Archive for Draft

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?
  • Should reliable Freddie Freeman types be pushed up in drafts?
  • Jose Ramirez vs. Trea Turner vs. Aaron Judge for 2023 drafts?
• 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?

Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

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 »

The Draft Strategy Look Back Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Justin Mason

TGFBI Update

• What we can learn from the top teams
• Draft success versus superior in-season play

Read the rest of this entry »

The Mock Draft Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Chris Welsh

Tout Wars Head to Head Recap

Strategy Section

• General Draft Strategy
  • Push up saves/steals/starters? What is the right time to roster them?
• KDS Selection for 2022
• What is the best time to reach for your “favorites,” “targets” or “upside players?
• Should you draft prospects in redraft leagues?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Expert League Recap Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Matt Williams

LABR Reacap

• Overall thoughts
• Closer strategy
• When to drop out of bidding wars
  • How much is too much to pay?
  • The economincs of waiting to nominate desired players in the auction
• Nomination strategy
  • Nominate players that you want to buy or players that you don’t?
• Franmil Reyes
• Catcher strategy
• Draft regrets

TGFBI Recap

• Noticeable trends
• Grabbing players earlier than ADP
  • Akil Baddoo
• Big decisions

Follow us on Twitter

• Ariel Cohen (@ATCNY)
• Reuven Guy (@mlbinjuryguru)
• Matt Williams (@MattWi77iams)
• Beat the Shift Podcast (@Beat_Shift_Pod)

The Relief Pitcher Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guests: Greg Jewett & Eric Samulski

Strategy Section

• General 2022 closer landscape & draft strategy
• FAAB capital vs. Draft captial for closers – which is more efficient?
• Holds / Saves+Holds leagues
• Closer Handcuffs for 2022
  • Giants
  • Padres
• Reuven’s Closer Questions
  • Should you choose closers that are on good teams?
  • Pick closers based on skill?
  • Avoid closers who could be traded?
  • Avoid closer by committee situations?
  • Avoid certain teams all together with lousy players?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Starting Pitcher (Part II) Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Nick Pollack

Strategy Section

• Lockout
  • How it affects starting pitcher strategy in 2022 drafts
  • The importance of spring training
• Starting pitcher strategy
  • General – Auction vs. Snake Draft
  • Riskiness in the elite starting pitchers this season
• Sandy Alcantara debate

Read the rest of this entry »

The Starting Pitcher (Part I) Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Alex Chamberlain

Alex’s pitch tool

• Comparing players with similar pitches
• Finding undervalued players

Strategy Section

• Pitchers most likely to throw 200 innings in 2022
• Starting pitcher strategy
  • General – Auction vs. Snake Draft
  • Riskiness in the elite starting pitchers this season
  • Two 1As vs. an ace strategy for 2022
• Effect of the Universal DH
  • Pick the AL pitcher over the NL pitcher?
  • Draft a pitcher in a particular division?
• Undervalued prospects & sleeper pitchers
  • Peyton Battenfield
  • Patrick Sandoval

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the last few years the industry has begun to focus on NFBC leagues more and more. It is not because it is the most popular format in spite of its growth. It is because, on average, it has more competitive leagues due to the cost involved. This allows for a better average draft position. While ADP is not the end all be all, it can give us some insight into the market and if you have competing markets, it is good to compare them and see what information can be exploited. In this series of articles, I will look at the places where NFBC ADP is higher than the four other major platforms in an attempt to point out potential deals for those of you not playing on NFBC.  Read the rest of this entry »