Don't Be Stupid

Since my fantasy baseball draft on Monday night I have been reviewing my team on an hourly basis.  I have been reading analysis from every writer on almost every sports site trying to find some sleepers or see if I can improve my team in anyway.  I've got some good stuff but nothing I have put into practice (got some trades pending).  What I have discovered is that certain players are valued waaay to high.  Some player who were drafted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds have equivalents in the 20th round or sitting on the waiver wire.

I have compiled 3 examples of players who got drafted very early yet did not deserve to be drafted nearly as high as they were.

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	Runs	Hits	HRs	RBI	SB	AVG
Player A	88	179	11	69	11	.300
Player B	93	186	8	57	19	.281

Player A is Derek Jeter went 3^rd round 22^nd overall and is rated 4^th by ESPN

Player B is Orlando Cabrera went un-drafted and is rated 15^th by ESPN

So Jeter has a higher average by 19 points.  He hits 3 more home runs and knocks in 12 more runs.  Cabrera gets 8 more steals, 7 more hits, and scores 5 more runs.  To me this is a wash. The two cancel each other out.  However what is not cancelled out is that Jeter was drafted 22nd overall and you could have gotten an equivalent off of the waiver wire.

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	Runs	Hits	HRs	RBI	SB	AVG
Player A	99	182	25	110	11	.306
Player B	85	186	23	110	2	.293

Player A is Nick Markakis went 34^th overall and is rated 7^th overall by ESPN

Player B is Raul Ibanez went 114^th overall and is rated is rated 28^th overall by ESPN

Look how similar these numbers are yet how far apart they were drafted.  Ibanez had almost identical numbers to Markakis yet went over 75 picks later.  It also needs to be mentioned that Ibanez played at SAFECO field in Seattle which is not a hitters park.  Think of all the value that was missed by taking Markakis so early.  A solid player could have been selected at this slot instead of a guy who puts up mediocre numbers.

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	IP	Wins	Ks	ERA	WHIP
Player A	227.1	14	196	3.09	1.08
Player B	196.0	17	206	3.21	1.33

Player A is Cole Hamels went 23^rd overall and is rated 6^th by ESPN

Player B is Edinson Volquez went 112^th overall and is rated 41^st by ESPN

In my league Cole Hamels was the 6th pitcher taken and went 23rd overall.  Volquez went 112th overall and comparable numbers to those of Hamels.  I love Cole Hamels but his numbers are not as impressive as one might think.

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The goal when building a fantasy team is to build the best overall team that will produce better than all other teams.  Often people buy into the hype of a player and draft them way too early (Travis Snyder drafted in the 7th round) or an owner doesn't realise how over-rated a player is (Jeter drafted 22nd overall).   

In fantasy the only thing that matters are numbers.  A players attitude, reputation, and style do not factor into winning or losing in anyway.  Roger Clemens was a huge douchebag his whole career but he was a fantasy god.  It is important to put aside personal feelings towards players when drafting.  That means don't pick your favorite players simply because they are your favorite and don't shy away from guys you just because you hate them.

Most importantly don't be stupid.

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