Archive for Draft

Beat the Shift Podcast – Middle Infield Episode w/ Mike Gianella

The Middle Infield episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Mike Gianella

Strategy Section

  • Kentucky Derby Style (KDS) Draft Order
    • Which draft slot is most similar to an auction?
    • General preferences for slot selection
    • 2023 preferences for slot selection
  • Middle Infielders
    • The shortstop and second base player pools
      • SS – Deep
      • 2B – Wide Bottom
    • Do you need to draft stolen bases from the middle infield position?
    • Jon Berti
    • Adalberto Mondesi
    • Bounceback middle infield candidates

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

ATC Undervalued Players

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The Argument for Spencer Strider

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

We don’t need a post telling us that Spencer Strider is a really good pitcher, but there might be a need for one that he’s already one of the greatest in the game. And his strengths play to everything we want in fantasy.

Shohei Ohtani tops the list of pitchers for obvious reasons, but the next nine or so are more jumbled than we might think. Taking a look at where Strider ranks among all pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched tells an important story:

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Offseason Checklist

Now that 2022 is over and we turn the page to 2023. If you are getting ready for the next season, you should be prepared and when I am preparing for something, I like to make myself a checklist to make sure I am not forgetting something. Here is my Offseason Checklist. 

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Draft Season Has Begun!

It is time to put 2022 behind us and begin to look at 2023! Read the rest of this entry »


Justin Mason’s 2022 Apology Tour: Triple Players Ball

2022 was the worst year I have ever had as a fantasy player. I played in 16 leagues and did not cash in a single one. The hard part is that I don’t even know what went wrong. I had teams I really liked coming out of the draft and some that were doing very well throughout the season. Over the next few weeks I will deep dive into each team in a series of articles to examine what went wrong and what the common threads were. This is my 2022 Apology Tour.
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Justin Mason’s 2022 Apology Tour: NFBC 50 #2

2022 was the worst year I have ever had as a fantasy player. I played in 16 leagues and did not cash in a single one. The hard part is that I don’t even know what went wrong. I had teams I really liked coming out of the draft and some that were doing very well throughout the season. Over the next few weeks I will deep dive into each team in a series of articles to examine what went wrong and what the common threads were. This is my 2022 Apology Tour.
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Justin Mason’s 2022 Apology Tour: Draft Champions #3

2022 was the worst year I have ever had as a fantasy player. I played in 16 leagues and did not cash in a single one. The hard part is that I don’t even know what went wrong. I had teams I really liked coming out of the draft and some that were doing very well throughout the season. Over the next few weeks I will deep dive into each team in a series of articles to examine what went wrong and what the common threads were. This is my 2022 Apology Tour.
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Justin Mason’s 2022 Apology Tour: NFBC 50 #1

2022 was the worst year I have ever had as a fantasy player. I played in 16 leagues and did not cash in a single one. The hard part is that I don’t even know what went wrong. I had teams I really liked coming out of the draft and some that were doing very well throughout the season. Over the next few weeks I will deep dive into each team in a series of articles to examine what went wrong and what the common threads were. This is my 2022 Apology Tour.
Read the rest of this entry »


Justin Mason’s 2022 Apology Tour: Draft Champions #2

2022 was the worst year I have ever had as a fantasy player. I played in 16 leagues and did not cash in a single one. The hard part is that I don’t even know what went wrong. I had teams I really liked coming out of the draft and some that were doing very well throughout the season. Over the next few weeks I will deep dive into each team in a series of articles to examine what went wrong and what the common threads were. This is my 2022 Apology Tour. Read the rest of this entry »


Beat the Shift Podcast – End of Season Wrap-Up Episode w/ Ian Kahn

The End of Season Wrap-Up Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Ian Kahn

Most memorable moment of the season

Fantasy MVPs

  • Drafted Hitters
  • Undrafted Hitters
  • Drafted Starting Pitchers
  • Undrafted Starting Pitchers
  • Relief Pitchers

Strategy Section

  • Which is more important – the draft, or in-season play?
  • Should we be avoiding risk more in drafts, particularly in the early rounds?
  • Lessons learned in 2022
    • What was the optimal closer strategy in 2022? Will it change in 2023?
    • What were some waiver wire strategy lessons learned from 2022?
    • Was the market premium for speed justified in 2022?
    • Were catchers worth taking early in drafts? Will they be worth taking early in 2023?
    • Was starting pitching worth buying early in drafts in 2022? Where should we look to purchase pitching in 2023?
  • Who are some potential “Spencer Strider” type candidtates for 2023?

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