Drafting Strategies

Although everyone seems to have their own strategies, I have a few I've developed over the years and I'll try to apply on March 5:

a. Go for balance in the first few rounds. A power guy in the 1st round... a speed/power combo in the 2rd (like Bay, Beltran, or Abreu)... an ace pitcher in the third (like Halladay, Sheets, or Carpenter)... and a 2nd starter or closer in the 4th...

b. In the 5th round... I start loading up with a certain category. Power hitters are usually gone by this stage, so this is where I load up on either closers, SP's with high K's or speedsters... from the 5th to the 7th, I load up on one of these categories... (you can usually get a Chad Cordero, Willy Taveras, or Kelvim Escobar during these rounds).

c. Look for talented prospects between the 9th and 12th roundsd. End the final 6 rounds with guys who are sleepers... If you read Baseball Prospectus, you will find these guys. Who knew Holliday was going to have a 2nd half tear? Who knew about Chad Tracy? Who knew about Felipe Lopez?