Everybody wants Ronald Acuna. But only one team can draft him. If you miss out on Acuna, then Julio Rodriguez, Bobby Witt, Corbin Carroll, or Kyle Tucker are strong fallback options. Or at least as close as can be. Those drafting even further away from this grouping might be at an even larger disadvantage. However, that doesn’t mean we just pack it up and go home if KDS doesn’t go our way. All is not lost, so let’s take a look at some fantasy baseball draft strategy for drafting at the turn.
Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy for Drafting at the Turn
Get Your Players
While we don’t want to go rogue here, as with any draft, the intention has to be to acquire your targets. If you go through the trouble of doing your research and ranking the players, the only reasonable action is to draft them. When are drafting at the turn though, timing is of the essence and you have to take certain liberties. If there are players that you feel strongly about, go out there and get them. Because if you don’t, then you will be watching them all season on another team.
Know Your Targets
While it’s all about getting your players, we also don’t have the pleasure of being that specific. That is the case in any draft regardless of your draft slot, but it is highlighted when drafting at the turn. There are simply too many picks in a row here before it gets back to you that anything can happen.
It’s natural to have specific players you are after, but the problem is that it’s too narrow of a scope. Instead, have multiple players lined up to fill each need. This applies whether you are looking at either statistical or positional targets. It’s not a one size fits all approach though as we will have to be very much aware of ADP. Depending on the player you are targeting and their place in the rankings, there is at least a round range in which to target them.
Be a Trend Setter
When drafting, you want to be your own person. Don’t bend, break, or deviate from that. You want to be a leader, and that is how you should approach your draft. There is a difference between being reckless and drafting with targeted aggressiveness. Drafting at the turn means that, depending on the draft type, you can almost take a nap between picks. Again, by no means am I recommending that, far from it in fact, but it does seem that way at times.
Runs can start, pause, come to a conclusion, and then come out for an encore before your picks. The key is to anticipate when these runs are coming based on your rankings, and then attack when given the opportunity. This provides the ability to see when any potential fallback options should be targeted.
Take the Best Player
This often comes into play early in drafts based on how the first few rounds go, but it sometimes is that simple. Before the identity of your team is truly formed and true needs are established, we are working with a blank slate. It is still early, and things can go in any direction, don’t let yourself be boxed in. When you still have the majority of the player pool available, take advantage of it. Go draft the best player and see how things go. There will be plenty of time left for you to reach, start trends, and be bold. The first few rounds of a draft is not that time.
Slay the End Game
As you build your team, be aware of those statistical targets and how your team is stacking up against them. When that occurs, you can then begin to take some liberties in the later rounds of drafts. Once you get to a certain point, ADP doesn’t matter anymore. Just go get your players. Sleepers no longer exist as they previously did, but there are always going to be late round targets that catch your attention. In the last few rounds of the draft, there are no wrong answers.
Believe in Yourself
At the end of the day, trust yourself and trust your rankings.
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