Expert Tips on your next Fantasy Baseball Head to Head Points Draft
As fantasy baseball draft season inches closer and closer fans are probably feeling the excitement build prior to their big draft day.These Expert Tips will help you dominate your h2h points draft. Once pitchers and catchers report around the league, usually by mid February, then it's full baseball draft mode.
There is plenty of time to get you ready for draft day in your points league but first a brief overview as to what a points league entails. Basically, all hitter stats and pitcher stats are converted to a point based system. Totals are tallied up at the end of the week and the team with the most points is the winner. This is similar to any other point based fantasy league out there.
Is it the most competitive and fun type of fantasy baseball league to play in? Well, no, but that is a different subject entirely. In the end, you will have a lot of fun playing in a point based baseball league.
Research Average Draft Position data
All fantasy baseball players need to be researching ADP data prior to draft day. This is the foundation of all fantasy league drafts regardless of format. When going into a draft, it's always a good idea to have a sense for where some of the key guys are being drafted.
This would also be a good time to take note of the average draft position for guys that you want to draft. The odds of you getting all of those player's is slim, but it's still good to have an idea on where you at least have a chance to grab them.
However, it is important to note that a POINTS based league and a category or rotisserie league will offer up very different ADP data so make sure you are looking at the right data.
Here are two great resources for you to start with:
CBSSports H2H Points ADP
FantasySP H2H Points ADP
Take a look at your League Settings
Another obvious point to consider are the settings for your league. You should have a general understanding of how your league is going to score player performances and if they favor a particular player.
For example, sometimes leagues might reward base stealers higher than the average point based league. Sometimes pitchers are rewarded 1 point for every strikeout, whereas other leagues might offer up .5 points or .25 points. These are subtle but important differences.
Knowing your league settings also means paying attention to your league's roster restrictions and lineups. Does your league offer a Middle Infielder position and Corner Infield position? Are there dedicated slots for Relief Pitchers or all they are just Pitcher slots? How many bench slots does your league have?
Know Your Draft Position
This may sound like an obvious one, but don't just head into a draft without paying close attention to your draft position. Once you figure out your draft position, take a moment to look at the first few rounds of your draft so you can get a sense for players you could target.
The best way to do this would be a mock draft which you can easily do at where your league is hosted, whether it be CBS, ESPN, or Yahoo.
However, if you don't have time for a full mock draft, go ahead and play around with our free quick mock draft tool. This will provide a range of picks that you can expect each round based off of our ADP data.
Using this tool takes mere seconds to set up, but you'll have a much better sense of how your draft picks could shake down.
Things Will Change During Draft Season
Draft season will arrive hyping up players and it's important to stay grounded and not get caught up in the hype. Everyone is always in the best shape of their career during training camp. Injuries will occur during camp and it will have an impact on ADPs and their outlook. so be mindful of the most significant injuries.
The moral of the story is to pay attention to the latest player news. Here at FantasySP, we have you covered because we collect player news from around the web from hundreds of sources. If you have a question, we can direct you on where to go to find a thorough analysis.
Also, if paying attention to all the latest injury news is a bit overwhelming then don't worry too much. Pay close attention to TRENDING ADP data. Trending ADP data will tell you who is rising and who is falling as draft season unfolds and injury news is built right into that.
Trending ADP is incredibly important to pay attention to. Any player with a significant change in trending ADP should be drafted closer to their trending ADP. For example, if Rhys Hoskins just strained his hamstring and is expected to miss a month, then take a quick peek at his trending ADP to see how much he is falling in drafts.
So how do you find out trending ADP data? Well, again, we have you covered on our Free ADPs. Click on the Show Graph link next to any player to see how their ADP changes over the course of the draft.
Let the Draft Come to You
Do not make any assumptions on what options you have starting as early as the 3rd round. Every draft is different and if you head into a draft thinking you are going to be loading up on pitching the first 3 rounds then it could get you in trouble.
It's true that pitching is very important in H2H point based leagues and they are taken quicker off the board than in category based leagues, but don't just pass over studs like Aaron Judge who have fallen 5 to 10 spots later than they should be taken.
Let the draft come to you and figure out the best value picks each round.
If you need real-time draft help, consider the Draft Genius. It specializes in getting the most value out of every pick and offers real-time projections after every pick so you know what to expect from your team.
Optimize Your Bench
Generally speaking, in a points based league a fantasy owner should be taking chances on more pitching than hitting on their bench. If you do take a hitter to stash on your bench, then try to find a player who has multiple position eligibility so he can be plugged in for injured players without having to sacrifice other players.
So why load up on pitchers for your bench? Well, the answer is simple and it's because you want the flexibility to have as many two-start pitchers as possible each and every week.
Post Draft Freakout
Sometimes you may find yourself walking away from a draft feeling down about your team. Whether you have weak pitching or your hitting isn't what you hoped to see. Or you drafted 2 players who are out until May.
Don't even sweat it. Why? Well, half of your team probably won't even be on your roster by the end of the season. This could be due to injuries, trades, or just a plain bad season.
There is nothing quite like having an elite duo of closers only to find out they were both traded at the trade deadline and lost their 9th inning jobs. It's going to happen. You just have to roll with it.
Pay attention to the waiver wire and grind out each and every week and collect those wins when you can. If you have the Fantasy Assistant on your side it'll cut down on research time and keep you on the right path all the way up until September.