Don't do that, either! More common fantasy draft mistakes to avoid
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Last season, theScore's Jason Wilson wrote about some typical draft day blunders to be wary of, including not doing appropriate research on injuries and position battles, blindly following the herd and drafting a closer or a catcher as soon as everyone else starts to, overvaluing players from your favorite real-life team, and being afraid to overpay in auction formats when necessary.
While re-reading that post is certainly worthwhile ahead of 2017 drafts, here are some more common mistakes that can befall inexperienced fantasy owners:
Not knowing how many IR or N/A spots your league allows
Make note beforehand of how many free spaces exist for the stashing of prospects or injured players. If the answer is "zero," you may not want to burn more than one roster spot on someone who won't be able to contribute on Opening Day.
Also, if you draft someone who will be a long-term resident of the IR spot - like Tampa Bay's Wilson Ramos, who might not take the field until May - be aware that one of your currently healthy players will likely land on the disabled list at some point.
In other words, if you don't have a designated place for an injured player or a prospect, it's best not to waste a draft pick on someone that could take up the roster spot of an otherwise active contributor.
Having too many hitters on the bench
Bench spots don't have to be filled with position players - with the exception of strict platoon players, most hitters will be in the lineup every day. It's possible to get by with a mere two-to-three reserve batters; an extra catcher, an outfielder/first baseman, and a jack-of-all-trades infielder like Javier Baez, Jedd Gyorko or Jose Peraza is adequate cover in most cases.
The remaining bench spots can be used for additional starting pitchers, who of course won't make more than two appearances in a single week, or relievers, who can rack up saves and holds, while also helping to keep strikeout rates up and peripheral stats like ERA and WHIP down.
Overvaluing the title of 'closer'
Saves aren't everything, as starting a shaky closer and/or one who plays their home games at a hitter-friendly ballpark can have an detrimental impact on a fantasy team. For example, the Reds' Tony Cingrani and the Rockies' Jake McGee led their clubs in saves in 2016, but each posted an ERA and WHIP of at least 4.14 and 1.44, respectively.
Punting the save category altogether and reinforcing pitching statistics with steady setup men is an option, as is the traditional method of drafting two or three solid closers at their ADPs, but simply waiting until the end of a draft to load up on low-end stoppers isn't advisable. Such players may pick up the occasional save, but will have a net negative effect on rate stats.
Reaching for a sleeper
Chances are, you're going into the draft with a lightly-regarded player or two in mind that you think will exceed expectations.That's fine, but save the selection of those players for the final round or two. If your sleeper has an ADP of 400 or higher, chances are they won't be on anyone else's radar, so there's no sense in taking them far earlier than needed.