Knock the Mock

As the 2010 baseball season approaches, and just as important, your 2010 fantasy draft approaches, it is nice to get in some practice with mock drafts. However, there are some dangers that you must be aware of when you do your mock drafts. Mock drafting can be both good and bad. Read the below points to get some ideas of how to use mock drafts to your advantage.

Here's the skinny:

The Good:

• Mock drafting gets you thinking in 'draft Mode'. 'Draft Mode' is the ability to make smart decisions according to your game plan in the allotted time. This is usually not done well on the first couple of drafts, but as you continue to mock draft, your game plan and approach gets stronger. This is a big plus.
• Mock drafting gives you a feel for where players will go in the draft. After a few drafts, you should kinda know who's going in the top rounds and who will be around later. This is a good time to see who might be over and under rated.
• Mock drafting is a good time to try out different strategies. Try different things and see how your team comes out in the end. May come across a new strategy!
• Mock drafting is fun.

The Bad:

• Being that the draft is not real, people may not take it too seriously. If they are not taking it too seriously, their picks may not reflect 'real' picks.
• Just like you, others may be trying out different strategies. You could end up with a false sense of how the draft went due to someone trying something bizarre.
• Take into account how many people are in the draft. Seems straight forward, but it's easy to overlook. If your real draft is 12 people but your mock drafts are 10 people, the results simply won't match up very well. It's not pointless, as you can still see who the popular picks are, but it can't be used as a guideline for what round a player will go in.

Keeping these points in mind should help you have effective and safe mock drafts. Have fun!

-Scout Monkey

( scout_monkey@gmx.com)

Ambulance Chasing

The thought of a lawyer just waiting for injuries to occur, ambulance chasing, is a disgusting thought to many. They are preying and trying to benefit from other peoples pain. However, say all the bad things you like, that lawyer is an opportunist. That same opportunist attitude, which we may view as despicable with a lawyer, could help your fantasy team. How? Look for players on the DL. There are many good, big name players on the DL to start this season. There is a possible opportunity here for you to get one of them for a low price. Make some trade offers. Generally you would need to offer something of equal value for these names, but since they are on the DL, you might be able to get a discount. The catch is that you need to have some patience. It might be hard to give up a healthy player for another player who won't help you immediately. But remember, it's a long season. Deal with the short term pain to get the long term gain. Here are a few of the name that you could target: Kelvim Escobar - He might not have even been drafted! He will be in the majors within a month. Arod - Probably won't get too much of a discount, but it's worth a shot. Scott Baker - Good pitcher, could get great value in a trade here. Ichiro - Big name, could be difficult to get much of a discount. B.J. Upton - Worth a lot to a fantasy team. Any discount would be a win for you. Ervin Santana - Excellent pitcher. Joe Mauer - Top catcher, will be out a couple of weeks at least. Someone may be desperate. John Lackey - Yep, another very good Angel pitcher. Jeremy Bonderman - Not as good as some of the other names here, but you might get him for real cheap. -Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)

Drop It Like It's Hot!

There is a lot of debate over the strategy of dropping a category in your league. One side says that you want to compete in every category and should never concede any of them (at least until late in the season). The other side says, you probably are going to lose some category anyway, why not give one up to shore up your other ones. I am in the camp of dropping a category in one, and only one, situation - if your league has both saves and holds as categories. If your league has Saves and Holds, I say drop saves. Why? 4 reasons: 1) Because saves is such a finicky category. Too many closers do not keep their jobs all year. You may draft some closer and at he may end up as a holds guy or worse. Two recent articles have highlighted the danger of closers ('Forget Your Closers' by Scout Berardi and 'Draft Strategy: Heavy on Hitters' by Scout Rob). 2) There are always holds guys. While other teams are struggling to find closers, you can sit back and have your pick of guys who will get you some holds. 3) Discovered treasure. The pitchers you select to get you holds are also the ones that are generally in line to be closers if the present closer was to fail in someway. How nice is that? - A teams closer falls into your lap. Now you have excellent trade bait. You can trade him off for some player that helps your team and simply go pick up another holds guy. 4) One less thing to worry about. If holds and saves are categories, you are probably in a league that is 6x6 or greater. There is so much to consume that having one less category to stress over is pretty nice. Does this strategy work? Yes! I have used this strategy very effectively. In fact, this year I picked up Scott Downs (after the draft) and now will probably be able to trade him for a decent return since he will be getting some time at closer due to injuries to B.J. Ryan. It's already paying dividends! Every league is different. This may not work for you. Be sure to consider multiple strategies and find one that suits you best. Do not be afraid to experiment, mix things up, stick it to the man, drop it like it's hot. -Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)