Fantasy baseball is already on everybody's minds. A couple of guys are already proposing trades in keeper leagues, while others are trying to understand the trends and participating in multiple mock drafts. One thing I've learned in my experience; leave pitching for the later rounds.
It's tough to pass on a guy like Justin Verlander on the first round, but sometimes, going for the big boppers is better for early value.
For example, last year, I was in a league with the typical 25 roster spots to fill out. First round, Miguel Cabrera was available, so that was a no-brainer. Second round, the top pitchers were gone, Verlander and Kershaw, but I wanted to fill in my infield, so I went for Dustin Pedroia and in Mark Teixeira was available in the third round, so instead of going for a pitcher like all these other guys who immediately look for balance early on in the draft, I went for the power.
I left pitching for the fourth and fifth rounds where I was able to snag up CC Sabathia and Jered Weaver, respectively. Not to mention I was able to solidify my pitching rotation by adding David Price in the seventh round and Gio Gonzalez in the 17th round.
Now, add that up and that's a total of 76 wins and three of the top winningest pitchers in baseball last year.
20-game winners might look scarcer on paper than 25-30 home run hitters, but it's better to study their ERA and WHIP than focusing solely on victories.
Take Doug Fister for example when he was a Seattle Mariner. He was 3-12, but that's because he pitched for the Mariners, a team that barely scored runs in 2011. However, in 21 starts, Fister had a 3.33 ERA, three complete games in over 146 innings pitched. He was a guy I was always tempted to pick up from waivers. As soon as he made the move to the Detroit Tigers, I snatched him up in about five of my then eight teams (having eight teams is not recommendable).
Fister then became completely lights out pitching in Comerica Park for the Tigers as he went on to finish the season 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA.
Pitchers will surprise at some point in the season. As much as you would love to pull the trigger on a guy like Verlander or Kershaw in the first round, relax and go for the hitters first before everybody else snatches them up. You can eventually get pitching later on in the draft.
For the record, I finished in second place with that team.
