Don't Do That! Common Draft Mistakes to Avoid

I've been in an annual keeper league for nearly a decade. Last season, one of our members was late for the auction and told us to go ahead without him. He should have edited his pre-draft rankings. Yu Darvish, who was already slated to miss the entire season, was the second player nominated and, sure enough, the absentee member got him. He could have ended up keeping Darvish, but it was a lofty price for a player with a lost season.

He nabbed the next player nominated, too: Cliff Lee.

My draft mate broke a couple of rules. Arrive to the draft early or, if you absolutely can't make it on time, edit those rankings. It's time consuming, but it's better than succumbing to the whims of auto-drafts and rival pranksters. At the very least, pick players to exclude. You do not want the likely-retired Lee wasting a spot on your roster to start the season.

Draft fails are common, even among the most experienced fantasy players. Don't fall into these traps.

Don't Go In Blind

Do your research. Have a game plan. There is no shortage of information available to you to make sure you're prepared for draft day. Pay attention to injuries and position battles. Is a prospect like Pirates SS Alen Hanson going to sneak onto the opening day roster?

Know where players are going in drafts. Sign up for a mock drafts, and read up on others. Don't anticipate pre-rankings to reflect actual draft positions for every player. Weak positions will find owners overcompensating in order to corner the market before value falls into the abyss. Maybe Blue Jays SS Troy Tulowitzki flies off the board in the second round instead of the fourth, for example.

Do your homework, and be ready to reach if you have to. Scout the ideal lineups that you want and try to accommodate. But ...

Don't Fall Asleep At the Switch

One of the worst things you can do during a fantasy draft is line up your next pick immediately after you make a selection while neglecting to think about a backup. You think you looked far enough ahead and that there is no way anyone will take 2B/3B Matt Carpenter before it comes back to you. Then, the person right before you snags him.

In a panic, thinking about an infielder, you scour the list and end up taking 2B Kolten Wong, or someone else you weren't keen on selecting, a round or two early because the clock was ticking. This happens all the time. Always try to have five or six players in your queue, just in case you get snaked. You have to be an active participant.

You can't stop paying attention when someone else is on the clock. Remember, if you're thinking of a player, chances are someone else is, too.

Don't Be A Homer

Like most sports fans, you probably have a favorite team. Great! It's a beautiful thing to have a rooting interest. Just don't let your insane bias infect your draft. Building a fantasy team around as many players from a specific squad as possible is a logistical nightmare and it won't work, no matter how tempting it is.

The last thing you want is a mediocre-to-bad player ruining both your favorite team and your fantasy team. That's just cruel and masochistic. Fantasy sports is built on existential pain at the best of times; don't add to it by drafting Wade Miley because you happen to like the Mariners. Don't take Alex Rodriguez in the fifth round because you've followed his whole career.

Remember to approach your draft as dispassionately as possible. Look at the numbers. Look at the stats. Look at projections. Only follow your heart if you want it to be broken.

Don't Play Follow the Leader

A few rounds go by. Your plan is churning along and you are taking the best players for your squad. Then, someone takes a closer. The next person also takes a closer. At least one more closer is off the board before it gets to your next pick. Don't feel obligated to follow suit and take a closer if it will derail your plan.

There are two positions that instigate this kind of scenario. Because of the finite nature of closers, once one gets drafted, it often creates an avalanche. The same happens with catchers. After Buster Posey and Kyle Schwarber are drafted, expect a lull. Somewhere around the 11th or 12th round, everyone will all of a sudden remember they didn't draft a catcher and panic ensues.

Wait this out. A catcher like Devin Mesoraco is going much later than Salvador Perez or Brian McCann, and could be just as productive. This makes him exponentially more valuable because you grabbed him late and picked up a better player earlier in place of drafting Perez or McCann.

With closers, the waiver wire can be your friend since a good portion of them lose their jobs for a variety of reasons throughout the season. If you can't get one of the elite, do not reach for one with a lot of uncertainty. You're better off taking a high-strikeout set-up reliever in his stead.

Don't Neglect Your Needs

One of the few flaws in taking the best player available no matter what is you might accidentally handicap yourself in certain categories. Billy Hamilton may not do much, but he does steal more bases than anyone not named Dee Gordon. This is important because Hamilton is going several rounds later than Gordon, and drafting him is a good way to lock up the stolen bases category.

Like it or not, you can't ignore whole categories and expect to win. It's a lot easier to find saves off the waiver wire than it is to find stolen bases. In a standard 5x5 league, you need to try to maximize value in 10 different stat categories. Finishing dead last, or near the bottom, in a couple of them will kill your season or force you into an early uphill battle.

Auction Bonus: Don't Be Afraid to Overpay

In auction-based drafts, you are allotted a certain budget. Use it. You need a couple of top players and trying to make sure you don't spend too much on any given player is a surefire way to build a mediocre team.

You'll get that one know-it-all in your league chirping you, saying, "that's way too much for PLAYER X." You can be happy knowing your choice is going to hit a million home runs. Your rival is merely jealous. Pay for proven talent and find value in upside.