Draft the best available player
After looking at two 2008 baseball drafts I think position scarcity is taken into consideration too often in drafts. That is since second base or catcher aren’t ‘deep’ positions in terms of impact fantasy players, the top players at those positions are overvalued.
The reasoning behind this is that if you can create large gaps in productivity at a certain position between yourself and another league member you are somehow getting more value. This is the wrong way to look at it.
There are too many unpredictable variables for this strategy to make any sense. You would have to be certain that the productivity gap you gain in a position is greater than the negative gap you create in passing on a more productive player. You also have to be successful in predicting the gap in productivity you create at the ’deeper’ position you are putting off. A random example:
Draft Victor Martinez (C) before Lance Berkman (1b/OF). First you need to predict the gap between the two players straight up. Do you think Victor Martinez will out perform Lance Berkman? Next you have to predict that the difference in productivity at the catcher position will be less than that of the outfield/1b position when you make those selections. This is a tough position to put yourself in.
You are constantly challenged with making these decisions in a draft because of the limit of how many players you can play at each position. So in a sense you are always forced to make these predictions. However if you constantly chose the best player available for any of your open positions you remove much of the burden of predicting other players drafting strategies.
Any deficiencies you create while following this advice in a particular stat category; be it steals, HR’s, saves etc… should be easily fixed after the draft through trades with other members. Remember, you took the best value at any given point in the draft and should have superior value available to trade with. You also create a specific waiver wire strategy to fill these deficiencies throughout the season.
Just draft the best player available.
