SP and my two relievers) I shift my focus on prospects. There's a lot of good ones still available at that point, and the CPU is busy drafting relievers. Here are the ones I usually go for...

SP - Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Shelby Miller, Julio Teheran, Tyler Skaggs, Carlos Martinez, Trevor May...

C - Sebastien Valle
1B - Jonathan Singleton (might be taken already), Anthony Rizzo...Justin Smoak, Yonder Alonzo and Brandon Belt are also available at that point if I remember correctly.
2B - Delino DeShields, David Adams, Reese Havens.
3B - Mike Olt (might be taken), Will Middlebrooks, Anthony Rendon
SS - Jurickson Profar, Billy Hamilton, Yordy Cabrera, Jean Segura
LF - Larry Greene, Leonys Martin
CF - Brett Jackson, Aaron Hicks, Gary Brown, Michael Choice
RF - Oscar Taveras, Domonic Brown

There's usually a few good utility players left after that, so you can draft them, and let your young guys develop in the minors.