Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this whole 2024 MLB fantasy baseball rankings thing, and let me tell you, it’s been a ride. I started by looking at all the available information on fantasy baseball for this year, and I tried to put together something like a cheat sheet for myself.
First off, I went through a bunch of websites and expert opinions to get a feel for who’s hot and who’s not. I started with some big-name sites that everyone uses. This gave me a good starting point, but I wasn’t just going to take their word for it.
Then, I started to dig deeper. I checked out player stats from last season, looked at their ages, injury histories, and even tried to guess which players might be on the verge of a breakout year. It was a lot of number-crunching, but I actually started to enjoy it. It was like piecing together a giant puzzle.
I also paid attention to which teams had made big moves in the off-season. You know, trades, free-agent signings, stuff like that. Because that can totally shake up a player’s value. A guy who was buried on the bench last year might suddenly be a starter on a new team, and that can make all the difference in fantasy.
After that, I started making my own rankings. I listed out all the players by position and started to slot them into tiers. This is where things got tricky. I had to weigh all the information I had gathered and make some tough decisions. Do I rank the older veteran higher because he’s a proven commodity, or do I go with the young guy who might have more upside? There’s no easy answer, and that’s what makes it fun, I guess.
I also tried to identify players who might be overvalued or undervalued based on their average draft position (ADP). This is the part where you can really find some gems. If you can snag a player in the later rounds who ends up performing like a top-50 guy, you’re golden.
Here’s the thing I realized. You can’t just copy someone else’s rankings and expect to win. Everyone has their own system, their own way of evaluating players. It also has to be said that playing it extremely safe in the first five or six rounds might not be the worst idea. The trick is to find a balance between doing your own research and learning from what others have already done.
- Targets by Position: I made notes on who I liked at each position. For example, I’m really high on this young shortstop who’s supposed to be the next big thing.
- Targets by Round: I also broke it down by round, trying to figure out who I’d be happy to grab in, say, the 5th or 6th round.
- Players to Avoid: This was just as important. There are always guys who are getting hyped up way too much, and you don’t want to be the one who overpays for them.
And after all that, what did I actually get? Well, after all this work, I’ve got a set of rankings that I feel pretty good about. It’s not perfect, and I’m sure I’ll be tweaking it as the season gets closer. But it’s a solid starting point, and it’s something that I built myself, from the ground up. It’s not just about having a list of names, it’s about understanding why each player is ranked where they are. That way, when the draft is happening, you can make informed decisions on the fly.
My Final Thoughts
This whole process has been a real eye-opener. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. And it’s definitely made me a better fantasy player. I’m no expert, but I feel a lot more prepared for my draft than I did last year. In the end, that’s all you can ask for, right?