Okay, so, I’ve been playing fantasy baseball for a few years now, and I always find myself scrambling during the draft. It’s like, you get all excited, and then bam, your turn comes up, and your mind goes completely blank. So this year, I decided to get serious and make a proper cheat sheet. Let me tell you about it.
First, I started by gathering a bunch of rankings from different websites. You know, the usual suspects. I figured if I could see where the experts generally agreed on a player, that would be a good starting point. I copied all of these rankings into a spreadsheet, just a simple one to keep things organized.
Sorting the Rankings
Then, I started sorting through the rankings. I didn’t just want a list of the top players overall, because that’s not really how the draft goes, right? You need to consider positions, and sometimes you want to target a specific category, like home runs or stolen bases.
- So, I broke down the rankings by position: catcher, first base, second base, and so on.
- That way, when it’s my turn to pick a shortstop, I can quickly see who’s still available and compare them based on their projected stats.
Making Tiers
Next, I started grouping players into tiers. What I mean is, I looked for natural breaks in the rankings. Like, maybe there’s a group of five outfielders who are all projected to hit 30 homers, and then the next group is only projected to hit 20. Those five would be in a higher tier.
The tier system really helped me visualize the draft better. It’s like, okay, I really want one of those top-tier third basemen, so I better grab one before they’re all gone. Or, maybe I can wait on a second baseman because there are a bunch of similar guys in the same tier, and I can focus on another position first.
Adjusting for My League
Of course, every fantasy league is a little different. Some use different scoring systems, or maybe you have a keeper league where some players are already taken. So, I made sure to adjust my cheat sheet for my specific league. I highlighted players I wanted to target in each round of my draft. I added some notes on my strategy.
Finally, after all that work, I had my cheat sheet! It was customized to my league, it had tiers, and it was sorted by position. I even printed out a hard copy because, you know, technology can fail you at the worst times. I felt way more prepared than I ever had before. It was a good feeling, knowing I had a solid plan going into the draft. The draft hasn’t happened yet, but I’m feeling pretty good. I think this cheat sheet is going to be a game-changer for me. Will I win my league? I hope so! We’ll see what happens.