Confessions of an Unapologetic Fantasy Baseball Champion: 3 Tips of the Trade

Hello and welcome, dear reader. I am here today to talk about fantasy baseball. Or, more specifically, how to win at fantasy baseball. Or, MORE more specifically, how I won at fantasy baseball this year. Now, everyone has a different strategy when drafting, or what type of players to target, and how many players at each position to keep, so I'm going to stay away from all that jazz. What I want to focus on is some of the other stuff that goes on in the winner's circle, some of the behind-the-scenes ideas you can put to use in your fantasy life. Now that all this introductory bunk is over, let us begin.

1. Remember Kenny Rogers

When making day to day moves in fantasy sports, specifically baseball (since it's a long season), the key is to remember Kenny Rogers. If you're from the group that's asking why you should be thinking of a country music legend when playing fantasy baseball, sit tight. If you are of the other group that's asking why you should be thinking of a former Texas Rangers starting pitcher (baseball diehards, I solute you) who retired in '08, also sit tight. I have an answer that will make all of you happy. Now, let's take a look at one of my rosters for a second. First guy on there, starting catcher, Yadier Molina. Molina was the 157th pick of that draft (I drafted from the 12th and final slot), my 14th player. In the months of May and June, Molina batted .212 and .235, respectively. His ownership rate plummeted. There I was, sitting with a team that had been average to that point, and Molina was slumping big time from his hot start (in the season's first calendar month he batted .341). Was I temped to cut ties permanently? Yes. Did I? Well, I looked at the waivers, I looked at my roster, and I heard the first line of that legendary chorus in my head. "You've got to know when to hold 'em" (ah, you say, now it's coming into focus). The Gambler can teach us many lessons, and this is the first one: don't be too quick on the trigger when it comes to cutting a player. If something tells you that a slump will end (stats, past patterns, gut feelings, whatever), don't just put that out of your mind. Molina ended up finishing the season with a batting average over .300 and a ranking of #4 on ESPN's Positional Rank. On the other side of that, let's look at a player who is no longer on my roster: the 85th pick, Ben Revere (which, going back, was a terribly stupid pick). Revere, well, let's just say he was rather poor this season. He failed to finish with a batting average over .220, and might not even make his own team's postseason roster. Revere was playing badly, and I was hopeful that a guy I took so early would turn it around, but it got to the point where I tried to trade him for something ("know when to walk away"). Nobody would give me the time of day, so I cut him ("and know when to run"). That worked out for me (it very well could have gone another way, but nobody knows that for sure), just knowing "when to fold 'em". Alright, former-pitcher-Kenny-Rogers crowd, you've been patient. It's time for your answer. If you know about Kenny Rogers (I had to look it up), you know he was decidedly "meh" for about the first decade of his career (he had one All-Star appearance, and never won 20 games). Then, at about the 11 or 12 season mark, it started to get worse. His career path was taking a predictable turn when, all of a sudden at age 39, he started throwing like he had in his younger days. He was dealing as many, if not more, innings as he was in the mid 90s, and actually was an All-Star in 2005. He had a decent season in 2006, and then boom. His 2007 campaign, in which he was over forty years old, was the stuff of legend. He was an All-Star, 5th in Cy Young voting, and 26th in the MVP race (baseball-reference.com) that year, seemingly without warning. So, when you are drafting or trading, always remember Kenny Rogers and how he tapped into the fountain of youth. For example, I drafted 37 year old Adrian Beltre 61st overall. Some people were iffy about relying on such a veteran player, but it's a risk I was willing to take. Beltre improved his home runs, RBIs, batting average, WAR, and walk totals from 2015 to this past year. I was able to luck out and catch a turn back the clock season from Beltre because I didn't strike him from my board because of age concerns. If there were injury concerns, then maybe, but straight up age is (in my opinion) not a great reason to put someone on the no-draft or emergency-draft list (sliding him down a little is fine, that'll happen). So, however you do it, make sure you remember Kenny Rogers.

2. Overreaction=Reaction

Hey, everyone overreacts sometimes. Maybe a player you took early on is really having a rough week, maybe he's not quite as healthy as you would have liked, and you have just had enough. You just don't feel like stashing him for brighter days anymore, and he finds himself on waivers or the trade block. For everyone else in the league, that's a golden opportunity for a possible steal in the cheapest way possible. However, often times a guy who's in that boat ends up not being that highly sought after once he hits the open market. That's often because many of your league mates would have done the exact same thing had the player been on their roster. That's how I added Corey Kluber and Yu Darvish in one of my leagues (also how I ended up with C.J. Anderson in fantasy football last year). When someone overreacts a little (it's bound to happen), try to capitalize. Guys who are bigger names, or higher draft picks, are usually worth stashing unless something really bad happens (like a big injury or benching). Don't follow the crowd and stay away from a situation like that. Remember, regardless of a slump or minor/moderate injury or stuff like that, somebody drafted that player high for a reason. When an owner overreacts, it almost always works in your favor to react.

3. Stash and Grab

Time to be honest. Who do you wish you could roster because you're such a big fan (or have a great feeling about), but just don't feel like you should? Everybody has players like that. For me, it's Jonathan Villar. I am a huge Villar fan, but I didn't know if drafting him over certain others was such a good idea. However, what's great about fantasy baseball (especially larger roster size leagues) is nabbing a guy you have a feeling about isn't going to hurt you at all. I owned Villar in every league I won this year, and he was a vital part of each of my rosters. However, I would not have owned him at all had I not decided to follow my gut and give him a spot on my bench. On average, Villar was taken with the 222nd pick in espn.com drafts. However, Villar ended up 5th overall (!!!!) in ESPN's Player Rater (only Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve, Mike Trout, and Max Scherzer eclipsed Villar on that list). The moral of this story is, stash that guy you really want to stash. Sometimes he ends up in the top 8 in DK-style fantasy points for each of the three positions he's eligible in (like Villar), and sometimes he ends up a dud. Regardless, what damage does it do? Maybe you catch a look from a fellow owner, at the absolute most. So go ahead, do it. You know you want to.


I will not be wearing any fantasy loser tattoos this season. However, if you didn't fare as well, get your fantasy loser tattoos on Twitter or Amazon from @Fantasylosertat!

If you have any comments, concerns, questions, wisecracks, ideas, theories, or you have anything at all to add, hit me up in the comment box or on Twitter @hoover__26! Thanks and fantasy on!